Former Diva Joins Lawsuit & Claims She Was Sexually Assaulted At A Military Base

[Jack-Hammer]

Several sites, including the main page, are reporting that former WWE Diva Ashley Massaro has joined the lawsuit spearheaded by attorney Konstantine Kyros that includes some 50+ former WWE wrestlers & managers who allege that the company concealed risks of injury which caused them neurological damage. Massaro has taken it one step further by alleging that she was sexually assaulted during a WWE trip to visit troops in the Middle East in 2006; she claims that she was making the rounds with Jimmy Hart, Ron Simmons and Maria Kanellis.

An exert from the documents filed by Kyros appears on the main page and reads:

“Upon her return to the United States, she was seen by Dr. Rios who interviewed her about the incident. Dr. Rios reported the incident to WWE executives who soon thereafter met with Massaro to apologize for their negligence but persuaded her that it would be best not to report it to appropriate authorities."

Kyros himself put out a statement, also shown on the main page, saying:

"“This incredible situation derives from the WWE’s employment misclassification scheme wherein the WWE (deems itself) neither responsible for Massaro’s safety (despite being on a WWE tour in the Middle East) nor does the WWE deem itself responsible to report or collect data about incidents such as this. The WWE in order to protect its public image and insulate itself from paying for its injured workers prefers to remain silent.”

In regards to Massaro suffering head trauma and WWE covering it up, I suppose it's possible but, as with the other claimants, I'm suspicious. To my knowledge, the only significant injury she's known to have suffered was in late February 2006 when she suffered a fractured fibula after being eliminated from a women's battle royal on an episode of Raw. She underwent surgery to have a metal plate and several steel screws implanted and was back in action within about a month.

As to this claim regarding sexual assault, I'm even more suspicious about this, just as I am with any sexual assault allegations that pop up a good decade after they allegedly happen. The report doesn't say who assaulted her, I'm assuming that it was a soldier, in which case, if this really isn't all about money, why doesn't she go after the person who allegedly assaulted her? Even if she doesn't know the name, it wouldn't be all that difficult to find out as the attorney could file to have the names and photos of every soldier assigned to the base at that time given over so that he could be identified.

I'm also dubious of anything concerning this Konstantine Kyros as he's been well known to have been reemed up & down by judges in past cases where he's tried to sue WWE, which has been a crusade of his for years. Most recently, he was torn a new one when a judge dismissed the wrongful death cases brought about by the girlfriends of Matt Osbourne, better known as Doink the Clown, and Nelson Frazier, better known as Mabel/Viscera/Big Daddy V. The judge reprimanded Kyros for essentially taking on these two cases despite knowing full well that they couldn't be legally tried due to a distinct lack of evidence.

 

[enviousdominous]

I really wish that more was offered in the official document in terms of details of the alleged sexual assault. Something like that demands more details than "Massaro even related an incident while she was on a WWE Middle East tour, in which she was sexually assaulted on a military base in Kuwait". When you bring sexual assault into the mix, it overshadows all the details regarding neglectful medical staff.

Ashley may have been assaulted by a soldier, a contractor or a local national. She may have been forced into sex, or she may have been slapped on the behind. These days "sexual assault" encompasses a lot of behaviors, though one immediately imagines rape when it's brought up. If you give someone a wedgie, that can qualify as sexual assault.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

i have to really question this one, because let face it, between the time she was release and today, their alot of time that has past, so why now all of a sudden she decide to talk about it?

personally, i think she saw that all these guys we're trying to make money of WWE's back with this lawsuit and she couldn't really relate to the concussion issue so she told this story to be able to get included in the lawsuit.

So maybe it'S true, maybe it'S not, it's all here say right now but like i wrote i the beginning, you would think that if she really was sexually assaulted like she said, she wouldn'T have waited that long to report it and to sue WWE over it?

 

[THTRobtaylor]

I really wish that more was offered in the official document in terms of details of the alleged sexual assault. Something like that demands more details than "Massaro even related an incident while she was on a WWE Middle East tour, in which she was sexually assaulted on a military base in Kuwait". When you bring sexual assault into the mix, it overshadows all the details regarding neglectful medical staff.

Ashley may have been assaulted by a soldier, a contractor or a local national. She may have been forced into sex, or she may have been slapped on the behind. These days "sexual assault" encompasses a lot of behaviors, though one immediately imagines rape when it's brought up. If you give someone a wedgie, that can qualify as sexual assault.

Not really, they are maiking clear a medical examination happened (which would be for WWE to dispute and prove didn't happen) that showed injuries of that nature... If that can be proved in ANY way then WWE has a problem, regardless of how, why and if they "advised her to" let it go...

Why? It feeds right into the CM Punk "negligence" stuff... that medical and office peeps could "spin" injuries or situations in "the best interests of a talent". It's 100% believable that WWE would not only not want to fight the military on it but would bury/fire a talent (albiet with a payoff) to avoid that situation. Is it irony Trump has just won? Perhaps, but let's face it a true victim is just that until proven otherwise... if Ashley feels she has a case it deserves to be heard... and it did then... if there is a sniff of WWE shutting that down....there is big trouble ahead...

And before you all go on a rant... this is the same company that had Melina and Batista do a rape angle, then drop it within a week... #thanksforthewarmup... the company that did Heidenreich/Cole and even Katie Vick and that's just onscreen... they're gonna have a hard time defending it, just on history...

 

[enviousdominous]

Not really, they are maiking clear a medical examination happened (which would be for WWE to dispute and prove didn't happen) that showed injuries of that nature... If that can be proved in ANY way then WWE has a problem, regardless of how, why and if they "advised her to" let it go....

I read the document, and it didn't clarify if accusations of sexual assault are based on staff ignoring her claims or if they're based on medical staff deliberately or neglectfully failing to recognize injuries she received as a result of sexual assault.

Literally all that is stated in the document in regard to sexual assault is what I quoted, they most certainly did not make clear that a medical examination happened that showed injuries of that nature.

The wording of it sounds like her lawyer wanted to throw that in there just to compound on the impression that the WWE are the bad guys in this lawsuit. While I realize that litigious jargon has to be vague even if it could possibly be specific, it seems odd that any focus on her having been sexually assaulted is limited to this one lawsuit.

 

[OYDK]

Well, I'm highly doubtful that she just made this up. The fact that she is alleging that this incident took place at a US military base, and subsequently opening herself up to a whole bunch of scrutiny and abuse from the American public, leads me to believe that something happened. But the fact is nobody knows what that something entails. Could be groping, could be inappropriately flashing, could be something a lot more serious, and than again, it could be something really stupid that only constitutes "sexual assault" to the person it happened to. Like a soldier, or employee saying "nice ass baby"...

I could believe, given the relationship between WWE and the US military, that they asked her to cover up something done to her by a US soldier. And it's not like this situation is impossible. Just like in every large group of people, there are always going to be bad apples. The American military are no different.

But as enviousdominous said, until WWE comments we're left with too little information to make a definite, informed conclusion. You can say it definitely didn't happen and out yourself as a douchebag, or you can say it definitely happened and out yourself as a SJW. For now, I'm just going to stay firmly in the middle and add that I wouldn't be shocked either way.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

i have to really question this one, because let face it, between the time she was release and today, their alot of time that has past, so why now all of a sudden she decide to talk about it?

While I am not saying what Ashley said is true until there's further details. The US military has a history of men sexually assaulting or raping women in the military. It's hard for the women to come out and often they are forced to keep quiet or be discharged. There are a few documentaries that covers that.

From what I have read and seen it does seem there's a culture of institutions (military, colleges, etc) that downplays the issue of rape and sexual assault and normally when the victim comes out they are often faced with threats and often left with no choice but to keep quiet.

Also remember in 2006 WWE was still pre-PG. Vince McMahon was having a feud with God, Edge and Lita were doing live sex celebrations, Kurt Angle feud with Booker T involved wanting to have sex with his Booker T's wife, and WWE had a black tag team whose gimmick was committing crimes. In short they weren't nearly as socially aware as they are now, and I wouldn't be surprised if the company at the time just scoffed up Ashley's concerns.

Keep in mind I am not saying this actually happened or not but we've seen before the "why didn't he/she come out earlier" argument doesn't hold.

 

[nwocongo]

While I am not saying what Ashley said is true until there's further details. The US military has a history of men sexually assaulting or raping women in the military. It's hard for the women to come out and often they are forced to keep quiet or be discharged. There are a few documentaries that covers that.

From what I have read and seen it does seem there's a culture of institutions (military, colleges, etc) that downplays the issue of rape and sexual assault and normally when the victim comes out they are often faced with threats and often left with no choice but to keep quiet.

Very true. It's also kind of like someone trying to take on a police department for brutality, sexual assault or unlawful stops and searches. You are taking on an entity that has essentially limitless funds, attorneys and a lot of friends and cronies in the judicial system, so unless you have overwhelming evidence and several credible eyewitnesses you are shit out of luck. In case of your word vs their's the institution always gets the benefit of the doubt over the individual.

I don't know a whole lot about Ashley as a performer or person as she is from a period where I was more or less indifferent to pro wrestling and watched very sparingly but I doubt she would come up with this out of thin air. As oydk said, there is a public backlash when someone make allegations against the military so if she was going to make a false claim I'd think she would choose a better target, if she is indeed claiming it was the action of military personnel.


As for the argument of why she didn't come forward earlier, it happens all the time. I'll admit that I often think this way too when claims from 10+ years ago are made, but try and see it from all sides. Unless you have been a victim of some kind of sexual assault you don't understand how it effects the victim. I would think there are tons of psychological factors including guilt by being made to feel like it was your fault (see the Rush Limbaugh theory: don't wanna be raped? Don't act ****ty or be alone with a male you ****e) or trying to repress the incident so immediately throwing it out because it happened in the past seems hasty to me.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

The wording of it sounds like her lawyer wanted to throw that in there just to compound on the impression that the WWE are the bad guys in this lawsuit. While I realize that litigious jargon has to be vague even if it could possibly be specific, it seems odd that any focus on her having been sexually assaulted is limited to this one lawsuit.

I've had to accompany a lot of inmates to various hearings and retrials and you'd be amazed how much of the legal system hinges on how things are worded. There's so much red tape and technicalities that it's little wonder why the system is so backed up and why, unfortunately, expediency is often made the top priority.

My guess is that the sexual assault allegation is something that Konstantine Kyros is using as a strategy as a means to force a settlement or, as someone else mentioned, to help generate the impression that WWE is extremely shady. Exactly how much concrete evidence is involved is anyone's guess and even then it can be subject to the discretion of the judge as to whether it's at all relevant to the case. While, again, just a guess on my part, I think that Kyros wants to sort of piggyback this case onto the issue surrounding the head trauma to help show that WWE could conceivably cover it up with the idea being that if they were able to get Massaro to stay quiet, then they could convince medical personnel to do the same thing. At the very least, that could be what Kyros wants the judge to view it as and I think the presiding judge happens to be a woman so maybe he's hoping that will resonate with her as well. It sounds flimsy but, then again, we're not privy to whatever evidence Kyros claims to have.

Reading over my original post, I might have given the impression that I don't believe her because she waited so long and that wasn't my intention at all. I have a suspicious nature and I've seen a lot of people, both male and female, try to game the system in the hopes of getting some sort of payday. While WWE itself isn't accused of the assault, that's not how some will view it and a lot of people rush to judgment much too quickly in these sorts of situation. In this case, WWE is the big corporation with nigh limitless resources so some will automatically paint them in the role of villain.

 

[FromGlasgow]

If the WWE in any way asked her to keep the matter quiet then thats completely out of order, If it is true I understand why she would go along with the cover up as she was probably hoping to make a name for herself in the WWE and wouldn't want to ruin that by going against her bosses due to one man, I can't blame WWE for the actions of one soldier but them asking her to keep it quiet is shocking as it denied her any justice.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

No "shadiness" is needed to be proven... It's on their own historical programming how women are perceived in the WWE... they ran angles where men have been subjected to what is tantamount to a sexual assault (Kissing their bosses ass live...) and women have been treated worse... they've portrayed male and female "implied rape", necrophilia and Vince famously wanted to "go the incest route" for a Steph's Baby angle... That's before you get to the lawsuits from Sable, Rita Chatterton, the tanning salon girl and the Pat Patterson/Mel Phillips scandal... settled, dismissed or simply bullied out of the suit by expensive lawyers... there is enough smoke to show a certain attitude towards this kind of stuff that when it comes to court will make them look bad without any "lawyer" tricks...

If there is even a hint of this being true, then they are best off settling... now... with the 10 year Benoit anniversary coming up right about the time this suit is gonna get heard it's really not in their interest

This would have been a good time before the whole Finlay/Marines cockup which saw him fired cos Miz interrupted the National Anthem on his watch... so it shows the lengths to which WWE would go to protect its relationship with the Military...

From WWE's perspective they could feel "hard done by" that 10 years later it's coming out now... but the reality is they weren't doing stuff right all the time then, even if they got it 100% now, those skeletons are all gonna come out eventually.

 

[stingray11214]

Before you look at the accuser, look at who the ATTORNEY is. Kyros has been warned REPEATEDLY from the Bench to stop his fishing expeditions. That is all this is. If Massaro REALLY had a case, which I sincerely doubt, she would have gotten another lawyer knowing Kyros' history.

 

[Navi]

I'm not about to call her a liar, but as a woman myself sorry I just don't understand not speaking up right away. If I was sexually assaulted by anyone, everyone would know it 5 minutes later. If it happened at work, then my employer be dammed, I would speak up anyway, just as she should have done.

If it did happen to her, then I feel bad for her, but if she's just trying to do this to make a quick buck then I have no sympathy. When someone hurts you, you want them to be punished, and punished right away. Something about this just doesn't fly.

 

[ShinChan]

We can only speculate about if it's true or not.

I'm 51-49 towards it being true. Benefit of doubt goes to Ashley since she's accusing an army soldier. Noone would like to accuse an amry man of all people because if proved wrong, it could backfire with a much greater effect.

So what I hope is that a fair inquiry does take place so as to provide justice.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

There's a fear culture around anything disparaging towards service people... based around the "heroes" mentality... sadly not all soliders/military people ARE heroes... many don't behave that way, never see action in a way that would allow them to become a hero or simply don't deserve the tag... Randy Orton was a Marine, but you'd have a hard time referring to him as a hero with his record and discharge etc...

The danger her is that most people in the western world have accepted the hero tag for all serving personnel... so when they do something that tarnishes that, naturally you have to side with them first or it taints everyone... WWE has had to do that a few times, basically screwing over talent like Finlay because of military concerns/perception of disrespect... I was never able to serve, but I drink in a forces pub and most people I know served... there are scumbags, unlucky people, genuine heroes and ordinary joes... not one of them wants to be "called a hero"... it's almost a false status bestowed by the military/government/media than having merit.

Ashley is up against it immediately in this situation cos most Americans and Brits view all soliders as heroes... when reality is, a rapist/sexual abuser/assaulter is just that... and anything but a hero. Brock Turner was a swimmer and rich, whoever this guy is, Colonel, Private or anything in between... he's got an extra layer of protection... and she has an extra layer to go through to prove her story...