Candy Cartwright Sues Matt Riddle, WWE & Evolve
Earlier this year, WWE star Matt Riddle, 34, was accused of sexual assault by fellow wrestler Candy Cartwright. The King of Bros, who has since moved to SmackDown on FOX, denied the allegations and received the support of WWE.
Now, Cartwright, aka Samantha Tavel, is suing WWE, Matt Riddle, Evolve Wrestling, and former Evolve owner Gabe Sapolsky for $10 million each. The wrestler claims that Riddle sexually assaulted her in a parking lot after an Evolve event in April 2017. She also alleges that Riddle bragged about the assault to Sapolsky, and believes WWE was complicit since no action was taken against Riddle.
The lawsuit also states that in May 2018, Riddle forced her to perform oral sex by choking her. She claims that she initially refused but the wrestler grabbed her by the throat and threatened, "what if I made you?" She alleges this assault took place on a bus in front of other Evolve employees as they were leaving Summit, Illinois, where EVOLVE 104 had been held.
The lawsuit additionally claims that Cartwright had bookings with WWE and Evolve before January 31, 2020, which were canceled after she refused to engage in sexual acts with Riddle, who told WWE and Evolve that he didn't want to work with her due to "talent issues."
Although Riddle denied the allegations repeatedly over the summer, Cartwright reaffirmed her accusations in a news conference on Friday. WWE has responded saying they had not been served with a lawsuit yet will contest it.
Cartwright has produced an email from the NXT Extras e-mail address on the WWECorp.com server from January 31 that reads, "Samantha I regret to inform you that we will have to cancel your booking for this Wednesday, February 5th as well as March 4th. Apparently, there were some past issues I wasn't aware of with you and one of our talent that would not make for an ideal work environment. Good luck to you in your career. Drake Wuertz. NXT Senior Official/Extra Talent Liaison"
Source: Sportskeeda
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErKeoqqSowaa%2BjZympmeemsS0e8KapZ2xXZius8DWq6CgoKRiwLax0makmqykYr%2BqsMOlnGavp5p6psLOpa2eZw%3D%3D