Ring Boys Scandal Lawsuit Against WWE, TKO, Vince McMahon, & Linda McMahon Update – Plaintiffs Asking To Continue Using “John Doe” Pseudonyms & Claims Vince & Linda McMahon Oppose But WWE Takes No Position

As noted before, a lawsuit was filed in October of 2024 against WWE, WWE’s parent company TKO Group, former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, and Linda McMahon on behalf of the survivors of the infamous WWE Ring Boys scandal in 1992. Additional survivors joined as plaintiffs for the lawsuit following the Maryland Supreme Court upholding the Maryland Child Victims Act as being constitutional this past February. More survivors joined as plaintiffs this past April and filed new additional allegations. The lawsuit against WWE and others was allowed to continue this past December for seven of the eight plaintiffs while the other plaintiff’s lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice.

Post Wrestling and Wrestlenomics’ Brandon Thurston reported that the plaintiffs filed a motion last week asking the court to continue using the “John Doe” pseudonyms for the ring boys abuse victims.

In the filing, the plaintiffs alleged that they were sexually abused as minors due to the defendants’ negligence and claimed that the defendants have refused to agree to their continued anonymity.

Thurston reported that the defendants have already been informed of the identities of the former ring boy plaintiffs but their names are currently not known to the public.

In the motion, the plaintiffs asked presiding U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar to keep their names out of public filings and also maintain a protective order limiting how identifying information may be shared during the lawsuit case.

The plaintiffs also claimed that both Vince and Linda McMahon have expressed opposition to the continued anonymity while both WWE and TKO have taken no position on the matter.

“Despite already knowing the identities of the Plaintiffs, none of the Defendants agreed to permit the traumatized men to proceed anonymously.

Defendants Vincent K. McMahon and Linda McMahon now oppose Plaintiffs’ desire to continue proceeding under pseudonyms, necessitating this motion. Defendants World Wrestling Entertainment, LLC (‘WWE’) and TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (‘TKO’) informed Plaintiffs that they take no position at this time.”

Thurston reported that the defendants would have until January 26th to file an opposition or response and the plaintiffs replay would need to be filed within two weeks later. The presiding judge reportedly would then decide the anonymity issue after this process.

In regards to the request to maintain their “John Doe” pseudonyms, the former ring boys attorneys stated:

“There is a significant risk of subjecting Plaintiffs to re-traumatization if they are forced to publicly reveal their identities, making them permanently available on the Internet.

That is especially true in a case like this that has generated significant media coverage, along with discussion amongst the wrestling community. The psychological harm caused by widespread disclosure should weigh strongly in favor of granting Plaintiffs’ motion.”

Thurston reported that in the Answer filings submitted this past Friday, all of the defendants denied liability and wrongdoing in regards to the claims against them.