As WWE continues to thrive in an era of record-setting profitability, the company is under more scrutiny than ever before, with shovels hitting dirt that’s been long-buried. The allegations by Janel Grant this past January have now empowered several former ring boys to come forward with claims of abuse by WWE ring announcer Mel Phillips. When Kevin Nash first joined the company, only one person, Tom Cole, had publically accused Phillips of misconduct, with Cole and WWE eventually coming to terms on a settlement.
On his “Kliq This” podcast, Nash recalled the locker room talk surrounding Phillips when he was there.
“I was there in ’93, and it was referenced that Mel Phillips was a toe-sucker and all this other s*** like that,” Nash began. “But it wasn’t like a widespread, ‘Hey, here’s this dossier. Go over it. This is common knowledge, everybody knows this.'”
Nash didn’t believe that Linda McMahon, who is linked to Phillips in the most recent ring boys lawsuit, should be held responsible for his wrongdoings, while he also expressed skepticism at the lawsuit’s timing.
“When I was there in the ’90s, it was one case. Now it’s several,” he said. “And you’re trying to dump it in Linda’s lap? I didn’t realize it was such a revolving door of ring boys. Wasn’t when I was there.”
The case doesn’t appear to be negatively impacting Linda McMahon’s career as she’s expected to be nominated for Secretary of Education in Donald Trump’s cabinet. It also remains to be seen if the incoming president will influence the federal investigation of her husband, Vince McMahon. Some believe the combination of the Janel Grant case and the ring boy case could result in federal racketeering charges against WWE’s former CEO.
