Former WWE star Paul Roma said Monday he knew of wrestlers in the company who were allegedly propositioned for sexual favors during his time in the pro wrestling company.
Roma was in WWE – then known as the World Wrestling Federation – from 1984 to 1991 before he moved on to World Championship Wrestling. He was a part of The Young Stallions and Power and Glory tag teams and had a short run as a single competitor.
Amid the explosive lawsuit from Janel Grant against former WWE chairman Vince McMahon, Roma appeared on NewsNation and made further allegations of sexual misconduct from company executives against wrestlers. He told Ashleigh Banfield that the most recent claims sounded like the McMahon he knew and would hear rumors like that regularly.
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"You heard it on a regular basis for the most part," Roma said. "Then you wouldn’t hear it for a while; then it would come full circle. But it wasn’t so much Vince as it was the people that he had surrounding him.
"We’re talking about an industry where young, good looking, well-built men in the ring, half-naked, three-quarters naked actually … so yeah, it left a door open. He had a lot of people around him. Vice presidents and bookers that were very much into that. And they’d put you in really bad situations especially once you started making some money you kinda get comfortable with that; then you find out your job’s on the line – either do it or get fired. I witnessed quite a few that walked away. Money wasn’t worth it for them to go that route."
Roma said there were situations that made wrestlers walk away or want to walk away from the industry altogether. When asked about what made them want to walk away, he said they were asked to do "sexual things" with other men.
Roma said some of his tag team partners were the ones allegedly propositioned. He said one of his former partners kept saying in one instance, "it’s not worth the Benjamins." He said the next day, the wrestler jumped on a flight and was gone. That person later died.
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Roma said his partner never told him who propositioned him but told him what was asked, but did not go into detail aside from "sexual favors." When asked whether his partner said whether it was executives in the WWE who propositioned him, Roma said "that’s all it could be."
"If someone’s gonna give you money, and it has to be that, there is nothing else. It’s not gonna be one of the other boys that you’re wrestling with," Roma said. "They’re not gonna offer you money."
He added that his other former partner on The Young Stallions tag team went to an agent after he was propositioned, but Roma said he knew the complaint would kill their career in the company. He said executives offered him "money" and "drugs."
WWE reps, TKO Group Holdings and a McMahon spokesperson did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Additionally, Roma said he knew of another incident worse than what was detailed in the Grant lawsuit.
Grant’s sexual abuse and sex trafficking lawsuit was filed in January. Amid the allegations, McMahon stepped down as chairman of TKO Group Holdings – the parent company of WWE. He denied the allegations in the lawsuit.
"I stand by my prior statement that Ms. Grant's lawsuit is replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred and is a vindictive distortion of the truth," McMahon said in a statement last month. "I intend to vigorously defend myself against these baseless accusations and look forward to clearing my name.
"However, out of respect for the WWE Universe, the extraordinary TKO business and its board members and shareholders, partners and constituents and all of the employees and superstars who helped make WWE into the global leader it is today, I have decided to resign from my executive chairmanship and the TKO board of directors, effective immediately."
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