Former Ring Boys File Opposition To WWE & McMahons' Motions To Dismiss Lawsuit

The plaintiffs in the ring boy lawsuit filed against WWE, TKO, Vince McMahon, and Linda McMahon have officially opposed the defendants' motions to dismiss the lawsuit.

Brandon Thurston of POST Wrestling has reported that the motion submitted on Monday, July 28 urged a judge in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland to reject the motion from WWE, TKO, and the McMahons. The former ring boys have argued the alleged sexual abuse they suffered has direct connections to Maryland and that WWE and the company's then-leadership either enabled or failed to prevent the abuse.

It was also requested by the former ring boys that they be allowed to amend their lawsuit or pursue limited discovery on jurisdictional issues if the judge dismisses the lawsuit.

No decision from Judge James K. Bredar is expected to be made in the near future. The defendants have until August 27 to reply to the latest filing. Should the dismissal motion be denied, the case may proceed to discovery.

Former WWE ring boys filed a lawsuit in October 2024 alleging that WWE, TKO, Vince McMahon, and Linda McMahon were aware of sexual abuse carried out by Mel Phillips but did nothing to prevent or stop it. Phillips has been accused of grooming, exploiting, and sexually abusing underage WWE ring boys who helped set up the ring in the 1980s and 1990s.

The lawsuit was amended on April 28, 2025, with more former ring boys joining the case to increase the number of plaintiffs to eight. The amended lawsuit included new allegations of sexual abuse against children by Mel Phillips, Pat Patterson, and Koko B. Ware.

In their motions to dismiss the case, WWE, TKO Group Holdings, Vince McMahon, and Linda McMahon claimed a lack of jurisdiction over them in Baltimore, Maryland, as well as a failure to allege they had a duty of care to the plaintiffs. WWE also claimed the original lawsuit didn't establish that the current version of the company was liable for what allegedly happened under the predecessor company.

The lawsuit was filed under the Maryland Child Victims Act of 2023, which removed the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits involving child sex abuse, including when negligence may have led to abuse.