Ring Boy Lawsuit To Move Forward With Changes Following Judge Ruling

The lawsuit filed by former ring boys against Linda McMahon, Vince McMahon, WWE, and TKO will proceed to discovery with some amendments to the case following a judge ruling on December 10.

Seven of the eight former ring boy plaintiffs will continue with the lawsuit. Allegations from John Doe 2 and John Doe 6 will proceed with their case against Linda McMahon, the current United States Secretary of Education and former WWE executive. All seven of the remaining plaintiffs will proceed with their allegations against WWE, TKO, and Vince McMahon.

John Doe 7 was dismissed from the lawsuit as the alleged abuse he suffered occurred during the 1970s, before the lawsuit alleges that WWE had any knowledge about alleged sexual misconduct carried out by Mel Phillips. The judge's ruling noted John Doe 7 had not pled with "adequate specificity" that WWE owed him a duty of care to support their negligence claim. The plaintiff is able to refile their claims, however.

The ring boy lawsuit was initially filed in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland in October 2024 and three additional former ring boys joined the lawsuit in April 2025.

It is alleged in the lawsuit that the defendants were aware of the sexual abuse carried out by Mel Phillips but did nothing to prevent or stop it. It is alleged that Phillips groomed, exploited, and sexually abused underage WWE ring boys, while some of the ring boys have also alleged they were sexually abused by Koko B. Ware and Pat Patterson.

WWE ring boys were children who helped set up the ring at WWE events in the 1980s and 1990s. Mel Phillips worked under Terry Garvin as part of the ring boys crew.

WWE, TKO, Vince McMahon, and Linda McMahon filed motions to dismiss the ring boy lawsuit in April 2025, alleging a lack of jurisdiction over them in Maryland and a failure to allege they had a duty of care to the plaintiffs. TKO and WWE also claimed the original lawsuit didn't establish that the current version of the company was liable for what happened in the predecessor company. These arguments were rejected by Judge James K. Bredar in the December 10 ruling.

On the claim about a lack of jurisdiction in Maryland, Bredar ruled that WWE, Vince McMahon, and Linda McMahon purposefully conducted business in Maryland.

The case remaining in Maryland is important due to the Maryland Child Victims Act, which removed the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits involving child sex abuse, including when negligence may have led to abuse.

Bredar also ruled that the former ring boys had plausibly pled that Vince McMahon and Linda McMahon "had relevant knowledge at relevant times, and that they could and should have taken action to prevent the abuse and the harm that ensued. The next question is whether there is evidence to sustain the various allegations and accusations. That, of course, remains to be seen."

The judge also ruled that the plaintiffs had plausibly alleged that WWE "ratified" the conduct of Phillips.

TKO's argument that they should be dropped from the case was rejected as the former ring boys had plausibly alleged that TKO took on WWE's legal responsibilities following the completion of the WWE-UFC merger under TKO in September 2023. The judge noted that Linda McMahon, in a sworn declaration in the case, even referred to TKO as "WWE's successor company."

The plaintiffs are represented by the law firms DiCello Levitt and Murphy, Falcon & Murphy.

Greg Gutzler, a partner at DiCello Levitt, issued the following statement about the case moving to discovery: "This ruling affirms that our clients' allegations deserve to be heard in court and marks a significant step forward for these survivors. Through discovery, we will obtain documents and testimony that shed further light on who knew about this terrible abuse and how it was allowed to persist. We look forward to uncovering the truth and pursuing accountability for survivors who have waited decades to tell their stories."

Another DiCello Levitt partner in Adam Prom added: "For too long, these survivors carried this burden alone. We will fight vigorously to secure the justice they were denied for decades and pursue redress from those who failed to protect them."

H/T Brandon Thurston of POST Wrestling