WWE star Matt Riddle has been accused of sexually assaulting fellow pro wrestler and ex-girlfriend Candy Cartwright after she claimed he forced her to give him oral sex on a bus.
Cartwright, real name Samantha Tavel, filed a $10million lawsuit in Cook County, Illinois on Thursday, claiming Riddle choked and assaulted her after she refused to perform the sex act on him in May 2018.
The alleged incident occurred while the pair was traveling on a bus after the EVOLVE 104 wrestling event in Summit, Illinois, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
The 28-year-old, who was dating Riddle at the time, claimed he asked her for oral sex during the ride, but she refused because she felt uncomfortable doing so in front of other wrestlers.
Riddle then allegedly grabbed her neck and told her: 'What if I just made you?', she claimed.
In a news conference announcing the lawsuit on Thursday, Cartwright recalled feeling 'terrified' and said: 'I never thought he would do anything to hurt me.'
The lawsuit further alleges the incident was just one of a 'multitude of sexual assaults' she suffered from Riddle between 2017 until January 2020.
Cartwright is also suing the WWE and her former employer, Evolve Wrestling - which she claims fired her in January after she spoke out about the alleged assault.
Evolve, a pro wrestling promotion, was purchased by WWE in July 2020.
Riddle, a former MMA fighter, was signed to WWE in 2018 before moving over to its SmackDown brand in May this year.
'However, if served, we will vigorously defend ourselves and contest it,' the WWE said.
Cartwright's attorney John Chwarzynsk said he plans to submit a copy of the sexual assault lawsuit to the state attorney's office as well as Summit Police.
'The WWE has painted a picture over the course of the years that female performers are to comply with certain rules,' he said.
'The WWE, since its inception, has hyper-sexualized female performers and they've profited from male aggression against these female performers.'
Riddle first responded to the allegations in July after Cartwright went public with her claims.
The pro-wrestler denied the claims saying he has 'never sexually assaulted a man, woman or anybody, and that includes Samantha Tavel, Candy Cartwright.'
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