Former WWE star Paul Roma says one of his former partners was propositioned.
On January 25, Janel Grant filed a lawsuit against Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis, and WWE, in which she alleged that McMahon and John Laurinaitis engaged in sexual assault and trafficking of her.
Speaking with NewsNation‘s Ashleigh Banfield, Paul Roma was asked whether the allegations sounded like the Vince McMahon he knew
“Yes. It was pretty regular. You heard about it on a regular basis for the most part,” Paul Roma said. “Then you would 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. You’re talking about an industry where you have young, good-looking, well-built men in the ring, half-naked, three-quarters naked actually, so yeah, it left the door open.
“He had a lot of people around him, Vice Presidents and bookers that were very much into that. They put you in a really bad situation. Especially once you started making some money, you kind of get comfortable with that, and then you find out that 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, so to speak.”
Paul Roma Comments On Claims Of Sexual Favors
Roma was then asked about what happened to these people that made them want to walk away. He stated that they were being asked to do sexual things with other men.
“They were asked to do things, sexual things, with other men that they did not want to do,” Paul Roma said. “My former partner being one of them. I was actually in a cab ride in Washington, and we were coming back, and the gentlemen next to me kept saying, ‘It’s not worth it, it’s not worth the Benjamins.’ I’m like, ‘What are you talking about?’ He said, ‘It’s not worth it.’ I’m like, ‘What are you talking about? What’s not worth it?’
“He said, ‘It’s just not worth it.’ We got back to the hotel. The next day, we were filming for our second TV taping, and he was home. He jumped on a flight and went back home, and never showed up again to wrestle. He had an unfortunate accident, hit his head and passed away while he was asleep.”
Paul Roma Recalls His Former Partner’s Claims
When asked whether the individual told him what was not worth it, Paul Roma noted that the person told him that “they” wanted him to do sexual favors. Roma recalled one of his former partner’s claims as well.
“He didn’t tell me who,” Paul Roma said. “He just told me what. To do what they wanted him to do. Sexual favors. One of my former partners, when I was part of the Young Stallions, he was propositioned, and he said he went to one of the agents and told him what had happened. I said, ‘Why would you do that? You just ratted on both of us.’ So he kind of threw us both under the bus.”
Roma was asked whether the person in the cab told him if he was propositioned by WWE executives, and Roma explained that that had to be the case.
“Well, that’s…let’s look at this way,” Paul Roma said “That’s all it could be. If someone’s gonna give you money, it has to be that. There is nothing else. It’s not gonna be one of the other boys that you’re wrestling with. They’re not gonna offer you money. Even my former partner, same thing. They offered him money, drugs. ‘Just lay on your back, you don’t have to do a thing.’
“He came running right to me when I came into TV. I said, ‘Dude, what are you gonna do?’ He said, ‘Oh, I already spoke to Arnold.’ I said, ‘Why would you do that? You just killed our team. What do you think he’s gonna do? He’s just gonna go to the people that propositioned you. What do you think is gonna happen to them? Nothing.
Paul Roma On Claims Of Incident Worse Than Janel Grant’s Allegations
Additionally, Paul Roma was asked if he could validate the claim that there was an incident even worse than what Janel Grant alleged. He did not get into the specifics, but he stated that he knew of an incident.
“I really shouldn’t right now, but yes, I do know what it is, and it is worse,” Paul Roma said. “Mario and I are really surprised. We spoke about it, and we’re surprised that no one has come forward. But in the flip side, I think that they’re of an age now that they may be married and have kids, and they don’t want to open Pandora’s box.
“I can’t blame them. Would you really want to open this up, this can of worms? No, you wouldn’t want to open it up.”
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