Longtime wrestler Joey Ryan (Joseph Meehan) has been fired from his job at Disneyland just days after a photo of Ryan working at the theme park went viral.
The Los Angeles Times revealed the news today with a piece titled, “Disneyland employed a pro wrestler accused of sexual harassment”
It was noted that Ryan worked for Disneyland in Anaheim, California, for around three months in a probationary status, until the theme park declined to hire him as a full-time employee, according to Disneyland officials.
“Mr. Meehan is no longer employed by us,” a Disneyland spokesperson said, declining to elaborate on why he was not given a permanent job and if the sexual harassment allegations played a factor in the decision.
Disneyland’s screening process for potential employees includes a criminal background check, but Disneyland officials told The LA Times that the check did not alert them about the harassment accusations against Ryan.
Ryan worked on the Jungle Cruise attraction, which is related to the 2021 movie of the same name and the forthcoming sequel featuring WWE Legend Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
You can see the viral photo of Ryan working at the theme park below, which made the rounds over the weekend.
Ryan, who began wrestling back in 2000, was accused of sexual assault and harassment by multiple women during the “#SpeakingOut” movement in the summer of 2020. This led to Impact Wrestling parting ways with Ryan, and the end of his Bar Wrestling indie promotion. Ryan has made headlines several times since then as he denied, apologized for, and tried to explain the allegations against him, while opening up about addiction, but he is still somewhat blackballed from pro wrestling for the most part, and has not wrestled since that summer. Ryan also filed a $10 million lawsuit against Impact, and $15 million lawsuits against three of his accusers, but all lawsuits have been dropped by Ryan or dismissed. The LA Times noted that Ryan has filed “at least seven libel and slander” lawsuits against the accusers.
The LA Times also reported that a judge threw out one of Ryan’s lawsuits, citing the anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) statute, which can be used to prevent powerful entities from intimidating critics for practicing free speech. Ryan’s attorney, Joe Utzurrum, told The Times that a federal court case filed by Ryan is currently pending, but no other details on that federal case were included. It sounded like the pending federal case may be related to the lawsuit that was dismissed by a judge due to the anti-SLAPP statute, but that was not confirmed.
Ryan wrestled for numerous promotions over the years, including WWE, the NWA, ROH, Wrestling Society X, CZW, House of Hardcore, Lucha Underground, and MLW, among many others. He is also one of the six founders of the PWG promotion.
Ryan had an interesting and lengthy back & worth with fans on Twitter last spring over comments made by AEW President Tony Khan, and the fallout from the “#SpeakingOut” movement. You can click here for that report, along with links to other previous Ryan articles.
Stay tuned to WrestlingHeadlines.com for more on Ryan. Below is the aforementioned photo of Ryan working at Disneyland:
Joey Ryan who in June 2020, was accused by several women of sexual misconduct during the #SpeakingOut movement, causing him to be released from Impact Wrestling is now working as a cast member on the Jungle Cruise ride at @Disneyland.
Have a magical day! pic.twitter.com/vanER5lius
— TheRingsideRoster.com (@RingsideRoster) June 26, 2022
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