Vince McMahon and WWE have joined Linda McMahon in filing motions to dismiss a lawsuit brought by five former WWF ring boys alleging abuse in the 1980s. The suit was filed in Maryland, but all three parties argue the case should be dismissed due to lack of jurisdiction.
Their filings claim none of the plaintiffs are from Maryland and that WWE, Vince, and Linda McMahon lack significant ties to the state. They assert the plaintiffs are attempting to exploit the new Maryland Child Victims Act of 2023, which allows for revived claims of historic abuse.
Vince McMahon denies any knowledge or involvement in the alleged abuse. WWE and TKO (WWE’s parent company) argue they are being wrongly held accountable for the actions of the now-defunct WWF, with no proper claim of “successor liability” made. They also note that the complaint says the plaintiffs were hired and paid directly by former employee Mel Phillips, not WWE.
A hearing date for the motions has not yet been scheduled.
Ken Anderson, formerly known as Mr. Kennedy, shared in an interview with “Rewind, Recap, Relive” that during his first match with The Undertaker, ‘Taker asked him to perform a piledriver — a move Vince McMahon had banned.
Following the match, Anderson was spoken to by McMahon about using the move, highlighting the tension between wrestler input and company rules.
Anderson said, “My first match experience I had with Taker, I’m just listening to him and he’s down on his knees and he goes, ‘give me a piledriver,’” Anderson recalled (per Fightful). “So I’m thinking like, ‘Oh, he’s going to backdrop me out of it.’ So I pull him in and I’m standing there and I’m waiting for him to like backdrop me and he goes, ‘God damn, give it to me.’ He’s a heavy dude. You know, he’s 270 pounds. So I can pinch his head so tight between my legs and made sure that I held him up as much as I could with my arms.”
He continued, “I gave him the piledriver. I come to the back after the match. Walk through the curtain and Vince goes, ‘Come here’. He goes, ‘I know where that came from. I know Taker told you to do that. He’s trying to get you over. I allow two people to do piledrivers in this company and you’re not one of them.’”
The evolution of Triple H is a fascinating journey through wrestling history. From his early days as ‘Terra Ryzing’ and the snobbish ‘Jean-Paul Levesque,’ to becoming “The Game,” the “Cerebral Assassin,” and the “King of Kings,” Triple H has constantly reinvented himself.
On Tuesday night’s episode of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Triple H appeared as a guest.
Fallon roasted him about his early gimmicks and his long-gone flowing hair, as you can see below:
.@TripleH opens up about his @WWE evolution 💪 #FallonTonight pic.twitter.com/ZnQsygMONk
— The Tonight Show (@FallonTonight) April 9, 2025
Triple H and The Rock share one of WWE’s most iconic rivalries, with their careers closely linked since The Rock’s debut nearly 30 years ago. Despite their early in-ring battles, the two continue to collaborate today.
On The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Triple H reflected on their bond, suggesting that the unique thrill of performing for a live WWE crowd is something even The Rock can’t replicate in Hollywood.
.@TripleH went from a young kid dreaming of becoming a @WWE wrestler to now holding the title as Chief Content Officer at the organization! #FallonTonight #WWE pic.twitter.com/pTfsAanLvf
— The Tonight Show (@FallonTonight) April 9, 2025
