With the #MeToo Movement bringing to light the behavior of otherwise unknown abusers, it was only a matter of time before the behavior of those in the wrestling industry would be highlighted. Enter #SpeakingOut: a movement paralleled to #MeToo in the wrestling community where multiple industry names were cited for their abusive and sexually inappropriate behavior. One of the people named in this movement was former Lucha Underground competitor Joey Ryan. Joey has been cited by multiple people for sexually inappropriate behavior. In response, Joey has filed multiple lawsuits against those who named him for the sum of $10 million. While the courts have dismissed a handful of these suits, some are still ongoing. One of these ongoing cases is where we meet the subject of this piece.
Pelle Primeau is a professional wrestler who trained at the Ring of Honor Academy under names like CM Punk and Daniel Bryan. He’s been featured in such promotions as Combat Zone Wrestling, Chikara, On Point Wrestling, and of course Ring of Honor. Last year, amid #SpeakingOut, Pelle came out about Joey Ryan actively pursuing his fiancée. Primeau also shared text messages with a friend who recognized Joey from Pelle’s Twitter and talked about Joey acting like “…a f*cking creep” on a date set up through the app Tinder. In reference to the first wave of litigation from Joey, Pelle had the following to say:
When I saw the first lawsuits come up I was shocked – specifically because he had just created a 58 minute video in which he actually details interactions that I feel were…less than appropriate (to say the least, while some of these suits are still ongoing).
Of course then we see that the video was not mentioned in any of the lawsuits, and it led way to make me believe that was intentional.
When the initial wave of lawsuits came, Pelle Primeau had come up with the idea of starting a legal fund for victims facing legal retaliation as well as for those who may need it in the future. He attempted to reach out to people who had “…large public followings…” and voiced their support for #SpeakingOut victims, but alas there was no response. Namely, the first person Pelle reached out to was Ryan Nemeth, brother of WWE Superstar Dolph Ziggler. Pelle reached out and asked Ryan if he had considered starting a legal fund as Ryan was “…very adamant at the time in regards to standing with the accusers” but received no reply. Nemeth would later send out a tweet to gage interest in people “chipping in” for the legal cost of combating Joey’s suits but according to Pelle it would be the last Nemeth mentioned the situation.
https://twitter.com/hotyoungbriley/status/1323366178023043073?s=21
It wasn’t too long from then that Pelle would receive a legal notice of his own lawsuit. Humbly, Pelle described himself as someone who has “…lived on my own for 6 years now…I’m attending college classes in the evenings and working full time – I’m not the type to have a lawyer under retainer.” In Pelle’s case, he had to hire two lawyers as the Pennsylvania native’s case was in the state of California. In recent developments, the case has been successfully dismissed in California transferred to Pennsylvania. In challenging this litigation against him, Pelle had bigger things in mind than just his own situation:
This is way more than little Pelle from mid 2000s ROH. If all of this goes unchallenged, the people that spoke out over the summer, the people that may…have to speak out again in the future, their voices will effectively be chilled.
The women in wrestling, in such a male dominated and bravado-laden industry…need to be able to speak without fear of being stricken down with financial ruin. The men in wrestling that are brave enough to speak up on THEIR experiences with individuals, in a way to support those courageous women, also need to be able to speak without a fear of being chilled and ruined financially.
While Pelle is still fighting his legal battle, there are still ways you can help if you feel inclined to give. He is currently selling t-shirts in collaboration with Ring of Honor’s Rhett Titus (which can be preordered here) with all proceeds going towards paying for his legal battle. If you’re not able to purchase a shirt and still wish to give to this cause, you can donate directly to Pelle’s GoFundMe page. We here at Pro Wrestling Ponderings wish Pelle Primeau nothing but the best of luck in this legal endeavor.