Joey Ryan Drops More Lawsuits, Comments On Cancelled Wrestling Event
His lawsuit against IMPACT Wrestling remains open
Mar 9, 2021
In a statement issued to SoCalUncensored.com, Joey Ryan (Joseph Meehan) revealed he has decided to drop several lawsuits against Speaking Out accusers but is undecided on his lawsuit against former Ring Of Honor wrestler Pelle Tsichlis.
Meehan also noted he is keeping his breach-of-contract lawsuit against IMPACT Wrestling open, writing: "For full transparency, I am leaving the IMPACT Wrestling lawsuit open. Breach of contract is an entirely different issue. I know wrestling doesn't have a union or really anybody to look out for us in contract negotiations but they have forced wrestlers to sit at home after disputes and wait out contracts with threats of breach. It would set a bad precedent to not hold them accountable to their side of these same contracts."
Ryan filed several lawsuits in September and October 2020 after he was accused of sexual assault during the Speaking Out movement and was subsequently fired by IMPACT Wrestling. Two of Meehan's lawsuits have already been dismissed by a judge and Ryan voluntarily dismissed a third case against a Speaking Out accuser last week. His lawsuit against Pelle Tschlis was dismissed and transferred to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania US District Court.
Outside of his lawsuits, Ryan popped up in the news recently after he was advertised to appear at a "Wrestling 4 Women's Charity" event on March 20. His promotion Bar Wrestling also helped promote the event and Ryan himself appears to have been involved to an unknown extent in booking wrestlers for the show.
Ryan's involvement in the event was immediately criticised and the show was cancelled a couple of hours later.
Within the statement issued to SoCalUncensored.com, Meehan claimed he wasn't trying to make a comeback and wanted to appear on the show so he "could wrestle a good friend as a way to go out and gain some closure." He also claimed Bar Wrestling's ticketing account was used for the show for "convenience since the account already existed and has preferred status for quicker event approvals."
Ryan noted he received the closure he needed from "the reaction to the announcement."
