After multiple allegations of sexual assault came out in regards to Joey Ryan, he released a statement addressing the claims on Saturday night. After releasing his statement, numerous other allegations came out against him, and Ryan ended up deactivating his Twitter account on Sunday afternoon. In addition, Bar Wrestling, the wrestling promotion started by Ryan in 2017, has ceased operations.
Here is the complete statement Ryan released on his now-deleted Twitter account:
I have been watching along with all of you as the #speakout movement has spread across the internet. I am also aware that my name has been mentioned as part of this discussion.
I have been contemplating how to respond to everything that has unfolded in the last three days. This is an important topic, and it truly deserves the time it is getting, even if it is uncomfortable.
After speaking with my attorney, I have been advised not to respond to any specific allegations at this time. And the truth of the matter is, I do not want to spend time dissecting which parts of stories are true, which parts are different from what I remember and which things being said are outright false. It is important for me to use this platform to take responsibility and not attempt to minimize the feelings of anyone that was hurt by me in order to save face.
So instead, I would like to take this opportunity to publicly share some parts of my private life with everyone. It is not a part of my life that I am proud of, but taking responsibility is important. Today, I must take responsibility for the way I behaved in the past, and I will do that right now.
As I am sure you are all aware, several years ago, and all in a very short period of time, a lot of things changed in my life. The ‘dick flip’ went viral. I started traveling the world and living a ‘rock ‘n roll lifestyle.’ I came into contact with a lot of people, including women. And, the truth is, I did not always treat people with respect. And I will acknowledge that it was possible that I pursued people that I thought were interested in me and invaded their personal space and made them feel uncomfortable in the process.
Nearly two years ago, my ex-wife and I were separated. The separation impacted me greatly and I began to reflect on the person I had been previous to it, and the person that I wanted to be. During that self-reflection, I was not proud of what I saw. As a result, I entered counseling in October 2018 and still attend every week to this very day. I have been on prescription medication. I have worked every day for nearly two years to be a person that respects not only people’s boundaries, but respects people. If you felt that you were a person that I did not treat with respect, I apologize. Aside from this post, I have been reaching out to some of the people involved and we have had positive interactions and started the healing process.
I have worked hard to make wrestling a safe and welcoming place for everyone. I will make up for my shortcomings of the past by working harder in the future to continue to do that. With all of the different social movements happening right now, we need to take this opportunity to listen and learn and continue to strive every day to do better.
After releasing his statement, at least 15 more people have accused Joey Ryan of sexual misconduct. The accusers include wrestlers, announcers, and fans. Some of the accusers include Vanessa Kraven, Jetta, and Rok-C.
Other wrestlers such as Joey Janela, Tony Deppen, and Ryan Nemeth (who was Joey Ryan’s roommate at one point) have also spoken out against Ryan.
After the flood of allegations, Ryan deactivated his Twitter on Sunday afternoon and has yet to comment further on any of the claims.
Additionally, Bar Wrestling, which was run by Ryan, deactivated their Twitter account on Sunday afternoon. Several people that regularly work for Bar Wrestling have confirmed to SoCalUncensored.com that the promotion is done, but Ryan has not responded to our request for comment as of press time.
Sources have advised us that the Bootleg Theater, the home of Bar Wrestling in Los Angeles, ended their relationship with the promotion on Sunday due to the allegations. The company has made no statement, but Bar Wrestling’s video library is no longer available on the Highspots Network as well.
Bar Wrestling had been on hiatus since March 11, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They had begun contacting people to work on a no-fans online-only event in July, but we were advised on Friday after allegations started surfacing that event wouldn’t be happening.
Bar Wrestling was created in 2017 and quickly became one of the more popular wrestling promotions in Southern California, running twice a month with large standing room only events. The promotion won the 2019 Southern California Promotion of the Year award, making it the second time a promotion other than PWG had won since 2003.
This just fucking sucks. I really hope someone can continue on something in the spirit of Bar Wrestling without the stench and stain of Joey. There’s so many careers that got to take off there, Luchasaurus, Jake Atlas, Jungle Boy, Peter Avalon, not to mention the dozens of other workers that put on spectacular shows in Baldwin Park and LA. All that shouldn’t die because Joey’s a scumbag. The name can die, the promotion can die, but hopefully the trappings sans Joey can continue on.
He got what he fucking deserved. No sympathy for the weak.
So other than flirt with a 17 year old and ask an 18 year old if she wanted to have sex, what exactly did he do that was so bad? Last time I checked, those two examples are not criminal acts.