After a poster for an upcoming charity wrestling show was posted online, several wrestlers declined to participate due to Joey Ryan’s involvement. Titled Wrestling 4 Women’s Charity, the event was scheduled for Saturday, March 20 in Jackson, Tennessee, but has since been canceled.
Ryan, the promoter for Bar Wrestling, which was reportedly sponsoring the event, was accused in June 2020 of sexual misconduct by several women. As a result, he was released from his contract with Impact Wrestling. The 41-year-old wrestler has since denied the accusations against him and has filed lawsuits against some of his accusers and Impact Wrestling.
A number of wrestlers claimed that they did not know that Ryan was involved in the charity event before backing out. AEW CEO Tony Khan, also said on Twitter that the promotion’s talent would not be participate in the show if Ryan was involved. In addition, AEW star Big Swole tweeted that Ryan, who reportedly lives in Los Angeles, had recently attempted to stage several shows in North Carolina.
Ryan, founded Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) with five other wrestlers in 2003. While with the promotion, he held the PWG World and PWG World Tag Team Championships. He later performed on the indie circuit, wrestling for Ring of Honor (ROH), Wrestling Society X, Major League Wrestling and DDT Pro-Wrestling, where he held the Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship 43 times.
In 2012, Ryan signed with Impact Wrestling (then known as TNA), though he was released a year later along with several other TNA talents including Crimson, Madison Rayne and Christian York. On October 21, 2019, he re-signed with the company after appearing in the Bound for Gold gauntlet match at Bound for Glory.
He went on to start stable with Rob Van Dam and Keira Forbes called Cancel Culture. On June 22, 2020, Ryan's contract with Impact was terminated after 15 women accused him of sexual misconduct and assault. Wrestlers Joey Janela, Tony Deppen and Ryan Nemeth have spoken out against Ryan. In October, Ryan sued Impact Wrestling for $10 million for allegedly breaching his contract when they fired him.