The following article is connected to allegations of sexual assault made by Ashley Massaro. It covers subject matter that may not be appropriate for all audiences.
Last week, the lawyer representing former WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis claimed that “most upper-level management” within WWE, including Laurinaitis himself, were aware of allegations of rape regarding a 2006 WWE visit to a military base in Kuwait made by former star Ashley Massaro. The new claim directly conflicts with WWE’s statement on the matter after Massaro took her own life in 2019 in which the company claimed Massaro never informed management about the alleged incident nor was there a meeting in which she was told to keep quiet.
Now, more details have come to light on Massaro’s allegations in an interview on NewsNation’s Banfield with Cara Pipia, a close friend of Massaro. At one point during the interview, Pipia stated Massaro spoke to former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon “many times” about the incident and went on to allege that Stephanie McMahon was also involved and had knowledge of the situation.
“She spoke with Vince McMahon many times,” Pipia alleged. “Vince had his daughter [Banfield asks if she means Stephanie McMahon, Pipia nods in response] take his place because she was a female, a woman, to make Ashley comfortable. They just played with her. They played with her because everything that Stephanie had made her feel comfortable and safe about, as soon as they walked into this boardroom meeting Ashley was on her own completely. She was threatened. There was no compassion, there was no sympathy, there was nothing.”
Earlier in the same interview, Pipia also claimed that Massaro was wrapped up in a blanket and taken back to her hotel room by an unnamed WWE executive. This differs from Massaro’s affidavit in which she claimed Gary Hart, who was in attendance on the tour in a “supervisory role”, was the one who found her and took her back to her hotel.
If you use any quotes from this article, please give a h/t to Haus of Wrestling and credit Banfield.