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Who is Ashley Massaro? Sexual Assault Allegations and Her Cause of Death Revealed
All about Ashley Massaro, her sexual assault allegations, cause of death and her legacy in wrestling.
Trigger Warning: The following article contains mentions of mental health issues, addiction, sexual assault, and suicide
Ashley Massaro, the former WWE female superstar, has unexpectedly resurfaced in the news. The reason for her sudden return to the headlines is the ongoing situation involving Vince McMahon, the former chairman of WWE.
A few days ago, Ms. Janel Grant, a former employee of WWE, took legal action by filing a lawsuit against Vince McMahon, WWE, and John Laurinaitis, accusing them of sexual harassment and human trafficking.
Interestingly, Ms. Grant disclosed that she had a romantic relationship with Vince McMahon himself. Shockingly, she claimed that McMahon used to pressure her into sleeping with other WWE employees, and she even mentioned Brock Lesnar specifically. According to her, Lesnar had a unique clause in his contract that involved a "PlayDate" with her.
The lawsuit immediately caught the attention of mainstream media and led to Vince McMahon's resigning from TKO Group, the parent company of WWE and UFC, where he was designated as the interim chairman.
John Laurinaitis' lawyers recently clarified the key accusations regarding Laurinaitis' involvement in concealing evidence of Vince McMahon's wrongdoings.
In defense of John Laurinaitis, his attorney shed light on Ashley Massaro's claims and emphasized that the higher-ups at WWE were aware of the situation, despite the company's previous denial. As a result, Ashley Massaro's name has been making waves on social media again.
Who is Ashley Massaro?
Ashley Marie Massaro, an American professional wrestler, model, and actor, gained fame for her time in WWE from 2005 to 2008. She rose to prominence by winning WWE's original WWE Diva Search 2005 competition.
Following her victory, she secured a WWE contract and made her debut on Monday Night Raw in 2005.
Ashley Massaro's initial major rivalry was with Vince's Devils, teaming up with Trish Stratus. The most memorable moments of her time in WWE were at WrestleMania 23, when she went head-to-head with Melina.
Not only that, Ashley Massaro also graced the pages of renowned magazines like Playboy. However, she bid farewell to WWE in 2008.
Ashley Massaro Allegations
In 2016, Massaro became a part of a class action lawsuit against WWE. Ashley bravely spoke out about the sexual harassment she experienced while working for WWE, specifically during the WWE Kuwait tour in 2006. It was a distressing incident where she was molested by a member of the US Armed Forces.
When she raised this issue with the WWE executives, including John Laurinaitis and Vince McMahon, they advised her to stay quiet and not disclose anything, as it might damage WWE's relationship with the US Armed Forces.
The case got thrown out in 2018. Then, in 2019, after Ashley Massaro's tragic passing, WWE disclosed that they had received a letter from her in 2018. In the letter, she expressed her remorse to WWE for being involved in the lawsuit.
A report states that the Naval Criminal Investigation Service decided to reopen Ashley's case in 2019, which was then closed in 2020. However, they have chosen not to disclose any details regarding the investigation. Interestingly, a few of Ashley Massaro's close friends claim that she confided in them about an alleged incident where Vince McMahon supposedly molested her.
Concussion issues
Typically, most people and even some casual fans of professional wrestling consider it to be a staged and scripted performance. However, being a professional wrestler is actually one of the most challenging occupations out there. Performers often endure serious injuries, and unfortunately, some have even lost their lives in the process.
Wrestlers and combat stars often face the problem of concussions. A concussion is a type of head injury that happens when someone's head receives a strong impact. Ashley Massaro has frequently discussed her own experience with concussions and how WWE failed to follow proper procedures, resulting in long-lasting harm.
Massaro's attorney even disclosed that the wrestler had expressed a desire to donate Ashley's brain to medical professionals for concussion research. Earlier, Ashley discussed the potential long-term dangers linked to concussions or repeated head injuries, admitting that she had never even heard of terms like TBI or CTE before.
She further said, “Aside from my ongoing physical injuries that were sustained in the ring, and my former battle with addiction, to this day I suffer from depression, for which I take medication; migraine headaches; and severe short-term memory loss,”
Ashley revealed, “I attribute these issues to my work-related injuries sustained while working for the WWE, and specifically to the routine repetitive blows to the head, I received in the ring throughout my career which were not properly diagnosed or treated.
Ashley even discussed the effects of concussions in her life, “it has caused me severe and ongoing pain and suffering, emotional distress and financial hardship.”
Ashley Massaro’s Cause of Death
Ashley began her career as a DJ at an FM company, working night shifts starting from May 15, 2019. However, she failed to appear for her job that night. The following morning, paramedics were called to investigate and discovered Ashley unconscious. She was immediately taken to the nearby hospital, but unfortunately, she was declared deceased upon arrival.
Later, USA Today revealed Ashley Massaro was going throw depression and she took her life and the cause of her death was suicide.
Ashley Massaro’s Legacy In Wrestling
Ashley Massaro's career as a professional wrestler kicked off when she participated in the WWE originals Raw Diva Search contest and emerged as the winner, earning herself a contract with WWE Raw.
She quickly found herself embroiled in a significant storyline, teaming up with Trish Stratus to take on Vince's Devils, a villainous women's faction.
She even played a part in the obsession storyline between Trish Stratus and Mickie James. The following year, in 2006, she was drafted to the SmackDown brand, where she had the opportunity to showcase her skills at the prestigious WrestleMania event.
Ashley Massaro's career reached its peak during WrestleMania 23, where she went head-to-head with Melina for the WWE Women's championship. However, in 2008, she made the decision to request her release from the company. The reason she gave was that her daughter was unwell, and she needed to dedicate some time to taking care of her.
Following that, Ashley decided to take a well-deserved hiatus from the world of professional wrestling. However, in 2017, an exciting opportunity came knocking at her door. She was offered the chance to manage Zero1 Professional Wrestling USA alongside the renowned former WWE superstar, Jillian Hall.
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