AEW and wrestler Jon Moxley have been sued, according to a report by Sports Illustrated.
A production crew member for the promotion has filed a civil lawsuit against AEW and Moxley, alleging negligence by the parties as well as civil assault and battery charges against Moxley.
The lawsuit was filed by Christopher Dispensa, who has worked with AEW since 2019 as a production crew member. He is not a direct employee of AEW, rather working for “Broadcast Service Group” which contracts out a supplies crew to AEW. The lawsuit stems from an incident on the May 10, 2023 episode of Dynamite where Dispensa claims he “suffered severe neck and shoulder injuries” as a result of being shoved to the ground by Moxley during a match with Kenny Omega which was not part of the script. Dispensa claims in the lawsuit that the incident resulted in him requiring cervical fusion surgery, shoulder surgery, and treatment for other unspecified injuries. He has not done any work for AEW since December 5, 2024 and also claims that he was demoted by Broadcast Service Group without explanation.
In the Dynamite incident, Moxley went to grab a screwdriver to use on Omega, and shoved Dispensa to the ground in doing so. The suit alleges Moxley was supposed to only grab the screwdriver, and Dispensa took an unscripted fall as a result of being shoved. His lawyers claim that this is an example of civil assault and battery, feeling that in deviating from the script, Moxley either showed intent to harm Dispensa, or “at a minimum a complete disregard for whether harm was a result.”
The lawsuit also alleges past disciplinary action and prior unpredictability against Moxley but no specific examples were provided and AEW sources who spoke on the matter were not aware of anything like that against Moxley, instead pointing to him as a locker room leader. Dispensa is seeking upwards of $25,000 in compensation for his injuries.
A video of the incident is below, beginning around the 3:50 mark.
