Candy Cartwright, the woman who has accused Matt Riddle of sexual assault, is now suing Riddle, WWE, Gabe Sapolsky, and EVOLVE. According to Fightful, Cartwright, whose real name is Samantha Tavel, is seeking $10 million each for actual damages, damages from emotional distress, punitive damages, attorney’s fees and costs.
The lawsuit was filed in Cook County Illinois Circuit Court on Thursday. In it, Cartwright claims that Riddle began sexually assaulting her in April of 2017 in a parking lot after an EVOLVE live event. She claims Riddle bragged about it to Gabe Sapolsky, and that Sapolsky, EVOLVE, and WWE “approved” of Riddle’s alleged actions.
Cartwright claims that on or around May 19, 2018, Riddle forced her to perform oral sex on him in a parking lot. She says she declined and Riddle responded by grabbing her by the throat and saying, “What if I made you?”. She alleges that it was done in front of other members of the EVOLVE roster who were on a bus leaving the site of EVOLVE 104. Cartwright’s suit alleges that the misogynistic culture created by the defendants encouraged Riddle’s behavior and accused WWE of condoning sexual assault in the workplace for over 30 years.
Cartwright also claims that she had bookings with both WWE and EVOLVE on or around January 31st of this year. She says Riddle had previously forced her to perform sexual acts on him and told her that she would lose bookings if she didn’t do so. She also claims that when she refused, Riddle told WWE and EVOLVE officials that he didn’t want her working with them. She says she was then told that “issues with talent” led to her bookings being canceled.
Cartwright’s lawyer said the following, “The lawsuit was filed against each defendant seeking $10 million each. There’s an issue with each defendant and it needs to be addressed within professional wrestling. WWE has profited from toxic misogyny since its inception. We can only hope the state’s attorney’s office will do the right thing and open an investigation into this matter and press charges against Matt Riddle.”
WWE also issued a brief statement, saying,
“WWE has not been served with a lawsuit by Ms. Tavel. However, if served, we will vigorously defend ourselves and contest it.”
