WWE And Chris Jericho Defend Bill DeMott Amid More Allegations

WWE and Chris Jericho have defended Bill DeMott's coaching style, following allegations by Judas Devlin of verbal and physical bullying. However, since WWE's response, new allegations have been made against the Developmental trainer. Ryan Collins competed for WWE in the NXT brand. He went under the name Brandon Traven and was released in 2013. A letter he sent to WWE officials has now been leaked on reddit, with new allegations against DeMott's inappropriate behaviour. The key allegations include-

"Coach DeMott gets angry and standoffish at any sign of injury." "As he was leaving the trainers room, Coach DeMott slapped me on top of the head." (After Traven had reported a head injury). "I have also grown very tired of how Coach DeMott has constantly bullied us. Whether by physically hitting us, or by calling us gay. He has on numerous occasions alluded to me being gay. His favourite phrase is "half a sissy" not to mention him calling me and others "fa**ots"" "DeMott has also on several occasions grabbed the bottom rope while we are watching practice and pull it back to hit everyone in the face while they are paying attention to instruction. I personally don't understand his destructive and bullying nature." "I have also witnessed Coach DeMott try to rip a t-shirt off Alexander Rusev, shortly after he had neck surgery. He has on numerous occasions called Oliver Grey (Joel Pettyfer) Pedophile, smacked Enzo Amore (Eric Arndt) in the mouth. He has also told Enzo to kill himself on at least one occasion"

These allegations support the reports yesterday made by former NXT wrestler Judas Devlin. However, WWE responded to those reports and swiftly dismissed them. Their statement said €œWWE took the accusations made two years ago by Austin Matelson very seriously, conducted a full investigation and was unable to validate the claims. Regardless, WWE continues to reinforce policies and procedures to ensure a positive training environment.€ You have to wonder what WWE did as part of their full investigation. On the other hand, you also have to wonder if all of this is a case of bitter former employees having a rant. What is known, is that DeMott has a reputation for being a tough operator. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as gruelling workouts can build mental and physical strength. However, when that tough style crosses the line into homophobic and discriminatory slurs, as well as unwarranted physical assault, that's when DeMott would need to be removed from his role. It isn't enough for a couple of former employees to allege it, there needs to be evidence of DeMott's actions. Only then can WWE truly act. More former wrestlers, in addition to current wrestlers, need to speak out. One wrestler who has had his say is Chris Jericho. The star tweeted "Hey @BillDeMott is a good friend & great trainer. If u can€™t handle it then quit. My training at #HartBrothers camp was 10,000 times worse!" That tweet makes a good point, but also comes across pretty bad. Firstly, the good point is in relation to the Hart Dungeon. Stu Hart would reportedly torture and beat guys up in the camp. This has been romanticised over the years and it built a legend around the physical toughness. If you want to condemn DeMott, you've got to condemn the Hart Dungeon as well. The problem is, that old school style of training isn't appropriate in a corporate company. Anti bullying and politically correct policy is fundamental to the WWE. Or at least they say it is. The bigger problem with Jericho's tweet is that he doesn't deny DeMott physically and mentally abuses students. He basically says the students should man up or quit. That is not a good way of looking at it. It appears that WWE and Bill DeMott have some soul searching to do. The term #FireBillDeMott continues to circulate on Twitter.