Former ROH World Champion Arrested

This one-time ROH headliner is currently in jail in Japan.

by Andrew Pollard
Michael Elgin
ROH

Michael Elgin is currently in jail in Japan after being arrested last weekend for theft.

As per Bodyslam.net, the former ROH World Champion was arrested for stealing protein powder. He was previously set to compete for Pro Wrestling NOAH on 10 July, but said arrest obviously led to Elgin being pulled from that show.

The belief is that the Canadian could face up to five years in jail, although there is speculation that Elgin could strike a similar deal to Matt Sydal back in 2016. There, Sydal was arrested for possession of liquid cannabis, and his guilty plea led to a three-year probation sentence which effectively means he's no longer likely to work in Japan again.

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For Michael Elgin, this isn't his first trouble with the law, for he was arrested in July 2021 afterr violating a protection order filed by his ex-fiancé. Prior to that, Elgin was fired by IMPACT Wrestling in June 2020 after sexual assault allegations were made against him as part of the #SpeakingOut movement. The wrestler subsequently filed a lawsuit against IMPACT this past February.

Expect more on this story as it continues to develop.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.