Michael Elgin Responds To Reports Of His Arrest

Prior reports claimed the former ROH Champion was facing five years in prison.

by Andrew Pollard
Michael Elgin IMPACT
Impact

Following on from reports earlier today that he was currently in jail in Japan, Michael Elgin has taken to Twitter to address this situation.

For those who missed it, BodySlam.net reported that Elgin was arrested in Japan last weekend for stealing protein powder, was still being held in jail, and faced the possibility of a five-year spell behind bars.

The one-time Ring of Honor World Champion has hit back on social media, stating he was not charged for stealing protein and that he is also not facing any jail time. Elgin then added how he had not been deported from Japan, and that he was on a plane out of the country in order to return to Canada following the passing of a close family member.

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Interestingly, Elgin doesn't deny that an arrest took place, and such an act happening would certainly explain why he was pulled from last weekend's Pro Wrestling NOAH show and why he and Masa Kitamiya vacated the GHC Tag Team Championships.

This isn't the first controversy the 35-year-old has been involved in. Back in June 2020, Elgin was fired by IMPACT Wrestling after sexual assault accusations were made against him as part of the #SpeakingOut movement. July 2021 then saw the wrestler arrested after violating a protection order filed by his ex-fiancé.

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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.