Shawn Michaels Refutes Sexual Assault Allegations

Shawn Michaels has refuted and denied historic sexual assault allegations as the topic continues to permeate discussions following the sex trafficking lawsuit filed against WWE, Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis.

The current Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative addressed the situation during an NXT Vengeance Day media call, following a question from Haus Of Wrestling's Nick Hausman regarding allegations made by Ed "Brutus Beefcake" Leslie that Michaels and Rockers partner Marty Jannetty used halcion to take advantage of women during their shared time working with the market leader.

Michaels said that (h/t Haus Of Wrestling)

“Look, I will say this as I’ve never, you know, shied away from the stupid stuff I did in the past...If you go back and ask Brutus Beefcake he’ll tell you, one, never seen any of that actually happen...He’s also retracted it after saying it. I can say this. I’ve had a lot of struggles in my life. And I don’t know how to say this without sounding, I don’t know, shameful, but being with a lady was not something Shawn Michaels had a difficult time doing...I’ve never been in a situation where that was not consensual or in any way, shape or form. I’ve never taken advantage of someone in that respect. Those things are done for two reasons, and I’ve had a lot of counselling in my lifetime, and the reason you do that stuff is because you dislike women or you have power issues. Shawn Michaels did not have those. He had insecurity issues, and he had problems feeling like he wasn’t enough. That’s why you go to drugs and downers. The other stuff is built on power and disrespect for women, which is something I’ve never had. So, any accusations against me as far as nonconsensual time with a woman simply are not true.”

When asked about broader safety of talent within the Performance Center and the company in light of the details of the lawsuit, he said (h/t Cagesideseats);

"Obviously, everyone is aware of the situation and understands it. Like I said, it’s an incredibly sad situation...I take all of the youth that come through here incredibly serious because it’s is a tough line of work regardless of what’s going on. Leaving home and coming here and pursuing your dreams is a big thing that we take incredibly serious here. We understand young men and women that come through our doors are impressionable. So we absolutely, certainly encourage the openness, and again, telling everybody to please tell us the truth and let us know how we can help. That’s something that, again, has been here for a long time and we continue to do our best to improve on that, ‘cause it is, it’s one of the most important things to me, is to be able to ask those questions you’re afraid to ask. And so, we certainly empower them to do that, and give them the opportunity to do that. Right now...I think the talent in the WWE and in NXT as a whole are extremely excited about the future. And look, I know we are as well."

McMahon and Laurinaitis have both denied the allegations in the suit.