Former WWE trainer Bill DeMott left the company after numerous allegations of bullying and harassment were brought against him, but he maintains that he did nothing wrong.
The former WCW United States Heavyweight Champion was brought back to WWE as a trainer for the revived Tough Enough series in 2011, replacing Tom Prichard as their head trainer the following summer. He resigned in March of 2015, however, stemming from a series of allegations that included physical assault, bullying, being homophobic and racist, and condoning sexual harassment.
These allegations came from a number of then-WWE trainees and Superstars, including Curt Hawkins, EC3, and Kenny Omega, all of which were denied by DeMott, though he resigned from the company to avoid any further embarrassment to his now-former employer. Former AEW star Ivelisse went as far as to claim that alleging against Bill DeMott was likely the reason for her WWE release.
Additionally, a leaked email from Luchasaurus showed a vast amount of damning allegations against Bill DeMott that he’d sent to Canyon Ceman, WWE’s former Senior Director of Talent Development.
Speaking in a new interview with WrestlingNewsCo, DeMott explained his belief that playing a hard-nosed trainer on Tough Enough gave people the wrong impression of him as they couldn’t distinguish him from his television persona. He revealed advice he’d gotten from legendary manager JJ Dillon years ago:
“I had that bullseye on my back, and I learned that years ago from JJ Dillon in WCW. He said when you’re in a position of having to make decisions and tell other people what to do, they automatically think it’s you’re the one doing it to them, so you’re the head d*ckhead, you know? You’re the person that’s killing their career, the person responsible for them failing. So I’d already learned that in my career.
“So when I came back the last time, when I took over FCW, which turned, into NXT, I already knew it had a shelf life before social media and all these things. But you know the funny thing to me about the allegations was when they came out the first time, there was a full investigation. The company comes out and says, ‘We found none of this to hold any water,’ but social media was so on fire that they didn’t want the heat. They didn’t want the heat, and I don’t blame them.”
Bill DeMott Promised Triple H He Wouldn’t Embarrass Him Or WWE NXT
According to DeMott, the allegations against him took place at a critical time for NXT, when the brand was just beginning to tour outside of the Florida market and gain prominence as WWE’s true third brand. He said that he made a promise to Triple H not to embarrass him or the company, so he opted to resign instead of defending himself further. He continued:
“I’ve been gone now another seven years. Still text messages, ‘Hey coach, I’m doing this’ or ‘Did you see that? Hey, Bill.’ So the ones that get it get it, and the ones that don’t complain and put it on someone else, but in this time of social media and political correctness, all this stuff you have two options.”
DeMott says his option was to leave the company.
Bill DeMott was a 21-year veteran at the time of his retirement in 2011, last wrestling in March 2010 as he lost to Rick Fuller for the Independent Superstars of Professional Wrestling promotion. He’s not wrestled for WWE since November 2004, however, and hasn’t been involved in the wrestling business since the allegations initially arose.
Current AEW star Saraya opened up about working with DeMott in a 2022 interview, saying he wanted to change her persona and told her to “dress like a Diva.”
If you use any quotes from this transcription, please credit WrestlingNewsCo and link back to this article with a h/t to Inside the Ropes.