Both AEW and Jon Moxley have been named in a civil lawsuit containing serious allegations.
News of the civil lawsuit against the company and its World Champion surfaced today. As reported first by The Takedown on SI, the lawsuit was filed by a production crew member named Christopher Dispensa.
Dispensa works for Broadcast Service Group, a company that supplies a production crew for AEW. He started contracting with the company in 2019, and as per his legal team, he has not worked for the organization since December 5th, 2024.
The lawsuit alleges negligence by both the company and Jon Moxley and civil assault and battery against the wrestler with regards to an incident which occurred on the May 10th, 2023, episode of Dynamite.
The episode featured a cage match between Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley. During a segment where the match spilled to the outside, Mox grabbed a screwdriver from a crew member (Dispensa) and shoved him.
You can watch the incident happen in the video below at the 3:55 mark
Dispensa claims this act by Moxley caused him to suffer severe neck and shoulder injuries, which required him to undergo cervical fusion and shoulder surgery and treatment for other unspecified injuries.
In his lawsuit, the complainant has claimed that the AEW World Champion was supposed to only grab the screwdriver and not shove him.
His legal team states that this constitutes civil assault and battery. His team alleges that by going off script, Moxley displayed intent to harm Chris Dispensa, or as said in the filing, “at a minimum, a complete disregard for whether harm was a result.” The lawsuit also claims that Moxley had alleged prior disciplinary issues with other people before this incident.
Dispensa’s Claims Against AEW
His lawsuit accuses gross negligence against both parties, claiming Moxley’s lack of concern while going off script and that by having no precautions or preventions to protect the crew, AEW also showed disregard for the crew’s safety.
The lawsuit claims negligence on the part of AEW for hiring and not training Jon Moxley. One of the portions of the lawsuit claims AEW has the duty to have control over its agents, talent, employees, and/or contracted individuals to ensure the safety of the performers. crew and audience.
Dispensa claims that the company’s upper management was aware of this incident but never had a conversation about it with him.
His attorney also noted that Dispensa did not report the injury, as he had another job he had to get back to. Dispensa even spoke about it with Dr. Michael Sampson, Chris Manzione, and members of the training staff.
He also claims that Dr. Sampson was upset about the incident, as all interactions outside the ring were to be approved by him first.
Dispensa claims that he was asked by Dr. Sampson to get checked by the athletic training staff, who eventually told him they could no longer treat him, and the incident was never addressed. It also adds that he and Moxley never discussed this beyond a brief encounter after the segment.
Dispensa’s lawsuit is seeking to obtain compensation exceeding $25,000 for the alleged injuries suffered due to the incident. The damages listed in the suit include, but are not limited to, medical expenses, disability, permanent and serious disfigurement, wage loss and lost earnings capacity, pain and suffering, exemplary damages for mental and emotional anxiety, humiliation and/or indignity, diminution to business reputation and opportunities, other economic and noneconomic damages not yet known, and all other damages available under Michigan Law.
Currently, there has been no official comment from AEW.
Stay tuned to ITR wrestling for more updates from this developing story.