Former Wrestler Alleges He Was Propositioned By WWE Official, Informed Vince McMahon

The WWE's past culture has found itself under the microscope over the last month, shortly after it emerged that a lawsuit had been filed against Vince McMahon, accusing the former WWE Chairman of sex trafficking and abuse. While plenty of new information has emerged since, older stories are getting a spotlight as well, including past accusations that WWE personnel and higher-ups had sexually harrassed/assaulted talent, and ring boys, during the 1980s.

On Monday, former WWE talent Nick Kiniski became the latest to speak out about the latter. POST Wrestling released excerpts from an upcoming interview with Kiniski had on "Pollock & Thurston," scheduled for release Monday afternoon. In the interview, Kiniski, the son of wrestling legend Gene Kiniski, claimed he was propositioned by then WWE VP of Operations, Terry Garvin, shortly after joining WWE in the mid-80s.

"He would come up to me and hit on me...I won't say what he said, but you'll understand the meaning behind it," Kinski said. "He says 'Hey Nick, let me perform oral sex on you, you can read a Playboy and you'll have it made for life.' And, you know, he is my boss, he controls my boss. This is my livelihood, what I want to do.

"I kind of joked with him, I said 'Hey Terry, you know, I'm not that way. But if I ever change, you'll be the first. I'll let you be the first.' We just kinda laughed it off. But he was always kind of coming up and joking, and one time he came to my hotel room late at night and I told him to leave. Knocked at the door. So, it put me in a very awkward position, you know?"

Kiniski stated Garvin continued his advances and believes his rejection of Garvin led to his career in WWE stalling. He claims that he later spoke with McMahon regarding Garvin's harassment following an event in Portland, Oregon; records show that Kiniski worked a WWE live event in Portland on February 10, 1987.

"I remember where it was, it was in Milwaukie, Oregon, we wrestled in Portland," Kiniski said "I called Vince, and I said 'Hey, Vince, I don't think this is right. Terry's hitting on me. I don't appreciate that and I would like it to stop.' And Vince said 'Oh, ok. I'll deal with it.' And that was it."

According to Kiniski, however, the harassment from Garvin continued, leading Kiniski to believe McMahon never spoke to him. He claims things came to a head during a meeting with McMahon during a weekend loop later in 1987, which came about after Kiniski was given the night off for a Saturday event, which he believed was due to his complaint.

"I talked to Vince, I said 'This isn't right, Vince,'" Kiniski said. "'I complain, and now you guys are punishing me. I'll finish my bookings, but I'm not putting any guys over. Put me in the ring we'll see what happens.' Vince knows I could take care of myself, so he said 'No.' I said, 'I'm done.' I said 'I'll finish my matches.' 'Nope, you're done now. 'Thank you very much.'"

While Kiniski remembers the conversation occurring in California, records show his last matches with WWE took place in Landover, Maryland on May 16 and Nashville, Tennessee on May 20. The former wrestler admitted when asked about the discrepancies that he could have the dates mistaken, though stated he clearly remembered the conversation with McMahon. Records further show that Kiniski was removed from shows on May 17 in Toronto and May 23 in Hartford, Connecticut.

Kiniski moved on from wrestling in 1988, and described himself as lucky in his post-wrestling life, having found success as a fire chief and bar owner. As for why he has decided to speak up now, Kiniski believes the recent stories surrounding McMahon have allowed stories like his to be taken more seriously than they would've before. He also hopes it helps inspire change within the wrestling business.

"I could've talked about it before but I don't think it would have gotten any traction," Kiniski said. "And I just don't want any young people who are in, especially the wrestling business, or any business work where they get a pro-quo, or this happens to them. I think it shouldn't be in the workplace."