Maryland Attorney General To Intervene In Ring Boy Lawsuit Against WWE And McMahons

Maryland's Attorney General will intervene in the ongoing "Ring Boys" lawsuit filed against WWE, Vince, and Linda McMahon after they once again argued the constitutionality of the Child Victims Act. 

The suit was filed in 2024 by numerous plaintiffs alleging that during their time working for WWE as Ring Boys, the McMahons, as leaders of WWE, allowed them to be subject to child sexual abuse at the hands of senior employees including late referee Mel Phillips. Furthermore, they contest the McMahons played an active role in obscuring the alleged abuse from any scrutiny at the time. 

The plaintiffs have remained anonymous to this point, though that is another aspect of the case to have been disputed by the defendants as a breach of their rights. 

The Attorney General of Maryland, Anthony G. Brown, filed a request on March 31 to intervene for the "limited purpose of defending the constitutionality of the Maryland Child Victims Act of 2023, which had once again been questioned as unconstitutional by the defendants on January 16. 

"WWE and TKO requested that this court stay the proceedings on the basis that the claims against them would be time-barred if the CVA, which retroactively eliminated the statute of limitations to bring civil claims arising out of sexual abuse of a minor, was found to be unconstitutional," the filing reads. 

"This Court granted the stay on December 4, 2024... As the parties are aware, the Supreme Court of Maryland examined whether the CVA 'constituted an impermissible abrogation of a vested right... And on February 3, 2025, the Supreme Court determined that it did not."

The filing continues to note that the stay was lifted as a result of the decision on February 10, 2025, after which plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on April 28, and defendants filed to dismiss the claims against them on June 11 – while never questioning the constitutionality of the CVA.

The Attorney General states that his interest in this case is defending the constitutionality of the CVA, rather than advocating for any specific party in the merits of their case.

"While the defendants in this case have alluded to constitutional challenges in their respective answers, including raising constitutional questions apparently already answered by the Supreme Court... They have not yet articulated what those challenges are," the filing continues. "The Attorney General therefore cannot yet determine the basis for defendants' assertions."

The Attorney General continues to say that intervention would prevent the court from having to consider "unnecessary constitutional questions that defendants may not have ultimately raised."

Judge James K. Bredar approved the Attorney General's intervention for those purposes on April 2. As a result, counsel representing the Attorney General will attend the conference call on April 8 regarding scheduling going forward. 

The McMahons have never argued whether the alleged abuse occurred, but rather that they had no actionable knowledge nor a valid duty of care that should make them defendants in this case. No official decision has been made on the merits of the allegations or claim.