Velveteen Dream Addresses WWE's Internal Investigation Into His Allegations
Patrick Clark (fka WWE NXT's The Velveteen Dream) spoke to Dishing Drama with Dana Wilkey recently where he reflected on the accusations that led to his WWE release. In 2020, the former NXT star was accused of inappropriate contact with a minor. Following that, he was also accused of inappropriate contact and grooming by Joshua Fuller, an upcoming pro wrestler, but the Dream revealed WWE's investigation found nothing.
"I'd like to throw this in there as well, since you were talking about Josh Fuller and his convenient social media turnaround," Clark said. "Josh Fuller was the one that when he decided to show up on social media with his bullshit allegation. He started the hashtag Fire Velveteen Dream. That's what it cost me.
"An investigation was done by WWE, our COO Paul Levesque, better known as Triple H, went on record and said there was nothing that WWE found that would incriminate me or cause any concern for the company, again a company who sells to children, and I'm being accused of soliciting sex for minors. I mean, come on. WWE found nothing.
"They even tried to put me back in a program with one of their top stars and then after the Fire Velveteen Dream hashtag blew up, during one of their PPVs, they were doing the digital audience and someone showed up, in their place instead of a person it's hashtag Fire Velveteen Dream."
The Velveteen Dream then went on to discuss how WWE attempted to bring him back at the time. However, despite several efforts, he admitted that he was affecting the bottom line within that moment.
"WWE gave me time, trying to distance me from the travesty of it all, and then they brought me back on a smaller scale to work with one of their mid-card guys. I got a couple of months out of that, but #FireVelveteenDream was still trending," he admitted. "Every time I went on TV, #FireVelveteenDream, it would begin to trend. WWE, in the middle of cancel culture, found itself at a loss.
"Money talks and they have shareholders. Even if they found me to be innocent, now, I'm affecting the bottom line, at least the bottom line they have with me. The money they can make with me, the way they can utilize me on TV. That's what it cost me. It cost me my career, it cost me a chance to not only continue a dream. But almost have guaranteed support for my family, for the ones that I love.
"It was horrible. As soon as I got fired, the air cleared. Everyone deleted their messages, everyone deleted their vlogs. No one had any nasty, rude hateful messages to send. All that stuff just stopped. It was as if the job got done and now we can all live our lives, except for the guy playing Velveteen Dream, me. That's what it cost me."
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Dishing Drama with Dana Wilkey, with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.