If there’s anything that can make me feel like a child again it’s the Royal Rumble. As a match, it is unequalled in its ability to build excitement as you wait for each new entrant.

A Rumble doesn’t even have to be good for me to like it, all I really need are some surprises and big-name entrants.

This year’s Men’s Royal Rumble was particularly exciting. Going into the match, I thought there were at least three possible winners – CM Punk, Roman Reigns, or John Cena.

Notice who I didn’t mention - the man who eventually won – Main Event Jey Uso.

While I wouldn’t have picked Jey as the winner (I’m pretty sure I didn’t talk about him on my Fightful predictions) Jey winning was a pretty cool result.

Jey’s surprise win led to plenty of discourse online. Was he the right winner? Was it a waste of a Rumble win? What does the WrestleMania card look like now?

In retrospect it was a genius move by WWE, giving the fans something to talk about that’s not Janel Grant’s ongoing case against Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis, and WWE.

Less than 24 hours before the Royal Rumble, Ms. Grant’s attorneys filed an amendment to their complaint which included new evidence that McMahon ‘treated Ms. Grant as a commodity to sexually abuse and offer to other men.’

The amended complaint includes:

- the allegation that ‘McMahon instructed Ms. Grant to create customized pornographic content for producer Michael Hayes and his crew.’

- referencing Brock Lesnar by name as the WWE Superstar McMahon tried to arrange for Ms. Grant to have sex with as part of contract negotiations

- an allegation that McMahon ‘recklessly obtained Ms. Grant’s nude photos while being filmed for a documentary and shots of him viewing her nude images aired on Netflix in 2024 for the world to see.’

- and text messages, allegedly from McMahon, that appear to show him trying to coerce Ms Grant into signing an NDA.

For a thorough breakdown of the amended complaint, I would urge you to read Brandon Thurston’s article on Post Wrestling as well as watch the latest edition of Pollock and Thurston.

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It is much easier for some to view the Grant case as about a couple of evil men – Vince McMahon at the helm and John Laurinaitis doing his bidding. But thinking in that way is ignoring the overwhelming evidence that there was, as the complaint puts it, a culture ‘of sexual misconduct at WWE.’

Some may be guilty of turning a blind eye, rather than participating, but that unwillingness to confront abuse only allowed it to fester more.

I started this essay by saying that the Royal Rumble makes me feel like a child again and I love that. I love the excitement, I love having an event that brings me back to the wide-eyed, childhood feeling of ‘wrestling is so great’.

But with this I am acutely aware that I am not a child, I do not lack knowledge in the way I did when I first watched pro wrestling and had never heard the name Rita Chatterton.

I started this essay by sharing some light-hearted Royal Rumble thoughts in the hope of tricking you into reading on because, hey, who doesn’t love a good conversation about WWE booking?

But while we debate and deconstruct WWE's on-screen decisions, we must not ignore the serious allegations regarding what went on in the privacy of company headquarters.

We must not allow Janel Grant’s story to be diminished or ignored just in case it interferes with the safe fantasy world of WWE's product.

Enjoy the Royal Rumble, Raw, SmackDown and everything else but at some point, the ‘WWE Universe’ has to ask the difficult question – how can we be sure this culture of abuse has been eradicated?’

Whose word can we take on this when it's clear some higher-ups chose to live in ignorance rather than confront what was right in front of them?

And how can we balance being consumers of, fans of, or even reporters covering a company that has such a dark shadow hanging over it, one that no lights, pyro, or cheers can simply wash away?

To contact me about anything regarding my work, including opportunities, story ideas, guest spots ect you can email me at stephchasewrestling@gmail.com or use my phone number if you have it.

I am also distinctly aware that women in the business need another woman to talk to, feel free to confidentially reach out to me about anything, a Signal number can be provided if needed.