Jon Moxley is the current AEW World Champion and now a lawsuit has been filed against Moxley and AEW. Sports Illustrated is reporting that a production crew member who has worked with AEW since 2019 has filed a civil lawsuit against Jon Moxley and All Elite Wrestling. According to the report the suit alleges negligence by AEW and Jon Moxley, as well as civil assault and battery against Moxley.
The lawsuit stems from an incident that took place during an episode of AEW Dynamite in 2023 during a Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega match. It was filed on May 30 in the Wayne County Circuit Court by Christopher Dispensa who started doing contract work for All Elite Wrestling in 2019. Dispensa is not a direct employee of AEW as he provides services to Broadcast Service Group, which is a company that supplies crew for AEW. He has not worked for AEW since Dec. 5, 2024.
Christopher Dispensa is claiming that he suffered severe neck and shoulder injuries after Jon Moxley shoved him to the ground during a steel cage match on the May 10, 2023 episode of Dynamite. In the lawsuit Dispensa alleges that he required cervical fusion surgery, shoulder surgery, and treatment for other unspecified injuries due to the incident with Moxley.
During the match when the action spilled outside of the cage Moxley shoved Dispensa to the ground when he went to grab a screwdriver. According to the lawsuit Moxley was only supposed to grab the screwdriver and he was not originally planned to shove Dispensa during the match. Dispensa’s legal team is alleging that Moxley going off script showed intent to harm Dispensa, or “at a minimum a complete disregard for whether harm was a result.”
The lawsuit also alleges that Jon Moxley, “had a history of disciplinary issues before this incident involving other people while under [AEW’s] employ, agency and/or contractual relationship” and that, “past disciplinary offenses by [Moxley] include a documented history of unpredictability as well as a lack of control by Defendant AEW, all of which were known or should have been known to Defendant AEW at the time of this assault.”
Multiple high level sources in All Elite Wrestling told Sports Illustrated that they were not aware of any history of disciplinary issues involving Jon Moxley. It was noted that Moxley is respected within AEW and the locker room.
The lawsuit claims that AEW and Moxley are responsible for exhibiting gross negligence due to Moxley, “going off-script and violently shoving Plaintiff, who was only a crew member, to the ground, [Moxley] demonstrated a substantial lack of concern for whether a severe injury would result to a production crew member at the event.”
Dispensa alleges that he met with Tony Khan and AEW General Counsel Chris Peck to discuss potential full-time employment, but acknowledged that there was no prior conversation regarding the injuries he sustained. An attorney also confirmed that Dispensa never filed an incident report because he had another job on tour he had to get to. However, Dispensa did claim he spoke with Dr. Michael Sampson, director of performance psychology Chris Manzione, and a member of AEW’s athletic training staff.
Dr. Sampson was allegedly upset over the situation and noted that all stunts or interactions outside the ring are supposed to be approved by him beforehand. Sampson told Dispensa to go see the athletic training staff. Eventually he was told he would not be treated by the athletic training staff and the incident was never discussed again. It’s also being said that Dispensa and Jon Moxley never discussed the incident beyond briefly after the segment.
A spokesperson for AEW issued a statement when asked about the lawsuit which simply said, “AEW does not comment on pending litigation.”