The WWE’s claim that its former superstar Ashley Massaro had “apologized” for joining a lawsuit against the organization was news to her lawyer, he told The Post on Saturday. Massaro, 39, died Thursday in an apparent suicide in her Smithtown, Long Island, home. A wrestler with WWE from 2005-2008, she was the first winner of the WWE Diva Search and competed at two WrestleManias — once for the women’s championship. She announced in March that she planned a return to the ring. In 2016, she was one of 60 former wrestlers to sue WWE, claiming that the company neglected its athletes and was responsible for neurological injuries suffered in the ring. The suit was dismissed by a federal judge in Connecticut in September, and is pending appeal, with a court date set for July 8, said her lawyer, Konstantine Kyros. A spokesperson for the WWE said Massaro contacted it last October to apologize for taking part in the lawsuit. In an email provided to The Post, she claimed the lawyer representing the plaintiffs “poached” her and the legal battle “got out of control fast.” “I accept my part of the responsibility and just want to formally apologize and express my regret,” the email said. “You all changed my life and I couldn’t be more grateful.” Kyros said he was unaware of any such email, and that even if she sent it, it’s a “legal nullity.” “She was being represented by me,” he said. “She never withdrew from the case, she never stopped being my client, and her case is currently pending. It’s not a credible statement that she sent an email refuting the case.” Kyros provided The Post with a copy of a 15-page affidavit Massaro submitted in November 2017 as part of the case. In it, she described in detail a sexual assault that took place on tour with WWE and a long series of injuries she suffered in the ring. She claimed that WWE did not provide proper treatment for those injuries and said she suffered long term effects from the damage. “To this day, I suffer from depression, for which I take medication; migraine headaches; and severe short-term memory loss,” Massaro said in the affidavit. “I attribute these issues to my work-related injuries sustained while working for the WWE, and specifically to the routine repetitive blows to the head I received in the ring over the course of my care which were not properly diagnosed or treated.”
The WWE’s claim that its former superstar Ashley Massaro had “apologized” for joining a lawsuit against the organization was news to her lawyer, he told The Post on Saturday. Massaro, 39, died Thursday in an apparent suicide in her Smithtown, Long Island, home. A wrestler with WWE from 2005-2008, she was the first winner of the WWE Diva Search and competed at two WrestleManias — once for the women’s championship. She announced in March that she planned a return to the ring. In 2016, she was one of 60 former wrestlers to sue WWE, claiming that the company neglected its athletes and was responsible for neurological injuries suffered in the ring. The suit was dismissed by a federal judge in Connecticut in September, and is pending appeal, with a court date set for July 8, said her lawyer, Konstantine Kyros. A spokesperson for the WWE said Massaro contacted it last October to apologize for taking part in the lawsuit. In an email provided to The Post, she claimed the lawyer representing the plaintiffs “poached” her and the legal battle “got out of control fast.” “I accept my part of the responsibility and just want to formally apologize and express my regret,” the email said. “You all changed my life and I couldn’t be more grateful.” Kyros said he was unaware of any such email, and that even if she sent it, it’s a “legal nullity.” “She was being represented by me,” he said. “She never withdrew from the case, she never stopped being my client, and her case is currently pending. It’s not a credible statement that she sent an email refuting the case.” Kyros provided The Post with a copy of a 15-page affidavit Massaro submitted in November 2017 as part of the case. In it, she described in detail a sexual assault that took place on tour with WWE and a long series of injuries she suffered in the ring. She claimed that WWE did not provide proper treatment for those injuries and said she suffered long term effects from the damage. “To this day, I suffer from depression, for which I take medication; migraine headaches; and severe short-term memory loss,” Massaro said in the affidavit. “I attribute these issues to my work-related injuries sustained while working for the WWE, and specifically to the routine repetitive blows to the head I received in the ring over the course of my care which were not properly diagnosed or treated.”
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