The pro wrestling world has been filled with stories for years about bad actors. There was a point in time, during the #SpeakingOut movement, where a ton of people came forward to make those who used their positions in the pro wrestling industry to foster abuse and harassment accountable for their actions. The list of people who were called out is quite extensive. Sadly, we have another story about someone who has a similar experience.
On February 10, a Facebook user named Chris Evans published a post where he remembered a traumatic experience he claims occurred nearly a decade ago at an independent professional wrestling event in Mansfield, Ohio. This is a story that he has apparently kept to himself for a long time, but he finally came forward.
According to Evans, the incident occurred in 2015 while attending a wrestling show with friends. He alleges that a wrestler he remembers by the ring name Papa Dingo sexually assaulted him in a bathroom at the venue. Evans claims that the encounter started with a comment he initially dismissed as part of a wrestling character, before escalating into unwanted physical contact.
“I haven’t been on this page in over 10 years because I’ve gone through some things. I dig through and found my old password to come on and delete it, but then I decided to tell my story.
In 2015 when i was 15 i attended a wrestling show in Mansfield, OH with friends when I was sexually assaulted by one of the wrestlers in the bathroom. It is literally the only name I remember from that night. His name was Papa Dingo. I was in the bathroom washing my hand when he came in and he told me I was a cute little thing. Weird, but I thought he was doing a character, he then reached down and grabbed my private area. My friend laughed and said that I was only 15 to which he replied ‘you’re never too young to learn‘
We laughed it off as we walked out of the bathroom, because I didn’t know how else to react. I’ve never gone to another wrestling show since then, I couldn’t even watch it on tv anymore.
Recently a friend invited me to a Mega Championship Wrestling event because we had talked about me loving wrestling growing up. I decided to look them up. At first I didn’t recognize him, but there he was on their social media doing a different character but the voice was unmistakable.
I finally let me story out and now I will stay off Facebook for another 10 years probably.”
Papa Dingo is an independent professional wrestler who has worked under a jungle-themed persona sometimes billed as the “Jungle Assassin” from Madagascar. He has appeared in regional promotions such as Insane Wrestling Revolution and is known for working chaotic, hardcore-style matches.
According to CageMatch.net, the 40-year-old Papa Dingo is currently working under the gimmick Super Oprah. He has competed under several alter egos over the years, including Jabari Akeem Mustafa.
The allegation from Chris Evans has not been independently verified. Also, no legal claims are referenced in the post, so he didn’t go to the police that we know of. At the time of writing, there is no public response from the individual named in the account or from Mega Championship Wrestling that he mentioned in his post.
We will have to see if anyone has updates on this situation. True, this story took place ten years ago, but it doesn’t make it any less traumatic. We can only hope that Chris Evans is able to find the closure he’s looking for by making his story public.
What’s your take on this allegation from this fallen fan? What steps do you believe should be taken? Let us know what you think in the comments section!