Paul Roma recently stated that male wrestlers were propositioned during his time in the WWF, and now Nick Kiniski has shared his own story.
Kiniski wrestled for the WWF from 1986 to 1987. In a new interview on Pollock and Thurston, he claimed that he was propositioned by WWF official Terry Garvin. (H/t John Pollock of POST Wrestling)
“He would come up to me and hit on me … I won’t say what he said, but you’ll understand the meaning behind it,” Kiniski said. “He says ‘Hey Nick, let me perform oral sex on you, you can read a Playboy and you’ll have it made for life.’ And, you know, he is my boss, he controls my boss. This is my livelihood, what I want to do, I kind of joked with him, I said ‘Hey Terry, you know, I’m not that way. But if I ever change, you’ll be the first. I’ll let you be the first.’
“We just kinda laughed it off. But he was always kind of coming up and joking, and one time he came to my hotel room late at night and I told him to leave. Knocked at the door. So, it put me in a very awkward position, you know?”
Kiniski Elaborates On Garvin’s Advances, Informing Vince McMahon
Kiniski went on to note that Terry Garvin hit on him, and it was clearly implied that Nick’s failure to go along with what he wanted would impact his ability to advance in the company.
“There’s no doubt about it. ‘Hey, if you let me do this, you’ll have it made for life financially,'” he said. “I mean, there’s no other way to take that.”
Kiniski stated that he contacted Vince McMahon about the situation, and he claimed that McMahon said he would deal with it.
“I remember where it was, it was in Milwaukie, Oregon, we wrestled in Portland,” Kiniski said. “I called Vince, and I said ‘Hey, Vince, I don’t think this is right. Terry’s hitting on me. I don’t appreciate that and I would like it to stop.’ And Vince said ‘Oh, ok. I’ll deal with it.’ And that was it.”
Per Kiniski, McMahon did not do anything; nothing changed, as Garvin continued his behavior. Kiniski also claimed that he felt like he was being punished for saying something. He recalled how he was given the night off after he was initially scheduled to wrestle. Kiniski stated that he then talked to McMahon again.
“I talked to Vince, I said ‘This isn’t right, Vince. I complain, and now you guys are punishing me. I’ll finish my bookings, but I’m not putting any guys over. Put me in the ring we’ll see what happens,'” he said. “Vince knows I could take care of myself, so he said ‘No.’ I said, ‘I’m done.’ I said,‘I’ll finish my matches,’ ‘Nope, you’re done now.’ ‘Thank you very much.'”
Kiniski then wrapped up with the company shortly thereafter.
More Details On Allegations Against Garvin And Others
Per Pollock, in 1992, Vince McMahon denied having any knowledge of inappropriate conduct. Additionally, former ring announcer Mel Phillips was fired in 1988, and McMahon later said he was terminated for an “unnatural” interest in young boys, though he was later brought back under the condition that he stay away from kids.
Kiniski was not the only one who made allegations against Garvin. Pollock writes that Barry Orton alleged that Garvin harassed him in 1978. His comments can be seen in a 2006 interview with SLAM Wrestling. Plus, Tom Cole, a former ring boy, also claimed that Garvin harassed him. Cole was later fired after he turned down Garvin’s advances.
During his time with WWF, Garvin served as vice president of operations. He resigned amid allegations of sexual misconduct in 1992, and he never returned to the company. He passed away in 1998.
Vince McMahon is currently under federal investigation regarding allegations of sexual assault and sex trafficking.
