Former NXT UK star Sid Scala was outed as an abuser by AEW star Mariah May.
The English wrestler made her name in Japan with Stardom, earning a huge move to AEW in 2023. However, her early career was plagued with hardships, when Sid Scala allegedly abused her while she was training with him.
The AEW star revealed that Scala wouldn’t let her take bookings without him, or train anywhere but with him. He also told her partner about Mariah May being sexually assaulted by another wrestler, without her consent.
He violated her trust, by May claims she was manipulated to stay under his watchful eye for a whole year. Scala tore her down, told her to break up with her boyfriend, and isolated her from friends and colleagues.
Mariah May’s Accusation Toward Sid Scala
Here is the full accusation made by Mariah May toward Sid Scala. It was originally Tweeted in four images, as well as accompanying Tweets confirming the accused as being Sid Scala. We have provided the text below, while linking the Tweets afterwards.
“Over the past months, I’ve written out more drafts than I care to admit. For some reason, I feel terrified to speak, but today I want to finally talk because I feel so alone.”
“Wrestling trainers are paid to train you. Nothing more.”
“I was trapped for a year. Told I wasn’t allowed to train anywhere else. When other shows tried to book me, he would act as a manager and say I wasn’t taking outside bookings (despite me training for a year and wanting to). I was discouraged from doing promos or working outside shows because it would stop me from ‘making it to WWE’. If I stepped out of line and did anything independently, I was met with passive aggressiveness, no coaching or feedback despite paying, and punished for (what I thought was) being a trainee wrestler.”
“The professional manipulation was one thing as it made me completely reliant on him, but far worse was the personal trauma I went through. Another wrestler tried to sexually assault me, I went to my coach for protection and he did stop me from having to encounter this person. I felt safe and could trust him.”
“Then my trust was violated when he told my partner, who I had just started a relationship with, about the assault without my consent, as if it was casual gossip. ‘You do know about the X thing’ with a screwed-up face. I trusted him, and it was so hard to say what happened to me because it hurt and I wanted it to be private.”
“If someone confides in you about being sexually assaulted, please do not tell other people without their consent. It’s another violation. It’s another thing they didn’t want to happen. Please.”
“This wasn’t the only personal detail of mine discussed without my consent. Every time I went to training, I felt humiliated like everyone knew. It wasn’t his to tell, it was mine and I wasn’t ready. But now I guess I have no choice but to own it.”
“The red flags told me to leave but I felt like I’d never ‘make it’ if I did. So I stayed.”
“My manipulator was clever. He never texted me anything he shouldn’t, he would only ever say things when I drove him home and we were alone in the car together.”
“He texted and said he was happy for me in my relationship. I thought I was allowed to date and he was okay with it. Then I was told to break up with my boyfriend (for no reason) on multiple occasions. It started as casually degrading comments about people in Brit wrestling apparently calling me in relation to it. It then evolved to full-on anger and telling me to break up.”
“I was told that everyone I trained with disliked me, I was told I was unprofessional at shows and to stop doing them. One incident that stands out was when I was driving him home from my house after filming a promo and he started screaming at me over an Instagram picture that was posted on my account. He was so aggressive and I was terrified as I was alone in the car driving.”
“The realization set in after he called me one afternoon and shouted at me, telling me everything wrong with me, and I believed it. He said I have no friends, everyone at shows thought I was unprofessional (I had hardly worked outside of hustle), I’m rude, not a team player. And I sat on the other end of the phone in tears unable to defend myself against an onslaught I never expected. He told me I was wasted potential and I believed him.”
“What followed was months of anxiety attacks before shows. Not being able to train anywhere because I had anxiety. Not being able to talk to my friends because I was told they hated me – I found out from one at a later show that apparently the consensus was I was blacklisted.”
“I felt so isolated apart from having my boyfriend to slowly help me put myself together and claim my life back. For a long time, I didn’t want to leave my bed, let alone wrestle. I acted happy on social media but inside I have never felt so low.”
“But after time I realized no WRESTLING SCHOOL should do that to you. He wanted to control me. I wish I listened to my gut and left sooner but I was scared. I’m still scared. I don’t have proof, he is clever. He is signed. He has more friends than me. But I won’t let lies and manipulation from a powerful man paralyze me anymore.”
“I have to sit and watch a school be praised that broke me as a person. And I can’t anymore. I know I’ll face consequences for this but the thought of any girl suffering in silence makes me sick, so why would I do it to myself. No more.”
“I’m seeing other names attached to my tweet, for avoidance of doubt the school is Hustle and the trainer is Sid Scala.”
Three Separate Men Also Accused Sid Scala Of Bullying
Mariah May was not the only person who suffered at the hands of Sid Scala.
The English was also accused by three man, all of who contacted Mariah May after her Tweets went viral. She revealed that they contacted her with stories of Scala’s bullying, backing up her claims.
She revealed that multiple people from difference promotions saw how badly Sid Scala treated her. Mariah May also noted that one of her friends recorded an hour-long phonecall where he verbally abused her.
“I suffered in silence for a long time and felt petrified to ever speak up. The support has been overwhelming. Thank you.
“Since posting this, 3 separate men have messaged stories of bullying they endured from Sid at Hustle.
“People from training & different promotions have messaged to say they felt uncomfortable with how Sid treated me and inappropriate situations that happened but were unsure what to do.
“And by the grace of god, my friend kept the recording of the abusive hour-long phone call I received from him.
“People shouldn’t abuse their power. We need to make training schools a safe place.”
Sid Scala Threatened To Sue Her For The Posts
After the exposing Tweets, Sid Scala did not waste much time clapping back. However, the then-WWE star did so via lawyers, rather than on social media.
Mariah May posted on Twitter, revealing that Scala was suing her for defamation for the claims of abuse against him. She started a GoFundMe to raise funds for legal representation.
Wrestlers and fans alike joined together to support her. They donated over £11,000 to her cause, to help fight off litigation from the former general manager.
She gave little update following the fundraiser. It is assumed that he did not follow through on the threats, especially given the supposed hour-long phone call she had as evidence of his abuse.
Mariah May Escaped Him, But Sid Scala’s Career Was Unaffected By The Accusations
Despite the accusations, the WWE did little to investigate her claims of abuse.
Sid Scala remained as the NXT UK Assistant General Manager to Johnny Saint for the entirety of NXT UK’s run. When the company was shut down in 2022, he quietly remained on the WWE payroll, doing nothing at all.
It is believed that Scala’s involvement stopped Mariah May being signed to WWE during this time. She has never wrestled for the company, despite her profile in Japan making her a big signing for AEW last year.
The Englishman wrestled occasionally outside of the WWE over the next two years. However, he was never mentioned on WWE TV again. They paid him up until April 2024, when the company must’ve remembered he was still employed and released him from his contract.
He did work as a backstage producer and agent for NXT UK, but was not brought to NXT once the company closed down. He hasn’t wrestled since 2023, but continues to post photos on Instagram to do with the wrestling industry.
Speaking Out didn’t end Sid Scala’s career in WWE, although there’s a good chance it has affected his bookings since his WWE release. Meanwhile, Mariah May is one of the top female stars in AEW, and has flourished since escaping his abuse.
