Image: NJPW
On Wednesday’s Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer confirmed that Marty Scurll worked at the recent New Japan Strong tapings in California.
He didn’t verify the story that Scurrl was involved in an post-match angle with Rocky Romero as was reported by Fanbyte’s Emily Pratt. Due to non-disclosure agreements, information has been hard to verify. Fightful first reported his involvement with Pratt reporting he was at the January 22nd day of taping. It’s unknown how many shows he will appear on as part of the tapings and when they will air.
From Pratt:
“The source said that while everyone working on NJPW Strong signs an NDA about the content of the tapings, there was no extra secrecy about Scurll’s involvement: “They weren’t trying to hide him.” The source says they were surprised by Scurll’s involvement, saying “I thought we were going to be the company that wasn’t booking these guys to get some buzz. They’re going to get buzz alright, but probably not the kind they’re looking for. And it just reeks of letting things slide because these people are all friends or whatever.” They added that “I really just think fans should know his involvement beforehand, so they can choose to tune in or not.”
Scurrl has worked for New Japan extensively in the past, last competing in the 2019 Best of the Super Juniors tournament. A presence in Ring of Honor since 2016, he re-upped with the company in January 2020 in a wrestling/booking role.
During last summer’s #SpeakingOut movement, he was accused of a 2015 sexual assault by a woman who was 16 at the time. He admitted to the encounter but said it was consensual, and legal due to the age of consent in the UK. He later released a second statement that was more contrite, saying that while he didn’t “become aware of her age until after the encounter, the reality of the age disparity is not lost on me.”
In June 2020, ROH announced an investigation into accusations made against their contracted talent. While never making the findings of those investigations public, several wrestlers were quietly removed from their roster page including Scurll. In January, they announced a mutual parting of the ways.
The 32-year-old’s last match was in February 2020 at Gateway to Honor in a six-man tag.
