WWE diva Massaro denies call girl allegations

A popular WWE diva was the topic of considerable conversation this past week after a Rolling Stone Magazine article linked Ashley Massaro to a Los Angeles-based escort service being investigated by the FBI.

The FBI's probe led to the magazine listing names of Playboy Playmates, Maxim models and porn stars who were used as escorts by the international Bella Models agency. One of the high-priced escorts was identified as Massaro.

The high-end escort service, according to the article, was run by a woman named "Nici" (real name Michelle Braun) who would set up beautiful women with rich clients, including prominent athletes, TV personalities and Fortune 500 CEOs, who would pay up to $25,000 a night for their "services."

"All I do is make the introductions between famous girls and rich guys who want to meet them," Braun told Rolling Stone. "I think the rates I charge are justified just to meet these women, even if nothing happens."

Massaro, who posed for Playboy before joining WWE and was last year's Wrestlemania edition cover girl, has vehemently denied allegations that she worked as a call girl. In a post on her MySpace page, she exclaimed, "False ... False ... False."

"Just got buzzed on some BS that is going around," the 2005 WWE Diva Search winner wrote on her blog. "Don't believe it for a second. Getting in touch with my lawyer as we speak. I'm beyond upset."

Shortly after the Rolling Stone article, reports surfaced of a second Ashley Massaro, a Las Vegas-based bikini model who is a few years younger than the WWE diva, raising questions about a possible case of mistaken identity.

Despite the WWE performer's denials, however, no one has retracted the story, and Rolling Stone is standing behind its account.

"Obviously, I stand by my story," Rolling Stone contributing editor Michelle Grigoriadis wrote in an e-mail to the Pro Wrestling Insider Web site. "Massaro is named in an FBI search warrant that was executed on Michelle Braun's property in October 2007. I have no knowledge of another woman by the same name."

According to the article, the FBI tracked down a handful of e-mails in which the escort service "made travel arrangements for more than a dozen Playmates and porn stars, including Ashley Massaro." FBI papers omit the names of the men who allegedly paid for the services, yet list the names of Massaro, other Playboy models, a Maxim model and a few adult film stars.

Massaro's alleged page on the Bella Model Web site still exists, although photos and links have since been removed.

The 28-year-old Massaro was involved with Playboy before she joined WWE in 2005, doing a few pictorials in 2003 and early 2004 under the name Ryan Mackenzie.

--Veteran WWE diva Torrie Wilson, who recently announced that surgeons advised her not to return to wrestling due to nagging back problems, was granted a release last week from WWE.

The former champion fitness model, who was once married to wrestler Billy Kidman, now resides near Houston with boyfriend Nick Mitchell (formerly of the WWE Spirit Squad). The two have opened up a clothing line and store named "Jaded."

--Legendary women's wrestling star Judy Grable, "the Barefoot Contessa," passed away Friday at the age of 71.

Grable, whose real name was Nellya Burres-Baughman, was known for her high-flying moves. A frequent opponent of The Fabulous Moolah (Lillian Ellison), Grable was sometimes called "the Female Rocca" due to her acrobatic mat work.

--Jason Powell, whose ProWrestling.net is one of the best new sites on the Web, has reported that others have come forward with complaints regarding WWE head Smackdown writer Michael Hayes. Powell, who released details of a recent incident leading to Hayes' two-month suspension, says Raw writer Dave Kapoor, who most recently worked on the air as Great Khali's translator Ranjin Singh, also was a target of derogatory words and stereotypical Indian voice used to mock the writer, with witnesses including agents, writers and even members of the McMahon family.

Pro Wrestling Torch, meanwhile, reported that a new book scheduled to be released in July will include instances of Hayes' use of racial slurs in the workplace. The author of "Ring of Hell," Matthew Randazzo, claims that former writing team member Ranjan Chhibber also was a target of racial slurs by Hayes. "Brother Love (Bruce Prichard) and Michael Hayes would routinely make racist jokes. I heard them use the 'n' word a few times," a source is quoted as saying.

Racial remarks were commonplace backstage, but former WWE creative team member and "See No Evil" author Dan Madigan said he witnessed Hayes showing some restraint.

"To be 100 percent honest, although I heard some pretty racy stuff in the back room, I actually heard Michael Hayes tell the writing staff to lay off some of the racial stuff about WWE writer Dr. Ranjan Chhibber, and that is the gospel truth. I remember because we were in Canada, Ranjan's home country.

"Hayes was sitting on a couch near the door in our makeshift writers room and he told some people that maybe they should take it easy with the racial remarks about him. Do I think he is a racist? I don't know, but in that business certain terms are used in various contexts, but that is what I heard once and that is the truth."

--Nick Bollea, 17-year-old son of wrestling superstar Hulk Hogan (Terry Bollea), was sentenced Friday to five years probation after he pleaded no contest to causing a crash last August that seriously injured his best friend, John Graziano, leaving him paralyzed and in need of lifetime medical care. A former Marine who served in Iraq, Graziano was not wearing a seat belt and suffered a broken skull and other severe injuries.

Reach Mike Mooneyham at (843) 937-5517 or mooneyham@postandcourier.com.

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