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Velveteen Dream is one of the most talked-about free agents in wrestling at the moment. His career has been riddled with controversies outside the squared circle, and they've all added up to effectively end his future in the industry.
One can arguably have a debate as to which controversy was more damaging to Velveteen Dream. All of these are deeply troubling issues. He was fired by WWE in May of 2021 after five months of not appearing on the product.
On that note, we look at five controversies surrounding Velveteen Dream and what happened in each case.
#5 On our list of controversies Velveteen Dream found himself in: Arrested on charges of first-degree battery and trespassing
In August 2022, Velveteen Dream was arrested twice. The first arrest came on August 20 under charges of first-degree battery. A case of trespassing on property despite a warning was also slapped on him.
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Dream was arrested by the Orlando Police Department and booked with misdemeanor charges. He and his attorney pleaded not guilty, leading to his arrangement hearing being canceled.
#4 Arrested for possessing drug paraphernalia
Just six days after his initial arrest in 2022, Velveteen Dream was taken in again. He was arrested on August 26 in Orange County, Florida. Orange County Corrections Department records state that he was arrested due to an out-of-county warrant for a violation of probation by the Orlando Police Department.
Dream was reportedly taken in due to a previous drug case on his name in Seminole County, Florida. He was held on a no-bond status.
#3 Accused of filming people in washrooms
Former WWE Superstar EC3 revealed a shocking tale about Velveteen Dream. He stated that he used to try and film people in washrooms, and narrated the story of how he found out about this at a party.
“We had a party and it was at my place, and he came over because I’m being friendly and I’m top guy and I tried to welcome everybody into the thing. He left his phone in my bathroom with the camera on trying to capture people taking pi**es, so there....How did I know? Because it’s my bathroom. When I walk in there and I see a phone selfie-style, propped up, on, filming, where if somebody is going to take a pee, they would have their phallus out urinating into the water”
Dream responded to EC3's statements and denied everything. He said his former colleague was pretty drunk and beaten up that night and that a mutual friend from NXT could testify in his favor.
"EC3, you go out here after I give you the best match you've ever had in your entire career, I'm tired of people throwing dirt on my name. You throw this dirt on my name saying that I tried to record you in your bathroom. Let's be honest Mike (EC3), you are leaving out a lot of details. What were we doing that night Mike? What type of powder was on the table Mike? Okay? So let’s be real. Let's not leave out all the details."
EC3 has responded to Dream, standing by his statements, which means we most likely haven't seen the last of this situation.
#2 Accused of sending indecent images to underage boys
In April 2020, Velveteen Dream landed in hot water for allegedly sending inappropriate pictures to underage boys on Instagram. He was exposed after a Reddit user posted screenshots of a naked Dream on wrestling subreddit r/SquaredCircle.
The alleged victim claimed to be 17 years old and revealed that their friends who received indecent images were 15 and 16. The victim talked about Dream and how "his phone number is Washington area code, his voice in the calls was accurate, it was off of his verified Instagram account and the picture he sent is believable."
The former NXT Superstar denied these allegations and said in a now-deleted tweet that he wasn't aware of the pictures being shared. "Be assured I did not communicate inappropriately with anyone," he said. "A private photo of mine was shared without my consent or knowledge and I am working with a third party to look into this matter."
#1 Accused of sending a sexually explicit photo to an underage girl and inappropriately talking to underage boys and grooming them
In June 2020, Velveteen Dream was the talk of the wrestling world. News dropped that he had sent a sexually explicit photo to an underage girl. It also stated that he was talking inappropriately to underage boys and grooming them against the Speaking Out movement.
WWE investigated the incident, but failed to find sufficient evidence of wrongdoing. Triple H gave his thoughts on the situation and attributed Dream's absence from NXT to an accident instead of the allegations.
"You know, in this day today, accusations are made and you take them all very seriously. You look into them the best you can, and you find out what is there and what isn't. In this situation, [Clark] was also involved in a car accident. That's what took him off TV. In the moment, all this other stuff happens and you look into it and you find that there is a situation that people bring to everyone's attention, you look into it and find that it is what it is and there's nothing there."
Velveteen Dream's fall from grace has been a major one, the likelihood of us ever seeing him perform in a major promotion again is slim to none. It's always a shame to see superstars with true potential not live up to it because of personal issues.
