:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/68905333/Marty_Scurll.0.png)
Last week, reports hit that Marty Scurll would be returning to wrestling for the first time since February 2020. Scurll was said to have taken part in an angle at NJPW Strong tapings earlier this year.
Similar to this week’s attempted comeback by Joey Ryan, the reaction to this news from wrestling fans online was swift, and unfavorable. Like Ryan, Scurll was named in last summer’s #SpeakingOut movement. In the 32 year old Brit’s case, he was accused of accused of sexually assaulting a 16 year old while she was intoxicated. He admits to the 2015 incident, but believes it was consensual and specifies it “was technically legal in the UK.”
Earlier today (Mar. 3), the Super J-Cast podcast reported this:
Per sources, Marty Scurll will not be appearing on NJPW Strong or any other New Japan programs for the foreseeable future.
— Super J-Cast (@thesuperjcast) March 3, 2021
Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer has confirmed with his sources.
Scrutiny around Scurll’s rumored return to New Japan was heightened by the company’s recent partnership with AEW. Scurll was a prominent part of Being The Elite prior to All Elite’s founding, and some speculated a NJPW Strong appearance could be a trial ballon for a return to working with The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega in their new company.
There was never any confirmation of that speculation, but to the extent anyone from AEW or Scurll’s last promotion, Ring of Honor, was watching... the balloon appears to have been popped.