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The Oklahoman reported this afternoon that charges WWE Next in Line (NIL) signee AJ Ferrari were dropped this past Friday in Payne County District Court after a 15-month investigation. Ferrari was dropped by Oklahoma State University's wrestling team after they became aware of a sexual assault investigation against him. In August 2022, Ferrari was arrested and charged with one felony count of sexual battery stemming 7/2/22 incident at the home of a Stillwater female who accused him of performing unwanted sexual acts.
District Attorney Laura Austin Thomas filed the motion to end the case, noting, “The young woman who is at the center of this matter has endured in the last year vicious attacks on multiple forms of social media, continuing trauma, blame, harassment, ostracism and indirect threats to her career. She has made the very difficult decision after consultation with her family that her further involvement is much less important than her health, a career that she loves and the ugliness and hatred that she encounters and suffers each time this matter progresses into the next step.”
Ferrari's attorney Derek Chance denied that his client was involved in harassing the victim, responding, "While we were ready and willing to try this case, which would have ultimately proven A.J.’s innocence, we appreciate the District Attorney’s decision to dismiss this case."
Ferrarri was seriously injured last January 2021 in a car wreck in Oklahoma. At the time, ESPN's report notes:
According to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Ferrari was driving his 2019 Dodge Durango with Rodriguez as his passenger on Highway 33 near Perkins, Oklahoma, at about 8 p.m., when he "attempted to pass 3 vehicles while cresting a hill." Ferrari's SUV hit an oncoming driver, then left the roadway to the left and overturned several times before coming to rest in a ditch. The cause of the collision was listed as "passing in a no-passing zone."
Ferrari, 22, was signed in December 2020 to WWE's first ever NIL (Name, Image & Likeness) program, providing "a clear pathway from collegiate athletics to WWE." At the time, he was one of the biggest names in college wrestling.
There is no word on Ferrari's WWE NIL status as of this writing.
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