Ex-WWE Ref Rita Chatterton Says She Was On AEW Payroll For A Year, Never Did Anything
Having spent decades away from wrestling following a 1986 incident with Vince McMahon where she alleges the former WWE Chairman raped her, former referee Rita Chatterton has begun integrating herself back into the industrty over the last few years. This has included doing wrestling-related interviews, being inducted into the Women's Wrestling Hall of Fame, and receiving the Trailblazer Award from the International Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2021.
As it turns out, she also has been employed by another wrestling promotion in that time. Speaking with Paul Roma's "Power and Glory" podcast in November, Chatterton told an interesting story about the aftermath of her receiving the Trailblazer Award — one that began with a phone call from International Pro Wrestling HOF head Seth Turner.
"Seth calls me and says 'Um, Rita, there's this guy that's trying to get ahold of you, he wants your phone number,'" Chatterton recalled. "He says 'Well, his name is Tony Khan.' 'Who the hell is Tony Khan? That doesn't even sound right.' He says 'No, Rita, you should probably take his call.' And I say 'Why do I want to take his call?' He says 'Well, he owns the Jacksonville Jaguars.' 'Well, why the hell would anyone who owns the Jacksonville Jaguars want my phone number?' He says, 'Well, he also owns AEW Wrestling.' 'Okay ... okay, so give him my phone number.'"
Shortly after, Chatterton received a call from an unknown number. After not answering at first, she decided to call back.
"It's Tony Khan," Chatterton said. "So Tony and I had a nice long talk, and I was under contract with him for a year. Very nice man. Gentleman. Very, very nice man. And that's how I ended up getting back involved in wrestling."
'I did absolutely nothing'
Long-time AEW viewers will note that Chatterton never appeared on AEW TV, understandably leading to questions of what Chatterton's role in AEW was during her one year under contract. Chatterton and former WWE wrestler Mario Mancini, who joined Chatterton on the podcast, revealed that Chatterton was listed as a "talent scout" on her AEW contract, though Chatterton admitted she did no scouting for the promotion, or really, anything of note at all.
"You know what, I was under contract with [Khan] for a year and I did absolutely nothing," Chatterton said. "I did absolutely nothing. But he wanted me under contract, so I was under contract with him."
In December 2022, Chatterton reportedly agreed to a multi-million dollar settlement with Vince McMahon after seeking damages for her alleged rape. The lawsuit followed McMahon's 2022 retirement in the initial hush money scandal that would eventually result in the ongoing Janel Grant lawsuit.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Power and Glory" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription