If you’ve spent any time on wrestling Twitter or deep in the Reddit threads over the last year, you’ve probably seen the name Janel Grant pop up constantly. Usually, it's followed by a flurry of speculation, legal jargon, and people asking one specific, nagging question: What was Janel Grant’s wrestling name?
It’s a fair thing to wonder. In the world of WWE, almost everyone has a moniker. You have "The Rock," "Stone Cold," or even "The Man." When a name becomes synonymous with a massive corporate scandal involving the biggest wrestling mogul in history, the natural instinct is to assume she was one of the performers. You look for a stage name. You search for a character.
But here’s the reality that hits a bit differently: Janel Grant never had a wrestling name. She wasn't a wrestler. She wasn't a "Diva" from a bygone era, and she wasn't a trainee at the Performance Center trying to make it to the main roster. Honestly, the search for a wrestling name is actually part of a larger misunderstanding about who she was within the company and how she got there.
Why People Think Janel Grant Was a Wrestler
The confusion is understandable. Most women associated with WWE are high-profile athletes or on-screen personalities. When the lawsuit against Vince McMahon dropped in early 2024, the graphic details and the sheer scale of the allegations made it feel like a plotline from a dark TV show. But Grant’s role was much more "corporate" and much less "squared circle."
She was hired as an administrator-coordinator in the legal department. Later, she was moved to a role in talent relations.
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- June 2019: She starts her job at WWE headquarters in Stamford.
- The Role: Entry-level administrative work.
- The Environment: Corporate offices, not the ring.
People keep searching for a Janel Grant wrestling name because they want to connect her to the product they see on TV. It’s easier to process a scandal when it involves a character. But Janel was a real person working a 9-to-5 behind a desk, which makes the allegations in her lawsuit—trafficking, abuse, and coercion—feel even more grounded in a grim reality.
The Roles McMahon Allegedly Created for Her
While she didn't have a "wrestling name" like Becky Lynch or Charlotte Flair, the legal filings suggest that Vince McMahon had his own ways of "naming" or categorizing her. This is where it gets heavy. According to the 67-page complaint filed in Connecticut, McMahon didn't view her as a colleague.
The lawsuit alleges that McMahon used derogatory and objectifying language to describe her role in his life. He reportedly referred to her as his "bitch" or his "fantasy" in texts. He even allegedly told her that he "owned" her. These weren't stage names for a wrestling character; they were tools of psychological control.
Wait, there’s more. The suit also mentions that McMahon shared explicit photos and videos of her with other WWE employees, including a "world-famous athlete and former UFC Heavyweight Champion." For a long time, he was anonymous in the filings, but it was later confirmed in amended documents that the athlete was Brock Lesnar. In these interactions, she wasn't "Janel the Wrestler." She was being used as a "pawn" to help secure talent deals.
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The "Paralegal" Misnomer
You might also see Janel Grant referred to as "the paralegal" in older news reports. While she worked in the legal department, she wasn't actually a certified paralegal. She was a grieving woman who had just lost both of her parents and was living in the same luxury apartment building as McMahon.
They met in early 2019. She was looking for a job. He was the most powerful man in the industry. The power dynamic was skewed from day one. He didn't offer her a tryout in a ring; he offered her a desk job in exchange for a "physical relationship."
Why the Search for a Name Persists
So why does the "Janel Grant wrestling name" query still trend?
- The Netflix Effect: The Mr. McMahon docuseries brought her story to millions of non-wrestling fans. People watching at home assume anyone at WWE is a performer.
- Mistaken Identity: There have been dozens of women named Janel or similar names in the indies over the years. Google's algorithm sometimes gets confused, pulling up random Cagematch profiles of indie wrestlers who have nothing to do with the lawsuit.
- The "Storyline" Mentality: For decades, WWE fans have been trained to think everything is a "work" (fake). By looking for a wrestling name, some fans are subconsciously trying to turn a very real human tragedy into a "storyline."
It’s important to remember that Janel Grant herself has pushed back against this. Her lawyer, Ann Callis, has been very vocal: "Janel is a human being... She’s not a WWE storyline."
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The Impact on the Industry
Whether she had a wrestling name or not doesn't change the fact that her presence has fundamentally altered the landscape of professional wrestling. Since her lawsuit went public:
- Vince McMahon resigned from TKO Group Holdings (the parent company of WWE).
- John Laurinaitis, the former Head of Talent Relations, was also named and let go.
- Federal investigations were launched into sex trafficking and sexual assault.
This wasn't a "wrestling" event. It was a massive corporate reckoning. It forced the industry to look at how it treats women who aren't in the spotlight. It highlighted the "dangerous workplace culture" that allegedly existed behind the glass walls of Titan Towers, not just under the bright lights of Monday Night Raw.
Actionable Takeaways for Following the Case
If you're following the Janel Grant story, stop looking for a stage name and start looking at the legal timeline. Here is what actually matters right now:
- The Stay of Litigation: The civil case was briefly paused (stayed) at the request of the Department of Justice so they could conduct their criminal investigation. That stay has since expired, meaning the civil suit is moving forward.
- The NDA Issue: A huge part of the case involves a $3 million Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). Grant says she only received $1 million of it, which is why she’s now able to speak out and sue.
- Discovery Phase: We are moving toward a period where more emails, texts, and internal documents will likely become public. This is where the real "names"—the people who knew and did nothing—will surface.
Basically, Janel Grant didn't need a wrestling name to become the most influential person in the industry today. She did it by standing up and telling a story that the power players tried to buy for $3 million.
If you want to stay informed, focus on the filings in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. That’s where the real truth is being hashed out, far away from the scripted world of wrestling personas.
To keep up with the latest legal developments, you should regularly check for updates on the federal criminal investigation handled by the Southern District of New York, as any findings there will likely dictate the pace of Janel Grant’s civil proceedings against WWE and its former executives.