By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

Two years ago, Dean Ambrose was U.S. champion playing a heel role in The Shield.

Fresh off winning the U.S. Title at the Extreme Rules PPV in May 2013, Ambrose brought his act to Savannah, Georgia for a house show on June 23, 2013.

On this particular show, Ambrose fought Zack Ryder in a Street Fight, and a security guard alleges that he was struck in the back of the head during the fight.

The security guard, Troy Rivers, filed a civil suit against WWE one month ago in Chatham County Court seeking compensation and damages for alleged injuries.

Rivers, whose job was to monitor the crowd, says he had his back to the action when he was struck from behind. He believes he was struck by Ambrose, but he is not positive since he and his attorney have not reviewed tape from the event. This was a non-televised house show, drawing into question whether such a tape exists.

"Suddenly, and with no warning whatsoever, I was struck about the head, neck, and back by a folding chair," Rivers claims in the suit. Rivers added that the attack left him with "serious, significant, and permanent personal injuries."

Ambrose was named as a defendant in the lawsuit along with WWE and several other stars who wrestled on the show, including John Cena, Ryback, Seth Rollins, Daniel Bryan, Cesaro, Cody Rhodes, and more.

"We haven't reviewed the video from the event yet, so we're bringing in everyone on the card that night," Rivers's attorney, Kevin Elwell, told Courthouse News. "Only one guy did it, but we don't know which one yet."

Rivers's wife, Mary, was also named as a plaintiff in the lawsuit due to the alleged attack affecting her quality of life.

Mary alleges that because of WWE's "gross negligence," her husband has suffered "physical and mental anguish, diminishment of his earning capacity, and continues to suffer a loss of enjoyment of life."

The Rivers couple is seeking unspecified punitive and compensatory damages.

WWE replied to the suit saying they have "no knowledge of any such incident and the security company that hired the plaintiff doesn't have any record of this matter either. Furthermore, the plaintiff's attorney has admitted he has no basis to sue the individual defendants named in the lawsuit."

WWE's statement points to a key issue in the case of whether Rivers's injuries were delayed in the sense that he did not recognize an immediate injury that would lead to him reporting the incident to the security company. However, if the claim is proven to be true, the lingering effect of the alleged attack could be a key point in the suit.

Also in-play is whether Rivers suffered any additional injury or unrelated physical impairment between the period of the house show on June 23, 2013 and exactly two years later when the suit was filed on June 23, 2015.

According to court records, the suit was prepared to be served to WWE on July 9. No additional activity has been recorded since then, making it an open case. "The Honorable" Hermann Coolidge is the presiding judge in the case.

[ LINK: Courthouse News Report HERE ]

[Torch art credit Travis Beaven (c) PWTorch.com]

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