Few companies tend to their public image as swiftly as WWE. I remember browsing WWE social media in real-time as Hulk Hogan got the "Chris Benoit" treatment after his racist tape leaked. Sadly, WWE is still trying to get him back into our good graces. But usually they act quickly to scrub references to problematic folks. Even Brock Lesnar and Vince McMahon have been exiled from WWE media due to an ongoing sex and hush money scandal.
So I was shocked to fire up WWE Champions for the first time in a while and see Patrick "Velveteen" Dream" Clark staring back at me from the game's career mode. He was on a meteoric rise through the wrestling ranks with a career that combined inspirations from Prince and "Ravishing" Rick Rude.
It all came crashing down when allegations that he had sent inappropriate pictures to underage boys and girls. He denied the allegations and a WWE investigation found no wrongdoing. But as is usually the case with these kinds of rumors, the negative attention never went away. WWE left him off TV for months and then released him in 2021.
Since then, Clark hasn't done himself any favors in trying to continue his career. He has been arrested multiple times, with charges ranging from drugs to misdemeanor battery. Another wrestler, EC3, accused Clark of setting up a camera to record people in a bathroom during a party.
With no major promotion interested in hiring him, Clark has been working the independent circuit. At a recent indy show, he wore a TV shirt that featured pictures of Donald Trump, Vince McMahon, and Chris Jericho. All three of these men have been accused of abusing women. The shirt also had text reading "Guilty By Association."
If the likes of McMahon and Lesnar aren't appearing in WWE video games, Velveteen Dream certainly shouldn't be. In the spite of this gaffe, WWE Champions is a fun wrestling-themed match-three offering I otherwise recommend.