A former WWE wrestler was indicted by a Tennessee grand jury after he allegedly attempted to purchase child pornography last year, according to prosecutors.
Michael Droese, known as Duke “The Dumpster” Droese during his WWE days from 1994-96, is facing one count of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor — a class D felony — after the FBI was tipped off to allegations.
“This charge became aggravated because Mr. Droese intended to purchase the child sexual assault material,” said Chris Stanford, the District Attorney General of the 31st Judicial District in Tennessee, in a release on Monday. “Purchasing child sexual assault material is an aggravated crime because the money used to purchase the material is what continues to make child sexual assault material profitable for criminal enterprises that produce it and sell across the world.”
Droese, 56, allegedly attempted to purchase child pornography from the dark web using his Coinbase account on April 21, 2024, which was flagged by the company, and the transaction was terminated, Stanford said.
Coinbase notified the FBI, which passed along the tip to Warren County Sheriff’s Department investigator Jason Walker in March, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation was then quickly brought in to assist the local investigation.
A grand jury handed down an indictment during the May 2025 session, and Droese turned himself in to the Warren County Sheriff’s Department. He was booked and released after posting $10,000 bond.
He is due back in Warren County Circuit Court on May 28 for an arraignment hearing as he faces a possible sentence of two to four years if convicted.
The release also noted that Droese had been working as a DUI coordinator for the 31st Judicial District Adult Recovery Court Program — also known as “Drug Court” — and worked for the ARC program in “various capacities” over several years.
He did not work with any children during his time working with the program, and he has been terminated from the position effective immediately, Stanford added.
An article published by the WWE website in 2009 indicated that after Droese settled in Tennessee following his wrestling career, he became an elementary school teacher for students with learning disabilities.
He also said, at the time, that he was training high school athletes.
In 2013, however, he resigned from his teaching job after selling oxycodone to an undercover agent.
He was sentenced to a month in jail, the Southern Standard reported at the time.
Droese had become a familiar face to wrestling fans during the early ’90s and developed a rivalry with Jerry “The King” Lawler, which included a moment where Lawler hit Droese in the head with his own garbage can, which prompted the WWE to apologize.
He also developed an early rivalry with a then-young Paul “Triple H” Levesque, who now serves as WWE’s chief content officer.
Drose left WWE in 1996 and continued to perform in smaller promotions around the world off and on.
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