Murder Charge Dropped Against Amanda Penny in Death of Former WWE Developmental Talent

Amanda Penny, the ex-wife of the former WWE developmental wrestler, was released from jail after prosecutors dropped the 1st Degree Murder charge against her.

Penny, who was previously accused of being part of the deadly July 2025 confrontation that left Nikel dead, is now off the hook for murder. But she’s not in the clear.

She’s still facing serious charges: Hindering apprehension and Possession of a firearm—the latter carrying up to 20 years in prison, and potentially even more if it gets bumped up to a Class B felony due to prior violent offenses or if it’s tied to another crime.

Despite the downgrade, Penny didn’t get off with a slap on the wrist. She’s been ordered to complete 8–10 months at the Victory Mission Bible Training Center in Arkansas. That means full participation—“all aspects”—including mandatory counseling.

She also has a strict no-contact order in place, meaning she’s barred from contacting Nikel’s family, which likely includes her own son. Her next court date is locked in for July 28 via Zoom.

Meanwhile, Michael Hogue, the man accused of pulling the trigger, is still rotting in a Benton County jail. Hogue is facing 1st Degree Murder and Possession of Firearm by Certain Persons—and because his parole from a previous violent conviction was yanked, even a $750K bond won’t get him out. Hogue had just been released a month before the shooting.

Nikel—known to fans as Knuckles Madsen and earlier as Ivan Warsaw—was gunned down on July 11, 2025, after being shot in the abdomen in Rogers, Arkansas. He was rushed to the hospital, but didn’t make it. He was 41. His mother, Susan Kinderman, told local media she believes her son may have been lured into a deadly setup:

“There was some kind of an argument. Maybe there was texting going back and forth. I think they enticed Kevin to meet up with them. I was told by the detectives that there was some kind of altercation. Shots were fired, and Kevin was killed, and that’s all we really know.”

Kinderman also opened up about Nikel and Penny’s long history:

“She was his first friend that he met in high school. They were dating, then they got married. They were happy for a long time, and then I guess they started to grow apart. And, you know, neither one of them were happy. Kevin took a job where he could be gone two weeks at a time, and things just progressively got worse, until they divorced.”

Nikel signed with WWE in 2012, appearing at NXT live events before leaving the company in 2013. He continued wrestling across the South through 2024, sharing the ring with legends like Jerry Lawler. Kinderman just wants answers.

“I just hope that we have a lot of answers. I know that the justice system will work. Whatever penalty they get, I'm fine with. But instead of that, I want to make sure that we know exactly what happened and why. I would like to hear it from them. I don't know if I will, but I would rather hear from those two, and we'll just have to see how that comes out.”

Penny’s release throws a wrench into what seemed like a clear-cut murder case. Now, all eyes turn to Michael Hogue—and whether the full truth will ever come out.