MLW launches lawsuit against WWE for Anti-Trust
 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I can tell you this MLW/Tubi deal fell apart at the absolute last hour <a href="https://t.co/n7ACqQQ30f">https://t.co/n7ACqQQ30f</a></p>&mdash; Tony Maglio (@TonyMaglio) <a href="https://twitter.com/TonyMaglio/status/1481065263537741825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">MLW Files Anti-Trust Lawsuit Against WWE <a href="https://t.co/FBTLnS9aPl">https://t.co/FBTLnS9aPl</a> <a href="https://t.co/HmqiLvudIS">pic.twitter.com/HmqiLvudIS</a></p>&mdash; Wrestling News (@WrestlingNewsCo) <a href="https://twitter.com/WrestlingNewsCo/status/1481064260943892480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


https://i.postimg.cc/ryZKNZcx/Screen...7-11-59-PM.png

this will be difficult to prove but if they can it will be very interesting how the share holders feel about keeping vince in play

Looks like CM Phil's next promo just got leaked :rofl:

Also, MLW can't prove their claims. It will be impossible to prove because for 3 years AEW has been saying they are number 1. WWE can't possibly have a monopoly if they are not even number 1 in their industry.

the anti-trust allocation isnt that they are presently a monopoly...but you are right that this wont be an easy case. having someone at vice saying this happened wont go far in court...now if the call had been recorded...

MLW gonna bankrupt themselves with legal fees.

Kinda feel like WWE opening the forbidden door with TNA also hurts this antitrust claim.

it might also be calculated for just that reason

They allege that WWE killed MLW's TV deals with both Vice and "Tubi" via WWE threatening those networks if they aired MLW

Does anyone have a copy of the complaint? The linked article doesn’t have it. News articles about lawsuits that don’t provide a copy of the lawsuit should be a capital crime.

https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-co...-complaint.pdf

It’s here. Thanks for nothing Wrestling News.

I’ll be back with my Take in a bit.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">MLW lawsuit against <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WWE?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WWE</a> alleges Stephanie McMahon personally derailed <a href="https://twitter.com/MLW?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MLW</a>'s deal with the Tubi streaming service. McMahon threatened that Tubi's parent company Fox &quot;could lose WWE’s business or preferred content if Tubi did not acquiesce to WWE’s demand,&quot; per the suit. <a href="https://t.co/7S00e801Aj">pic.twitter.com/7S00e801Aj</a></p>&mdash; Chuck C on Wrestling (@WrestleChuck) <a href="https://twitter.com/WrestleChuck/status/1481069956590710785?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Damn..didn't think it would be Steph

Noid and xrod will like this complaint. It argues AEW (and Impact) isn’t a big enough deal to defeat WWE’s monopoly status

Well that is correct and true

No one is big enough to defeat WWE's monopoly

If they have proof, then have at it.

Problem is, the one claim sounds like it comes out of a Dave Meltzer fever dream.

The conduct alleged in the complaint seems like something we all know to be true: WWE wants to crush their competition. It’s based upon statements made by WWE leadership who will likely deny they ever said it and corroborated by media company members who have previously bent to WWE’s will so they’ll also probably deny it was said.

Seems like a long shot. But should at least get to the deposition phase which should be fun.

It's weird to me they'd do a lawsuit without concrete evidence, is that normal @ Supreme

It is kind of funny in that sense!

But really, the fact that AEW exists proves WWE does not have a monopoly. As I said a few posts ago, it would be easy for WWE to refute the claim based off of 3 years of Tony Khan/AEW stating they are the number 1 wrestling company.

MLW would need to subpoena Tony Khan, and then under oath have him say he was not truthful in those comments. That would never happen.

Sure. You see plenty of complaints filed hoping that the discovery process will lead to the “smoking gun”. Also plenty of lawsuits filed hoping to just scare defendants into settlement.

It’ll be interesting to me to see that if Vice and Tubi did indeed have deals ready for MLW and then pulled the plug, what their explanations for killing the deal will be.

Remember when Hulk Hogan had to explain under oath that while Hulk Hogan has a 9 inch penis, that does not mean Terry Bollea has a 9 inch penis?

Might be the greatest testimony ever given!

Thx @ Supreme

and yes @ xrod, that was amazing

Dont really have an opinion on the vice situation. But Tubi? If WWE is threatening to not do business with Fox if they do business with MLW then that is entirely Foxs call. That seems like standard operating procedure for business to me.

If that is seen as antitrust in itself then it opens a huggggggge can of worms. Like what about when companies threaten to pull their business/sponsorships from a partner unless they cut ties with x over whatever concerns. Does that become antitrust violation?

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This dude has “No GCW” written into his new contracts because I called him out for taking advantage of young talent… <br><br>I hope the titan puts em out… <a href="https://t.co/N2z9sSbby3">https://t.co/N2z9sSbby3</a></p>&mdash; “The Bad Boy” Joey Janela (@JANELABABY) <a href="https://twitter.com/JANELABABY/status/1481087876146290689?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

MLW also says WWE is convincing MLW talent to breach exclusive contracts.

Am I misunderstanding that when I say they are tryinf to go after WWE for tampering? Because if that one flies then Tony Khan will be sweating bullets over some of these guys they have pulled from WWE. I would imagine if tampering becomes an issue that Jeff Hardy might not be going to AEW after all.

Also don't think it helps MLWs case that AEW, Impact, ROH, LU (when it was around), etc all managed to get TV deals done with no issue. Makes no sense why WWE would single them out to me.

I have a feeling the Fox/Tubi situation will be as simple as they decided they didn't need to pay some smaller promotion for content when they have WWE. Especially when AEW has come up to snatch second place and Impact seems firmly planted in 3rd. Outside of the most hardcore fans (which is a tiny audience at this point) MLW would have been starved for viewers. I imagine cutting ties with MLW was the fiscally responsible situation for Fox.

Hell the way so many people, and big named people, have left WWE for AEW is pretty damn solid argument that WWE is not a monopoly, at least not any more.

Hell, the fact that WWE was allowed to buy out WCW without that being an antitrust violation pretty much makes this whole case seem really far fetched. If ever there was a move that screamed "WE'RE MONOPOLIZING THIS SHIT" it was that one.

I wonder how close MLW is to tanking and if this is some kind of last ditch effort to salvage the company for the time being? Really hope they don't go under. They got some good talent over there and put on some good shows from time to time. And after ROH going under the last thing the industry needs is to lose another one of the few places guys can find work.

Wait a second....didn't this scenario already play out before? WWE got TNN to axe ECW in like 99 or 2000 or whenever before they would agree to be on the channel. It was fine then.

I remember when WWE did the Peacock deal and there were reports that Fox was upset, but Tubi is nowhere near the same level as Peacock. That said, Fox could have used MLW as a bluff to get assurances from WWE that streaming rights would be included in the next contract. Maybe not for the whole WWE Network, but certainly the right to stream Smackdown on Tubi.

In that scenario that certainly would not be on WWE. Fox is the far larger media conglomerate, to think WWE would be able to bully them out of a deal is silly.

That was more of TNN wanting to get rid of ECW and using getting Raw as the excuse. Heyman signed a bad deal for the short term gain, wouldnt follow directives given to him from TNN, was pissed they didnt promote ECW more, and basically went out live on their network every week daring TNN to throw ECW off the air.

This would be interesting indeed.

Also, I love WWE's assertation over the years that nobody is competition... except for when they are competition, and all the weird mental and legal gymnastics they pull to rationalize that. Like the thing they've done for decades to say "Hey, we do business with [venue], and if you keep wanting to get big bank from us having events here, you can't book any other wrestling shows. Also, though, we aren't wrestling." That has cut nuts off of MANY promotions, large and small, all over the place. They pulled NXT from being an exclusive thing to get a subscription to The WWE Network for, and made it a TV show to deliberately fuck with AEW.

TNA/Impact was "corporation non grata" except for the current thing with Mickie James, that one week where RVD showed up in both places, and the one-time, under-the-table exchange between Ric Flair and Christian. They will prob'ly point to these essentially isolated incidents, and possibly their two public co-minglings with ECW (the 1998 "invasion", and the time they gave Taz permission to win the belt from Mike Awesome) as how they have been totally fair to everyone for decades.

However, it would be funny if this was indeed a provable thing and is what finally brings WWE to heel. I'm not saying this like I'm salivating over the prospect. I just mean that after they stomped out the territories, actively sabotaged PPV competitors, got around the steroid scandal, made chicken salad out of chicken shit from the results of the World Wildlife Fund settlement, the seeming rash of wrestler deaths around the same time, the bigger scandal that was born from Chris Benoit, and survived not one, but TWO money sinks into the XFL (though, being fair, the second time was a panic fold), they survive all that only to be brought down by some shady backdoor sabotage deal that, to WWE, prob'ly wasn't even anywhere near the worst shady backdoor sabotage deal they've ever done.

It would be about as darkly funny as the time RVD - a guy who made a career of high risk flips and spins and dives and various acrobatics with and without chairs - broke his ankle in a match doing a simple baseball slide. Again, not saying it is or calling for it to happen, but if this turned out to be WWE's "baseball slide", that would totally be a "dude, what the actual fuck?" moment in wrestling history.

Oh look it's this old trope again.

How many times is this going to come up while completely ignoring the facts? All of these points are fairly easy to confirm or logically deduced.

1. USA did not want to pay another $1 Billion to keep Smackdown, so instead they got 2 hours of NXT for 1/5th the cost. They literally replaced 2 hours of wrestling with 2 hours of wrestling for $160 million cheaper.
2. If Vince can just order Networks to put his shows on whenever he wants, why does WWE not have more shows? As it is Vince was offered another contract for $40 million a year and took it.
3. NXT aired on Wednesdays FOR YEARS before AEW ever existed. People like Cody, Dustin, and even Jericho appeared on that NXT show, so for them to forget what day NXT aired is bullshit.
4. U.S. Trademark records were filed by Cody/AEW for "Tuesday Night Dynamite". That sounds like THEY wanted to air in the spot Smackdown was no longer occupying, to take advantage and NOT air the same night NXT was on.
5. NXT aired on USA 2 weeks before Dynamite started. Call it NXT beating them to the punch on cable if you want, but that is far different than WWE suddenly forcing itself into " AEW's timeslot".

AEW just wants to play the victim card, like when Kenny Omega cried on Twitter about WWE Network airing an Evolve show the same night as AEW's Fyter Fest. Not WWE booking a show to go up against a FREE AEW show to hurt AEW, but airing a different company's show that happened to be on. WWE really screwed AEW out of all the revenue that FREE show was going to generate.

WWE has done a lot of shit in it's past, but that whole NXT is only on TV to hurt AEW is not one of them, no matter how many times AEW wants to pretend that is the story.

i wondered why i did not see mlw on vice i thought it was going to happen.

I think they did air for a few weeks.

well that did not last long i kept checking there guide, mlw product must have sucked.

I think they only aired that one "Battle Riot" show which I remember being kinda bad... like nothing happened in the first 35 mins or something... just a bunch of video packages? Even though I think the show was taped. Bizarre show...

This post is sponsored by Dream Team 1
 

Wrestling lawsuits are usually fun. Remember the WWE getting after Bischoff for the whole "McMahon vs. Bischoff at Slamboree" thing? Apparently Bischoff saying that Vince didn't have the guts to show up really meant that Vince WAS going to show up and that was unfair according to the WWE.

I do! Bischoff said he would have gladly taken that ass whoopin as long as it was on WCW PPV lol

it was so bad, a total disaster



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hammerstone has a very big future ahead of him. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BattleRiot?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BattleRiot</a> <a href="https://t.co/1sYf8PSv40">pic.twitter.com/1sYf8PSv40</a></p>&mdash; WrestlePurists (@WrestlePurists) <a href="https://twitter.com/WrestlePurists/status/1419137684811964418?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 25, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>