The latest on the legal dispute between the two sides.
There's a story from Brandon Thurston on the POST Wrestling site that a federal judge ordered Kevin Kelly, Brandon Tate, and Brent Tate to resolve their claims against All Elite Wrestling through arbitration. The dispute will be handled privately, away from public court.
The decision made by Judge Harvey E. Schlesinger will uphold arbitration clauses that were in Kelly and the Tate Twins' talent contracts. Brandon and Brent are former AEW talents and Kelly was a commentator there.
The order was issued Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The court did deny AEW's motion to dismiss the lawsuit. Judge Schlesinger ordered that the suit be "administratively closed," which means the case is put on hold but not permanently dismissed. Kelly, Brandon, and Brent will be required to update the court on the status of arbitration every 90 days.
Stephen P. New, attorney for Kelly and the Tate Twins was contacted for a comment and sent Thurston the following:
We look forward to pursuing the plaintiffs’ claims in arbitration.
AEW was contacted for a comment but one was not immediately returned.
The Tate Twins and Kevin Kelly sued AEW, Tony Khan, and commentator Ian Riccaboni in August 2024. They alleged breach of contract, defamation, and additional claims after departing AEW. The Tates expressed that comments Khan made about them during a press conference harmed their reputation. Kelly alleged that Riccaboni framed him as a member of the far-right, conspiracy theory movement QAnon after Kelly showed public support for a movie titled 'Sound of Freedom.' According to NPR, the movie gained massive online backing from QAnon supporters.
There's also a suit that AEW is involved in with current TNA wrestler Ryan Nemeth that was moved to private arbitration.
Judge Schlesinger noted that the arbitration language in AEW talent contracts gives the arbitrator, not the judge, the authority to decide key preliminary questions such as whether the claims in the lawsuit are even eligible for arbitration.
As more on this suit becomes available, we'll update you here on Fightful.
