There’s always some lingering league issue with WWE that you might just forget about then there’s the legal battle with MLW or Major League Wrestling. While AEW is viewed as WWE’s corporate rival because of finances, roster depth, and television exposure, MLW is the reoccurring nemesis here.
A U.S District Court Judge Dismisses an Attempt by WWE to Get Monopoly Lawsuit from MLW Thrown Out
If you hear MLW’s team tell it, WWE has gone out of its way to cut the company off at the knees. A few broadcasting deals MLW had lined up or in play were ended because of involvement from WWE. This typically came in the form of the broadcaster being the subsidiary of a broadcaster that happens to be a partner of WWE.
MLW ran into this issue with Vice TV which is owned by A&E Networks and Tubi which is owned by Fox Corporation. Initially, it was believed that MLW’s case would be tossed out as they established deals with networks that had WWE ties beforehand. However, Court Bauer and MLW’s legal team believes that WWE actions violate the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890.
In 2022 when the lawsuit was first filed, Court said:
“WWE has been wrongfully depriving its competitors of critical opportunities for many years, but its latest conduct has been even more unconscionable. I think we speak for the rest of the professional wrestling world when we say that this anti-competitive behavior has to stop.”
WWE issued a statement saying that it did nothing wrong but U.S District Court Judge Edward Davila believes that Major League Wrestling’s complaint has the legs for a case. Not only that, Judge Davila pretty much shot down all of WWE’s complaints in its motion to dismiss.
On top of this, the judge said that MLW pretty much proved everything necessary to push forward with an antitrust case. Bauer has said that a lot of evidence and incidents were collected for this fight meaning WWE could possibly be in court for a while and will have to open its legal coffers to put MLW away.
Of course, WWE did close on a merger with UFC, so this case might cost them the equivalent of front-pocket money.
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