Sports

WWE Sued For Interfering With Rival's Wrestler And TV Contracts

Will this end with someone in court getting a metal folding chair to the back of the head? Tune in and find out...

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wwe-logo1Major League Wrestling (MLW) has sued World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE) for interfering with its access to media markets and wrestling talent. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on January 11.

Key to MLW’s complaint are claims that WWE has aired MLW wrestling footage without consent and encouraged MLW wrestlers to breach their contracts. MLW’s allegations include that WWE unlawfully interfered with its VICE TV deal, which resulted in VICE airing only a single MLW program. The plaintiff claims WWE also interfered with its lucrative Tubi agreement, “resulting in substantial losses to MLW and harm to consumers.”

MLW says WWE’s wrongful interference led to a 40% drop in ticket sales and a substantial decline in MLW’s valuation. However, MLW appears to be most concerned with the loss of media rights partners, which tends to be the most significant source of revenue for operations like MLW and WWE. The complaint states that almost 90% of WWE’s revenues in the first six months of 2021 came from media rights agreements.

Causes of action in the complaint include intentional interference with contract relations and prospective economic relations, as well as violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. MLW alleges that WWE holds roughly 85% of the relevant market for the sale of broadcasting rights.

“WWE’s dominance and the high barriers to entry in the market give it the ability to control prices and exclude competition in the market,” states the complaint. “WWE’s unfair business practices include, among other things, cutting off competitors’ access to viewers and licensing opportunities, interfering with contracts, poaching talent, eliminating price competition, and misappropriating and attempting to misappropriate confidential information of its competitors. As a result of WWE’s anti-competitive conduct, WWE has unlawfully restrained and undermined competition, thus maintaining and building its dominance of the Relevant Market and threatens a dangerous probability of success at monopolizing the Relevant Market.”

Darren Heitner is the founder of Heitner Legal. He is the author of How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, published by the American Bar Association, and is an adjunct professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. You can reach him by email at heitner@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter at @DarrenHeitner.

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