Judge Edward Avila has denied WWE’s motion to dismiss the amended antitrust lawsuit brought forward by MLW against them, saying he found sufficient circumstantial evidence by MLW which shows that WWE has monopoly power over television rights.
While the judge sided with WWE earlier this year, he gave MLW a chance to amend their filing to prove that WWE’s interference and anticompetitive behavior caused them to lose their bid on being on television.
“The Court finds that MLW has sufficiently alleged antitrust injury,” the judge said. “The FAC alleges that WWE engaged in exclusionary conduct, including foreclosure of primary content distribution channels, in an attempt to continue to dominate the professional wrestling media rights market.”
The original lawsuit was filed in January 2022 and kicked into gear this year. In their complaint, MLW alleges that WWE pressured third parties to abandon contracts and prospective relationships with MLW. WWE’s misconduct included disrupting every level of MLW’s business, including a major streaming deal for MLW which would have been transformative for the company.
MLW also allege that in early 2021, after MLW announced that it was in talks with VICE TV to air MLW programs on VICE TV, a then-WWE executive warned VICE TV that WWE owner Vince McMahon was “pissed” that VICE TV was airing MLW programs, and that VICE TV should stop working with MLW.
The lawsuit was then amended to reflect their move to Reels, where the station was picked up by Peacock but their hour of TV was blacked out on the streaming service as Peacock is exclusive to WWE.