WWE: Several Defendants Dismissed from Racial Discrimination Lawsuit, ESPN on Potential WWE Deal, New Signing

WWE

Aug 18, 2023

Several Defendants Voluntary Dismissed from Racial Discrimination Lawsuit Against WWE

As noted before, WWE is currently facing a racial discrimination and wrongful termination lawsuit by former WWE creative writer Britney Abrahams.

PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that Abrahams had filed a motion on Thursday to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York requesting for WWE Executive Chairman Vince McMahon, former WWE co-CEO Stephanie McMahon, and other WWE executives to be dismissed from her lawsuit. Johnson reported that the presiding judge, Judge Frederic Block, granted Abrahams motion that same day based on recent court records.

In her motion, Abrahams had asked for the dismissal to be made without prejudice, which means that she would be legally allowed to revisit this matter in the future if she chose to do so.

In an interesting note, Abrahams did not specifically mention WWE in her motion request which means that her lawsuit against the company will still proceed forward.

Abrahams’ motion filing:

“Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(i), Plaintiff Britney Abrahams, by and through her attorneys, THE COCHRAN FIRM, hereby gives notice that the above captioned action is voluntarily discontinued without prejudice as to all claims and causes of action against defendants CHRIS DUNN, individually, RYAN CALLAHAN, individually, JENIFFER PEPPERMAN, individually, CHRISTINE LUBRANO, individually, MIKE HELLER, individually, VINCE MCMAHON, individually, STEPHANIE MCMAHON, individually, with each party bearing that party’s own attorney’s fees and costs. Dismissal is proper under thissection because the Defendants have not yet answered the complaint in this matter.”

ESPN President of Content Comments on Potential Media Rights Deal with WWE

A recent episode of the Sports Media with Richard Deitsch podcast featured ESPN President of Content Burke Magnus as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Magnus’ thoughts on if ESPN currently has any interest in a potential media rights deal with WWE.

“From a glass-half-full perspective, I would say that I believe our companies…and this changed a couple of years ago, so this is not breaking news, but I believe our point of view towards WWE as a potential distribution outlet for their events, I think we passed that a long time ago and we’re now in the bucket of ‘if their rights are available and there is a deal for us that works and a deal for them that works with us, it’s a possibility.’ There is no hesitation anymore from a brand perspective or from a live event vs. scripted perspective. Their fans and our viewers, there is tremendous overlap. To me, it’s about the business of it and is there something that works? To their credit, they run a 52-week-a-year business. I’m thinking, start from a linear perspective, 52 weeks a year is impossible for us to do in almost any configuration based on the other rights that we have. That actually cuts against us from a linear perspective. On the digital side, if we were to be in business with them on a streaming or direct-to-consumer distribution or pay-per-view distribution or other such thing, that’s more easily achievable. They have a great product.”

In response to a question from host Richard Deitsch, Burke gave a small laugh and stated that he has not had any recent talks personally with WWE.

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com

WWE Signs Former College Football Player Josh Black

WWE reportedly recently signed former Syracuse University football player Josh Black to an official NXT developmental contract with the company, according to Rockford Register Star.

It was reported that Black’s deal with WWE is for three years in length and had been among those who had participated at a recent WWE tryout camp held during SummerSlam 2023 weekend earlier this month.

Black was interviewed by the newspaper and gave his thoughts about his recent signing to WWE.

“I waited and waited; but it was so worth the wait. I was a little struck. It was one of those moments, where you are like ‘Is this really happening’ I was a little worried, sure, but I knew I had a good thing going. I knew I did well at that tryout. Now, I’ve got a contract coming in about a week, and then it’s off to Orlando (Florida) in the next 2 or 3 months for a new life. I just hope it’s something that sticks for me. It’s so much fun. This is going to be my time to showcase who I am. I can’t wait to show the world who I am — and what I can do, baby.”