Various: MLW Lawsuit Against WWE Update, New Japanese Women’s U.S. Promotion Debut Update, WOW TV Ratings

Aug 25, 2023

MLW Antitrust Lawsuit Agianst WWE Update

As noted before, Major League Wrestling’s original antitrust lawsuit against WWE was dismissed this past February and had filed a new amended lawsuit this past March.

PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that MLW filed a motion to the United States District Court, Northern Division of California, San Jose on August 15th seeking to strike down WWE’s response to their amended lawsuit based on recent court records.

In the filing, MLW claimed that WWE’s responses and defense against their amended lawsuit were just simply statements being made that lacked any evidence or supporting facts to actually prove their claims

Portion of MLW’s filing:

“This action arises from WWE’s willful anticompetitive scheme to acquire and maintain its monopoly power in the United States market for the sale or licensing of media rights for professional wrestling programs—a scheme that has included egregious and predatory conduct that has harmed competition and impaired the business of its competitors, including MLW.
MLW filed its First Amended Complaint on March 6, 2023, ECF No. 64 (“FAC”), and WWE filed its Answer on August 14, 2023, ECF No. 98. In its Answer, WWE asserts thirteen Affirmative Defenses that are largely unsupported and intended to distract from WWE’s anticompetitive conduct in this case.
WWE’s Affirmative Defenses are devoid of facts, and merely reference legal doctrines without providing MLW with “sufficient particularity to give Plaintiff fair notice of the basis for the asserted defense.” Several “do not actually constitute affirmative defenses.” Rather, the Answer “reads more like a law school competition to devise the greatest number of affirmative defenses, without regard to fact or law, than a thoughtful and considered response to a straightforward lawsuit.” Savage v. Citibank N.A., 2015 WL 4880858, at *4 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 14, 2015) (striking various affirmative defenses).
Additionally, WWE improperly attempts to reserve the right to assert additional affirmative defenses at some undetermined later time. (Answer at 24.) The Court should reject WWE’s blunderbuss approach to pleading and strike all thirteen of WWE’s Affirmative Defenses, strike the “Reservation of Rights” section, and deny leave to amend the “Reservation of Rights” section and the first, second, fifth, sixth, eighth, and twelfth Affirmative Defenses.”

Update on Launch Plans for New Japanese Women’s Promotion in the United States

As noted before, a new Japanese Joshi wrestling promotion is currently planning to launch this Fall in the United States.

PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that his sources stated that officials for this new Joshi promotion currently have their debut event scheduled for September 21st in Manhattan, New York.

Johnson reported that the company is currently planned on making a number of official announcements next week regarding their upcoming debut event.

Johnson also reported that this upcoming debut event will also be taking place the day after AEW’s Grand Slam 3 event in Queens, New York so the likely idea being fans coming into town for AEW’s event would be able to attend both events in the area.