WWE Formally Denies MLW Allegations, Admits Stephanie McMahon Met With Tubi Executive
WWE has formally denied allegations made against the company by Major League Wrestling after MLW filed an antitrust lawsuit against WWE in 2022. The lawsuit, which has since been amended and filed again after being dismissed last year, stemmed from MLW's claims that WWE prevented it from competing in the streaming market. MLW alleged that WWE pressured third parties to abandon contracts and prospective relationships with the company.
Wrestlenomics' Brandon Thurston posted a portion of new court filings to Twitter on Monday. In the documents, WWE denied the allegations. but did confirm that Stephanie McMahon spoke with a Tubi executive in August 2021. The filing denies that she pressured the streaming platform to kill a deal with MLW. The full court document can be seen online.
WWE's lawyers today submitted their answer to MLW's complaint. WWE denied allegations as expected.
The most substantive item is WWE confirms Stephanie McMahon spoke with a Tubi executive on Aug 9, 2021, but denies she pressured Tubi to kill the MLW deal.https://t.co/JnjTrIQaxU pic.twitter.com/BJL5wtJmRk
— Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) August 14, 2023
MLW's lawsuit alleges that Stephanie McMahon pressured the Tubi executive to "deny MLW a time slot that would compete head-to-head with WWE's NXT programs on Tuesday nights." It goes on to say "WWE threatened Tubi's affiliate, Fox, that it could lose WWE's business or preferred content if Tubi didn't acquiesce to WWE's demand and terminate its agreement with MLW." WWE formally denied these accusations.
There's no end in sight for the legal battle between WWE and MLW. According to the new filing, WWE has demanded a jury trial on "all issues so triable" in the Northern District of California where the antitrust lawsuit was filed.