Tag: Chris Amann

Report: Dr. Chris Amann no longer with WWE

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Dr. Chris Amann is no longer with WWE.

PWInsider reported on Thursday that Amann “gave notice some time ago” and officially retired from his position with WWE this month.

Amann, who had been with WWE since 2008, was the company’s senior ringside physician. He worked with WWE and NXT talent in that role and oversaw the medical care of the other ringside physicians and athletic trainers on staff. Amann was also  tasked with helping to implement WWE’s wellness policy.

In 2018, a jury ruled in favor of CM Punk (Phil Brooks) and Colt Cabana (Scott Colton) after Amann filed a defamation lawsuit against them. Amann was seeking more than $4 million in damages relating to critical comments that Punk had made about Amann’s medical care on an episode of Cabana’s Art of Wrestling podcast in 2014. Those comments included Punk claiming that Amann dismissed a growth on his back that eventually turned into a staph infection.

Jury rules in favor of Punk, Cabana in Amann suit

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

The jury in the case of Dr. Christopher Amann vs. Phil Brooks (CM Punk) and Scott Colton (Colt Cabana) ruled that neither man were liable for any damages against the WWE physician in the defamation lawsuit.

The jury took only two hours to deliberate. Punk and wife AJ Lee (April Mendez) began crying in court when the verdict was read. Amann was stoic.

Amann’s attorneys were asking for $3,989,000 in damages, claiming $1 for every listener of the Art of Wrestling podcast that the Punk show supposedly had.

Punk’s attorneys noted that WWE’s medical records were not reliable because they never listed any of Punk’s antibiotic prescriptions, and that the plaintiff’s argument from WWE doctors that there was no lump was ridiculous given four witnesses coming forward who described it in detail besides Punk.

The key to the case appeared to be the testimony of Punk’s massage therapist, who described the lump in detail, and of his wife, who said she noticed it starting at a zit-like size in August 2013 and it grew and changed color over the months.

While there was no proof the lump was a staph infection, let alone MRSA staph, as Punk had stated on the show, the jury evidently felt that Punk either misheard the doctor or of not, his exaggerations did not damage Amann’s professional standing. 

Amann seeking over $4 million in damages from Punk & Cabana

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Lawyers for Dr. Christopher Amann in closing arguments this morning have asked for in excess of $4 million in damages from defendants Phil Brooks (CM Punk) and Scott Colton (Colt Cabana).

The lawyers for Amann broke it down as $3,989,000 in damages — as in $1 for every person who downloaded the Art of Wrestling podcast episode, plus additional punitive damages.

The WrestleZone website covered the story from the courthouse, and Observer sources close to the case confirmed the plaintiffs were seeking in excess of $4 million.

The defamation trial itself ended yesterday with testimony from AJ Lee (April Mendez), the wife of Punk, who testified she had seen the lump in question as early as August of 2013, when the two first got together and testimony from Punk’s massage therapist who said she saw the lump on January 30th, 2014, and described it as golf ball or tennis ball sized.

CM Punk-Colt Cabana-Chris Amann defamation case kicks off

Posted on by Josh Nason

Even though one of the legal combatants is set to compete in the UFC in less than two weeks, the trial of Phil Brooks (CM Punk) and Scott Colton (Colt Cabana) vs. WWE doctor Chris Amann began Tuesday in the Cook County courthouse in Chicago, IL.

Amann filed a defamation suit against Brooks and Colton in February 2015 following comments the two made on Cabana’s podcast in November 2014. Brooks claimed, among other things, that Amann dismissed a growth on his back that eventually turned into a staph infection.

While there were no cameras, Chicago Tribune City Hall reporter Gregory Pratt dropped by to check out some of the proceedings. Below are some notes from his Twitter feed:

– There wasn’t a crowd in the gallery. In fact, Pratt said he was the only one in attendance while he was there.

– The jury heard the entire episode of the podcast in question Tuesday including all of the plugs, etc.

– Pratt said that he was unsure how long the trial was going to last, but that both sides were very thorough. 

– From what he heard, Pratt said he expected Amann to return to the stand Wednesday.

– Pratt said Brooks was serious and attentive for most of the day, but did appear “visibly amused” and laughed a bit at some parts of the podcast.

– Pratt thought Brooks appeared to be in shape and was wearing a nice suit.

Brooks is set to open up the PPV portion of UFC 225 against Mike Jackson on Saturday, June 9th.