We now know the financial terms of WWE & MLW’s antitrust lawsuit settlement.
In January 2022, MLW filed a lawsuit accusing WWE of pressuring third parties to abandon contracts and prospective relationships with them. The lawsuit centered around potential deals with Vice TV and streaming service Tubi that MLW claimed WWE interfered with.
For the twelve-month period ended December 31, 2023, the Company’s consolidated pre-tax results included $34.2 million in costs related to certain litigation matters at UFC and WWE, including the impact of a $20.0 million charge related to the settlement of an antitrust lawsuit at WWE. A reconciliation of Net Income to Adjusted EBITDA for the three and twelve-month periods ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 can be found in the supplemental schedule on page 14 of this release.
In a form filed with the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), it’s explicitly stated that the settlement was with MLW:
On January 11, 2022, a complaint was filed against WWE by MLW Media LLC (‘MLW’), captioned MLW Media LLC v. World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., No. 5:22-cv-00179-EJD (N.D. Cal.), alleging that WWE interfered with MLW’s contractual relationship with certain media platforms and engaged in other anticompetitive and unfair business practices in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act and California law. On December 22, 2023, the parties notified the court that they had entered into a settlement agreement in the amount of $20.0 million and stipulated that the case should be voluntarily dismissed with prejudice. In light of the settlement, the case was dismissed with prejudice on December 26, 2023.
Founded by Court Bauer, MLW originally existed from 2002-2004 and has been operating since its return in 2017. MLW’s next show is Intimidation Games 2024 in Queens, New York this Thursday (February 29).
MLW’s antitrust lawsuit against WWE appears to have been settled.
According to documents obtained by Brandon Thurston, lawyers for MLW and WWE submitted a “Notice of Settlement” to the courts on Monday. The final settlement documents are expected to be filed within the next 30 days.
In accordance with the Court’s Standing Order for Civil Cases, Section IV.F.1, Plaintiff MLW Media LLC and Defendant World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (together, the “Parties”), hereby submit this Notice of Settlement to notify the Court that the Parties have settled this action.
The Parties are in the process of completing the final settlement documents and expect to file the appropriate dismissal papers within the next thirty (30) days
WWE and MLW have come to a settlement in the antitrust case against WWE.
Lawyers for both companies filed today:
"The Parties are in the process of completing the final settlement documents and expect to file the appropriate dismissal papers within the next thirty (30) days" pic.twitter.com/t3507vGJg4
“The parties are in the process of completing the documentation and expect the actual settlement to close in the next 30 days. The MLW lawyers filed the document today. There had been discussions regarding a settlement dating back some time,” our own Dave Meltzer posted to X.
“No terms were announced, if major as in other settlements TKO would likely announce them in the next few days in an SEC filing.”
“It won’t likely be next few days but more likely after the completed settlement is done, when WWE has settled other cases they issue an SEC filing. Most likely complete terms will be sealed although basics could be released.”
The parties are in the process of completing the documentation and expect the actual settlement to close in the next 30 days. The MLW lawyers filed the document today. There had been discussions regarding a settlement dating back some time.
MLW first filed its antitrust suit against WWE in January 2022. It alleged WWE put pressure on third parties, such as streaming service Tubi TV, to abandon relationships with MLW. The lawsuit also alleged WWE put pressure on Vice TV to stop working with MLW as well.
For decades, the name Jerry McDevitt was synonymous with lawsuits and legal issues regarding WWE and Vince McMahon.
Soon, that will not be the case as the longtime WWE defense attorney told Wrestlenomics Wednesday that he is “working towards retirement.”
The impetus for his comment to the media outlet was in response to the latest development in the ongoing MLW/WWE lawsuit which recently saw a U.S. District judge deny WWE’s latest effort to dismiss the case. PWInsider had reported earlier this week that WWE asked for an extension due to seeking new legal counsel for the case.
When asked about the development, McDevitt told Wrestlenomics that he had been working toward retirement since earlier this year and that following the judge’s recent ruling, “it became obvious that the case would run into at least 2025 in all probability, I advised my client that I would be wrapping things up by year-end and that it would make sense for them to secure counsel who can go the distance on the case now that discovery will be starting. There is also the chance that I might be a witness given the allegations. I will be 74 this January and it just seems like the right time to make necessary transitions.”
McDevitt and the K&L Gates law firm are being replaced on the case by Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Warton & Garrison LLP. The latter has worked with WWE before, advising them during their decision to merge with Endeavor’s UFC to form their new publicly-traded TKO company that is still awaiting regulatory approval.
McDevitt has worked with WWE and McMahon for nearly 40 years.
“It has been a great 36-year run with a great Company and Vince [McMahon], and I am very proud of all that we accomplished during that time, and I will continue to help them any way I can,” he told Wrestlenomics.
*It’s one of the biggest issues of the year, given we have coverage of what will be the biggest story of the year, the Endeavor/WWE/UFC merger with all the details of how it happened and what it means, plus coverage of WrestleMania and all the major events of WrestleMania week
*The story behind the merger
*The new power structure of WWE and UFC
*All the financial details of the merger including stock, what stockholders will be getting
*How the deal went down and when
*Who will be negotiating WWE TV deals
*Vince McMahon’s worth based on what they are pitching valuation at and his actual stock worth as of right now
*How much top WWE execs were bonused from the sale and new contract for the top two guys in the company and its valuation
*How Vince McMahon changed Raw
*What are the big questions going forward regarding creative
*What employees and wrestlers were told
*Investigation of the deal
*Can WWE get out of the deal
*Financial benefits of the deal
*What it means going forward
*What happened internally in UFC from the deal
*Profits and revenue for UFC and WWE last year
*The history of Vince McMahon and UFC and secret story about a WrestleMania main event that never happened
*Coverage of WrestleMania
*Examining Rhodes vs. Reigns and the finish
*Real attendance figures and other business figures
*PPV numbers and which show had the most viewers
*What were the most watched matches after the fact
*Social media numbers and who drew the biggest and where there are contradictions
*Match-by-match coverage with star ratings as well as poll results
*AEW trying to run Wembley Stadium and more history of such
*A look at a famous period in wrestling history with the death of U.K. promoter Max Crabtree, and the debate over whether the Big Daddy era killed wrestling in that country or it was killed earlier and he just gave it a last life
*A look at the ROH Supercard of Honor, business notes, match-by-match coverage
*A look at NXT Stand & Deliver
*What happened with Gisele Shaw and Rick Steiner
*The most detailed look at the ratings over the past week and what they mean
*Arena Coliseo 80th anniversary event
*Build to the biggest show in Stardom history
*New Japan/Impact dual show
*One of the best bouts of the year took place this past week
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Friday Update
For this weekend, Garrett and I will be doing our usual Friday show covering the news from this past week and boy was there a lot of it. Bryan and I will be back Saturday also covering the news including the Friday shows, as well as Sakura Genesis and UFC 287.
Vince McMahon is not in Portland, OR, for Smackdown tonight. He did call in remotely and made some minor changes to the show.
WWE today filed a motion to dismiss the MLW lawsuit against them. It was a 32-page document where it claims WWE blocking other companies from television isn’t the case, citing MLW getting on REELZ, AEW adding programming on WBD and Women of Wrestling getting a national syndication deal. They claim that they had to send MLW a cease and desist because of trying to steal their IP in using the name Enzo Amore, and that the Peacock deal for REELZ came after the MLW deal with REELZ and MLW could still make a streaming deal elsewhere. Actually wen Eric Arndt came to MLW he used nZo which WWE claimed was too close to Enzo Amore and also claimed with the spelling that they were using WWE-owned IP close to nWo because o the style of the nZo logo. They also claimed MLW used War Games last June on YouTube when WWE owned the War Games name.
Smackdown has announced Sami Zayn vs. Jey Uso, Rey Mysterio & Santos Escobar vs. Damian Priest & Dominik Mysterio and Sheamus & Ridge Holland & Butch vs. Imperium, plus HHH will cut a promo and Rhea Ripley appears. As of this morning, WWE had 9,611 tickets out for the Moda Center in Portland.
Rampage and Battle of the Belts airs 10 p.m. to midnight tonight on TNT with Anna Jay vs. Julia Hart, Hook vs Ethan Page for the FTW title, Acclaimed & Matt Menard & Angelo Parker in an eight-man tag match, Darby Allin vs. Lee Moriarty, Lucha Brothers vs. Powerhouse Hobbs & QT Marshall for the ROH tag titles, Jade Cargill vs Billie Starkz for the TBS title and Orange Cassidy vs. Dralistico for the International title. As of this morning, AEW had 2,752 tickets out for the show in Kingston, RI. They are taping ROH for next week tonight before they go live.
AEW hit 35,000 for the number of people asking for a code for the presale for the Wembley Stadium show on 8/27.
For this weekend, we are looking for your thoughts on UFC 287 and NJPW Sakura Genesis tomorrow, so you an leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
We’re also looking for reports from WWE in Portland, OR and AEW in Kingston, RI, for anything that doesn’t happen on the live TV shows like dark matches and the like.
*Sakura Genesis starts at 4 a.m. Eastern time tomorrow morning from Tokyo Sumo Hall:
*Mystery six man tag match
*Jeff Cobb & Aaron Henare & Francesco Akira vs. Sho & Yujiro Takahashi & Evil
*Tama Tonga & Hikuleo & Master Wato vs. David Finlay & El Phantasmo & KENTA
*Mercedes Mone vs. Hazuki vs. AZM for the IWGP women’s title
*Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Shota Umino for the TV title
*Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Aussie Open for the IWGP tag titles
*Hiromu Takahashi vs. Robbie Eagles for the IWGP Jr. title
*Kazuchika Okada vs. Sanada for the IWGP heavyweight title
*Mayu Iwatani will be at the show to challenge the winner of the IWGP women’s title for 4/23 at the Yokohama Arena.
Skye Blue has officially signed an AEW contract.
I strongly recommend watching the Sunday match with Takagi vs Henare from Korakuen Hall It is one of the best matches of the year.
*UFC 287 tomorrow from Miami, FL:
6 p.m. on ESPN+:
*Jaqueline Amorim (115.5.) vs. Sam Hughes (116)
*Steve Garcia (145.5) vs. Shayilan Nuerdanbieke (146)
*Ignacio Bahomondes (159.5) vs. Trey Ogden (159.5)
*Cynthia Calvillo (116) vs. Lupita Godinez (115.5)
8 p.m. on ESPN:
*Karl Williams (241) vs Chase Sherman (249.5)
*Gerald Meerschaert (185.5) vs. Joe Pyfer (185.5)
*Michelle Waterson Gomez (116) vs. Luana Pinheiro (115.5)
*Kelvin Gastelum (185) vs. Chris Curtis (186)
PPV at 10 p.m.
*Raul Rosas Jr. (135) vs. Christian Rodriguez (137) – Rodriguez missed weight and was fined 20 percent of his purse
*Kevin Holland (170.5) vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio (171)
*Rob Font (135) vs. Adrian Yanez (135.5)
*Gilbert Burns (170) vs. Jorge Masvidal (171)
*Alex Pereira (185) vs. Israel Adesanya (184.5) for the middleweight title
*The gate for this show is more than $11 million, which is more than either night of WrestleMania even though they are doing an arena setting. It would be one of the biggest gates in UFC history.
UFC announced that the 6/10 PPV show will be in Vancouver, BC.
Amanda Ribas vs Maycee Barber is slated for a 6/24 UFC show that will air on ABC
Jessica Andrade vs. Yan Xiaonan is slated for a 5/6 PPV show in Newark, NJ
The Universal tournament of champions in CMLL starts tonight at Arena Mexico with Mistico vs. Atlantis Jr. vs. Rocky Romero in a battle of the three historic champions.
El Hijo del Vikingo is working for GCW on 5/26 in Las Vegas which is the AEW Double or Nothing weekend.
Other Notes
The NWA has a PPV tonight called 312 on FITE from Chicago headlined by Tyrus vs. Chris Adonis for the NWA title, Cyon vs. EC3 for the National title, Kamille vs. Rosa Negra for the women’s title, Bestia 666 & Mecha Wolf vs,. Magnum Muscle for the tag titles, Kenzie Paige vs. Max the Impaler for the women’s TV title and lots of other title matches.
LFA is running a show at the Gila River Resort & Casino in Chandler, AZ on 5/19.
Defy tomorrow night in Seattle at Washington Hall features Swerve Strickland vs Nick Wayne for the Defy title, plus Vert Vixen defends the women’s title against Miyu Yamashita, Bollywood Boyz vs.State of Emergency, Michael Oku vs Cody Chhun, Marina Shafir vs. Nicole Matthews an Alex Reynolds & John Silver & Guillermo Rosas vs. Ricky Gibson & Eddie Pearl & Levi Cooper,. They also ran 5/5 in Tacoma at ALMA Tacoma.
Innovate Wrestling has the Smoky Mountain Cup tournament on 4/29 in Kingsport, TN at the Civic Auditorium. It will start with six singles matches and the winners go into a six-way eliminating match in the finals Chase Owens is on the show.
Central States Wrestling tomorrow night in Lenexa, KS at the National Guard Armory with a no holds barred street fight for the DWF title with Jeremy Wyatt vs. Ace Steel with Michel Strider as referee plus Tootie Lynn vs. Heather Reckless.
Lucha Va Voom returns to its home base of the Mayan Theater in downtown Los Angeles for shows on 5/4 and 5/4. Taya Valkyrie, Peter Avalon, Rey Horus and Jack Cartwheel will be on the show.
Pro Wrestling Revolver from last night ni Dayton, OH: They announced Josh Alexander wasn’t there due to his injury and that Brian Cage had travel issues and wasn’t there: JT Dunn b Myron Reed, Chris Sabin b Bryan Keith, Mike Bailey & Veda Scott b Steve Maclin & Deonna Purrazzo in a married tag team match, Gringo Loco won scramble match, Madman Fulton b Crash Jaxon, Miyu Yamashita b Allie Katch, Ace Austin & Chis Bey b Trey Miguel & Zachary Wentz to win the tag team titles, Alex Shelley b Jake Crist in a street fight to keep the Revolver Remix title.
Brittany Blake vs. B3CCA has been added to tomorrow night’s MLW show in Philadelphia.
