WWF Veteran Kevin Kelly and wrestlers The Tate Twins (Brandon & Brendan Tate) have filed a lawsuit against All Elite Wrestling, AEW President Tony Khan, and announcer Ian Riccaboni. The lawsuit was filed on August 30 in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas by attorneys Stephen P. New and Benjamin Baer.
The Tate Twins, who worked as The Boys alongside Dalton Castle in AEW/ROH, were released earlier and stated that their release was attributed to budget cuts, not a travel miscommunication as previously suggested. They shared screenshots of their communications with AEW management regarding their travel issues.
Kevin Kelly, who joined AEW as the lead play-by-play announcer for Collision, was later released, allegedly due to his social media posts accusing Riccaboni of sabotaging his career and libel. Kelly had voiced his issues with Riccaboni and claimed that AEW offered him a severance package, which was retracted when he didn’t sign a form.
The lawsuit seeks to void the arbitration clause in their talent contracts and requests the court to certify a class-action suit against AEW, alleging that the company misclassifies its wrestling talent as independent contractors rather than employees.
Here’s what WrestlingNewsAV reported about it:
“Three former talents terminated by the company have brought a lawsuit against All Elite Wrestling, among others.
The suit, brought by announcer Kevin Kelly and wrestlers Brandon & Brendan Tate, was filed on August 30 in the Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas by attorneys Stephen P. New & Benjamin Baer, and is seeking to void the arbitration clause of their talent contracts, as well as requesting the court certify a class-action suit against AEW over claims the company is misclassifying its wrestling talent as independent contractors, rather than employees.
In April, it was reported that the Tate Brothers, known professionally as The Boys, were released from their Ring Of Honor contracts due to budget cuts. ROH owner Tony Khan claimed during media events that their release was due to no-showing several events, a claim the brothers deny. That claim is now at the center of the defamation allegation against Khan by the Tate Brothers.
Real name Kevin Foote, Kelly is seeking monetary damages claiming, among other things, that AEW breached his contract, and has interfered with ability to find work elsewhere. Also named in the lawsuit is AEW announcer Ian Riccaboni, whom Kelly also seeks monetary damages from and claims defamed him by way of social media after accusing him of being a member of QAnon.
Kelly, who joined AEW in June 2023 after working as the English speaking commentator for New Japan, was fired from his position as an AEW play-by-play announcer in March, after he went public on his social media expressing his frustrations with the company and Riccaboni.
Attorney Stephen P. New released a statement, saying ‘I applaud the bravery of these Plaintiffs in bringing this long-overdue action, challenging the mis-classification of pro-wrestlers as independent contractors instead of employees. We know we are in for a long, hard fight, but in the end, I believe justice always prevails’.”
AEW commentator Jim Ross had the following to say about this lawsuit on his podcast:
“When you sign your contract, you agree to the terms. That would include being an independent contractor. I’ll say this. The plaintiffs, Kevin Kelly and those guys, they’ll run out of money before Tony Khan does. I don’t hold out much hope they’re going to get any kind of settlement, whatsoever. Maybe I’m wrong. I’m not a judge or lawyer or anything along those lines.
I don’t like those kind of lawsuits. I think they’re frivolous. You would think guys would get together and work out something before going to spend their money on a lawyer, who is probably doing it, ‘If you win, you get this. If you don’t win, no harm, no foul.’
There is harm and there is foul. You knew what you were doing when you signed your deal. I’m not familiar with the two wrestlers. I know who they are. Kevin Kelly is an old friend of mine for years. I was sad to see him leave the way he did. He just wasn’t happy.
I think he wanted a bigger role that wasn’t available to him. Then, all of a sudden, he’s gone. It’s unfortunate, it’s sad. He has a lot to offer. As far as the independent contractor thing being thrown out and overruled, I don’t hold any hope for that to happen.”
Kevin Kelly issued the following statement on X regarding this lawsuit:
“Lots of comments on our lawsuit and we will see what happens. I had hoped to settle this fairly and quietly with AEW but they left us no choice. And to my friend JR, this is not ‘frivolous’ in the least. We look forward to what comes next. Thank you all very much.”
All Elite Wrestling issued the following statement regarding this lawsuit:
“AEW does not comment on pending litigation.”
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