WWE And Gabe Sapolsky Dismissed From Samantha Tavel Lawsuit, Riddle Request Denied

A judge has dismissed WWE and Gabe Sapolsky from the lawsuit filed by Samantha Tavel, a.k.a. Candy Cartwright, against both parties and Matt Riddle. United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois Judge Manish S. Shah dismissed WWE and Sapolsky “without prejudice for lack of personal jurisdiction.” Riddle’s motion to dismiss was denied.

Tavel had filed a civil lawsuit against WWE, Sapolsky and Riddle last October seeking $10 million per defendant for various damages, emotional distress, attorney’s fees, and court costs. Tavel claimed that Riddle committed a series of assaults against her from 2017 through January 2020. She alleges that Riddle first sexually assaulted her in April of 2017 in a parking lot after an EVOLVE show. She claims that Riddle forced her to perform oral sex on him on a bus with other wrestlers after an EVOLVE show on May 19, 2018. 

Judge Shah ruled that Tavel failed to demonstrate specific personal jurisdiction lies over WWE. In a sworn affidavit, WWE stated that they had no involvement in the May 2018 wrestling event and didn’t even employ Riddle at that time.

“Tavel offers no evidence to rebut these facts, so I accept them as true, notwithstanding the complaint’s allegation that WWE controlled Evolve’s events,” Judge Shah wrote in the ruling. “To establish personal jurisdiction, Tavel needed to come forward with evidence to establish a prima facie case over WWE. Because WWE wasn’t involved in the May 2018 event around which Tavel’s injury occurred, her injury didn’t arise out of WWE’s Illinois-related activities. And though she vaguely refers to WWE’s holding events worldwide, and specifically in Illinois, she doesn’t explain when or how WWE held events in Illinois. WWE’s connection to Illinois is vaguely sketched, and its connection to the conduct alleged in Tavel’s suit is nonexistent.”

As for Sapolsky, the judge ruled that Tavel failed to meet her burden regarding Sapolsky. According to Sapolsky’s affidavit, Riddle and Tavel took different transportation after the May 2018 Evolve show to the next event in Michigan and he wasn’t in the minibus where the assault occurred.

“Tavel doesn’t rebut these facts either, so I take them as true,” Judge Shah stated. “Tavel hasn’t sufficiently established a connection between Sapolsky’s Illinois contacts and the claim at issue. She accuses Sapolsky of encouraging or assisting Riddle’s behavior. But Sapolsky didn’t know about the assault and wasn’t in the minibus where it happened. And there’s no allegation that Sapolsky encouraged Riddle’s behavior in the course of his contacts with Illinois. It’s unclear when or where that alleged encouragement occurred. Tavel argues only that Sapolsky was physically present in the state at the time of the assault. Of course, physical presence in the forum state is a ‘relevant contact.’ But when there’s no connection between the defendant’s contacts with the state and the underlying controversy, ‘specific jurisdiction is lacking regardless of the extent of the defendant’s unconnected activities in the State.’ Tavel hasn’t sufficiently linked Sapolsky’s activities in Illinois with the conduct underlying her suit.”

The court ruled that although Tavel’s allegations are contested, they are plausible “and they suffice to put Riddle on notice of the conduct he’s accused of.”

Riddle’s answer to the complaint is due on April 14, 2021, “and the parties shall file a joint status report on April 21, 2021, with a proposed discovery schedule.”

source: wrestlinginc.com

WWE Officially Announces Next ThunderDome Home

WWE officially announced today that their new ThunderDome residency at the Yuenglin Center will begin with the post-WrestleMania 37 edition of RAW on the USA Network, on Monday, April 12.

“WWE takes great pride in providing our fans and network partners with cutting-edge production and one of the most interactive atmospheres in all of television every single week,” said Kevin Dunn, WWE Executive Producer & Chief, Global Television Production. “We look forward to the next iteration of the WWE ThunderDome at Yuengling Center as we continue to take the fan experience to a whole new level.”

It was noted that more than 650,000 fans have registered for WWE ThunderDome crowds since last August.

WWE confirmed that they will continue to run closed-set tapings at the Yuengling Center, with COVID-19 protocols in place for talent, crew and employees.

There is no word yet on how long the Yuengling Center residency will run for. WWE’s first ThunderDome residency was at the Amway Center in Orlando, which began last August. They then moved to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg on December 11. The Yuengling Center will be the third ThunderDome venue of the COVID-19 era.

The Yuengling Center sits on the University of South Florida campus in Tampa, and was once known as the University of South Florida Sun Dome. The venue has a capacity of 10,411 when there are no COVID-19 protocols in place. The University of South Florida currently has three teams that call the Yuengling Center home – the South Florida Bulls men’s basketball team, the South Florida Bulls women’s basketball team, and the South Florida Bulls women’s volleyball team. The teams are not currently playing due to the pandemic, so games will not be a problem for WWE.

WWE ran the Yuengling Center many years ago before there were bigger options in the area. The 1995 Royal Rumble pay-per-view was held in the arena, along with Saturday Night’s Main Event in December 1985 and SNME in December 1988. WWE would have a short move from Tropicana Field to the Yuengling Center as the drive is around 30 minutes. It’s been reported that WWE wanted to keep the ThunderDome in or near the Tampa area.

WWE will wrap their residency at Tropicana Field with upcoming tapings going into WrestleMania 37 Week. You can click here for details on their final events at Tropicana Field

Rumor Mill - Triple H In Quarantine Following COVID-19 Outbreak

Triple H has reportedly been in quarantine following a COVID-19 outbreak in NXT.

Earlier this week, reports emerged stating that there had been another COVID-19 outbreak in NXT. This was caused after several members of talent and staff had been moving rings in the Performance Center without using proper safety precautions.

Further reports noted several talents who were absent from NXT this week. One of the names mentioned was Triple H, who also didn’t show up to Raw or NXT television. As per the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Triple H is now under quarantine. It was noted that his situation is being kept secretive, and it doesn’t necessarily mean he has tested positive. NXT producers Road Dogg and Shawn Michaels took Triple H’s place as head of NXT production.

Stephanie McMahon On How WWE Will Operate After Vince McMahon Steps Down

WWE’s chief brand officer Stephanie McMahon joined Bloomberg Business of Sports to talk WWE’s move to NBC’s Peacock streaming service. During the interview, she documented WWE’s journey through the streaming landscape.  

“Vince’s perspective has always been to be slightly ahead of the curve,” said Stephanie. “You never want to be behind. So that’s why we were one of the first, five years ago, to launch our streaming service, the WWE Network. We did learn a lot from that time. Actually we were actually pretty far down the pike negotiating a linear deal. But our almost partners wanted to lock up our rights for about ten years. It was just a real long time, so we decided to take a step back and do deeper research. 

“We learned that our fans were consuming five times more online video than average. So we thought ‘let’s control our own destiny.’ And we doubled down and within eight months we launched WWE Network. 

Later Stephanie was asked about how Vince McMahon’s vision of WWE be presented when the Chairman of WWE finally steps down. Stephanie indicated it would be a group effort.

“I do think a lot of the institutional knowledge is important, particularly with regards toward the core content,” Stephanie said. “But it’s also surrounding our business with strong, smart executives. And that’s exactly what we have. So I do think it’s the marriage of institutional knowledge, the incredible production value, the creation of talent IP and storylines and really strong business executives to help us expand. I think it’s a combination of things. 

“I don’t think there will ever be a person to person replacement for Vince McMahon. He does too much. The landscape would look different however it shakes out. But I think it’s a marriage of those things.” 

credit Bloomberg Business of Sports and Wrestling Inc. for the transcription

Freddie Prinze Jr. Praises Triple H And Cody Rhodes In Helping ‘Normalize’ Wrestling For TV Execs

Freddie Prinze Jr. has had his fair share experience in the WWE writing room, but is a lifelong fan of the wrestling business in general. In addition to that, the actor also knows how the film and television business operates and knows how much that industry isn’t leaning in the favor of pro wrestling. Prinze took to Twitter yesterday to give his insight on how tough it is to crack that primetime television egg.

“If you knew how bad most tv execs did not want professional wrestling on their channels you’d respect the hell out of WWE, NXT, & AEW for pulling off what they do each week,” He started. “They literally have every card in the deck stacked against them and they’re still growing the business.”

Prinze followed up with another Tweet praising figureheads like Cody Rhodes and Triple H for bridging that gap between the canvas and the board room.

“This is why cats like HHH doing interviews and Cody being on other TNT programming is so important. They help normalize the business because they just get it. They come off chill and solid. Hope they both continue to stay out in the public eye. It’s more important now than ever.”

WWE seeking over $500,000 in legal fees from attorney Konstantine Kyros

Per Law360, WWE and their CEO Vince McMahon is seeking $573,770.44 in legal fees from attorney Konstantine Kyros, who led the now-dismissed concussion/brain damage lawsuit against WWE. Kyros represented a number of former in-ring performers and he forwarded their claims about the sports-entertainment company hiding the risks of concussions from them.

WWE asked a federal court in Connecticut for over $500,000 this past Monday. The filing took place prior to a hearing regarding WWE’s two constituent applications for court-ordered fees. The applications are in relation to two consolidated cases that were dismissed. The first was dismissed by U.S. District Judge Vanessa Lynne Bryant in 2018 and the other was by a Second Circuit appeals panel in September of 2020.

Back in February, the concussion/brain damage case was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court by Konstantine Kyros. Kyros filed a request, asking the Supreme Court to hear the appeals. WWE denied the allegations and a spokesperson told the Associated Press that the lawsuits are without merit.

On top of WWE’s seeking of the six-figure number, they are also looking for an additional $39,844.00 in fees and costs in connection with their applications following the Second Circuit’s decision.

WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt further backed WWE’s innocence on the matter and discussed how there was misconduct from Kyros during the litigation.

He violated court orders, didn’t comply with court orders, ignored court orders that cautioned him to cease certain behavior or risk sanctions. He would continue the same kind of behavior. He plagiarized and made false allegations based on other lawsuits against the NFL, where he would just parrot allegations that had been made against the NFL or its personnel, and would just change [text], reading from ‘NFL’ to ‘WWE.’

The liability for sanctions has been established in three different court orders, that he’s supposed to pay all of our attorney’s fees in connection with various things he did wrong. The only thing left to be determined is how much that is.

As of this writing, Kyros is the only remaining attorney that is representing the plaintiffs in the case. The other attorneys he worked with from other firms filed motions to withdraw as counsel.

WWE Dismisses Lawsuit Against US Citizenship And Immigration Services

WWE has dismissed their lawsuit against United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.

We noted back in late January how WWE had filed the lawsuit, but details were sealed to the public. Immigration attorney Martine G. Cuomo filed documents on behalf of WWE for the lawsuit, and it was speculated that the suit had to do with WWE not being able to get a talent or employee into the United States, possibly due to recent policy changes amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In an update, HeelByNature reports that WWE filed a voluntary dismissal with the United States District Court of Connecticut on March 10. The suit will not move forward.

The case was assigned to District Court Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford, CT back on January 27. That same day a protective order was filed to ensure details of the case remain confidential. US Citizenship and Immigration Services was required to answer within 60 days, and a pre-trial date was set for March 27.

There’s no word on if a settlement was reached due to the court records being sealed.

Two-Night NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver Set For WrestleMania Week

William Regal promised some huge news tonight at NXT, and when the episode began, he delivered. Regal kicked off the show by announcing that NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver will be a new, two-night TakeOver event that will take place during WrestleMania week.

Unlike prior two-part events, NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver will take place over the course of back-to-back nights, with the first night occurring on Wednesday, April 7 at 8:00 p.m. ET on USA Network, and the second night airing on Thursday, April 8 at 8:00 p.m. ET exclusively on Peacock, NBC’s newest streaming service and the future home of all WWE content. 

It’s unclear as of right now what matches will take place at Stand & Deliver, but with it happening during WrestleMania week and with one night airing on Peacock, it’s safe to say fans will be in for a huge show when it does happen. 

First WWE NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Revealed

The The first-ever WWE NXT Women’s Tag Team Titles have been officially announced.

NXT General Manager William Regal opened tonight’s NXT show on the USA Network and announced that Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez are the inaugural NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions due to their win in the first-ever Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic earlier this year.

The first-ever Women’s Tag Team Titles for the black & yellow brand come one week after WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler retained over Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez in controversial fashion. Kai and Gonzalez had earned their title shot by winning the first-ever Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Last week’s NXT show saw Regal arguing with main roster official Adam Pearce over the controversial finish, and Regal then declared that he would have a major announcement to make this week.

John Laurinaitis Is Once Again Leading WWE’s Talent Relations Department

According to a new report from F4WOnline.com, John Laurinaitis is once again working as WWE Head of Talent Relations.

Laurinatis’ new role will start immediately; he will officially serve as General Manager, Talent, and report to WWE Executive Vice President of Operations Brad Blum. Laurinaitis first stepped into the role in 2004, replacing Jim Ross, and held the position until he stepped down in 2012. “Johnny Ace” has since been working in WWE as a producer/road agent. In addition to his backstage and administrative roles, Laurinaitis served as an on-air General Manager personality from 2011-12 that promoted People Power.

F4W also explained that the talent relations department is being split into talent management and talent branding, the latter of which would essentially function as a talent agency to book outside appearances and projects for WWE Superstars.

Stephanie McMahon Joins Women’s Leadership Board for Sports Innovation Lab

Per Sportico, WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon has become an inaugural board member for the Sports Innovation Lab Women’s Leadership Board. This is a data-driven women’s leadership board founded by Olympic medalist Angela Ruggiero’s SIL.

The new board is comprised of 22 female executives across sports, media and tech industries. The goal of the board is to bring industry leaders together using SIL’s data and research to support each individual member’s continued professional success and network together.

Other inaugural board members alongside Stephanie McMahon include Big East commissioner Big East commissioner Val Ackerman; Jessica Berman, deputy commissioner at the National Lacrosse League; former pro tennis player and current CEO at Billie Jean King Enterprises Ilana Kloss; LA28 Olympics/USA Olympics CEO Kathy Carter. 

Rumor Mill - WWE NXT Moving To A New Night

There are rumors on the WWE NXT TV show possibly moving to Tuesday nights on the USA Network.

It was reported today by the Mat Men Pro Wrestling podcast that NXT is set to move to Tuesday nights beginning April 13, which would be the first NXT show after WrestleMania 37 weekend. The report noted that an official announcement should be made fairly soon by WWE.

WWE has not confirmed the schedule change as of this writing and it should be taken strictly as a rumor for now, but some people in or around NXT have heard of the rumor making the rounds.

Furthermore, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer noted on Twitter that NXT moving to Tuesday night was definitely a topic of discussion in WWE as of February 24, which was last Wednesday, but at least at that point the change was not final.

Mat Men later noted that they heard the same thing about the February 24 rumblings, adding that NBC staff were told of the move this week. Meltzer said he expected this would happen when the NBC Sports Network shut down, which could bring some NHL content to Wednesday nights.