Judge Denies WWE's Motion To Dismiss MLW Lawsuit

Major League Wrestling is currently embroiled in a lawsuit with WWE over alleged monopolistic practices and violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. WWE recently filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, but that motion has now been denied.

According to court documents, U.S. District Court Judge Edward Davila ruled against every single one of WWE's complaints in its motion to dismiss. The judge found that MLW properly defined its relevant market, provided circumstantial evidence that WWE had taken part in monopolistic actions and anti-competitive conduct, and "sufficiently alleged antitrust injury." Among other cases, the court cited the famous 2001 antitrust case United States v. Microsoft, which established that violations of Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act can be committed with less than "the roughly 40% or 50% share usually required in order to establish a [section] 1 violation."

WWE also motioned to have the state law violations in MLW's suit dismissed, but according to the judge that motion was not properly argued by the defense and was also denied.

If not dismissed, the lawsuit may cost WWE millions of dollars, as MLW has reportedly "imposed broad discovery" in the case, meaning an extensive amount of evidence would need to be collected at potentially great expense.