Judge Rules AEW Can't Fully Seal Wrestler Contracts As Part Of Ryan Nemeth Dispute

Once thought to be done and dusted, the legal dispute between AEW and Ryan Nemeth is back in a big way after AEW filed a complaint last month attempting to compel Nemeth to arbitration in Jacksonville, Florida. In doing so, they may have opened the door for the world to learn a bit more about how a standard AEW contract works. Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics reports that Florida magistrate judge Patricia Barksdale has partially denied AEW's motion to seal Nemeth's three wrestler contracts with the promotion, a motion Thurston himself had opposed. Instead, AEW will be given the opportunity to refile the contracts with redactions.

This ruling has left AEW with the option of submitting these redacted contracts within 21 days of Nemeth making his first filing, or they could withdraw the contracts as exhibits. While the latter decision would keep AEW contract information hidden, it would also mean they couldn't be considered in AEW's attempts to compel arbitration between them and Nemeth in Florida. Should AEW decide to submit Nemeth's contracts with redactions, Thurston noted that he could file yet another opposition should he feel the redactions blacked out too much information, which would then force another ruling on the matter.

An interesting subplot of these developments are Nemeth's involvement, or lack thereof. At the time of this ruling by Barksdale, Nemeth has yet to make a filing of his own in this dispute. If he continues to not appear or respond to AEW's filings, the promotion would go from needing 21 days to submit the redacted contract to 111 days of the filing of their initial complaint on June 5, giving them until September 24.