Fans excited Vince McMahon might be working on a new promotion for FOX will be disappointed.

McMahon, who is mired in two civil suits, a possible federal criminal investigation (depending on whose lawyers you ask) and sitting in ccash like Scrooge McDuck (if that reference is too aged, how about Mr. Beast?), was rumored to have been talking with FOX about establishing a new wrestling promotion.

FOX just ended its run on Smackdown after several years, with the network disappointed by the promotion’s ratings. AEW was in talks for a show on the network, but that fell to the side after AEW ratings slipped over the past year.

McMahon could have been name and publicity at a discount, but people close to FOX say this isn’t happening (sources told SEScoops this over the past week. This information has also been reported by other sites). While someone may have entertained the notion as just as an idea at the network, sources close to the network said McMahon is absolutely a no-go, especially after the Grant and Ring Boy suits and the fallout of the Mr. McMahon documentary on Netflix.

FOX Sports is also mired in is own sex scandal with a former FOX Sports hairdresser suing the company alleging harassment, as well as a former anchor Julie Stewart-Binks accusing executive and (Nick Khan client) Charles Dixon of sexual harassment and sexual assault.

Warner Bros. Discovery to make hard play for UFC

Flashback to six months ago. Warner Bros. Discovery failed to match the deal Amazon Prime had made for NBA coverage, moving the league off Turner networks for the first time in ages. WBD challenged the deal in a lawsuit, but to no avail, despite having the best studio team in sports, they had no games to call.

WBD’s fortunates changed when the NBA 2024-25 season began in November to historically low ratings. Many blame it on the constant negativity of league alumni and analysts, calling out the league, its players and style of play. The NBA’s All-Star Weekend was panned, perhaps unfairly, especially in comparison to the NHL’s Four Nations tournament which featured some of the best hockey in years. Others believe fans haven’t found a team or player to identify with like the WNBA has in Caitlin Clark or the NFL has with the Kansas City Chiefs. Losing the deal was now a smart move, and now WBD has cash to shop. While it didn’t happen at the beginning of the season, the ludicrous trade of Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks to the L.A. Lakers was another blow.

Since losing the NBA deal, WBD has taken a hard look at luring Ultimate Fighting Championship from ESPN. The deal between ESPN and UFC runs out this year. TKO will be looking for money that rivals ESPN and what WWE got for moving to Netflix, and WBD has money to spend, if you consider the now and not the future, with homes dwindling so quickly among TV nets and cable.

Major League Baseball and ESPN announced it was ending its deal after the 2025 season, early, after ESPN wanted to pay less for baseball on its network. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said he didn’t want to take less money because it would devalue the league when it tries to negotiate in future deals.

The problem for the MLB becomes the problem for anyone that’s off ESPN – losing the prime and biggest sports network. Having a presence on ESPN is bigger than any games they may air and how much they pay. Ask the NHL and NASCAR what life is like after they moved off the network. Studio shows, highlights, online articles tend to disappear for those not doing business with the Mouse and the Worldwide Leader.

UFC isn’t exactly in a dynasty of top stars. Ronda Rousey and Anderson Silva aren’t walking through that door. Neither is Conor McGregor, at least one that’s a decade younger. Being on ESPN is a great way to ride the waves of stars and draws that affect combat sports and pro wrestling. It’s the model that has served WWE well at times.

WBD will offer a lot, but will it be enough? TKO seems to look more at the cash end than celestial TV and cable presence (shareholders afterall). Good luck getting any league to leave ESPN after the bad press MLB got this past week.

AEW and WWE streaming wars are on different battlefields

AEW’s winning the early battle in streaming success since its shows have began airing on the MAX app starting this year, coinciding with its shows on TNT and TBS. While WWE has seen a steady fall from its debut episode. This was predicted in many ways, but the way streamers hold onto their numbers in a dragon sleeper makes it hard to know how well anyone is doing.

Netflix has a massively global audience, but WWE is putting all of its cards with RAW on the streaming table. AEW has shows on TNT and TBS, which are in around 50 million homes, but adding homes through MAX is more of a zero-sum gain. That’s if you believe MAX’s subscription numbers of 72 million in the U.S. and around 100 million worldwide.

WWE’s expected audience of 5 million per episode has fallen short many weeks, but it isn’t reflective of the quality of the show (or the gazillions the company is making), but of the Netflix world in which it lives. Major events will get big algorithm play from Netflix – WrestleMania, the Royal Rumble – but the algorithm becomes a fight between shows dueling it out on search week after week.

It doesn’t help WWE that its demographics don’t match well with the rest of the demos on Netflix. WWE would certainly love to get more of a push from the streamer on its search, but that’s likely not to happen unless things change at the company. Keep in mind Netflix paid billions for Friends re-runs.

Does this mean WWE is in trouble? Probably not. They get millions of viewers and WWE carried the last quarter for TKO, not UFC as usually expected. The company is moving into WrestleMania season and it’s locked in for at least five years, with Netflix having an option for an additional five at with a bigger paycheck for WWE if it takes it on.

WBD won’t release numbers on AEW, meaning we have to take their word for it (or we don’t, release the damn numbers), but says the show is one of the most consistent performing on MAX and rivals the top sports shows, which is interesting since AEW is earmarked as entertainment by the company. It’s certainly picked up more viewers with millions of more homes available, but the company has to hope its current run of good storytelling and shows continues and it can avoid anymore 2024s.

A lot can change and WWE’s biggest skill has been manuevering change in the ever evolving world of the web and streaming.

In a new filing in Connecticut Superior Court on Friday, attorneys for Janel Grant claimed counsel for Dr. Carlon Colker and Peak Wellness admitted Vince McMahon paid for Colker to be her doctor and Peak Wellness withheld her medical records.

The two claims were part of Grant’s complaint filed against McMahon, World Wrestling Entertainment and John Laurinaitis last year in federal civil court. Grant said McMahon forced her to see Colker, was medicated against her will and wasn’t given access to her medical records.

Grant’s filing was in response to a supplemental filing by Colker’s attorneys on Wednesday. Colker and Peak Wellness asked Connecticut Superior Court to dismiss Grant’s bill of discovery complaint stating it didn’t follow Connecticut state statute because Grant intended to use information from the state discovery to name Colker and Peak Wellness as defendants in her federal civil suit.

Colker and Peak Wellness said the bill of discovery should also be denied because some of the information gathered by Grant’s counsel was part of confidential settlement communications.

In Friday’s memorandum, Grant’s attorneys said the settlement communications were null and void once they were disclosed by attorneys for Colker and Peak Wellness on Wednesday. They also disagreed with Colker’s attorneys on discovery and state law, saying no state statute in Connecitcut keeps discovery in state court from being used in a federal case.

Janel Grant, the former World Wrestling Entertainment employee who filed a complaint against Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis and WWE last year, filed an amended complaint on Friday in Connecticut federal district court.

The new complaint accused McMahon of using Grant like a “commodity” through sex assault and sex trafficking.

In a press release, attorneys for Grant accused McMahon of the following:

• “McMahon sent a text message to Grant, where he fantasized in graphic detail about watching as a group of men are “surrounding” her and leaving her physically “wrecked,” underscoring how he viewed her as a commodity to offer to others.”
• “A text message from McMahon to Ms. Grant where he makes clear that only McMahon has the power to “arrange” Ms. Grant’s sexual encounters.”  
• “An occasion where McMahon video recorded Ms. Grant while nude for Laurinaitis, without Ms. Grant’s knowledge or consent.” 
• “Details about the sham investigation WWE proclaimed to conduct in 2022 after it became public that McMahon signed NDAs with multiple women, in which “investigators” refused to interview Ms. Grant.”
• “The transcript of a voice message from McMahon to Ms. Grant, where he attempts to coerce her into signing an NDA “really f***in’ fast” so he doesn’t get kicked out of his own “f***in’ company.”

Representatives for Vince McMahon sent SEScoops the following statement from his attorney Jessica T. Rosenberg: “As expected, the proposed amended complaint is nothing more than the latest publicity stunt in an ongoing smear campaign. It is filled with desperate falsehoods from a team that continues to disregard the law and the truth.”

The complaint included additional text messages and communications between McMahon and Grant and gave more details on the allegations against McMahon, Laurinaitis and a physical therapist at Peak Wellness. It also included communications with other WWE staff.

One portion of the complaint said McMahon forced Grant to film material for him to give to Michael Hayes and other WWE employees on the production crew.

The complaint said a new office, designed with knowledge of WWE execs Nick Khan and Brad Blum, was built for Laurinaitis that gave him an internal door to Grant’s office. The office was said to be located on the same wall as an office for Paul Levesque.

It also alleged McMahon could be seen looking at photos of Grant while being filmed for the 2024 Mr. McMahon Netflix documentary.

“McMahon recklessly obtained Ms. Grant’s nude photos while being filmed for a documentary and shots of him viewing her nude images aired on Netflix in 2024 for the world to see,” the complaint said.

The amended complaint said McMahon had originally violated the non-disclosure agreement signed by him and Grant, accusing McMahon of leaking the information to a media blogger.

Judge Sarah F. Russell denied Grant’s motion for a status conference on Jan. 16 and also denied McMahon, WWE and Laurinaitis’s request to hold a motion for arbitration hearing until after Grant filed her amended complaint.

SEScoops has reached out to The Ringer, which produced the Mr. McMahon documentary for Netflix for comment.

Representatives for former World Wrestling Entertainment owner Vince McMahon responded to an SEScoops article published on Monday after counsel for Janel Grant, who is suing McMahon, WWE and John Laurinaitis in federal district court on allegations related to sex crimes, filed a motion for a status conference on Monday.

Attorneys for McMahon also filed a motion of opposition in Connecticut federal district court, asking the court to deny Grant a status conference and move to an arbitration hearing. Attorneys for WWE, McMahon and Laurinaitis have asked the court to have Grant’s complaint taken to private arbitration as per her non-disclosure agreement with McMahon, which was signed in 2022.

McMahon, WWE and Laurinaitis want Grant to argue her case per an arbitration clause in the non-disclosure agreement she signed in 2022.

Grant’s counsel said on Monday that their client’s NDA was one of two for which Vince McMahon was fined and paid restitution for after an investigation by the Securities Exchange Commission finished last week. Grant’s counsel filed her status conference motion asking the court to meet to organize a schedule and that the plaintiff needed more time to amend its complaint after the SEC investigation finished.

“The recent federal investigation resulted in no criminal indictments from the SDNY, while the SEC settlement relates to minor accounting issues at WWE that have nothing to do with this case,” attorney Jessica T. Rosenberg said in a statement to SEScoops. “Any claims to the contrary made by Janel Grant’s team are just another desperate PR stunt.”

In a post on Twitter/X, Grant representative Kendra Barkoff Lamy responded to Rosenberg’s statement.

“(Vince McMahon) is trying to prevent Janel Grant from having her day in court because he doesn’t want the public to see the horrifying evidence of his repeated sexual abuse and trafficking,” Lamy said.

SEScoops reached out to prosecutors at the Southern District of New York, where the McMahon criminal investigation was taking place. When asked if the case was still ongoing, a media representative said, “No comment.”

Grant attorney Ann Callis said in a statement to SEScoops on Monday that McMahon has remained under federal investigation after a stay on the civil case expired in December. A federal prosecutor in May requested a stay on the case in May 2024.

In the opposition motion filed on Monday. McMahon’s attorneys asked the court to move straight to the arbitration hearing. The motion said Grant’s counsel had adequate time to amend its complaint during the previous three weeks and it had missed the date filings, according to civil procedure rules.

“Plaintiff’s announced plan to file an amended complaint (which she could have done any time in the past three weeks) would not impact the deadline to respond to Defendants’ pending motion and does not necessitate a status conference,” the motion said.

According to her counsel and a motion filed on Monday in federal district court in Connecticut, one of the non-disclosure agreements Vince McMahon was fined for last week was signed by Janel Grant. This information was part of a motion for status conference that was filed on Monday by Grant’s attorneys.

According to a press release last week from the Securities Exchange Commission, McMahon was fined $400,000 and paid over a million in restitution to World Wrestling Entertainment for not properly disclosing two NDAs he had signed. One was an NDA in 2022, which counsel for Grant said was the NDA she signed at the time. The other NDA McMahon was fined for was with a former WWE contractor/wrestler.

Grant second status conference filing asked the court for a schedule due to the following developments:

• The new judge in the case
• No order entered on the docket officially ending the 6-month stay that was requested by federal prosecutors last year
• Motions by defendants requesting arbitration per the NDA agreement.
• The SEC ruling on McMahon’s NDA with Grant.
  
  Attorneys for Grant planned to amend her complaint by Jan. 15, according to the first motion filed two weeks ago, but asked the court for a schedule in order to consider the SEC fines and charges against McMahon and other developments.

“It is clear that the Court’s guidance is needed to reach consensus on a schedule to move this litigation forward,” the motion said. “Plaintiff respectfully requests the Court schedule a status conference at its earliest convenience, and enter an order clarifying that no further submissions are due until the Court instructs otherwise.”

In a statement to SEScoops, Grant attorney Ann Callis said the SEC charges against McMahon prove the NDA violated the law.

“In light of the SEC’s charges proving that the NDA Vince McMahon coerced Ms. Grant into signing violates the law, Ms. Grant has renewed her request for an updated scheduling conference to ensure these new developments are reflected in her complaint and establish a clear schedule to move her case forward,” Callis said. “Ms. Grant deserves the opportunity to have her day in court and hold her abusers accountable.”

The public information officer for the Southern District of New York Attorneys office wouldn’t give comment on Monday on the status of the federal criminal investigation into McMahon. A representative for Grant on Monday said her counsel was told in December by federal investigators that the criminal probe into McMahon is still ongoing.

Attorneys for Janel Grant are amending her lawsuit against World Wrestling Entertainment, Vince McMahon and former WWE executive John Laurinaitis.

Ann Callis, an attorney for Grant, sent an email to plantiffs’ counsel on Dec. 16 stating they would be amending the lawsuit by Jan. 15. The email was included in an exhibit filed with a motion for status conference made on Thursday, Jan. 2.

Grant filed her initial complaint against McMahon, WWE and Laurinaitis in January 2024. The case was placed in a stay in May for six months at the request of federal prosecutors. According to the Wall Street Journal, McMahon has been under investigation of a federal grand jury in Manhattan for sex assault, rape and sex trafficking.

In an interview with SEScoops in November, Callis said other women had come forward since Grant filed her lawsuit. She said attorneys were vetting several women and could amend Grant’s suit to include other alleged victims.

McMahon and his wife Linda, who is expected to be Donald Trump’s nominee for the Department of Education post with the Cabinet, were sued in October by five alleged survivors of the 1980s WWF Ring Boy Scandal in Maryland. The civil suit is currently on hold while the Maryland Supreme Court considers whether a state law voiding statute of limitations regarding negligence in sex assault cases is constitutional.

Attorneys for McMahon re-filed his motion on Dec. 23 to appeal the Grant case to arbitration, per the non-disclosure agreement Grant and McMahon signed.

Variety, the long-running magazine covering the entertainment industry, named All-Elite Wrestling owner Tony Khan and several members of WWE parent company TKO, including Nick Khan to its “Dealmakers 2024” in an article published on the magazine’s website on Wednesday.

Khan, AEW and the TKO board were one of the few non-agency or law firms named to the Dealmakers list this year, which included Audible and several lobbying and entertainment law firms.

Tony Khan was credited with AEW’s new three-year deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, five years after the company aired its first show on WBD television.

In October, five years to the week after Khan launched professional wrestling promotion AEW as a direct competitor to Vince McMahon’s long-dominant WWE, he closed a multi-year media rights deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, worth a reported $185 million a year, that calls for AEW’s shows and events to be broadcast on TBS and TNT and stream on Max. The company is now valued at more than $2 billion, making it the third-most-valuable combat sports company in the world.

Ain’t bragging if it’s true: “Our new arrangement signifies that AEW will make history as the first professional wrestling promotion to simulcast events weekly on top cable channels and a top streaming platform,” says Khan.

The article called 2024 a year where “deals weren’t as plentiful or as rich, but necessity being the mother of invention, often more innovative.”

Longtime World Wrestling Entertainment executive and president Nick Khan, along with fellow TKO executives Ariel Emanuel, Mark Shapiro and Andrew Schleimer, were also named. Variety cited the Endeavor’s 2023 acquisition of WWE and WWE’s deal with Netflix.

Last year, Endeavor merged Ultimate Fighting Championship with World Wrestling Entertainment under the TKO Group Holdings banner. In January 2024, TKO’s leadership quadrumvirate closed a $5.2 billion, 10-year deal to make Netflix the exclusive home of WWE’s flagship show “Raw” in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Latin America and other territories beginning in January 2025. As part of the pact, Netflix will be the home for all WWE shows and specials outside the U.S. from that date forward, giving roughly 80% of international territories immediate access to 100% its content, with the rest of the globe filling out their WWE lineups as outstanding deals expire.

“While the money is extraordinarily important, the downstream impact and ancillary benefits to being with the distributor and just south of 300 million homes globally was something that got us very excited,” says Schleimer.

Other members of the list included:

• Akin Gump Strauss Hauer and Feld, the second-largest lobbying firm in the U.S.
• Alter Kendrick and Baron, music lawyers who closed $1 billion in publishing and mater recording acquisitions in 2024.
• Audible’s executive team
• Perry, Plashuk, Lefebvre and Hill of Covington and Burling, law firm specializing in entertainment acquisitions
• David Wright Tremaine, litigation law firm now advising on major entertainment projects
• Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein Lezcano Bobb and Dang, entertainment law firm
• Nina Shaw of Del Shaw Moonves Tnaka Finkelstein Lezcano Bobb and Dang
• DLA Piper, Hollywood legal firm
• Francisco Arias of Fifth Season
• Fox Rotschild, lawyers and talent reps

The magazine credited those on the list for maneuvering the economic ups and downs of the streaming bubble, COVID-19 and inflation, as well as strikes by the writers and actors unions.

The District Attorney with the Southern District of New York won’t file an extension of the six-month stay in Janel Grant’s federal civil suit against Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis and World Wrestling Entertainment.

Grant filed the suit in January, claiming the defendants of sex trafficking, sex assault and other civil rights violations, as well as violating a non-disclosure agreement.

Federal prosecutors requested a six-month stay due to possible interference between the case and an ongoing federal grand jury criminal investigation of Vince McMahon that’s been ongoing since 2023.

In a statement to SEScoops, attorney Ann Callis said she’s happy Grant’s case can proceed while the federal investigation continues.

“We are pleased that prosecutors for the Southern District of New York have concluded that they can continue their criminal investigation while we bring forward new evidence in our civil case about the sexual exploitation carried out by Janel Grant’s abusers. For the last six months, Ms. Grant has patiently waited to hold Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis, and WWE accountable for the sex trafficking and abuse she endured at the company on a near daily basis. Her wait is over, and we now look forward to sharing Ms. Grant’s story.”

With Donald Trump again president-elect, and Linda McMahon working on his transition team and expected to head the Department of Commerce, wrestling media has broadly speculated that a pardon for Vince McMahon is likely to occur.

Trump has the power to pardon McMahon, even though he hasn’t been formally charged or indicted in a federal sexual assault, rape and sex trafficking investigation that’s been ongoing for over a year, and despite the conflict of interest in Trump’s relationship with McMahon which has last 40 years and McMahon’s wife Linda being a former Small Business Administration head in Trump’s last administration.

What Trump can’t do is pardon McMahon from any civil court proceedings, such as the lawsuit filed against him by Janel Grant, or any state or local criminal proceedings. This would include the civil action filed against him, Linda McMahon and TKO in Maryland last month by four survivors of the WWF Ring Boy scandal.

Why can presidents pardon convicted criminals or those charged with federal crimes?

Presidents receive pardon powers directly from the U.S. Constitution. In Article II, Section II, the president “shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.“

Pardon power dates back to English common law of mercy, when royalty could pardon certain people sentenced for crimes.

Presidents can pardon people who have been convicted or are facing federal criminal charges. This is where McMahon enters the picture since he’s being investigated by the FBI and a federal grand jury in Manhattan for sex crimes.

Trump could also commute McMahon’s sentence if he’s indeed indicted by a federal grand jury and is found guilty in court.

Trump and his previous pardons

Pardons are inherently political and many are controversial.

The most notable pardon in U.S. history, President Gerald Ford pardoned former President Richard Nixon early in his term. Nixon had resigned following the Watergate scandal and was replaced by Ford, the sitting Vice President.

Ford felt it best to pardon Nixon and not put the country through the trial of a recent president. The pardon and a rough debate performance (Warsaw was in fact, not happy with the Soviet occupation of Poland, Mr. Ford) were key factors in his loss to Jimmy Carter, showing the political damage a pardon could have on the president.

Some pardons seek to give justice to those who were denied it. This was the case when Trump pardoned Jack Johnson. Johnson became the first African-American world heavyweight boxing champion during the height of Jim Crowe in the early 1900s. He was convicted by an all-white jury in 1913 for violating the Mann Act when he was traveling with his white girlfriend between states, violating a law that forbid traveling with women across states with the intent of “immoral purposes.”

Trump, a boxing fan, had pardoned Johnson with support of actor Sylvester Stallone and after decades of outcry from Civil Rights activitists. The pardoned occurred over 100 years after his conviction.

Other Trump pardons included people convicted of various drug offenses.

Charles Kushner, a slumlord and father of Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, was sentenced to 24 months in prison in what then U.S. Attorney General Chris Christie called “one of the most disgusting crimes he had ever prosecuted. Kushhner was convicted after he lured his brother-in-law (who was informing on Kushner to the FBI in a tax-evasion case) to a hotel, hired a prostitute to lure him into sex and recording it in hopes of using it as leverage on his brother-in-law.

Trump saved most of his pardons for his inner circle of political operatives – Steve Bannon, Paul Manafort, Roger Stone and Michael Flynn had been charged or convicted of various crimes involving acting as international agents or other acts that benefited his campaign. He pardoned the four as he left office with little to no backing to show they deserved being pardoned. All four continue to be involved in his political operations and are part of his inner-circle, unlike the McMahons.

Can Trump pardon Vince McMahon?

Yes, and no.

Trump could pardon McMahon from the criminal investigation he’s facing in the Southern District of New York.

Trump cannont pardon McMahon in any state or local criminal cases or from any civil federal cases, like the Janel Grant suit. The Grant suit is currently on a stay at the request of federal investigators. The stay is scheduled to end on Dec. 11.

Trump cannot pardon businesses or companies. If World Wrestling Entertainment, TKO or any other company were to be charged in a criminal action, Trump couldn’t pardon the company.

He also can’t pardon anyone who has been impeached.

McMahon pardon could be risky for Trump

Whether Trump does pardon Vince, the potential fallout from public opinion could be a major factor. Manafort, Bannon, Stone and Flynn were highly controversial figures, but they aren’t accused of anything as seriuos as McMahon. According to the Wall Street Journal, McMahon is being investigated for sex trafficking, rape and sex assault. Public opinion is powerful and a pardon of McMahon would be extremely controversial, morseso than someone who commited white collar crimes or something related to the election.

The risk is real. President Bill Clinton pardoned former Wall Street wonderboy Mark Rich during his final day in office. Rich was charged with 51 counts of tax fraud along with numerous other crimes when he fled prosecution and flew to Switzerland. Rich’s ex-wife had been a large donor to Clinton’s campaign and his presidential library. The pardon beame the most controversial since Nixon’s.

The pardon was heavily criticized by media and politicians in both parties, including President Jimmy Carter, former Clinton associate Terry McAulife and former Clinton campaign manager James Carville. Brookings called the Rich pardon “the final outrage.” Rich and other pardons on Clinton’s last day in office were referred to later as “Pardongate.”

Clinton was investigated for the Rich pardon to see if there was evidence he had been “bought off” by Rich’s ex-wife, but investigators concluded this wasn’t the case.

Case law history on Presidential pardon powers, Congressional legislation and the separation of powers

The interpretation of presidential pardon power is known as “plenary,” meaning broad. Trump has much sway with how he issues pardons, but he’s limited to federal criminal cases.

Presidential pardons have been revoked – twice. The first occurred in 1869 when outgoing President Johnson issued a pardon (ironically, a case handled in the Southern District of New York, where Trump was convicted on 34 felony charges last year and the same court investigating McMahon) which wasn’t completed when he left office. Incoming President U.S. Grant revoked the pardon once he came into office.

President George W. Bush revoked his own pardon in 2008. Bush pardoned Issac Toussie, a New York property and real estate developer who was convicted of mail fraud and making false statements to a government agency. After the pardon, the Bush administration learned Toussie’s father made a $38,000 donation to the Republican party. After outcry from the media, the pardon – which had been issued but not completed – was revoked by Bush himself.

It’s unlikely the Supreme Court would take action to limit Trump’s pardon power after it ruled earlier this year that Trump had “absolute immunity” from criminal prosecutions after he was out of office for actions he took while in the office of the President. The current court, which ended Roe v. Wade with the Dobbs decision, has taken a broad view on presidential power in other cases.

This doesn’t mean Trump couldn’t face an investigation if there were public pressure and if the circumstnaces around the pardon called for it. The Mark Rich pardon was the case of a president being suspected of being paid for a presidential pardon. He was ultimately cleared.

Two Supreme Court cases set the broad power standard of the presidential pardon – both date to the post-Civil War era and the Andrew Johnson administration.

Ex Parte Garland, an 1866 case, a federal law passed by the US after the Civil War required a loyalty oath from any federal court officer stating they had never served with the Confederacy.

Augustus Garland challenged the law after he received a pardon from President Andrew Johnson, who succeeded President Abraham Lincoln. The ruling stated the loyalty oath law was unconstitutional in a 5-4 decision. The ruling’s legacy established the president’s pardon power could occur anytime after a crime had occurred.

The other key case was U.S. v. Klein in 1871. In 1870, Congress prohibited the president from using a pardon to allow a former member of the Confederacy to claim proceeds from having their property or estate sold. Klein went to court after the death of a relative, asking for the proceeds from the estate. The Supreme Court ruled Congress had no right to limit the president’s pardon powers and violated the Separation of Powers between the Executive, Judicial and Legislative branches.

Ann Callis, one of the attorneys representing Janel Grant in a civil complaint filed against Vince McMahon the former President of World Wrestling Entertainment in January, said Grant’s lawsuit against WWE and Vince McMahon has inspired other women in the wrestling industry to come forward with stories of abuse.

Callis credited Grant with allowing other women in the wrestling industry to reach out.

“I can say generally Janel has been courageous in speaking out about her situation,” Callis said. “Her hope is she is an example to other people who feel that they are not alone and they can speak out themselves and we have been seeing that. I have had several people contact me and we are doing vetting and going through that process.”

Callis said while other women have contacted her following Grant’s case, her federal civil suit against McMahon, John Laurinaitis and World Wrestling Entertainment is in a stay until December 11. This came after a request was made by the FBI and federal investigators who are looking into McMahon in a separate federal criminal case.

Callis, who said she couldn’t talk about Grant’s NDA specifically, spoke with SEScoops about non-disclosure agreements in general and the impact they’ve had on people in the work place.

“They have been weaponized and I think that’s why recent laws have been passed in order to protect men and women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted in the workplace,” Callis said.

In 2022, the Speak Out Act was passed making it illegal for non-disclosure agreements to prohibit men and women from coming forward if they were sexually harassed or assaulted.

A year earlier, Congress passed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act.

Callis said these laws don’t end contracted non-disclosure agreements automatically, but prevent them in the future in cases of NDAs signed at the onset of employment being used to silence someone who allegedly suffered sexual harassment or sexual assault.

But the new federal laws, as well as state laws, are aimed at protecting employees in these circumstances.

According to the American Bar Association, 82 percent of employees in the U.S. have signed arbitration agreements with their employers when they fill out paperwork starting a new job. Arbitration agreements are also part of many NDAs in discussing how disagreements should be handled.

Before the stay was issued in the McMahon civil suit, his counsel as well as Laurinaitis and WWE’s filed a motion for a hearing to determine whether Grant should be forced to air her grievances in an arbitration hearing in the NDA she signed.

This type of language isn’t just in NDAs, but in the fine print of paperwork and contracts signed by employees. Callis said many of these arbitration clauses aren’t upheld in court and recent legislation, court precendent should make people feel better about their situation if they want to fight in courrt.

“When you’re faced with a multi-national corporation or a multi-billion dollar company, there’s a lot of road blocks that you will see when you are faced with protecting your children and feeding them,” Callis said. “It’s an unfortunate situation people find themselves in but recent legislation, case law and precednet should make these people feel better about their situation.”

Most wrestlers are independent contractors despite meeting many of the conditions of being employees, according to descriptors set by the U.S. Department of Labor.

“Some companies want to characterize workers as independent contractors, but it’s not as clear cut,” Callis said. “In many of these instances the courts find they are indeed employees.”

Several lawsuits have been filed against WWE and World Championship Wrestling over independent contractor status in the last 24 years.

While Grant’s civil case has been under a stay in federal court, she filed a motion for a bill of discovery against Dr. Carlon Colker and his company Peak Wellness in July in Connecticut Superior Court.

Vince and Linda McMahon, as well as WWE, were named as plaintiffs in a suit filed weeks ago in Maryland by several alleged survivors of the 1980s ring boy scandal. The suit claimed the company and the McMahons were negligent in keeping predators away from children, who were hired as ring boys at the time and later accused WWE employees of sexually assaulting them.

McMahon, who is no longer affiliated with WWE, was reported to be looking to start a new entertainment company last week. Linda McMahon, despite being named in the Ring Boy lawsuit, is part of Donald Trump’s 2024 transition team as he prepares to take over the White House in January.

Since 2021, Ari Berenstein’s students at Abraham Lincoln High School have prepared for the argumentation unit of their coming English Regents Examination on the question that’s become an over-arching subject across culture, education, psychology, tecnhology and politics.

Does the internet have a negative impact on our thinking process?

A scroll through any social media platform will show you many negative examples. Berenstein, a pro wrestling fan, discovered one positive influence that has changed the thinking of many of his students – Jay Fowler.

Fowler, who writes under The Great Fowler handle on Twitter, was diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation in Jan. 2020 and with only 10 percent heart function. Fowler was given six months to live, but despite close calls with death and many visits to the ER, he’s survived nearly five years and became famous among pro wrestling fans, wrestlers and wrestling media as the guy who kicked out at 2.9 against The Grim Reaper.

Fowler gained support on Twitter from some of wrestling’s biggest names like Cody Rhodes and Kenny Omega as the guy who kicked out at 2.9 on the Grim Reaper.

What made Fowler’s story standout – he used the contacts and goodwill he received to spread goodwill to others. Whether it’s helping those in need, or setting up messages and greetings from top wrestling names for kids in need.

Berenstein wanted a topic for research that would interest his students and work their critical thinking skills. Fowler’s story immediately came to mind.

“One of those research activities goes into the positive aspects of the internet, social media, and the influence it can have on people, especially helping others and “paying it forward”,” Berenstein said. “Which is something Jay has done with his health situation and how he has helped others in similar moments in their lives. I ask students to choose from a menu of options such as researching different gofundmes or charities. Another option is reading and responding to the article about Jay’s life and how he became a positive influence on others even amid a difficult and ongoing struggle.”

Berenstein learned of Fowler’s health condition listening to Bryan Alverez and Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer podcast. He began following Fowler online and became more familiar with his work to push positivity on a more-often-than-not negative platform like Twitter and a notoriously cynical fan base like pro wrestling.

Berenstein said most of his students aren’t pro wrestling fans, but it didn’t stop them from relating to Fowler’s story.

“Students have been very complimentary towards Jay and his story,” Berenstein said. “Most students are obviously not into wrestling fandom, but they understand on a basic level that someone is helping others to experience something cool.”

Fowler’s health will be an uphill battle for him the rest of his life. He’s still faced eviction and finding cash to pay for bills, but he said the struggle has been worth it if it inspires others to do good.

As part of the assignnment, students in Berenstein’s class shared their thoughts about his story on Padlet.

Fowler said his own dire situation helped him see the power of good.

“That is what makes me feel good,” Fowler said “If high school students start looking at things from a better perspective, everyone wins.”

Friday’s episode of Piers Morgan’s YouTube show, Uncensored, featured former WWE employees Vince Russo, Charly Arnolt, Maven Huffman and Jonathan Coachman, discussing the current issues facing World Wrestling Entertainment and former owner Vince McMahon in the wake of Netflix’s Mr. McMahon six-part documentary.

McMahon is being investigated for criminal charges by a federal grand jury. McMahon, WWE, and former employee John Lauritnaitis are being sued in federal civil court for sex assault, sex trafficking and other complaints by former employee Janel Grant.

A clip of New York Post sports columnist Phil Muschnick was aired from the documentary, where he criticized McMahon and discussed his coverage of the WWF steroid trial in the 90s.

Mushnick’s image immediately drew the ire of several of Morgan’s guests. They were in for a bigger surprise later.

Mushnick then appeared as a surprise guest, catching fire from Huffman, Coachman and especially Russo.

Russo accusing Phil Muschnick of ignoring WWF’s steroid symposium and testing

Russo criticized Muschnick before he appeared on air for not covering the WWF steroid symposium that took place after McMahon was found not guilty in the steroid trial. He repeatedly took shots at Mushnick for his lack of coverage.

Muschnick eventually fired back, stating the man behind the symposium, Dr. Mauro DiPascale, was notorious for teaching how to cheat steroid tests.

DiPascale ran the WWF’s drug testing program for several years. He was also involved in programs with the World Bodybuilding Federation and worked with NASCAR. He’s written several books on what he calls the Anabolic diet.

One source told SEScoops that rumors of DiPascale’s showing how to cheat steroid tests were well known throughout the time he was with WWE and beforehand when he was one of the first to write about steroids. Muschnick also wrote about the allegations in 1999 shortly after the death of Owen Hart in his New York Post column.

Another source said DiPascale was known as the guy to go to in the bodybuilding committee if you wanted to beat steroid tests.

“A naive media filed stories portraying McMahon as a leader in the war on drugs,” Mushcnick wrote in his May 25, 1999 column about his drug testing program coming out of his early 90s steroid trial. “McMahon that day named his new drug czar: Dr. Mauro Di Pasquale, legendary among body-builders for his writings on how to beat drug tests.”

The column mentioned the deaths of Brian Pillman and Rick Rude.

In a 2019 interview with Bodybuilding.com, DiPascale criticized the medical establishment for how it handled steroids and doctors who felt they weren’t healthy or didn’t bring results.

“As well, being traditional and conservative by nature, they tend to follow the general moral consensus. If society in general condemns drug use by athletes, then so do they. Unfortunately they also tend to bend the information is such a way as to discourage behavior that they feel is morally or socially unacceptable.”

Later in the interview, DiPascale said one of his books, Drugs In Sports, was banned by the Canadian Olympic Committee. The interviewer also said the book was straightforward in showing how to beat drug tests.

DiPascale said he wrote his book purposely straightforward as an information guide on steroids.

Coachman, Russo, Maven said they never heard McMahon tell wrestlers to use steroids

Coachman said he spent more time with McMahon during his time period as his assistant than anyone in the company and never heard him talk about steroids.

Russo echoed the same point, stating he spent hundreds of hours with McMahon in the writer’s room and he never heard McMahon say a certain wrestler needed to begin taking steroids if they wanted to keep their job.

Maven Huffman said he told fans on Instagram that he had taken steroids. He said he was never told to by the company and he said he did it out of his own personal vanity.

But this doesn’t mesh at all with what other wrestlers have talked about WWE’s hard emphasis on the bodybuilder look for years.

Shortly before he died, Lance Cade (Lane McNaught), said in an interview he was told repeatedly while in OVW by members of talent relations that his work wasn’t sharp enough to get him called to the roster. Feeling he was being told indirectly that he wasn’t living up to what the company expected, McNaught said he began taking steroids. He was promoted to the main roster within a few months, and told his work had improved, despite little to no change his ability or his work to himself.

Shoot interviews are full of wrestlers, especially during the 2000s, telling stories of how they were demoted because “management” didn’t think they had the proper look. Sometimes this was a demotion to developmental “to get in shape”, other times wrestlers were put on the bottom of the card or taken off TV. This was common knowledge throughout the company and was talked about incessantly by talent in the company.

Mushnick calls McMahon a real life Hannibal Lecter

Mushnick hasn’t written about the Janel Grant case in the New York Post. He also didn’t mention it during his segment on Morgan’s show. He did mention the ring boy scandal of the early 1990s, and referred to it as a “pedophile ring.”

Morgan asked Mushnick how he viewed McMahon, and he said he saw him as a real life version of the fictional Hannibal Lecter, which earned guffaws from several of the WWE supporters during the segment.

Arnolt was asked if she had witnessed or been treated in a way that matched some of the allegations made against McMahon in his civil case. She said she hadn’t, hadn’t seen anything of that nature, but said there was some behavior that she could have taken to human resources, but also knew this was the nature of the wrestling business.

The lack of discussion about Grant was disappointing considering her lawsuit and the current criminal investigation in New York. More disappointing, was how quickly former WWE employees line up and are willing to fight battles for a company that either dismissed them, treated them badly or harassed them.

This was disappointing for several reasons. Russo mentioned he immediately left the WWF for WCW when he asked McMahon if he could spend more time at home with his family. McMahon said with the money he was making, he could afford to hire a nanny to raise his kids. He said this was his impetus for getting out of the company.

Coachman was once the victim of a vile prank by McMahon when he was put in charge of a football pool backstage, then real officers dragged him off and arrested him as a bookie as part of a vicious joke by McMahon. Coachman was also further bullied, but that didn’t change his attitude when he defended John Layfield behavior bullying announcer Mauro Rannallo when Coachman was working for ESPN.

Trump, McMahon similarities ‘are a positive’

Arnolt was asked by Morgan about McMahon and his friendship with presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump. She described them for their speak-first nature, but said they “shared positive traits.” Both McMahon and Trump have been accused of sex assault, rape and sexual assault by multiple women.

Attorneys for Janel Grant filed a memorandum in Connecticut Superior Court on Tuesday in opposition to Dr. Carlon Colker and Peak Wellness to dismiss the bill of discovery complaint she filed in July.

Grant’s filing, a memorandum in law in opposition to plaintiff’s motion to dismiss, challenges several claims in Colker’s motion.

Grant’s memorandum in opposition claims McMahon was in contact with Colker during Grant’s treatment at Peak Wellness, from Nov. 22, 2019 to April 15, 2022.

The motion says the bill of discovery is necessary to see if there’s reason for Grant to file a suit against Colker and Peak Wellness in Connecticut Superior Court. It also reiterates claims from her bill of discovery complaint that Colker and Peak Wellness ignored requests for her electronic medical records and only sent incomplete forms on paper in violation of four different federal laws.

“Defendants (and Vince McMahon) have gone to great lengths to block Ms. Grant from accessing these documents relating to her own medical care,” the statement said.

Colker’s motion said. the bill of discovery complaint violated the stay requested by the FBI and other investigators in her civil case, which is paused until December. The judge in the federal civil case denied a motion to stop the bill of discovery complaint in federal court and said the court wasn’t the correct venue.

Grant’s counsel claims Colker’s attorney’s motion to dismiss was improperly filed and should have been a motion to strike; that Connecticut Superior Court has jurisdiction to hear the bill of discovery complaint; Grant’s bill of discovery has probable cause; McMahon, Laurinaitis and WWE are non-parties to the state action; any procedural issues mentioned by Colker’s counsel weren’t fact or have been fixed; Colker and Peak Wellness don’t dispute they were timely notified of the bill of discovery complaint; Connecticut precedent says courts should make every effort to adjudicate Grant’s action on its claims over procedural matters (Worth v. Picard).

“Ms. Grant filed this bill of discovery for the purpose of investigating potential claims of civil conspiracy, aiding and abetting, fraud, assault, battery, RICO, RICO conspiracy, and/or breach of fiduciary duty against Dr. Colker and Peak Wellness,” Grant’s motion said.

Grant filed the bill of discovery complaint in June claiming Colker and Peak Wellness refused to send her medical records and other information earlier this year for discovery in her federal civil suit against Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis and World Wrestling Entertainment.

Colker and Peak Wellness filed a motion to dismiss the discovery complaint on Aug. 29 stating the discovery complaint wasn’t verified under Connecticut General Statute; the complaint is for a federal case and not a Connecticut state case; and Grant’s motion ignores “the very different and unique procedures for statutory bills of discovery.”

Colker and Peak Wellness counsel sent marshal to serve Grant personally

Grant’s motion of opposition states hours after the Federal judge refused to block her bill of discovery, Colker’s counsel had Grant served personally with their own bill of discovery instead of going through her counsel.

“In a move calculated to cause Ms. Grant extreme emotional distress, Defendants sent a marshal to effect personal service of their petition on Ms. Grant at her home, despite knowing she was represented by counsel,” the motion said.

Colker and Peak Wellness withdrew its bill of discovery after Grant’s counsel filed a motion to strike.

In press release, Grant’s counsel listed their discovery requests from Peak Wellness and Colker.

• Ms. Grant’s electronic medical records, including all associated metadata;
• Dr. Colker and Peak Wellness’ recordkeeping and billing procedures;
• Payment records relating to Ms. Grant;
• Dr. Colker and Peak Wellness’ payment arrangements with McMahon and/or WWE;
• The purpose of Ms. Grant’s prescribed treatments;
• The substance of Ms. Grant’s prescribed treatments;
• Any communications between Dr. Colker and McMahon relating to Ms. Grant; and
• Dr. Colker’s involvement in recommending Ms. Grant’s attorney for negotiation of the purported non-disclosure agreement.

“Imagine being at your most vulnerable, and the doctor you are told to see only makes you feel worse,” said Ann Callis, attorney for Janel Grant. “Our filing today makes clear that Dr. Colker violated ethical and medical standards when he injected unknown substances into Janel’s body and directed her to take unlabeled pills while dismissing her basic questions about those drugs. Peak Wellness owes Janel Grant answers and the clinic’s secrecy and evasion must come to an end.”

Callis, attorney Erica Nolan and SKDK firm spokesperson Kendra Barkoff Lemy will have a press call on Tuesday at 11 a.m.

All-Elite Wrestling and Warner Bros. Discovery announced a new multi-year deal on Wednesday, making AEW content and PPVs available on the MAX streaming platform as well as same-day availability of AEW shows Dynamite and Collision. Variety reported the deal hours before the AEW Dynamite fifth anniversary show.

AEW will no longer air Rampage, the 1-hour Friday show that aired late in prime time. AEW Collision could also possibly move off Saturdays to a weeknight prime time slot, as reported by Jay Fowler.

AEW PPVs will begin airing in 2025 on MAX later in the year, but won’t be exclusive to the app. MAX subscribers will be able to purchase AEW PPVs at a lower price. AEW’s library of Dynamite, Rampage and Collision shows will be available on MAX. This didn’t include the ROH library or ROH TV, which continues to air on Honor Club. Given the deal’s terms and both companies planning future content, this could change. There were no discussions of airing ROH on WBD networks during the negotiations of the new deal. ROH,

AEW is likely to be exclusive to WBD with its cable TV programming, given the multi-year deal and the price tag. This means a potential AEW show on FOX would have to air on its network channel, not on one of FOX’s cable channels, unless WBD makes an exception.

AEW will develop future programming for the MAX app and WBD cable.

Variety reported the deal would pay AEW more than $150 million per year. John Ourand of Puck reported two weeks ago the deal would be around $170 million per year. SEScoops was told previously AEW will likely earn $160 million to $200 million per year with WBD’s new contract, increased PPV availability on MAX and a possible contract with FOX.

Ann Callis, an attorney for Janel Grant, blasted Vince McMahon for categorizing his relationship with Grant as “an affair” in a statement he released on Monday reacting to a screening of the Netflix documentary Mr. McMahon.

Grant is suing McMahon, World Wrestling Entertainment and former WWE Talent Relations head John Laurinaitis for sex assault, sex trafficking and other claims in federal civil court. McMahon is also being investigated by a federal grand jury in New York in a criminal case.

“Vince McMahon physically and emotionally abused, sexually assaulted and human trafficked Janel Grant for more than two years. Calling his horrific and criminal behavior “an affair” is delusional and nothing more than a sad attempt to save his shredded reputation. Although Ms. Grant has not seen the “Mr. McMahon” docuseries, we hope it shines a bright light on his abhorrent and criminal actions by accurately portraying the realities of his abusive and exploitative behavior.Ms. Grant will no longer be silenced by McMahon. Her story, though deeply troubling and exceptionally painful, is one that can help other abuse survivors find their voices. We seek to hold McMahon, John Laurinaitis and WWE accountable and to give Ms. Grant her day in court.”

Ann Callis, attorney for Janel Grant

Netflix’s Mr. McMahon documentary debuts on Wednesday. Netflix will begin streaming WWE Raw in 2025.

Janel Grant attorney Ann Callis and Kendra Barkof Lamy, managing director of SMDK representation, held a press conference on Thursday, a day after Grant’s team announced the group would be joining her team during her lawsuit against WWE.

Callis and Grant answered questions about the upcoming Netflix documentary, Mr. McMahon, which is scheduled to debut on the streamer on Sept. 25.

Grant’s team, in a statement to SEScoops, said Netflix approached Grant for an interview but said she wouldn’t be taking part.

“Janel Grant is a human being, a victim and a survivor,” Callis said. “She’s not a WWE storyline.”

Grant’s civil case is currently paused in federal court at the request of federal investigators. McMahon is also under investigation by a federal grand jury for rape, sex assault and other crimes, according a reporter earlier this year from the Wall Street Journal.

Callis addressed the upcoming McMahon documentary several times, saying she hoped the producers would shine a light on McMahon’s behavior over the years. She noted McMahon had settled with four women for around $12 million over the past few years.

The Daily Beast shared a report in 2018 from an incident involving McMahon at a Boca Raton tanning salon in 2006, where he was accused of groping and sexually assaulting a young female employee at the business before she ran to a Papa John’s pizza store in the same shopping center and asked workers to call police. Police said there was probable cause to charge McMahon, but the case was dropped by prosecutors based on their not being “proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Callis and Lamy said they wanted Grant’s case expedited, but didn’t get into details how. When asked if they wanted the federal investigation to move quicker, Callis said they wanted the civil case to be on track and they wanted federal investigators to “be right” and take their time.

Callis said no one with Grant’s team, or Grant, have seen the McMahon documentary.

Janel Grant, the former World Wrestling Entertainment employee suing Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis and WWE in federal civil court, has hired an additional representation firm.

In a press release first published on Twitter by Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics, SKDK (also known as SKDKnickerbocker) announced it would join Grant’s representation team. The Agency Group, which has represented Grant since she filed her federal suit, will also continue working with Grant.

The firm has worked with victims in other high-profile sex assault cases, including Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein. Most of its work has been with Democratic party politicians.

The firm said in the announcement it would begin working for Grant ahead of the Vince McMahon documentary scheduled to debut on Netflix on Sept. 25.

When asked if Grant or a member of her team would now participate in the documentary, one of her representatives said no and provided a statement from the documentary’s announcement, stating Netflix approached Grant for an interview but wasn’t taking part.

SKDK’s managing director, Kendra Barkoff Lamy, was the former spokesperson for Joe Biden when he served as Vice President under Barack Obama.

“SKDK has a proven track record of uplifting survivors of sexual violence and human trafficking,” attorney Ann Callis said in the statement. “We look forward to our partnership in seeking justice for our client Janel Grant.”

Grant’s civil case was paused at the request of district attorneys in federal court earlier this year. A Wall Street Journal report earlier this year said Vince McMahon was being investigated by a federal grand jury for rape, sex assault and other crimes.

I first met Nigel McGuinness in 2001 at Les Thatcher’s Main Event Wrestling Camp. He was kind enough to give me an interview shortly before a weekday Heartland Wrestling Association show.

I was one of maybe 10 people in the crowd. The camp recently changed locations and Nigel recently returned to the United States. When ABC’s 20/20 recorded a segment on professional wrestling, they came to Thatcher’s camp. Nigel was featured in one portion of the segment, telling his story how he was now on his second VISA, working to resume training and looking for his shot, which at the time was his end-all, be-all goal of working for World Wrestling Entertainment and winning the world title.

McGuinness was a prototypical athlete, but in 2001, he wasn’t a prototypical pro wrestler. He was tall, but he didn’t have the bodybuilder look of most talent of the time. He was too tall and too big to be one of nameless spot specialists, the type of wrestlers who watched WCW’s Cruiserweight division and cut out all of the wrestling and psychology.

When Nigel returned to the states, the wrestling industry had been cut to a third. ECW was out of business, WCW was out of business and WWE was the only major company. HWA, which previously was a developmental territory for WCW, would soon have a developmental deal with WWE. Nigel didn’t get a developmental contract himself (much to the chagrin of Thatcher, and from what I heard, other WWE developmental mainstays like Jim Cornette and Tom Pirtchard).

Even though the HWA was soon invaded by former WCW wrestlers and WWE developmental stars-in-the-waiting, they didn’t wrestle as well as the HWA talent, paying their dues and tuition. When developmental talent arrived, HWA was already drawing hundreds to shows, wrestling in three different states and put on matches that were making news across the burgeoning online wrestling scene.

But professional wrestling is not always about being better. Somestimes, it’s seldom about being better.

I watched Nigel wrestle dozens of times. During any other era he was a sure star in the making on personality alone, but during the early days of the monopoly, it was almost impossible to see where he would fit into the picture. For him to make it, a total re-invention of the business would have to take place. Physicality, psychology, promos, natural charisma – those were the tools he had in his toolbox, but he didn’t fit the mold. And as my own extremely inexperienced outlook would learn many times over the years, those who don’t fit the mold tend to be the wrestlers who are the most special.

Roll On

McGuinness had this strange ability of finding a way to be the most over person on any card. If it was a new town or audience, give him two shows and people paid good money to listen to his rants at the crowd or see him take his shots. His natural heel personality, the punk rock, blue collar look, and the instantly recognizable entrance music by The Living End, made it easy to know when he was coming.

I have several favorite Nigel stories. One, at first, was quite distressing. I was told privately that his green card had ran out and he was sleeping on Shark Boy’s floor while trying to stay in the country (the veracity of this, I believed at the time. Later, not so much. Wrestlers love working reporters). A week later, I wake to emails and voice mails saying Nigel had been arrested and hauled out of an HWA show by men in ICE jackets and tossed in a van. Nobody knew where he was. Fans told me they saw this. What in the hell.

A few weeks later, a valet who accompanied her storyline brother to the ring on a regular basis had an announcement that she was engaged. Her brother demanded to know who this guy was and couldn’t wait to meet him. “Roll On,” by The Living End began cranking its iconic intro.

Pro wrestlers talk about different levels of heat. When fans are angry, into it, hate the heels. The HWA training faciiity, which was now drawing 75 to 100 fans for its weekly weekday shows and hundreds on weekend shows at other places, sounded like a prison riot.

Like all bad guys, when you’re really good at being bad, that’s when the crowd starts to see you as good. Within a month Nigel was a babyface. Confused former WCW talent and WWE developmental dealers couldn’t understand why the crowd loved this guy with the spiky blond hair more than them. They had the deals and were the chosen ones, but that doesn’t mean you’re good.

Ups and Downs of the hyper motivated

McGuinness was the most focused pro wrestler I’d ever covered. I interviewed dozens, talked to dozens, became friends with dozens, but Nigel made it clear to everyone, his career goal was to make it to WWE and become WWE world champion.

By this time, I knew how politics worked inside WWE. The last thing you wanted the company to know is how badly you wanted to be there. This was setting yourself up for major problems.

The company never admits it, but the talent that plays hard to get or has options tend to get the best deals and tend to get the most effort. It’s a strange thing, but this was how the company worked, and Nigel’s vocal mindset helped him grow and keep focused and grew him fans throughout Ohio and the indies, but it was a negative as far as how backstage politics worked in WWE.

Before the first Pillman memorial show, I talked with Nigel for about half an hour. He was down on his prospects, which is normal for anyone that’s highly motivated the ups and downs in making it any tough business are tremendous. Having this mindset in pro wrestling, which is subjective and is determined in totality on a few people, has to be torture.

This was the last time I talked to Nigel. Around this time, to make up for the gaping hole left by two major companies, independents began picking up steam. In the spirit of the Super J Cup, or the G1, tournaments started popping up on the east coast, featuring the best unsigned talent in the country. A couple guys, who sold ECW tapes online through RF Video, attended and saw how much talent was at these shows and realized there was enough to start a company.

A year later Ring of Honor launched. After several shows around Philadelphia, they took a shot and went to Dayton, Ohio, where HWA had drew 500-plus crowds monthly on a regular basis. Nigel McGuinness wrestled his first match for ROH that night. I remember walking the parking lot and counting the license plates from different states. It was like ECW when it had its first Dayton show, it was a grand opening to the rest of the country. This was the night Nigel debuted for ROH.

TNA, WWE, Retirement

Ring of Honor inherited the renegade spirit of ECW, and it was the perfect intellectual fit for Nigel. McGuinness was a technically solid wrestler, but he didn’t take off until he built his own identity. BJ Whitmer, who trained with McGuinness in the HWA and worked with him for years in ROH, once told me it wasn’t until Nigel began watching World of Sport that he began to form his own wrestling psychological personality. It was perfect timing for him and ROH, which needed strong promos, strong personalities and charismatic faces, and Nigel had all of that.

Instead of adoptin the tropes of XPW, TNA and the other smaller companies that popped up or were around, Nigel wasn’t doing flaming table spots. He made his claim as the best wrestler in the world, adopted the lariat, and along with other workers in ROH and on the indies, began developing a new US style that drew on Japan, the Pillars, the Southeast, WCW’s Cruiserweight division and WWE’s main event style. It was perfect. It was true punk rock. If the TV companies were doing 5 minute matches, he was going an hour. If they were throwing themselves off balconies, he’d work snug with anyone and keep it on the mat.

He found the perfect opponent in Bryan Danielson. Danielson was considered too short for WWE. If you’re short and you can’t do a shooting star press, that’s a problem. He was physical, he wrestled on the mat, he liked to kick heads in. Nigel’s matches with Danielson began inspiring wrestlers around the world. His success inspired wrestlers in Europe and soon a strong independent scene appeared in the UK.

While WWE’s main event still held strong to psychology, the pomp and circumstance was what the company sold to fans. This wasn’t the case with Nigel, Danielson and others. This group saved psychological storytelling in wrestling. While they were doing this in. the US, Tanahashi was taking form in New Japan, a company that was near death.

McGuinness was a top performer for years, but it took WWE a long time before they offered him a developmental contract.

Things fell apart after he failed a physical, his deal was denied, as the story goes. He continued on the indies for a few more years, and over a decade ago, he retired.

He became the management face of ROH, a top color commentator and a valued voice.

The came WWE. They wanted Nigel, but as an announcer.

Nigel’s story was so compelling, it was the subject of a documentary on WWE Network just after he signed to be WWE’s color commentator for NXT UK.

Wembley

After WWE laid off Nigel from his NXT announcing gig, he landed in AEW and Ring of Honor, which was purchased by Tony Khan around this time. Immediately, he began taking shots at his former rival Danielson. Danielson advised Nigel to stay retired during a press scrum, but the seeds were already being laid.

Dave Meltzer said McGuinness’s addition to the All In card at Wembley came together shortly beforehand, but not in the mind of McGuinness. The shape he was in, the stamina he had, the level of his work, this was not someone who decided to do this just a few weeks before the show. Nigel was considered one of the highlights of the night.

It was nice, a one-night return. Except it isn’t one night. Nigel cut two amazing promos the following week, challenging Bryan Danielson to a non-title match at AEW Grand Slam. At the home of the U.S. Open, in the building named after Arthur Ashe, McGuinness wants Danielson. And it won’t end there. AEW may think it’s a one-off. I don’t know. I know Nigel doesn’t see it as a one-off.

In the movie Demolition Man, Sylvester Stallone is hunting down an escaped convict played by Wesley Snipes. “To catch a maniac, send a maniac,” Stallone mutters to himself at one point. Maybe it takes a maniac, to book a maniac. Nigel’s on the loose, and the Forbidden Door Tony Khan is the booker. Nigel isn’t letting off the gas, unless an unforseen injury comes up, he’s not going away.

You don’t come back after a decade and put in that work, not when you’re the highly motivated, and go back to the commentator’s chair with no plans to get back in the ring. Whether Khan knows it or not, he’s entering the Age of McGuinness.

It’s coming. No one will out-work him, no one will out-talk him. He’s going to be relentless. He’s not going to give you a great promo, he’s going to melt ears. He’s going to melt the ring, he’s ruthless and in his mind the AEW Title is probably a certainty.

Whether AEW knows it, the talent, the producers – it’s all over. Just make the plans. Line him up with Swerve, Hangman, Orange, the rest. Let him do his thing. Maybe he needs more time in between matches, but you’re talking about a real life mad scientist (he has the college credentials) who has watched Chris Jericho, CM Punk, Christopher Daniels and others wrestle into their 40s and 50s. He’s done his homework, he’s watched their work at ringside, he knows what he can do and he knows what they can do.

He learned wrestling and psychology from the best, Les Thatcher. He spent a decade wrestling the best, at the top of the list, Danielson. He’s had a decade to ponder a possible last chance. I haven’t talked to Nigel in 20 years. I left wrestling, got into newspapers and went on my own route, but I know the guy and just make the plans now – put the belt on him. Book it. He’ll be another on a list of colossal WWE flubs and horrible judges of talent (Athena, Swerve, what happened??), and AEW can laugh to the bank, and Nigel will laugh hardest.

He’s in it to win it, get out of the way.

Attorneys for Dr. Carlon Colker and Peak Wellness filed a motion to dismiss on Thursday, asking the court to reject a bill of discovery complaint filed by Janel Grant and her counsel in July.

Grant filed the bill of discovery complaint in Connecticut court in July. Her counsel claimed Colker and Peak Wellness had refused to turnover discovery and information, including her medical records, twice in the spring. Grant’s civil court complaint against McMahon accuses an employee of Peak Wellness of assaulting her with McMahon.

Counsel for McMahon and Colker have claimed the bill of discovery complaint violates the federal stay order both parties agreed to in June. Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York requested the stay, which lasts until December, in order to keep the civil suit from interfering with the federal government’s investigation of McMahon.

Grant attorney Ann Callis said the discovery filing didn’t violate the federal stay because it was in a state court and it didn’t involve the defendants in the federal case. The complaint also asked for information to see if there was a potential RICO violation.

Colker’s motion gave three reasons Grant’s complaint should be dismissed:

• 1. The complaint wasn’t verified, per Connecticut General Statutes code 52-156a(a)(1).
• 2. It seeks information for discovery in her federal case, which is contrary to the limitations of 52-156(a)(1).
• 3. That Grant and her counsel are planning to ignore procedures in “a similar” manner” in Connecticut Superior Court, stating the different procedures for statutory bills of discovery.

Connecticut General Statute 52-156a(a)(1)

“This is not a bill of discovery … as it purports to be,” the motion said. “It is a wish list for this court’s assistance in evading a stay that has been entered in plaintiff’s federal action.”

Attorneys for Colker and Peak Wellness filed a motion to extend on Aug. 21, asking for one more week to respond to Grant’s discovery motion.

McMahon’s counsel has tried blocking Grant’s bill of discovery complaint in federal court on Aug. 6, but was denied by Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, who said the motion didn’t pertain to any defendants in the federal case and it was filed in a state court, not a federal court.

Grant is suing McMahon in federal civil court, accusing him of sex assault, sex trafficking and other abuses. In February, the Wall Street Journal reported a federal grant jury has been investigating sex crimes against McMahon, including rape.

Counsel for Janel Grant filed a motion to strike the bill of discovery complaint made against her by Carlon Colker last week in Connecticut Supreme Court.

Colker filed a bill of discovery complaint against Grant last week, asking her to provide social media and phone call information and submit to a deposition by Colker’s counsel for a possible defamation case.

This came after Grant’s counsel had filed a bill of discovery complaint against Colker and his company Peak Wellness, claiming they had twice ignored requests for discovery in her federal civil case against Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis and WWE.

On Monday, Grant’s counsel filed a motion to strike and a request for sanctions against Colker to be awarded against Grant.

“In a desperate and brazen attempt to silence a former patient investigating wrongdoing related to her medical care, Dr. Colker and his practice, Peak Wellness, filed this vexatious bill of discovery. Dr. Colker and Peak Wellness hope to intimidate Ms. Grant into dropping her own preaction discovery petition against them, in which she seeks her own medical records and related documentation,” to motion said.

Grant’s counsel claims the bill of discovery filed last week by Colker:

1. Fails to explain possible relief to injury the court could provide as one reason it should be dropped.

2. The complaint was filed to “chill Ms. Grant from speaking about her mistreatment at the practice and must be dismissed under Connecticut’s Anti-SLAPP Statute.”

3. Colker’s action was filed in bad faith and the plaintiff must show his actions were fair and honest, which Grant’s team claims he can’t meet.

Anti-SLAPP legislation was made to allow courts to quickly dismiss cases which seemed to limit the defendants 1st Amendment rights.

Counsel for Vince McMahon filed a four-page motion in federal district court in Connecticut on Thursday accusing Janel Grant of violating the stay in her civil suit against McMahon, World Wrestling Entertainment and John Laurinaitis.

On July 16, counsel for Grant filed a bill of discovery complaint against Peak Wellness and Dr. Carlon Colker in Connecticut. The complaint asked for medical records and other information regarding Grant when she was a patient at the clinic. The complaint accused Peak Wellness of refusing to provide Grant with electronic information, sending only paper copies of records that were incomplete.

The complaint said Peak Wellness denied Grant access to her records and had failed to provide discovery in her federal case twice during the spring. The filing claimed Grant visited the clinic under McMahon’s discretion over 60 times in a year and a half.

The Department of Justice asked the judge to stay the case in June because it could interfere with a federal grand jury investigation of McMahon that’s ongoing in the Southern District of New York.

Both McMahon and Grant’s counsel agreed to the stay, which expires in December.

“Today’s motion is in response to Ms. Grant’s flagrant violation of the federal stay order,” Jesica Taub Rosenberg, a lawyer for McMahon, said in a statement provided to SEScoops.

“After telling the federal court she would pause her lawsuit, Ms. Grant immediately violated the stay order by seeking one-sided discovery for her benefit. Her lawyer told the media that the information in the new Connecticut state action is to ‘assist in our claims in the federal action.’ We are asking the federal court to ensure the plaintiff abides by the court’s order and if she does not, that civil contempt and financial sanctions may result.”

In a statement to B.J. Bethel last week, Grant counsel Ann Callis said the filing didn’t violate the stay.

“We did not violate a federal stay by filing a state action against a non-defendant,” Callis said.

Sources familiar with the case said there was no violation since Peak Wellness and Colker aren’t defendants in the federal suit, and it was a state court action.

McMahon’s counsel is asking the federal court to temporarily lift the stay so it can file a motion accusing Grant of violating the order.

In Grant’s civil complaint, filed in January, she accused McMahon and a Peak Wellness employee of sexually assaulting her.

All-Elite Wrestling and Warner Bros. Discovery have an agreement in principle to keep AEW on Turner networks for the next several years.

According to sources in the television industry, AEW and WBD’s deal would add AEW content to the MAX streaming platform, including pay-per-views. It’s unknown how much AEW would earn moving PPVs to streaming.

Two sources emphasized the deal was an agreement in principle only and on paper, but could change as both sides get closer to signing off, but there is an agreement on paper.

An official announcement of an extension could happen within the next several weeks. Garrett Gonzalez and Dave Meltzer corroborated the report on Saturday’s Wrestling Observer Radio.

Exact numbers on the deal weren’t available but were said to be on “the middle to high side” of what the two groups were negotiating.

AEW’s exclusive negotiation window with WBD ended on July 21.

This story was updated with responses from representatives and counsel for Vince McMahon and Janel Grant.

Counsel for Janel Grant, who filed a federal civil suit against Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis and WWE in January, filed a bill of discovery complaint against Peak Wellness and Dr. Carlon Colker on July 1, according to a recent filing.

The complaint was filed in Connecticut state court in Stamford on July 1. It’s asking Peak Wellness to provide receipts and other information for use in discovery in Grant’s case against Vince McMahon and John Lauritinaits.

In the complaint, Grant’s counsel said the information was needed to determine if a possible RICO violation had occurred, referring to the federal Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

In the original civil suit filed by Grant in January, a Peak Wellness employee was accused of participating in an assault against Grant.

“Additionally, an employee of Peak Wellness also was involved in several instances of sexual abuse against Ms. Grant by McMahon as further described in Ms. Grant’s federal complaint,” the discovery complaint said.

The complaint says Grant’s counsel asked Peak Wellness twice for electronic filings of her medical records and other information. The suit claims the records were incomplete and filed on paper.

“In response to each letter, Dr. Colker and Peak Wellness provided records to Ms. Grant’s counsel in paper copies only,” the complaint said. “Peak Wellness used electronic recordkeeping for Ms. Grant’s medical records, as she was instructed to utilize an iPad for administrative purposes, such as patient intake, in the Peak Wellness office. To date, despite repeated requests, Dr. Colker and Peak Wellness has failed or refused to provide Ms. Grant’s electronic medical records, including any associated metadata.”

The complaint, which said Grant visited Peak Wellness 60 times between November 2019 and April 2022, alleged Colker of knowing about the non-disclosure agreement Grant and McMahon signed around the time of her dismissal from WWE. Grant is suing McMahing for violating the NDA and wants previous NDA’s McMahon has signed to be ruled invalid by the court.

Colker is considered a “celebrity” doctor with numerous athletes and actors as clients. He co-hosted “Shaq’s Big Challenge” on ABC with Shaquille O’Neal and appeared as himself in the documentary “Bigger, Faster, Stronger.” His client list includes numerous WWE wrestlers and MMA fighters.

In a statement to Wrestlenomics, a spokesperson for Vince McMahon said Grant’s counsel had violated the stay placed on her federal civil case.

“Ms. Grant’s petition for pre-discovery action against Dr. Colker is a direction violation of the court-ordered stay,” the spokesperson said. “Nothing more than an attempt to generate publicity on her false allegations and to harass people connected to Mr. McMahon.”

SEScoops reporter B.J. Bethel reached out to Grant’s representation for comment and was sent the following statement from attorney Ann Callis.

“We did not violate a federal stay by filing a state action against a non-defendant,” Callis said.

SEScoops reached out to Peak Wellness and WWE for comment on the court filing.

Vince McMahon’s blunt force return to the executive chair of World Wrestling Entertainment’s board was inevitable. Outside a criminal conviction and Vince being put in prison, he was always coming back from the hush fund scandal.

The bump in the stock price over the last two working days shouldn’t fool anyone – McMahon doesn’t care about their best interests, and what he wants often conflicts with his own best interest. McMahon’s payoffs for various affairs with female employees had to be documented and accounted for with the Securities and Exchange Commission after he left WWE in the summer. Criminal allegations against McMahon for sexual assault have gone back to the 1980s, including various Non-Disclosure Agreements that former WWE employees have signed. As of now, four women have said McMahon forced them to perform oral sex on them. One worked at a tanning salon in Boca Raton, Fla., and had filed a report. The other – which had came to light recently in early December – accused him of assaulting a spa manager at a resort in San Diego in 2011. The other two – in 1986, and the other in the mid 2000s – came from former employees.

McMahon’s return was always going to happen. He wasn’t going to let the his own sordid and horrid past keep him from doing what he wants with his wrestling company. That the company had turned its ratings and creative fortunes around under Nick Khan, his daughter Stephanie and his son-in-law Paul Levesque – who replaced McMahon in creative – probably infuriated him. His assurances of not disrupting the current management team are absurd – he will likely take over creative as soon as he possibly can. Even if this costs them a chance at booking The Rock for a feud against Roman Reigns, or any more appearances from John Cena.

There’s no other reason for these board moves by him if he wasn’t going to otherwise. McMahon told the board and management he only plans to be there to initiate a sale for the company, something he would have to be there to do anyway. In fact, when McMahon was investigated and kicked out last summer, the board said they would include McMahon on any negotations for media rights or a sale, and said he would be integral and needed voice – especially since he owns most of the company’s stock.

McMahon’s stock position guarantees he’s part and partial to any media or sale talks, so his return is obviously not linked to that.

What McMahon wants is to not to, “eat his cake and have it, too,” he wants to sell his cake and still eat it. He wants a buyer that will let him run the day to day operations of the company – after giving him several billion dollars for the company.

WWE Sale

WWE has been exploring a potential sale since the early-to-mid 2010s. Peak interest began in 2016 when Ultimate Fighting Championship sold for a surprising $4 billion. Also part of that deal, then president Dana White (who didn’t own the company, but had breathed life back into it during the early 2000s and made it a massive success in the following years), stayed on board to continue managing the company.

For years, that made the magic number for a WWE sale $4 billion, if not more. That UFC is now a more valuable product doesn’t matter, to McMahon its about his ego, and that was the number he wanted for a sale at the time, though it wasn’t official. The best time to sell the company was in 2018 when it had negotiated new TV and multi-media deals with Viacom and FOX. WWE later negotiated with Viacom to add the WWE Network streaming service to the Peacock app, handing over years of content.

McMahon said he believes this time – coinciding with their 2024 media rights negotiation – is the time to sell, which is ironic given this was what wrestling business insiders had said after WWE completed its last deal. The company’s seemingly bulletproof profitability – especially after trifling and morally questionable cost-cutting during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 – has only grown.

Alex Sherman of CNBC.com said if a sale occurs, it would most likely happen in the next three-to-six months. Sherman said WWE’s market cap is around $6 billion after the bump its stock took after news of a sale hit the news. This is the number various sources said WWE is looking to get. The company hired JPMorgan Chase to advise, though how much advising they’ll be allowed is another question. Sherman said a sale would likely have major strings attached from McMahon’s side.

McMahon’s potential buyers will have one particular string that would be too much – McMahon himself. Likely any deal would include keeping him with the company as president and creative head. Levesque’s ratings success over the past six months put a huge dent into the fantasy that only McMahon can make a major pro wrestling company into a multi-media success, a legend that Tony Khan and All-Elite Wrestling have already chopped down over the last three years. For years, many debated if anyone other than McMahon could run he company, and that question was answered. McMahon could have sold the company at numerous times during the last several years, now he’s counting on the expense of rights deals to push media companies into just purchasing his company whole.

Potential Buyers

Who would buy WWE? There would be numerous interested companies from all over the world – some more likely than others.

NBC Universal

Comcast and its parent company – NBC Universal – would be the likely top destination for WWE. The two companies have a relationship back to the 1980s and the first Saturday Night’s Main Event. WWE programming has also been on NBCU owned USA Network for the same period of time, outside one contract in the 2000s when WWE was on Spike TV. McMahon has relationships with NBCU that have lasted decades. WWE Network content also is on its Peacock streaming network. NBCU is already paying billions to air WWE programming – why not buy the whole thing? The biggest concern for NBCU would be losing thousands of hours of WWE programming if its bought by a competitor. Live sports and wrestling have maintained their ratings better than traditional scripted TV – even most reality TV.

WarnerDiscovery

AEW fans would go into a panic if WarnerDiscovery bought AEW, but it’s highly doubtful the company would fold or would leave major cable TV. AEW was negotiating with Showtime before it aired its first episode of Dynamite on TNT or made an official announcement of its existence. With the company’s solid ratings and with a rights deal that would be much more affordable and more “bank for the buck” than a deal with WWE, AEW would have suitors. New Japan Pro Wrestling had interests from several major media companies when it began probing for a US TV deal last year – including ESPN – but was locked out of landing in many spots because of its TV deal in Japan.

Warner missed out on WWE during the last negotiations in 2018. This is one reason the network became home to AEW. WWE Network would also be a major content addition to HBO MAX. But it also comes to costs, something WarnerDiscovery has been slashing as well as its own content on its streaming platform. WWE Network content comes with many residuals to be paid, something that WarnerDiscovery is trying to shed on its own content.

FOX

WWE would be a major pickup for FOX for various reasons. The company already airs Smackdown on its major OTA network on Friday nights. A purchase would be a massive boost to its streaming applications across the board and take away a certified hit show from its NBCU competitor. Not to mention the PPV’s that would also be a huge streaming driver for FOX.

Disney

Disney has the strongest content library in the game, not to mention he numerous networks it owns. It’s biggest competitor is NBCU. Grabbing WWE would be a major get for Disney, which could add Raw and Smackdown to ESPN easily with the Disney+ app building up its massive library with another huge purchase of content, like it did with the purchase of FOX’s movie studios in 2019. Sherman said returning CEO Bob Iger is always looking to make an IP slash and taking WWE from NBCU would also be a bit of a get back for Iger, who purchased FOX after NBCU drove the cost up tens of millions.

The Saudis

The controversial relationship between WWE and Saudi Arabia has also been a profitable one. WWE has made more money off its shows in Saudi Arabia then in any of its other endeavours, including every single WrestleMania. Saudi’s PIF hedge fund told Front Office Sports its interested in buying the company from McMahon. It would likely be the company most comfortable with McMahon maintaining a presence on screen and off.

PIF also has the cash – about $620 billion in cash, according to Front Office Sports – and has already dipped its toe into American sports with its LIV Golf tour, which drew away several stars from the PGA. The hedge fund also owns Premier League’s Newcastle United.

The sale would be a PR nightmare, not that McMahon would mind. Some of his own wrestlers won’t work its events in Saudi Arabia, something that has been an issue with stockholders. There’s also the Saudi government holding WWE’s roster virtual hostage at an airport aboard a plane a couple years ago.

The biggest problem for PIF – where do you broadcast it? The potential PR fallout may not be worth WWE’s big ratings for US streamers and media companies.

All Elite Wrestling and its roster’s attitude toward coaching has been a hotly debated subject since the All Out “Press Conference From Hell,” when CM Punk vented frustrations – among a number of subjects – at Hangman Adam Page for not being open to coaching from the former AEW, WWE, and ROH champ.

The latest controversy was from Ethan Carter III, who said William Regal was frustrated with talent not taking up offers to coach them prior to AEW shows and said management had maturity issues.

Several AEW sources said the story wasn’t true and blasted Carter for floating it. One source with the company described it as, “completely inaccurate.” One source noted Carter and James being frustrated themselves at not landing jobs in AEW and neither them or Russo have ever been with the company.

“There was no formal coaching session, where it was something that was scheduled or anything like that. Usually he would go down to the ring to help someone, and word would spread, like, “Hey, Regal is down in the ring.” The source said Dustin Rhodes trains younger women’s wrestlers on the roster. He also said Danielson has worked with people regularly and sessions included talent that appeared regularly on Dynamite or Rampage.

“I can’t believe this is a story,” another source said. “It’s complete bullshit. There was never some schedule you had to be down at the ring and people blew it off, and (Regal) was never going to flat tell someone they had to come to the ring so he could coach them. Regal would work with someone, people would go down and show up, a lot of people took advantage of it. Other vets do it all the time. It’s always the younger women and men. Sometimes someone would work with someone one on one, other times there could be quite a few people down. It was totally informal.”

“Regal would even sit in the stands with guys to talk about the fans point of view, or the point of view of watching on TV,” another source said. “He would tell you about making sure to know how you are looking to fans as you come to the ring or how you would look on TV. He said to make sure you’re always really nice to the camera guys, they’re the ones who make you look good (laughing).”

Regal was the on-screen manager of the Blackpool Combat Club since debuting with AEW in March. Several wrestling news sites have reported Regal will be leaving AEW for a return to WWE and would begin work there in 2023. Regal was released by WWE nearly a year ago.

Since then, his friend Paul Levesque has been named head of creative after Vince McMahon was investigated for multiple sex scandals and subsequent payoffs within the company. His son, Charlie Dempsey – who had wrestled as Bailey Matthews was brought to NXT from NXT UK in August. Dempsey scored his first win in the company early last month. Regal’s contract status is unknown, but it’s been speculated he will exercise an out clause. Regal’s relationship with Levesque goes back to the early 1990s in WCW, when Regal mentored him when the two were tag team partners. The two have been close friends for 20 years. Levesque was instrumental in bringing Regal to WWE in the early 2000s and making him a mainstay in WWE’s developmental system after he retired from wrestling.