WWE sued by more former performers over head injuries

WWE’s seemingly never-ending battle with former performers over whether the company is culpable for concussions and other head injuries suffered by wrestlers working in their ring took a significant step forward on Monday.

Bloomberg first reported that a lawsuit was brought against WWE by dozens of wrestlers who used to work for the company, alleging that the organization did not “in any medically competent or meaningful manner” care for head injuries suffered by their performers.

WWE issued a statement about the allegations:

“This is another ridiculous attempt by the same attorney who has previously filed class action lawsuits against WWE, both of which have been dismissed. A federal judge has already found that this lawyer made patently false allegations about WWE, and this is more of the same. We’re confident this lawsuit will suffer the same fate as his prior attempts and be dismissed.”

The attorney that they’re referring to is Konstantine Kyros, who has led the legal charge against WWE over the matter.

Bloomberg lists Jimmy Snuka, Road Warrior Animal, and King Kong Bundy among those involved in the lawsuit. Just last month, Snuka was declared not mentally competent enough to stand trial in the 1983 death of Nancy Argentino.

Similar to the landmark lawsuit that was brought against the NFL, this suit also claims that WWE knowingly misled performers about the dangers of concussions and other head injuries.

It also goes beyond head injuries and questions the legality of WWE’s system of using talent as independent contractors instead of employees.

This is not the first time WWE has been sued over similar matters, and as has been extensively covered in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, other lawsuits have not been particularly effective.

Earlier this year, WWE lawyers were successful in getting most complaints brought by Billy Jack Haynes, Vito LoGrosso, and others dismissed.

One of many reasons previous lawsuits were unsuccessful is, though wrestling may be inherently dangerous, they have failed to prove actual concrete and specific wrongdoing by WWE.

The full list of plaintiffs (minus Boris Zhukov) from Chris Harrington: