A federal appeals court dismissed a lawsuit which had been filed by 50 former pro wrestlers, most of whom used to work in the 1980s and 90s. In the suit, they claimed that WWE failed to provide protection to them with regards to injuries to the head, which also includes concussions that led to long-term brain damage.
Some of the wrestlers who filed the suit included the likes of Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka, Joseph “Road Warrior Animal” Laurinaitis, Paul “Mr. Wonderful” Orndorff, Chris “King Kong Bundy” Pallies and Harry Masayoshi Fujiwara, known as Mr. Fuji.
Fujiwara died in 2016 and Snuka in 2017, where they were diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE following their deaths, as stated by their lawyer. According to the lawsuit, the other plaintiffs suffered from dementia and other illnesses.
The lawsuit also named WWE Chairman Vince McMahon as a defendant, alleging that the organization knew the risks of head injuries but did not give any warning to the wrestlers. U.S. District Judge Vanessa Bryant in Hartford said there was no evidence that the company was aware that concussions or head injuries sustained during matches would result in CTE.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City dismissed the lawsuit, stating that many of the claims were frivolous or filed after the statute of limitations expired.
Following their win, WWE released a statement where they also called out attorney Konstantine Kyros for baseless allegations.
“For nearly six years, WWE was subjected to stale and frivolous claims brought by Konstantine Kyros, whose misconduct triggered countless judicial opinions along the way. Today, the Second Circuit put an end to his pattern of baseless litigation, leaving open only the question of how much he must now pay to WWE as a sanction for his misconduct. We are grateful for the attention paid to these cases by the numerous federal judges who oversaw the litigation, and to the Second Circuit for its decision.”
Kylos sent an email to The Associated Press where he said:
“Per this mandate wrestlers have no rights, no rights to bring a lawsuit, no rights to help from WWE for CTE & head injuries, no rights as misclassified employees, no rights to a jury, and ironically no right to even appeal!”
