Ryan Nemeth’s lawsuit against AEW will continue in private arbitration, according to Nemeth’s attorney.
Nemeth filed a complaint in February against the company he previously wrestled for, as well as its lead executive and owner, Tony Khan, and former AEW wrestler Phil Brooks (CM Punk). Nemeth alleges that Khan and Brooks conspired to blacklist him from the wrestling industry.
Nemeth submitted filings on Friday and Monday to voluntarily dismiss his lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court. Likewise, AEW filed on Monday to dismiss its petition in U.S. District Court in Florida, which aimed to compel Nemeth into arbitration.
Arbitration is a private process where disputes are resolved by a neutral third party, rather than in public court. AEW began petitioning the court last month, citing the arbitration clause in Nemeth’s talent contract that purportedly requires any disputes to be handled in arbitration.
Court filings don’t indicate the reason for the dismissal of the parties’ respective cases, but Nemeth’s attorney, Mike Caspino, confirmed to POST Wrestling the new filings are not the result of an out-of-court settlement.
“There has been no settlement,” Caspino informed us by email on Monday. “The parties have agreed to submit the matter to arbitration.”
A representative from AEW did not respond to a request for comment for this report.
Both Nemeth’s withdrawal of his lawsuit and AEW’s withdrawal of its petition were made without prejudice, meaning either party could choose to revive their claims in court at any time.
Nemeth’s lawsuit alleged that Khan blamed Nemeth for Brooks leaving AEW. The complaint claimed that Punk assaulted Nemeth in a confrontation in the locker room at an event. Nemeth asserted that he was not booked for AEW events afterward, until he was set to work at an event in North Carolina, where, according to the lawsuit, Punk spotted him at the hotel wrestlers were staying at and allegedly caused an AEW official to remove Nemeth from the venue soon after he arrived.
Nemeth has wrestled for TNA and independent wrestling companies since last working for AEW in November 2023.
