Former Wrestlers Concussion Lawsuit Against WWE Dismissed

On Wednesday, a federal appeals court dismissed a lawsuit filed by 50 former pro wrestlers who claimed WWE failed to protect them from recurrent head injuries, including concussions that resulted in long-term brain damage.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City agreed with a federal judge in Connecticut who dismissed the lawsuits two years ago, stating that several of the claims were either frivolous or filed after the statute of limitations had expired. The plaintiffs included 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.

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Snuka and Fujiwara, who died in 2017 and 2016, had been diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) after their deaths, according to their lawyer. Other plaintiffs have dementia or other illnesses, court documents showed. The lawsuit, which named Vince McMahon as a defendant, said the promotion was aware of the risks of head injuries but failed to warn the wrestlers.

U.S. District Judge Vanessa Bryant in Hartford disagreed, stating there was no evidence that WWE knew that concussions or blows to the head could cause CTE. Konstantine Kyros, who represented the former wrestlers, considered the federal appeals court ruling a “rubber stamp” of the Hartford judge’s decision that was “utterly devoid of any original reasoning or engagement with the legal issues raised in the wrestlers' appeal.”

The lawsuit had argued that unlike football and hockey, where players may suffer similar injuries, WWE matches are scripted and choreographed by the promotion, which makes them responsible for wrestlers’ injuries. After the National Football League and National Hockey League were sued by former players who suffered concussions and other head injuries, they settled for $1 billion and $18.9 million, respectively.

Kyros told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the ruling had denied the wrestlers their day in court, adding that the inference is that “wrestlers have no rights, no rights to bring a lawsuit, no rights to help from WWE for CTE and head injuries, no rights as misclassified employees, no rights to a jury, and ironically no right to even appeal.”

Source: ABC

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