Judge orders AEW, Kevin Kelly & Tate Twins lawsuit to go to arbitration

AEW won a ruling in court Wednesday as a judge ordered a 2024 lawsuit filed by announcer Kevin Kelly and wrestlers the Tate Twins (formerly The Boys) to go to arbitration.

First reported by Post Wrestling, judge Harvey E. Schlesinger from the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida granted a previous motion by AEW to move to arbitration as is stated in contracts Kelly, Brendan Tate, and Brandon Tate had signed.

However, the judge denied AEW’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit altogether and ordered it “administratively closed” which makes the case inactive as arbitration proceeds. They must give updates to the court every 90 days, but the details of those updates might not be public.

About the AEW, Kevin Kelly & Tate Twins lawsuit

Via lawyer Stephen P. New, Kelly and the Tates filed the suit against AEW in late-August 2024 with Kelly alleging defamation from AEW and announcer Ian Riccaboni stemming from Riccaboni’s comments on a Discord channel regarding Kelly mentioning a film on-air that was associated with QAnon conspiracies.

The Tates were fired in April 2024 with AEW head Tony Khan saying it was due to no-showing events. The brothers said it was due to miscommunication between themselves and management due to flying out of an airport that was further away from their usual one. Their defamation claim is based on that no-show comment.

Kelly, fired by AEW in March 2024, is seeking monetary damages due to a breach of contract. Kelly and the Tates, via New, was also requesting the court void the arbitration clause of their talent contracts, and certify a class action lawsuit over AEW misclassifying its talent as independent contractors rather than employees.

The case was moved to Florida at AEW’s request after initially going to Pennsylvania federal court.

It’s the second arbitration Khan and AEW find themselves in as they are also going through that process with Ryan Nemeth following a ruling made in April.