Want more wrestling news, rumors, and results? Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com.
Ryan Nemeth filed a lawsuit before Los Angeles Superior Court’s Stanley Mosk Courthouse on 2/14 against AEW, AEW President Tony Khan, Phil “CM Punk” Brooks and 1-20 John Does to be named. The lawsuit was officially electronically filed by the Court on 2/21. News of the lawsuit was initially reported by Fightful.com.
PWInsider.com acquired a copy of the lawsuit, which alleges assault, breach of contract, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and intentional interference with prospective advantage and demands a jury trial.
The lawsuit describes Nemeth as a “successful actor, comedian and stuntman. Nemeth also followed his older brother Nic’s career and has established himself as a star performer on the professional wrestling circuit.”
The lawsuit alleges, “Phil Brooks was another wrestler under contract with AEW and a member of the AEW management team. Tony had a deep fascination with Brooks. Brooks undertook a campaign to terrorize and intimidate Plaintiff, including physical assault. AEW and Tony Khan did nothing to protect” Ryan Nemeth and other wrestling performers from despicable conduct on the part of Brooks. AEW turned a blind eye to Brooks’ conduct because of Tony’s deep admiration for Brooks and because he was their most popular wrestling performer. At Brooks and Tony’s insistence, AEW and Tony Khan have undertaken an effort to “black ball” Nemeth so we can never again work in the wrestling business.“
It should be noted, Ryan Nemeth has been working for TNA Wrestling and actually appeared multiple times at their television tapings in Florida over the weekend.
The lawsuit specifically attacks Brooks, describing him as having “assaulted and battered” The Young Bucks in “early 2023” (that timeline would be incorrect as that incident would been at All Out in the fall of 2022) and cited that Brooks “is known to have an uncontrollable temper and often lashes out in violent tirades against others” but was only suspended by Tony Khan as the loss of Punk would have hurt AEW financially.
The lawsuit also claimed, “Further, Khan has a very deep personal affinity for Brooks. Khan made the conscious decision to keep Brooks as a part of AEW although he knew that Brooks is prone to lashing out in violent episodes and to injure others.”
The lawsuit filing includes a photo of Tony Khan in a neck brace for some reason.
Nemeth noted in the lawsuit that “Khan represented to AEW executives and wrestlers that the TBS network had produced the “AEW Collision” show contingent upon Brooks involvement as the show’s star. This was all the more reason for Khan to keep Brooks, in spite of his violent propensities.”
It should be noted that the general belief at the time is that Collision was created, in part, to separate Punk and those he had issues with, including The Elite, stemming from Punk’s explosive post-All Out 2023 PPV press conference, which spun out reports that Punk was responsible for the firing of Colt Cabana (which Tony Khan denied) - it should be noted that Cabana has remained with AEW and still works there today.
Nemeth’s lawsuit states:
“During his suspension, for unknown reasons, Brooks made it known that he despised Nemeth. Nemeth did nothing to Brooks whatsoever, but Brooks made it well-known that he was angry with Nemeth. Brooks has a notorious history for taking violent action against others for no reason.
On April 16, 2023, Nemeth contacted executives within AEW to tell his employer that he was worried Brooks would come back to the wrestling circuit following his suspension and assault Nemeth.
On June 21, 2023, following Brooks’ return to the wrestling circuit, he assaulted Nemeth in the male talent locker room. In a menacing manner, Brooks shouted at Nemeth, “Do we have a f**king problem? Do we need to step outside and handle this like men?” Nemeth was cornered by Brooks and did everything he could in order to de-escalate the situation.”
It should be noted that while it is not mentioned in the lawsuit, the belief is Punk confronted Nemeth after Nemeth tweeted "Literally the softest man alive." in reference to Punk, who was making his return to the company after suspension and injury. Nemeth later claimed he was making the comment “in character” even though he and Punk had no on-screen interactions prior to or after that tweet.
Nemeth claims in the lawsuit that AEW’s Tony Schiavone (who handles a ton of backstage duties beyond his announcing) contacted him (as did other AEW executives) to find out what happened. The lawsuit states, “Nemeth calmly and factually explained that he was attacked by Brooks in the locker room” and that “Following the assault, nothing happened to Brooks as far as punishment from AEW.”
It should be noted that while the word “assault” is being used in the lawsuit, there is no description of any physical interaction and there’s never been any story shared that indicated Punk and Nemeth got into a physical fight.
Nemeth then alleged, “It is well known in the wrestling industry that “benching” a wrestler is a form of punishment. That is, the wrestling performer is not scheduled for a match and thus is not paid. Benching a wrestler is a customary manner of punishing a wrestler.”
Nemeth claims in his lawsuit that he “greatly feared” being “benched” but all of AEW’s attorneys allegedly promised Nemeth this would not happen. Nemeth wasn’t used for two months and alleges that since he was not “his income stream from AEW dried up. More importantly, his popularity and marketability faded from being absent from the professional wrestling circuit.”
Nemeth in his lawsuit states - "Under this contract, Nemeth was to solely and exclusively wrestle for AEW. Nemeth was not on salary. Nemeth was paid by appearance."
Nemeth alleges that he learned Brooks “insisted upon” him not being used in June 2023 and that since “Tony Khan had such a deep admiration for Brooks (bordering on an obsession), Khan went along with Brooks’ desires to ruin Nemeth’s career.”
Nemeth then claimed he was “finally” booked for an event in Greensboro, NC on 8/12/23, which would have been a Collision taping. Nemeth alleges that as he was walking through the hotel lobby heading to the venue when he saw Punk. Nemeth claimed that Brooks “immediately” began texting someone on his cell phone, and almost immediately, Nemeth was summoned to see AEW VP Pat Buck when he arrived.
The lawsuit claims:
“Upon arriving at the arena, Nemeth sought out Pat Buck. Buck told Nemeth that he needed to leave the arena immediately and that travel would be arranged for him to fly out on that same day.
Nemeth was embarrassed and humiliated in front of other wrestlers who witnessed him being kicked out of the arena. More importantly, fans observed him leaving the arena. Pictures were taken and the expulsion became “viral” on social media. This humiliation caused irreparable damage the marketability and reputation of Nemeth.
This entire episode was engineered by Brooks. Brooks demanded that Nemeth be told to leave and that he would be flown-out of Greensboro immediately. Khan, for his part, went along with Brooks out of his deep admiration.”
Nemeth states that three days later he reached out to AEW legal and “AEW lawyers were themselves stunned and could offer no explanation for the conduct of Brooks and Khan.”
Nemeth last wrestled for the company on 11/18/23 and alleges he “continued to follow-up with AEW’s legal department, in the hope of trying to resolve this situation and to avoid further conflict. In a bizarre email, AEW attorney Chris Peck reached out and threatened legal action against Nemeth and accused him of employing a “ghost writer” in his emails.”
The lawsuit cites “On November 25, 2024 Brooks left AEW to wrestle for the organizations (sic) main competitor, WWE. Khan was heartbroken by the departure of Brooks, his idol and that he adored in every way. Khan was furious with Nemeth. Khan believes that Brooks left AEW because of Nemeth.”
Of course, Tony Khan publicly fired Punk after another physical altercation with Jack Perry in London at the first ever All In: London event at Wembley Stadium. Punk did not leave. He was fired, with Khan claiming he “feared for his life” due to the situation and that neither he, nor anyone who worked for AEW, should be in that situation when they are trying to work.
Nemeth’s version in the lawsuit reads as if Punk finished up and went to ply his trade with WWE. There was a lot of time left on his AEW contract, but he was fired, leaving him available to go work for WWE.
The lawsuit alleges, “The Defendants have embarked upon a campaign to “blackball” Nemeth from professional wrestling. Specifically, Tony Khan blames Nemeth for Brooks leaving AEW and has used his significant resources to make sure that Nemeth can never again make a living in wrestling.”
There is no explanation of why or even how Khan could blame Nemeth for Khan firing Punk over the Jack Perry-London incident, which Nemeth had no involvement in. Nemeth was not even in London at the event.
Again, while Nemeth claims the defendants are attempting to blackball him, it should be noted he’s been wrestling for TNA since May 2024 and has been used in a far more high profile role, teaming with his brother Nic Nemeth, while in AEW, he was part of The Wingmen and used in a lower card role, mostly losing to other talents while picking up wins on AEW's now canceled YouTube series AEW Dark. It also does not explain why Brooks and AEW, who obviously were and likely remain at odds, would be working together to harm Nemeth.
Nemeth claims that the defendants were all malicious and attempted to cause him injury.
Nemeth is asking for a jury trial and is requesting The Court award “compensatory damages against all Defendants, jointly and severally, in an amount to be proven at trial, Award “appropriate equitable relief, including any injunctive or declaratory relief necessary to prevent further harm to Plaintiff”, Award “appropriate punitive damages at the maximum amount permitted by law”, Award “pre-judgment interest, as well as reasonable attorneys’ fees and other costs” and Award “other such other relief as this Court may deem appropriate.”
None of the defendants have been served as of this writing.
If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!
Bang On Casino
