Former AEW talent Ryan Nemeth has revealed that All Elite Wrestling and its president, Tony Khan, have countersued him following his recently filed lawsuit against the company, Tony Khan, and CM Punk.
In February, Nemeth initiated legal action alleging assault, breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and intentional interference with prospective advantage. He is seeking compensatory and punitive damages and has requested a jury trial.
However, in a Substack post shared this week, Nemeth disclosed that AEW has now filed a countersuit in an attempt to move the dispute to private arbitration. The timing of the service, he says, was particularly distressing.
“The night of our second, and final, performance, I was approached by a man in the theater lobby just outside the restrooms. He said he was there to serve me legal papers—‘Hey, sorry, you’re gettin’ sued’—and apologized for doing it at this inopportune time. He was giving me a legal notice that my former employer was suing me to move our legal dispute to arbitration… I looked at the large stack of paperwork… I saw the main bullet points: ‘Tony Khan… All Elite Wrestling… A lawsuit has been filed against you…’”
Nemeth, who was performing in an Off-Broadway show in Astoria, Queens, at the time, expressed frustration with how the situation was handled:
“He [Tony Khan] could have done this in a professional, respectful manner. Instead, he and his lawyers chose to send someone to… a small 150-seat theater, in front of family, friends, and theatre goers, mere minutes before I stepped onstage, in a pathetic attempt to humiliate and intimidate me.”
Nemeth strongly rejected the idea that his lawsuit was an ambush:
“Nobody was ambushed. Nobody was caught off guard. In fact, one might argue that me choosing the unfortunate lawsuit option was telegraphed very clearly by two years of me trying all the other non-lawsuit options. Finally, after that very fair, very professional heads-up, we filed.”
He also questioned the motivations behind the timing and delivery of the countersuit:
“My former employer, a billionaire, definitely had a choice. He could have very easily sent the notice to my attorney—he has his contact info… These are aggressive tactics that I believe are designed to intimidate me and to stop me from speaking up about how I was treated.”
Nemeth closed with a broader criticism of Tony Khan’s leadership style:
“At some point, the one man who single-handedly runs the entire company can’t just claim plausible deniability at every turn, on every issue that seems remotely negative. I mean, do you run your company, or not? …There are more humane and professional ways to approach this.”
The legal battle between Nemeth and AEW is still unfolding, and it remains to be seen whether the case will proceed to trial or be resolved in arbitration.
You can read Nemeth’s full Substack post here.
