Brandon Thurston, Jesse Collings, and Chris Gullo talk about these subjects in wrestling business:
WWE’s 8-K filing of reimbursement agreement with Vince McMahon related to sexual misconduct investigation
Wrestlemania tickets distributed update
Latest estimated tickets distributed for Wrestlemania weekend events
Quarterly annual growth rates for TV and attendance for WWE and AEW
AEW Forbidden Door tickets distributed update
WWEShop top merchandise sellers/most items update
ShopAEW top merchandise sellers update
PWTees top merchandise sellers update
With recent business numbers should Roman Reigns be a Wrestling Observer Hall Of Famer?
Super Chat- Any thoughts re Fite as loss leader /OTT service? Is there a long-term risk in changing the perceived cost of GCW/Mania weekend(like the network did for Mania), maybe even for non-Fite/GCW-associated PPVs?
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A lawsuit was filed last month over the mask design used by AEW wrestler Luchasaurus.
Composite Effects, LLC made a legal complaint, dated December 20, against All Elite Wrestling and Austin Matelson, claiming that AEW and Matelson, who performs as Luchasaurus, are using a copyrighted mask design for merchandising purposes without the designer’s permission. The Louisiana-based designer states that it “owns licensing and design rights on all of our characters.”
“Matelson was entitled to use the mask in events as a wrestler,” the plaintiff wrote, “but neither he nor anyone acting on his behalf was entitled to create merchandise that incorporated the mask design.”
The lawsuit shows various examples of the mask depicted in AEW’s merchandise advertisements, including T-shirts and action figures, which the design company claims infringe on its copyright.
Matelson worked with Composite Effects (abbreviated as CFX) initially around December 2016 to have a modified version made of the design CFX calls “Viper Silicone Mask”, according to the complaint. The mask was modified again for the wrestler in March 2019, just months before AEW’s first live events, to add horns to the mask.
When CFX learned that Matelson signed with AEW in 2019, the company tried to come to a licensing agreement with him, according to email records included with the lawsuit.
Later, in February 2021, CFX and AEW personnel began communicating about a new custom mask, which AEW bought the rights to, and which the plaintiff stated was shipped in August 2021. However, the custom mask wasn’t used much, if at all.
“Hey man thanks for the work on the new mask but after getting a look of it on my face Tony and I agreed my current mask is just too iconic at this point and we can’t change the face,” Matelson wrote, according to emails provided as exhibits by CFX. Matelson apparently was referring to Tony Khan, CEO of AEW.
CFX says it wrote subsequent messages in 2022 to AEW and Matelson asking them to stop using the design or come to a licensing agreement, but no deal was made and the design continued to be used in AEW merchandise.
The plaintiff also included a written declaration from another designer, George Frangadakis, who CFX says was approached by Matelson in January 2022 to create a mask similar to the design that CFX holds the copyright to.
Matelson and an associate known merely as “Jett” wanted “a near replica of CFX’s custom-designed mask,” according to the statement signed by Frangadakis.
“It was clear that there were legal issues that needed to be handled prior to my designing a new mask for Matelson,” Frangadakis wrote.
Frangadakis’s statement says he offered to create a new mask that didn’t resemble the CFX design, but he wasn’t contacted again by Jett or Matelson.
A certificate of registration for the design referred to as “Viper Silicone Mask” was included as an exhibit with the complaint.
Composite Effects is seeking profits AEW has made related to the alleged infringement, other damages sustained as a result, and attorneys’ fees.
We contacted AEW officials for comment but haven’t yet received a response.
Composite Effects is being represented by Kean Miller LLP.
The case is filed in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Louisiana, where CFX is based.
Update February 7, 2023:
AEW requested on February 1 an extension to respond to the complaint by February 22. AEW’s request was approved by Judge Eldon E. Fallon on February 2. AEW is being represented by Brad Harrigan from New Orleans-based law firm Tolar Harrigan & Morris LLC. Harrigan also submitted a motion on February 1 for Indiana lawyer Bradley Stohry, from Reichel Stohry Dean LLP, to represent AEW in Louisiana.
Update February 17, 2023:
AEW requested an extension to March 21 to respond to the complaint from Composite Effects, consistent with the deadline for Austin Mattelson (Luchasaurus) to respond. Composite Effects consented to the extension, according to the statement.
Update February 23, 2023:
On February 22, the judge in the case, Eldon E. Fallon approved AEW’s request to have an extension to respond by March 21, according to a filing.
Update March 21, 2023:
AEW moved today to dismiss five of the six counts raised by Composite Effects. AEW’s lawyer said the company will answer the remaining count after a decision is made on this motion.
AEW argued the five counts it says should be dismissed first either fail to make a viable claim or are preempted by the Copyright Act.
Later in the day Composite Effects (CFX) filed a proposed amended complaint, alleging Matelson had another mask maker create a similar mask that infringes on their copyrighted work, which CFX said is a breach of contract.
Update March 23, 2023:
A pro hac vice motion was submitted on March 22 for Austin Matelson (Luchasaurus) to have his own attorney in this case. Ohio lawyer Matthew T. Kemp has moved to represent Matelson in Louisiana.
Kemp is with the law firm, Shumaker Loop & Kendrick in Toledo, Ohio. That happens to be the firm Mike Dockins is from, the trademark lawyer who works with many wrestlers.
Pro hac vice is a common motion used to admit a lawyer who is licensed in another state but not in the case’s jurisdiction.
Brandon Thurston has written about wrestling business since 2015. He’s also worked as an independent wrestler and trainer. For more, see our About page.
They discuss the growth of FITE TV, its expansion with the FITE+ streaming service, the state of the streaming industry in combat sports, The Collective series of shows, and his thoughts on a potential WWE sale.
These rankings are based on an Elo rating system, known for ranking chess players. The method may also be applied to participants in other games and sports. Participants’ wins and losses add to or subtract from their ratings, respectively, proportionally based on the ratings of their opponents. In other words, a win over a player (in this case, a wrestler) who frequently beats strong opponents counts more than a win over a less accomplished player; a loss to a player who always loses hurts the loser’s rating more than a loss to a more accomplished player will.
Expand to read about the methodology behind the calculation for these Elo rankings.
What kinds of matches are analyzed?
Only singles matches are considered for this analysis. That includes typical one-on-one matches, but also multi-opponent matches (three-ways, four-ways, etc). Battle royals are also counted.
This analysis does not count tag team matches in any form. We may create a tag team Elo analysis in the future.
All wrestlers begin with a 1500 Elo rating upon their first match in the Cagematch record.
All wrestlers’ entire singles match histories (to the extent they are recorded by Cagematch) may determine their Elo rating.
Elo is calculated universally. That means matches in any promotion count toward a wrestler’s rating.
How are different match endings treated?
DQ and count-out wins/losses count at half the weight (0.5) of typical wins/losses.
Time limit draws and double pins are counted with half weight (0.5) to each wrestler.
Matches resulting in a double DQ, double count-out, or no-contest are essentially discarded and do not affect any participants’ Elo rating.
A winner of a match with multiple opponents (e.g., a three-way, four-way, battle royal) is rewarded as if they beat a wrestler with an Elo rating that is the average of the other participants in the match. Conversely, the effect of a loss in such a match is distributed evenly across the losers. This means the two losers of a three-way match are penalized half as much as they would be if they lost to the winner one-on-one. The 29 losers of a 30-person battle royal are affected one-twenty-ninth to the extent they would have been had they lost one-on-one to the battle royal winner. There are no adjustments made according to who was pinned or eliminated in any such match as Cagematch currently doesn’t consistently provide that information for matches of the relevant type.
Matches are not weighted with respect to promotion, event type, whether the match is a title match, or whether the match is any type of gimmick match.
How are house shows are treated?
For the period beginning January 1, 1985 to the present, matches Cagematch categorizes under the event type “House shows” are excluded. Non-televised events categorized as “Event” (many independent companies’ events, for example) are included throughout the timeline. All televised matches are included: TV, PPV/PLE, Streaming, and YouTube matches.
For the period from January 1, 1900 through December 31, 1984, all matches in the Cagematch record are included. We arbitrarily choose 1985 as the cut-off point for house shows because it roughly marks the rise of closed circuit and pay-per-view events. This choice is intended to deal with specific facts, including
a) televised matches between high-profile wrestlers were less common on television in a prior era;
b) house show match results (especially in modern times) are often repetitive, with a face beating the same heel opponent repeatedly; and
c) televised matches obviously didn’t occur before the rise of television in the 1950s and many independent events aren’t televised at all, which makes focusing solely on televised events throughout the timeline undesirable.
What are the tables below?
Wrestlers are grouped below in tables by gender and by promotion. An “Overall” categorization is shown as the first set of tables. All wrestlers with a singles match present in the Cagematch record within the last 90 days are eligible for ranking in the “Overall” table for the gender division within which they commonly compete, regardless of promotion affiliation.
Wrestlers whose most recent match in the given promotion (or overall) was more than 90 days ago are not included in the rankings. This is intended to focus on wrestlers who are active, excluding wrestlers who may be injured or no longer affiliated with a promotion. This also means a wrestler may appear in more than one promotion’s rankings if that wrestler had matches in more than one of the selected promotions within the last 90 days.
Wrestlers’ Elo ratings are formulated to decay when wrestlers are inactive. When a wrestler is inactive for more than 90 consecutive days, their rating will diminish by one point per day they are inactive over the 90-day threshold. For years before 2004, the decay rate is weighted more lightly, relative to the number of match records present for the given year, which reflects an assumption that the Cagematch record is more complete in recent years and less complete in more distant years.
What is the actual Elo formula?
A typical one-on-one win/loss result affects the participants’ Elo ratings under the following formula:
Historical Elo: Who would have ranked highly under this methodology at different points in history?
Updated as of Mar 20, 2023, 4:27 PM ET
Analyzing 261,410 matches from Jan 1, 1894 to Jan 1, 2091 involving more than 38,536 wrestlers.
▲ and ▼ symbols indicate the wrestler has respectively improved or disimproved in Elo rank compared to 30 days ago.
To focus on active wrestlers, those without a singles match within the last 90 days in the given promotion (or overall) are excluded from the rankings.
Yellow text in “Last Match” column indicates the wrestler’s last singles match was more than 60 days ago.
Red text in “Last Match” column indicates the wrestler’s last singles match was more than 80 days ago.
Title holders are indicated only for titles belonging to All Japan Pro Wrestling, Consejo Mundial De Lucha Libre, Dragongate Japan Pro-Wrestling, Impact Wrestling, Lucha Libre AAA World Wide, Major League Wrestling, National Wrestling Alliance, New Japan Pro Wrestling, Pro Wrestling NOAH, Ring Of Honor, World Wonder Ring Stardom, and World Wrestling Entertainment.
World Wrestling Entertainment: Men
All Elite Wrestling: Men
New Japan Pro Wrestling: Men
Impact Wrestling: Men
World Wonder Ring Stardom: Women
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