UPDATED: WWE Trying to Block New Concussion Lawsuits

UPDATED: WWE issued the following statement to 411 in response to the their lawsuit trying to block the concussion-related lawsuits filed against them:

“WWE filed a lawsuit in Connecticut to protect the company from a series of fraudulent claims made by a Massachusetts attorney regarding alleged concussion-related injuries. A few examples of such false allegations from this lawyer include:

* Claims in two different federal courts that five individuals died prematurely due to head injuries when in fact all five individuals are alive today.
* Falsely stating that an individual’s years of performance with WWE spanned 22 years from 1985 through 2007, when in fact the individual performed for only 2 years (1985-1986 and 1992-1993) and made one appearance in 2007.
* Alleging that head injury led to the death of a morbidly obese former performer who died of a heart attack years after last performing for WWE.
* A claim that an individual suffered from deafness allegedly due to head injury when said individual has publicly stated that he was deaf since birth.
* Claiming that head injury led to the accidental drug overdose of a former performer over 20 years after he last performed.

It is unfortunate that some former performers have been improperly recruited under the guise of a big ‘pay day’, and we feel badly that these individuals are being misled and exploited.”

ORIGINAL: According to the AP, WWE has filed a motion asking a federal judge to block the lawsuits filed against them claiming long-term damage from concussions suffered in the ring. WWE filed the suit in US District Court in Connecticut on Monday, asking that all such litigation be moved to the state and arguing that current claims are both fraudulent and past the three-year statute of limitation on such claims, as per Connecticut law.

Jerry McDevitt argued in the suit that WWE is being targeted by Konstantine Kyros, who he claims is improperly soliciting former wrestlers to sue the company. He claims that Kyros is telling the talent that they can bring in a paycheck similar to what former NFL players are making under a $1 billion settlement. McDevitt said, “Before this guy started trolling around looking for people to sue, we didn’t have one person, none, claiming they had any kind of traumatic brain injuries, or dementia or ALS or any of the kind of stuff you seek associated with the NFL.”

Kyros denies the claims and said he has been retained by dozens of former WWE talent, all of whom have concussion-related health problems as a result of their constant performing in the ring. He will argue that the statute of limitations don’t apply here because the medical conditions didn’t manifest until years after the fact. Kyros said, “What the WWE lawsuit is doing is trying to do is prevent some of the most storied performers in the history of the organization from having their day in court.”

The suit mentions Robert Windham (Blackjack Mulligan) James Ware (Koko B. Ware) and Tom Billington (Dynamite Kid) as intending to bring lawsuits that the company wants blocked. All have indicated their intent to sue. No hearing has yet been scheduled in the case.