The ongoing legal dispute between All Elite Wrestling and several of its former performers has resurfaced, with Brandon Tate of The Boys accusing AEW President Tony Khan of deliberate sabotage.
The latest controversy centers on a cancelled match that was to mark The Boys’ in-ring return after nearly two years away. In a public statement, Tate said their scheduled opponents for an ECC Wrestling show, The Outrunners, were pulled from the card by AEW. He alleged the move was retaliation for the lawsuit filed last year by himself, his brother Brent, and former commentator Kevin Kelly.
That case, which a judge ordered into private arbitration earlier this summer, includes claims of defamation and breach of contract. Tate’s new remarks suggest AEW is actively obstructing the careers of former talent on the independent circuit.
“This dude has ruined over nearly two and a half decades of one of the best companies to ever exist in professional wrestling Ring of Honor and is now pulling talent from the independents just to get his way, but claiming his roster are ‘independent contractors’,” Tate wrote. “I hope he realizes the company he once praised about changing wrestling for the better for EVERYONE is going completely backwards and this will one day all catch up to him.”
ECC Wrestling later confirmed the cancellation of its September 28 event. In a statement, the promotion cited AEW contractual guidelines as the reason The Outrunners were withdrawn and added that further cancellations from other major names left them with no choice but to scrap the show.
For Brandon and Brent Tate, the setback is another obstacle in their effort to restart their careers, while also highlighting the broader debate over how much control major promotions exert on independent wrestling talent.