WWE is trying to stop the release of a bidding contract related to WWE Royal Rumble 2023.
Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics reports that WWE filed a complaint against Ken Paxton, the Texas Attorney General. In doing so, they aim to block the release of the company’s agreement with the City of San Antonio regarding the agreement they made for WWE to hold the Royal Rumble in the Alamodome in 2023.
WWE claims that the agreement is a trade secret with proprietary information. This would make it an exception in Texas’s public information law. The report noted that Wrestlenomics requested records from the city following the premium live event in 2023.
Thurston notes that the Attorney General’s office granted San Antonio officials an exception that enabled them to “withhold the bidding contract” in April 2023. However, this decision was revised in January 2024.
Additionally, Thurston notes that WWE included a sworn declaration from WWE Senior Vice President of Communications Chris Legentil as an exhibit in the new complaint filed by WWE. Legentil states that the contract should not be released to Wrestlenomics because the company would lose its bargaining power in negotiations for live events.
More Details On WWE’s Complaint
It was noted that related records for the 2023 Royal Rumble were eligible for public records requests, as the venue is owned and operated by the city government. Additionally, Thurston writes that the contract between the two sides was a public record because one of them is a government entity.
That being said, per Thurston, WWE’s argument is that there should be an exemption under Texas’s public information laws for the bidding contract. They claim fits the definition of a trade secret under these laws.
In the suit, WWE seeks an injunction to stop the release of the bidding contract and requests that may arise in the future.
WrestleZone will provide more information as it becomes available.
