On September 4, Kevin Kelly and The Boys, also known as The Tate Twins (Brandon Tate and Brent Tate), brought a lawsuit against AEW.
In the suit, the plaintiffs seek to void the arbitration clause of their talent contracts and request the court to certify a class-action suit against AEW over claims the company is misclassifying its wrestling talent as independent contractors, rather than employees.
In a statement to Sports Illustrated's The Takedown, AEW PR commented, "AEW does not comment on pending litigation."
The attorney for Kellt and the Tate Twins, Stephen P. New commented on the lawsuit:
“I applaud the bravery of these Plaintiffs in bringing this long-overdue action, challenging the mis-classification of pro-wrestlers as independent contractors instead of employees. We know we are in for a long, hard fight, but in the end, I believe justice always prevails.”
Kevin Kelly joined AEW in June 2023 as the new play-by-play announcer for AEW Collision alongside Nigel McGuinness. Kelly's time in AEW was short-lived as he was released by the company in March 2024. Before his time officially ended, Kelly made a series of social media posts that called out Ian Riccaboni for libel and trying to sabatoge his career.
AEW released The Boys in April. Tony Khan claimed that The Boys no-showed multiple bookings and stood by these comments after The Boys denied them.
Fightful will continue to update fans as the story unfolds.
