Kevin Kelly’s Legal Representative Rejects Jim Ross’ Frivolous Lawsuit Claim

Kevin Kelly, known for working with WWE, Ring of Honor, and New Japan Pro-Wrestling, was in the spotlight after news of his departure from AEW. Reports stated he left after a heated rant before the AEW Revolution event. Kelly has since filed a lawsuit against AEW and Jim Ross called the lawsuit “frivolous.” In response, Kelly’s lawyer went on a rant of sorts.

Kevin Kelly’s sudden disappearance and return to AEW caused a lot of speculation among fans, which escalated when Kelly accused Ian Riccaboni of defamation and emphasized his own importance within AEW before the AEW Revolution pay-per-view. It was later revealed that Kelly’s absence was related to legal issues. Since leaving AEW, he has pursued other projects in pro wrestling.

As previously reported, three former AEW talents—announcer Kevin Kelly and wrestlers Brandon and Brendan Tate—filed a lawsuit against AEW and others on August 30 in a Pennsylvania court. Their lawyers, Stephen P. New and Benjamin Baer, are challenging the arbitration clause in their contracts and seeking to turn the lawsuit into a class-action case.

The lawsuit claims that AEW wrongly classifies its wrestlers as independent contractors instead of employees. Kevin Kelly is also seeking financial compensation, alleging AEW breached his contract and damaged his future job opportunities.

Jim Ross also shared his thoughts on the lawsuit, as he doubted the lawsuit would prevail and he called the lawsuit ”frivolous.” During an appearance on House of Kayfabe, New addressed Jim Ross’s comments that labeled the lawsuit as frivolous. New strongly disagreed, acknowledging that while he might lose the case, it’s not without merit.

New argued that Ross contributed to the problem by pushing unfair contracts on talent during his time in WWE’s Talent Relations. He criticized Ross for promoting “take it or leave it” contracts, which wrestlers should have refused or negotiated out of, particularly the arbitration clauses. New expressed no surprise that Ross would call the lawsuit frivolous on a podcast, pointing out that Ross has been paid generously by Tony Khan to do minimal work for the past several years.

New concluded that if he were in Ross’s position, living comfortably and earning money for doing little, he might also downplay the seriousness of the lawsuit. However, he maintained that the case is far from frivolous and deserves proper attention.

”I need to make a response. J.R., Jim Ross called this lawsuit frivolous. Well, let me tell you something, boola-boola, this is not a frivolous lawsuit. You’re part of the problem. You, Jim Ross, are part of the problem because you fed the guys in WWE, as Talent Relations, these crap contracts for a quarter of a century. You told these guys that it was the take it or leave it deal and that they needed to sign these crap contracts that were contracts of adhesion, that they should’ve never have signed or they should have lined the arbitration provisions out of so, I’m not shocked in the least that you go on Conrad Thompson’s podcast and you say that this is a frivolous lawsuit. I might lose it, but bah gawd! It’s not frivolous. I can tell you that.

Tony Khan’s paid J.R. a lot of money to do nothing, for about five years now, and so, if I were Jim Ross and I were living at Jacksonville Beach and making a bunch of money to not do much at all, I’d probably come out and call Stephen P. New’s lawsuit frivolous also. Everybody’s got a price.”

AEW has also released a statement on Kevin Kelly’s lawsuit. We’ll have to wait and see how this legal battle unfolds in the coming months. With Tony Khan expected to put up a strong defense on behalf of AEW, the case could either be settled swiftly or turn into a prolonged legal fight, depending on the arguments and developments ahead.

What’s your view on what Kevin Kelly’s lawyer had to say in response to Jim Ross dismissing the lawsuit as frivolous? Do you feel the case has merit? Let us know in the comments section below!