Tony Khan and AEW finally respond to major star's lawsuit

Tony Khan and his company AEW had been caught in the web of a major lawsuit filed by a former star. Weeks after it became public, the company has finally responded to the same.

The star in question is Ryan Nemeth. He had filed a lawsuit against the AEW, Tony Khan, and CM Punk last month alleging an unsafe work environment, breach of contract, and being blacklisted from the business by them.

Weeks after remaining silent, Tony Khan and his company have finally made public their side of things. They filed a petition on Friday, March 15, 2025, seeking to compel Ryan into arbitration. The petition was filed in the U.S. District Court in the Middle District of Florida.

In their petition, AEW states that Ryan's claims should be resolved through private arbitration rather than publicly in court. It also revealed that he signed three contracts with the Jacksonville-based promotion: March 1, 2021, January 17, 2022, and March 1, 2023.

Each of those reportedly contained an identical arbitration clause to resolve issues in Duval County, Florida, under JAMS, Inc. arbitration rules.

"[a]ll disputes between [Nemeth] and AEW, including, without limitation, any dispute relating to any matter arising under this Agreement or any dispute concerning the performance, application or interpretation of any provision of this Agreement, shall be resolved for final, binding, and conclusive arbitration conducted before a single arbitrator in Duval County, Florida and administered by JAMS, Inc. pursuant to its Comprehensive Arbitration Rules and Procedures."

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Wrestling veteran believes people always dragged former AEW star CM Punk in controversial matters regarding Tony

As mentioned, alongside Tony Khan and his company, current WWE Superstar CM Punk has also been named in the lawsuit by Ryan Nemeth. This led to wrestling veteran Bill Apter's claim on The Wrestling Time Machine podcast that Punk's popularity has often led to people dragging him into controversial matters.

"I don't know if it's nonsensical. So, he's got to prove it. If he can prove it, maybe, he has grounds. But people are always trying to drag CM Punk into a troublesome light from his days in AEW. If Nemeth is doing this, somebody else is going to wind up doing it too." [1:18 - 1:38]

With Khan and his company finally responding to Ryan Nemeth's lawsuit after a month of radio silence, it will be interesting to see how this could be resolved.