As World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) transitions from a time when it earned a good chunk of its revenue from pay-per-view telecasts to one where streaming platforms dominate, one of its former professional wrestlers is now asking a federal court to interpret an old contract that spoke of “technology not yet created.”
On Wednesday, Rene Goguen (known in the ring as “Rene Dupree” as part of the group “La Resistance”) brought a putative class-action lawsuit alleging he and others haven’t seen money from the much-ballyhooed over-the-top channel, WWE Network, as well as videos put on Netflix.
According to the complaint filed in Connecticut federal court, Goguen signed a “booking contract” in 2003 where WWE took ownership over a wide swath of intellectual property including his nickname, personality, character, costumes, props, gimmicks, gestures, routines and themes.
Source: Hollywood Reporter