IndependentWrestling.TV sues GCW for breach of contract
Source: f4wonline.com
IndependentWrestling.TV
is suing Game Changer Wrestling for breach of contract, claiming an estimated $500,000 in revenue loss.
Filed in a Pennsylvania court, the Wilkes-Barre-based IWTV claims they entered into an exclusive contract with Haddonfield, NJ-based GCW in March of 2020 for filming, producing, and digitally distributing their pay-per-view content.
They allege that GCW broke that contract in December 2020 by informing them they were going to stream their PPVs through another platform (FITE.tv).
In the suit, IWTV, which touts 251 promotions and nearly 5000 events on its streaming platform, said that GCW has held 36 PPVs between December 5th and May 15th -- a violation of their agreement. They said they notified GCW about the breach of contract, but GCW kept promoting shows anyway.
They estimated the damages are in excess of $500,000, but can't fully be calculated until GCW provides the revenue from those shows.
On December 26th,
GCW tweeted that they were "formally requesting to be released from our IWTV contract. This request comes with sadness and regret, but also with the knowledge that there is apparently no other option. Thank you everyone for your support. #FreeGCW".
On the same day, GCW owner Brett Lauderdale sent out a flurry of tweets, explaining
his side of the situation, part of which is below:
"This is not a call for sympathy or an excuse. This is an acknowledgment that I/we are human and get frustrated and emotional when I feel like my company deserves better. In this new world, our existing agreement w/ IWTV isn’t sustainable & we need a change. We have tried to seek a resolution privately but we’re not having much luck. IWTV will thrive with or without GCW. We just want the opportunity to do the same. Hope you understand. Thanks,”
Neither Lauderdale or GCW have tweeted about this latest development and are focusing on their Tournament of Survival weekend in Atlantic City, NJ.
The fact that it's the top true indie company going right now is a pretty sad indictment on the state of independent wrestling as a whole because I just don't see a company where the likes of Nick Gage, RSP, Janela and Jimmy Lloyd are the top stars as being a good sign of where the scene is at. I will say that most of their shows have at least 2 or 3 solid matches worth watching and they employ some solid wrestlers as well, it's just that the stuff that gets the most play by them is usually bottom of the barrel shit imo. It also doesn't help matters that every time I watch a show, their commentators come off like complete neckbeards who are having a competition to see who can drop the most uncalled for f-bombs during the broadcast. And now that I feel I've reached peak Cornette status, I'll end by saying that I take nothing away from people who enjoy the company, it's just too much comedy and senseless spot monkeying for my taste.
