Father Of Deceased WWE Wrestler Suing The Company

– According to TMZ.com, the father of late wrestler Eddie Gilbert has filed a lawsuit against WWE. Tommy Gilbert, who is in charge of Eddie’s estate, is claiming that WWE is using his son’s likeness without permission and is also not paying the family. The family is trying to get a judge to force WWE to pay out a share of profits plus damages.

A WWE rep told TMZ that they have purchased legal rights to use old footage from other promotions and they believe that the lawsuit will be dismissed.

You can read TMZ’s article below:

The WWE is cashing in on Eddie “Hot Stuff” Gilbert even though he’s been dead for 20 years … at least according to his family, which is dragging the league to court to get a cut of the action.

According to docs … Eddie’s dad, Tommy Gilbert, is in charge of the estate and says the WWE is plastering his son’s image and likeness all over TV and other media platforms without permission — and, more importantly, without paying them a dime.

Tommy says old wrestling footage of Eddie — a pro from ’79 until his death of a heart attack in ’95 — is being used to promote the WWE.

Interestingly, Eddie’s fam isn’t suing to block use of the footage — they just want a judge to force the WWE to fork over a share of its profits, plus damages.

The WWE believes it has full clearance. A rep tells TMZ … the org has purchased legal rights to use old footage from other wrestling groups — such as ECW and WCW — and as a result … it expects this lawsuit to be dismissed.