You can’t get blood from a stone.
That old saying translates to, if someone is broke, you’re not getting any money. It’s one of the many reasons why you should never lend friends or family (or probably anyone else) cash. If you do, consider it a gift and never expect to see it again.
We’ve often seen how loopholes have allowed business to get away with such things for years, which is basically how the stock market is played. If the stock tanks, your investment goes with it. The “cost” of doing business. Of course, regulatory bodies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, are put in place to attempt to prevent that, but we’ve also seen how regulation can be derailed with the way the criminal investigation into the former WWF kingpin, Vince McMahon was quietly dropped when his pal, the orange blob took office for a second term.
In short, when a business deal goes sideways, it’s not uncommon for everyone involved to shrug and say “oops” when a few million dollars evaporates.
All Elite Wrestling finds itself as the commodity that claims its owned nearly $5 million in a new lawsuit filed against Triller, the online streaming platform, for unpaid revenue for pay-per-view sales, as well as money from an AEW+ subscription service. In truth, this news isn’t too surprising, as AEW’s launch of the MyAEW app for international viewers a few months ago more or less confirmed the end of its association with Triller. The announcement of an in-house app was not long after there was speculation about possible financial trouble for Triller, specifically last December when Triller stock was taken off the Nasdaq exchange for not filing financial reports. Obviously, Tony Khan is a billionaire and the $5 million won’t make or break him, but there’s no doubt that All Elite has the right to attempt to get the money that its owed.
Post Wrestling has a detailed report that covers a lot of the in depth legal jargon, but to cut through the red tape, the All Elite Wrestling side of the lawsuit claims that Triller executives misappropriated funds that they were owed to cover other operational costs, including the attempted launch of a social media platform that never materialized. It makes you wonder, how far behind was Triller on its payments? Could this have been a situation where they used current money to try to chase a future upswing to cover previous debts? If these yo-yos assumed that they’d be able to turn a profit with an investment of money owned in the hopes of a big payoff down the road that never happened, it’s easy to see how they could end up so far behind that it would be impossible to generate the type of revenue needed to square everything.
The lawsuit lists CEO, Kostadin Jordanov, and President and COO Eric Winter as the two main executives still standing for Triller. Post Wrestling’s report cites that a few other key executives left the company almost immediately after the suit was filed, which should tell you the general consensus about Triller’s chances to exist going forward. To make matters even more complicated, Flipps Media Inc, the parent company of Triller, also filed a lawsuit to basically take control of Triller’s assets to be able to explore bankruptcy options. If I had to guess, I’d say that this is nothing more than a preemptive measure for Flipps Media to shield itself from being dissolved when Triller collapses. Flipps Media’s main claim is that Triller is insolvent and thus bankruptcy is the only realistic option. Slicing up the streaming site’s assets, whatever those might be, could be the best case scenario for those owed money.
If I had to guess, the result from this will be minimal. Tony Khan isn’t getting the money that he’s rightfully owed because Triller might be insolvent. Someone spent the AEW revenue instead of sending it to Tony. It will be interesting if Kostadin Jordanov, Eric Winter, or anyone else could be held criminally responsible for this alleged misappropriation of money, but that’s doubtful. The biggest takeaway from this lawsuit, at least on a major level, is that Triller won’t exist to possibly swindle anyone else again.
However, there could be somewhat of a trickle down effect on the independent scene with the collapse of Triller.
Triller was on the radar briefly during the pandemic when it broadcasted the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones exhibition as an entertaining event when the world was shuttered and most live sports were postponed. Triller bought Fite TV, a platform that had streamed pro wrestling events previously, and Triller used pro wrestling as one of the cornerstones of its service. In some ways, Triller was too accessible, as it offered TNA, AEW, and GCW at various points, but it also gave a platform to almost any group with a wifi connection. An independent show in the parking lot of Big Bob’s Tire Shop in front of 38 fans does nothing to establish the industry.
As I wrote when Triller was unlisted from the stock exchange in December, the biggest point, at least for the independent level, to be made is that if Triller tanks, it puts more pressure as far as added costs, on independent groups that have a bigger following to find an alternative or establish their own platform. Game Changer Wrestling is probably the biggest example, not only because of its status as the biggest independent organization in the United States, but also because it runs events on an almost weekly basis. Granted, something as well known as Youtube can allow for live streams with membership tiers to monetize content, but that’s a more complex issue, in terms of the revenue split that a company can get from Youtube compared to an independent option. Ironically, following the announcement of the lawsuit, GCW owner, Brett Lauderdale posted a message on Twitter to explain that he hopes that there can be a resolution for the wrestling portion of Triller and that GCW will continue to stream its events on the platform. If GCW is getting paid as scheduled then it’s good that they still have that revenue for the company.
Unfortunately, this type of situation has happened previously, specifically with the independent circuit, but went to a national level this time with AEW. The infamous FloSlam debacle years ago that also led to a lawsuit, the even more infamous Go Fight Live disastrous that hindered Ring Of Honor during the early years of the Sinclair Broadcasting ownership, and the potential domino effect of the Triller lawsuit now.
Where it goes from here is anyone’s guess, but at some point, it would be nice if one of the bigger promotions, such as AEW or potential even WWE themselves, put the frame work in place for a stable streaming platform for independent groups. The reason being is that the independents are still essentially a feeder system for the major leagues, and the increased revenue through expanded distribution is one of the key ways that those promotions can keep the doors open. While it’s understandable that an independent group on a budget might outsource the broadcast platform to another entity, it’s also somewhat concerning when such a key revenue stream might be in danger if an entity such as Triller folds. I could be wrong, but given that the company allegedly owes AEW $5 million, the best case scenario is probably going to be that a new platform emerges after the shutdown of Triller as a streaming site.
What do you think? Share your thoughts, opinions, feedback, and anything else that was raised on Twitter @PWMania and Facebook.com/PWMania.
Until next week
-Jim LaMotts
Email [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
