San Antonio Royal Rumble Agreement Provides Insight Into WWE Exclusivity

By Ross W Berman IV
Nick Khan staring into the middle distance Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

WWE had previously been locked in a legal battle over trying to prevent the release of the details behind the company's negotiations with San Antonio, TX for the 2023 Royal Rumble. The suit was recently dropped which means that the full agreement between WWE and San Antonio has been released.

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According to Wrestlenomics' Brandon Thurston, the full, unredacted contract has an addendum that includes details about the exclusivity of the venue, in this case, the Alamodome. According to the addendum, the venue is not allowed to advertise or host a wrestling event 90 days before the scheduled WWE event and 60 days after said event. Furthermore, the addendum says that the venue cannot advertise or host wrestling events as long as tickets are on sale for the WWE event. Tickets for big WWE events like the Royal Rumble often go on sale much before the 90-day exclusivity window, essentially extending said window.

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WWE had previously sued the Texas Attorney General to prevent the release of the agreement, claiming it would expose "trade secrets" after Wrestlenomics had filed information requests for the agreement.

WWE has bigger legal issues on its mind at the moment, as the company was named alongside former chairman Vince McMahon and former head of talent relations John Laurinaitis in a civil suit claiming that former legal assistant Janel Grant had suffered emotional, psychological, and sexual abuse, harassment, and torture at the hands of McMahon and Laurinaitis, as well as being a victim of sex trafficking. The civil case has been paused as the federal government looks into any possible criminal charges related to Grant's complaint.

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