The legal drama surrounding WWEs merger with UFC under TKO Group Holdings just escalatedagain. In a sharp twist, WWE President Nick Khan, Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque (Triple H), and former board members George Barrios and Michelle Wilson are now flipping the script and going after the plaintiffs.
In new court filings submitted on October 30, the four executives issued a notice seeking to depose representatives of the Laborers District Council and Contractors Pension Fund of Ohio. That pension fund is one of the co-lead plaintiffs in the shareholder lawsuit that claims Vince McMahon rigged the Endeavor deal to keep power after his 2023 return. The defendants now want to grill the fund about its decision to bring the lawsuit, its choice of legal counsel, and how it evaluated the merger in the first place.
This move shifts some of the heat off WWE leadership and redirects it toward the investors questioning the deal. The lawsuit accuses McMahon and others of breaching fiduciary duties by allegedly steering WWE toward a merger with Endeavor that prioritized McMahons own interests. In filings from last year, McMahon denied all allegations.
Meanwhile, deposition season is in full swing at WWE. Michelle Wilson was deposed on October 24, followed by Stephanie McMahon and Frank Riddick on October 27 and 28, respectively. George Barrios also sat for questioning last week. Triple Hs deposition was recently pushed back to November 18, while Vince McMahon is expected to testify on November 12. Nick Khan will face questioning on November 19.
Things wont wrap thereTKO CEO Ari Emanuel is on deck for December 2, followed by TKO President Mark Shapiro on December 8. Other key players like Brad Blum and Mark Zhu are also scheduled to be deposed throughout November and December.
For now, the shareholder lawsuit continues in Delaware Chancery Court as both sides dig deeper into how this billion-dollar deal really went downand who pulled the strings behind the scenes.
Do you think WWE execs are on defenseor are they turning this case around? Drop your thoughts in the comments.
