WWE Shareholder Lawsuit Explained: Everything You Need To Know

In 2022, after the Wall Street Journal reported on Vince McMahon's alleged sexual improprieties and subsequent hush money payments to former employees, he stepped down as Chairman and CEO of WWE. The following year, citing upcoming media rights negotiations and the exploration of a potential sale, Mr. McMahon orchestrated his return to the Board of Directors, utilizing the power of his exclusive Class B shares to reinstate himself back onto the Board.

The sale of WWE to Endeavor Group Holdings, overseen by Ari Emanuel, closed on September 12, 2023, and saw WWE and UFC merge into one entity: TKO Group Holdings. Mr. McMahon became the Executive Chairman of TKO and remained in that role until a lawsuit was filed on January 25, 2024, by former WWE employee Janel Grant, accusing him of sexual misconduct and sex trafficking, and he resigned the following day.

The Shareholder Lawsuits: Laborers' District, Palkon, Pontiac

Shareholders of WWE filed a class action lawsuit against Vince McMahon, Nick Khan, Paul "Triple H" Levesque, and the other members of the previous WWE Board of Directors. The filing alleged that the sale of WWE to Endeavor was a breach of the fiduciary interests to the shareholders, but a diversion to cover up Mr. McMahon's alleged sexual misconduct, and pre-designed to ensure Mr. McMahon remained in power.

Read the full Laborers' District lawsuit text at this link.

The first lawsuit was filed on November 22, 2023, by the Laborers' District Council and Contractors' Pension of Ohio. Two additional lawsuits, Palkon and Pontiac, were filed in concurrent order following the Laborers' District filing, and the Court streamlined the cases into one entity. Through counsel, Mr. McMahon called the lawsuit "meritless" and that it was intended to set up a "mini-trial over his sexual misconduct allegations." Mr. Levesque said he wanted to focus on the positives of the merger and declined to discuss the lawsuit in depth. Mr. Khan has not publicly commented on the ongoing shareholder litigation.

The Most Recent Activity In The WWE Shareholder Lawsuit

As the shareholder lawsuit against WWE and its former Board of Directors continues, WWE continues to exceed all metrics as a company and an organization. Over the past two years, it announced the move of its flagship show Monday Night Raw to streaming giant Netflix, a multi-year partnership with former rival promotion TNA, the acquisition of the Mexican wrestling promotion AAA, and a new multi-year partnership with ESPN that hosts all of its premium live events.

Paul Levesque was recently deposed as part of the lawsuit, and this past Friday, the Delaware Court of Chancery ruled that WWE must turn over all documents and communications related to Vince McMahon's alleged sexual misconduct.

Janel Grant's lawsuit is pending in Connecticut state court, and the judge recently denied Mr. McMahon's motion to dismiss the case. Mr. McMahon and John Laurinaitis have denied all accusations. Another co-defendant in Ms. Grant's lawsuit, Brock Lesnar, returned to WWE at SummerSlam in August after a year and a half absence following the Wall Street Journal report confirming his involvement in the filing.