Vince McMahon and WWE senior leaders have been sanctioned by a Delaware Chancery Court judge for “acting recklessly” in allowing Signal messages related to WWE’s merger with UFC to be deleted, a ruling that will make it significantly harder for McMahon and WWE’s directors and officers to defend themselves when the case goes to trial on June 8.
Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster issued the sanctions in a 40-page opinion on Wednesday, ruling that at trial he will presume certain facts to be true against McMahon and WWE President Nick Khan. The standard of proof required to overcome those presumed facts will be elevated.
Shareholders allege McMahon manipulated the merger process to secure personal control of the company, rejecting higher competing offers in favor of a deal with longtime friend Ari Emanuel, CEO of Endeavor Group Holdings. The 2023 merger valued WWE at $21.4 billion and combined it with UFC under the TKO Group Holdings umbrella.
Among the facts the judge will now presume to be true at trial: that McMahon’s decision-making regarding the merger was influenced by Emanuel’s promises that McMahon would remain at WWE and receive legal support for federal investigations into sexual misconduct allegations against him; that McMahon had decided to pursue a deal with Endeavor before WWE even began its official strategic review process; that Khan communicated with Emanuel in 2022 to help facilitate the deal; and that McMahon and Khan worked with their financial adviser to steer negotiations toward Endeavor and away from other potential bidders.
McMahon and WWE’s leadership were directed by their own assistant general counsel to preserve all documents and electronic communications, including texts and instant messages, on two separate occasions: once in June 2022 after misconduct allegations against McMahon became public, and again in January 2023 after WWE began contacting potential merger partners. Both instructions were disregarded.
Laster’s opinion details how Khan, McMahon, and others at WWE changed the auto-delete settings on their Signal chats with McMahon after the preservation orders had been issued. The judge noted voicemails from Emanuel and Endeavor president Mark Shapiro that linked the merger with the misconduct allegations against McMahon, writing that the deleted Signal chats likely covered both subjects.
The opinion also highlighted a telling exchange. During merger discussions, Khan messaged McMahon with a single word: “Langis.” When McMahon asked what it meant, Khan replied: “Read it backwards.” Laster noted that the record reveals extensive backchannelling.
WWE’s attorneys argued McMahon produced 22,000 messages across multiple platforms to investors. However, the Signal data could not be retrieved until October 2025, when devices that had been seized by federal authorities investigating the misconduct allegations were returned.
Emanuel and Shapiro are not named as defendants in the lawsuit. Laster did not grant all of the presumptions shareholders had sought.
McMahon previously agreed to repay $17.4 million that WWE had spent investigating misconduct claims, leading shareholders to drop a separate lawsuit. He resigned as executive chairman of TKO Group Holdings in January 2024 after an additional sexual misconduct allegation was made against him.
The case is In re World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. Merger Litigation, Del. Ch., No. 2023-1166. Reporting by Bloomberg Law’s Jennifer Kay.
