A new development in the ongoing legal fight over WWE’s merger with Endeavor could have significant implications for Vince McMahon and several of the company’s most prominent executives.
Shareholder plaintiffs in the lawsuit have filed a motion in the Delaware Chancery Court seeking sanctions against multiple WWE leaders for allegedly destroying communications related to the merger process.
According to court filings reported by POST Wrestling, the plaintiffs claim that Vince McMahon, WWE President Nick Khan, and Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque failed to preserve important communications connected to the deal that ultimately led to the creation of TKO Group Holdings.
The motion also references former WWE executives Stephanie McMahon and Brad Blum, who are not named as defendants in the lawsuit but are accused of failing to retain potentially relevant records.
In their filing, the plaintiffs are asking the court to impose what is known as an “adverse inference.” If granted, this would allow the judge, during trial, to assume that the missing communications would have been damaging to the defendants responsible for their disappearance.
At the centre of the dispute are messages sent through the encrypted messaging application Signal, which allows users to set conversations to automatically delete.
According to the motion, Nick Khan frequently used the platform when discussing matters related to the WWE merger and allegedly encouraged others to move discussions away from traditional text messaging.
Nick Khan & Vince McMahon’s WrestleMania Discussions On Signal
One exchange referenced in the filing involved a conversation between Vince McMahon and Nick Khan about the WrestleMania main event featuring Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns.
In the exchange, Khan allegedly sent the message “Langis.” When McMahon asked what the word meant, Khan reportedly responded, “Read it backwards!”
Plaintiffs argue that the exchange was a coded instruction to encourage McMahon to continue the conversation via Signal rather than standard text messages.
The filing also introduces a previously unreported allegation concerning a December 13, 2022, meeting involving Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, Nick Khan, and Endeavor executives Ari Emanuel and Mark Shapiro.
According to the plaintiffs, the meeting occurred weeks before McMahon used his controlling voting power to return to WWE after stepping away from the company.
McMahon had previously announced his retirement in July 2022 amid investigations into alleged sexual misconduct and undisclosed payments made to former employees.
The plaintiffs claim the December meeting supports their argument that the eventual merger with Endeavor was effectively predetermined, alleging that McMahon and other executives steered the process toward that outcome while limiting the possibility of competing offers that could have benefited shareholders.
The motion also states that documents produced during the discovery phase show that McMahon had Signal communications with numerous individuals connected to WWE and Endeavor. These reportedly include Nick Khan, Paul Levesque, Ari Emanuel, Stephanie McMahon, Saudi Arabia General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki Al-Sheikh, as well as several WWE figures, including Brock Lesnar, Bruce Prichard, and Kevin Dunn.
However, according to the filing, publicly released discovery materials redact details regarding the auto-deletion settings for several individuals accused of failing to preserve messages.
Attorneys representing Khan have previously stated that he does not recall the specific contents of the deleted communications referenced in the case.
The lawsuit is currently scheduled to go to trial in June, where the claims surrounding the merger process and the handling of communications will likely play a central role.
If the shareholder plaintiffs ultimately prevail, the case could result in significant financial damages. In merger-related litigation involving companies valued in the billions of dollars, even small valuation changes can translate into tens or hundreds of millions of dollars.
For now, the defendants have denied any wrongdoing. Representatives for WWE, TKO, Vince McMahon, and Stephanie McMahon did not respond to requests for comment regarding the newly alleged December 2022 meeting.
As the case moves closer to trial, the outcome could shape how the WWE-Endeavor merger is viewed both legally and financially in the years ahead.
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