Plaintiffs In WWE Shareholder Lawsuit File Pre-Trial Briefing, Seeking Nine Figures In Damages
The latest on the lawsuit ahead of the trial.
The latest on the WWE shareholder lawsuit came from a 75-page pre-trial briefing by the plaintiffs. It highlighted their argument for nine figures in damages and belief that WWE had been undervalued in the 2023 merger to form TKO Group Holdings.
One of the notables in the briefing is that the relationship between former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and TKO CEO Ari Emanuel goes back decades. One of the images McMahon sent to Emanuel on Emanuel’s birthday was a photoshopped image of their heads on the poster for the movie Step Brothers starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly.
The plaintiffs argued that McMahon never intended for his July 2022 retirement to be permanent. An hour after the announcement, McMahon was chatting with Ari Emanuel, who he knew was interested in acquiring WWE.
By the time November 2022 rolled around, McMahon’s legal representation had already been drafting a letter to WWE’s Board of Directors about him returning. That was put on pause because another sexual misconduct allegation arose against McMahon. He ended up contacting the Board in December 2022 and threatened to reject any media deal or transaction unless he was reinstated.
The trial begins on June 8th in the Delaware Court of Chancery. It will be in session for four days, and presiding over it will be Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster. Laster will make his ruling at an unspecified time.
