Vince McMahon reaches deal with WWE shareholders to avoid trial in 2023 UFC merger suit
(Courtesy : Getty)
The settlement came just hours before proceedings were set to begin in Delaware.
Former WWE CEO & Co-founder, Vince McMahon, has reached a settlement with WWE shareholders over the 2023 merger with UFC that created TKO Group Holdings, avoiding a trial that threatened to drag his sexual misconduct allegations and hush money scandals into public view.
The trial was scheduled to begin Monday in Delaware’s Chancery Court before the two sides agreed to a settlement in principle. An attorney for the plaintiffs confirmed the settlement had been reached but declined to elaborate, noting that the “details aren’t public yet.” Bloomberg Law first reported the settlement, with additional reporting from Front Office Sports.
The Lawsuit and what was at stake?
The shareholder lawsuit was originally filed in 2023, in the wake of WWE’s merger with UFC parent company Endeavor in a deal valued at $21 billion.
The suit alleged that McMahon steered WWE toward Endeavor over rival bidders who may have offered more money, doing so because he believed Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel, now CEO and executive chairman of TKO Group Holdings, would allow him to retain financial benefits and control over the company.
According to the suit, competing bidders could have forced McMahon out entirely, given the sexual misconduct and settlement payment scandals already surrounding him. Current and former WWE executives Nick Khan, George Barrios, Steve Koonin, Michelle Wilson, and Frank Riddick were also named as defendants.
Central to the case was a discovery request from shareholders asking Vince McMahon to hand over documents related to sexual misconduct allegations and payments made to women who had accused him of misconduct.
The shareholders argued that those documents were directly relevant because they would illuminate McMahon’s “state of mind” during the merger process. Vince McMahon had resigned as WWE’s CEO and chairman in 2022 when the initial allegations surfaced, only to return to the company’s board the following year to help facilitate the TKO deal.
The misconduct allegations and Vince McMahon’s departure
Vince McMahon’s exit from WWE’s day-to-day operations became permanent in January 2024 when Emanuel asked him to resign after former WWE employee Janel Grant filed a lawsuit alleging that McMahon had trafficked and abused her, and had agreed to pay her $3 million in exchange for her silence.
McMahon subsequently settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission after it emerged that he had made $10 million in payments to women without disclosing them to WWE’s board.
Vince has been steadily offloading his TKO stock since the merger closed. By June 2025, he had sold more than $2 billion worth of shares in total, though he still held over 6.4 million shares of TKO’s Class A common stock, representing less than 8% of that class.
Legal troubles far from over
The Delaware settlement does not close the book on McMahon’s legal troubles. Grant’s lawsuit remains active, with McMahon last month filing a motion to have the matter moved into arbitration.
Separately, Vince McMahon and his wife, Linda McMahon, currently serving as US Secretary of Education under President Donald Trump, were named in a 2024 lawsuit brought by five former ring boys who allege the couple “knowingly allowed” a ring crew chief to sexually abuse them decades ago.
WWE and the McMahons filed arguments last month seeking dismissal of that case. The McMahons are reported to be separated but not divorced.
The report from Front Office also added that representatives for McMahon and the Delaware court did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for TKO declined to comment.
What was the WWE shareholder lawsuit about?
The lawsuit, filed in 2023, alleged that Vince McMahon steered WWE’s merger with Endeavor toward a deal that served his personal interests over those of shareholders.
The suit claimed rival bidders may have paid more for WWE but could have forced Vince McMahon out due to his misconduct scandals, and that McMahon chose Endeavor because he believed Emanuel would allow him to maintain control and financial benefits.
Why were the misconduct documents significant to the case?
Shareholders requested documents related to Vince McMahon’s sexual misconduct allegations and payments to women, arguing they were relevant to understanding his “state of mind” during the merger. Making those documents public through the trial process was one of the central risks McMahon faced had the case gone to court.
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