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Vince McMahon reached a last-minute settlement to avoid a trial over the 2023 merger of WWE and UFC, a case which risked making information about his sexual misconduct allegations and hush money scandals public.
The trial, which was supposed to start Monday in Delaware’s Chancery Court, has been canceled because the parties agreed to a settlement in principle, a source familiar with the matter tells Front Office Sports. An attorney for the plaintiffs confirmed to FOS that a settlement has been reached but declined to comment further because the “details aren’t public yet.”
Wrestling industry reporter Brandon Thurston was first to report the parties had settled late on Saturday.
The lawsuit from WWE stockholders was first filed in 2023, following WWE’s $21 billion merger with UFC parent Endeavor that formed TKO Group Holdings. The suit claimed McMahon steered WWE toward a deal with Endeavor over other potential suitors who would have perhaps paid more because he believed Ari Emanuel, then CEO of Endeavor, would allow him to maintain financial benefits and control over WWE. Other bidders could have forced McMahon out due to sexual misconduct and settlement payment scandals, according to the suit. Emanuel is now CEO and executive chairman of TKO.
Current and former WWE executives Nick Khan, George Barrios, Steve Koonin, Michelle Wilson, and Frank Riddick were also listed as defendants in the shareholder suit.
As part of the discovery process, the suing shareholders requested that McMahon turn over documents related to sexual misconduct allegations and payments made to women who had accused McMahon of sexual misconduct, claiming the wrestling magnate broke his obligations to them by ushering the UFC deal for selfish purposes.
The shareholders claimed the documents were relevant because they would show McMahon’s “state of mind” amid the 2023 merger. McMahon resigned as CEO and chairman of WWE amid the initial allegations in 2022, then found his way back onto the board the next year to facilitate the merger with UFC.
McMahon has been shedding TKO stock since the 2023 megamerger, including offloading $250 million worth of shares last June. As of then, he had put more than $2 billion worth of TKO shares for sale since the transaction. As of the end of June 2025, McMahon still owned over 6.4 million shares of TKO’s Class A common stock, representing less than 8% of the company’s Class A common stock.
Emanuel eventually asked McMahon to resign in January 2024 after a former WWE employee, Janel Grant, alleged that McMahon had trafficked and abused her. Grant says McMahon agreed to pay her $3 million in return for her keeping quiet. McMahon ultimately settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission after making $10 million in payments to women and not disclosing the payments to WWE.
Although he has escaped the Delaware suit, McMahon still faces legal challenges. A lawsuit from Grant, filed in 2024, is ongoing; last month, McMahon moved to compel that suit into arbitration. Also in 2024, McMahon and his wife, Linda McMahon—the U.S. Secretary of Education under President Donald Trump—were named in a lawsuit from five former “Ring Boys” who allege the duo “knowingly allowed” a ring crew chief to sexually abuse them decades ago. That case also remains ongoing, and last month WWE and the McMahons argued in a filing that the suit should be dismissed (The McMahons are separated but not divorced).
Representatives for McMahon and the court did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A representative for TKO declined to comment.
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