Vince McMahon, Triple H & Nick Khan To Testify In WWE Merger Trial

Vince McMahon will take the stand next month when the lawsuit over WWE's merger with UFC under TKO Group Holdings goes to trial.

McMahon, TKO CEO Ari Emanuel, WWE President Nick Khan, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque, and TKO President Nick Khan are just a few of the witnesses who are scheduled to testify in the shareholder lawsuit, which is is set to go to trial on June 8 in the Delaware Court of Chancery.

The pre-trial order notes that the plaintiffs in the case also plan to call on former WWE CFO Frank Riddick III, TKO CFO Andrew Schleimer, Raine Banker Jeffrey Sine, who advised WWE on the deal, and expert witnesses Brendan Houlihan and James Canessa. The plaintiffs may also call on former WWE board members Jeffrey Speed and Steve Pamon, former WWE CEO Stephanie McMahon, and Liberty Media CEO Marty Patterson.

The defendants, meanwhile, intend to call on former WWE executives George Barrios, Brad Blum, and Michelle Wilson. This is in addition to Ari Emanuel, Nick Khan, Paul Levesque, Vince McMahon, Frank Riddick III, Andrew Schleimer, Mark Shapiro, Jeffrey Sine, TKO Strategy Officer Mark Zhu, and others.

The lawsuit filed in November 2023 alleges that Endeavor was preselected by Vince McMahon as Ari Emanuel assured Vince McMahon's future with WWE in the aftermath of McMahon's retirement from the company due to a hush money and sexual misconduct scandal. This meant that competing offers for WWE from Liberty Media and private equity firm KKR were allegedly not allowed to develop, which prevented a competitive process from emerging over the sale of WWE. It is alleged by the plaintiffs this resulted in WWE shareholders being shortchanged.

Should the plaintiffs win the case, WWE shareholders could be awarded millions of dollars. A judgement is not expected immediately upon the trial's conclusion and Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster, the presiding judge, will likely issue a written opinion months after the trial ends.

The defendants in the lawsuit are Vince McMahon, Nick Khan, Paul "Triple H" Levesque, George Barrios, and Michelle Wilson.

H/T POST Wrestling