witnesses scheduled – A shareholder lawsuit tied to the TKO merger is set for a June 8 trial in Delaware, and the court has published a pre-trial order listing dozens of executives and advisors—including Vince McMahon, Ari Emanuel, Nick Khan, Mark Shapiro, and Paul Levesque—schedul
By the time the Delaware Court of Chancery turns its attention to the TKO merger, it won’t be a fight over paperwork. It will be a fight over who controlled the process—and whether alternative bidders ever stood a real chance.
The trial is set to begin June 8, and a publicly filed pre-trial order lays out a roster of major executives scheduled to take the stand next month in the shareholder lawsuit over the TKO merger.
Among the names listed are former TKO Chairman Vince McMahon. current TKO CEO & Chairman Ari Emanuel. WWE President Nick Khan. TKO President Mark Shapiro. and WWE Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque. The filing includes their names on the parties’ witness lists. showing how central each is expected to be as the case heads toward trial in Delaware.
The lawsuit alleges that McMahon orchestrated the TKO deal in 2023 to protect his own position within the company he built over decades. after a wave of sexual misconduct allegations became public in 2022. Plaintiffs say McMahon only trusted that Emanuel and UFC owner Endeavor would let him remain after a deal. They also claim other bidders weren’t allowed a fair shot at buying, leaving WWE shareholders shortchanged.
The monetary stakes are framed in sweeping terms: if shareholders prevail, they could be awarded millions—potentially hundreds of millions.
Both sides plan to call McMahon and Emanuel as live witnesses. Plaintiffs also list Shapiro, Khan, and Raine banker Jeff Sine, who advised WWE on the deal.
The defendants are McMahon—who has separate counsel from the rest—and then-WWE board members Khan. Levesque. George Barrios. and Michelle Wilson. WWE and TKO themselves are not defendants, but they are expected to pay the legal bills for the non-McMahon defendants. The companies could also end up responsible through indemnification if monetary damages are awarded. The defendants are accused of breaching fiduciary duties as members of WWE’s board of directors. and they deny the allegations.
The list of live witnesses goes well beyond top titles. Other live witnesses set to appear include Barrios. Wilson. former WWE executive and board member Frank Riddick. current TKO Chief Financial Officer Andrew Schleimer. former WWE board member and current TKO board member Steve Koonin. and TKO Chief Strategy Officer Mark Zhu. Zhu is expected to appear via remote video; the filing says he’s currently on parental leave and caring for a newborn child.
The filing also shows the case may turn on disputes that stretch further back than the merger announcement itself. Plaintiffs list Stephanie McMahon and former WWE board members Jeffrey Speed and Steve Pamon as witnesses they may call either live or through deposition testimony. Speed was the lead director overseeing the board’s internal investigation into allegations of misconduct against McMahon.
Plaintiffs say that investigation—preceding McMahon’s July 2022 resignation—was a “sham” inquiry. They argue it was essentially closed in the fall of 2022, shortly before McMahon’s formal engagement with the board in December and his return in January 2023.
Also scheduled is Liberty Media CEO Marty Patterson. Liberty was among the bidders for WWE. and the filing places Patterson as a senior-level Liberty executive during the period when WWE was being shopped in early 2023. An internal email referenced in lawsuit filings describes the TKO deal as “pre-wired. ” and the email is shown as being from Greg Maffei. who at the time held the role Patterson now holds.
On the shareholder side, key plaintiffs representing the class of shareholders—Dennis Palkon and Matthew Archer—are set to be called by the defendants.
The court process matters in how the parties frame their chances. Plaintiffs intend to argue that the “entire fairness” standard should be applied. In Delaware Court of Chancery cases. decisions are made by the judge rather than a jury. and a judgment is not expected immediately at the trial’s conclusion. Presiding judge Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster will likely issue a written opinion months after the trial ends. The joint proposed order is awaiting formal approval from Laster.
The pre-trial order also reaches into the fallout from 2022, grounding some testimony in the settlement mechanics surrounding nondisclosure agreements. McMahon paid millions related to multiple nondisclosure agreements that came to light in 2022 and were part of the board’s investigation. He obtained releases on behalf of both himself and WWE.
Janel Grant was one of the counterparties to one of those settlements. She filed a federal sex trafficking lawsuit against McMahon in January 2024, which led to McMahon’s more lasting resignation from WWE and TKO.
The joint proposed order indicates that pseudonyms will be used to refer to any women with whom McMahon signed NDAs. Aside from Grant and Rita Chatterton, the names of the women remain unknown to the public.
Under the joint order’s lists. plaintiffs intend to call live: Vince McMahon (then-WWE/TKO Executive Chairman); Ari Emanuel (TKO CEO & Chairman. and then-Endeavor CEO); Mark Shapiro (TKO President & COO. Endeavor President); Jeffrey Sine (Raine banker); Frank Riddick (then-WWE Chief Financial Officer and board member); Andrew Schleimer (TKO CFO and then-UFC CFO); Brendan Houlihan (expert witness); and James Canessa (expert witness).
Plaintiffs may call live or by deposition: Jeffrey Speed (then-WWE board member); Stephanie McMahon (then-WWE executive and board member); Marty Patterson (Liberty Media President & CEO); and Steve Pamon (then-WWE board member).
Defendants intend to call live—lists that also include several names appearing on plaintiffs’ lists: George Barrios (then-WWE board member and former WWE executive); Brad Blum (former WWE executive); Ari Emanuel; Daniel Lee (Moelis Managing Director. an advisor in the process); Paul Finger (JP Morgan Managing Director. advisor); Nick Khan (WWE President and then-board member); Steve Koonin (TKO board member. then-WWE board member); Paul Levesque (WWE Chief Content Officer. then-WWE board member and executive); Vince McMahon; Frank Riddick; Andrew Schleimer; Mark Shapiro; Jeffrey Sine; Michelle Wilson (then-WWE board member and former WWE executive); Mark Zhu (TKO Chief Strategy Officer and then-Endeavor executive); Doug Perlman (expert witness); Professor Steven Salaga (expert witness); Professor David C. Smith (expert witness); Matthew Archer (shareholder plaintiff); and Dennis Palkon (shareholder plaintiff).
For many of these individuals, the question is the same, only asked in different rooms: what did they know, when did they know it, and how did those decisions shape the path that led to the deal—especially when the plaintiffs say the outcome was predetermined.
WWE TKO merger trial Delaware Court of Chancery Vince McMahon Ari Emanuel Nick Khan Mark Shapiro Paul Levesque shareholder lawsuit entire fairness standard
Delaware courts always get weird with rich people stuff.
Wait so this is like… the merger trial but they’re listing wrestling executives as witnesses? I thought they already announced it was official. Like are they saying the other bidders had no chance or just didn’t try.
Vince McMahon being on the witness list doesn’t surprise me. Dude probably has an answer for everything even if nobody asked. Also I’m confused—Delaware is where the paperwork goes but the article says it’s about who controlled the process, so like, was someone filing forms wrong or something?
I saw this and figured it means WWE was trying to block “alternative bidders” which is basically how every merger goes right? Then again, if Paul Levesque and Nick Khan are named, that sounds like they’re really going in on content decisions, not just finance. June 8 can’t come fast enough, I guess.