Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics has reported that more subpoenas have been filed in the ongoing Delaware Chancery Court shareholder lawsuit against Vince McMahon and other WWE executives.
Among those recently subpoenaed are former WWE executive John Laurinaitis and two of Vince McMahon’s personal assistants during his time at WWE, Paul and Michael Mangieri.
The lawsuit, which includes current top executives Nick Khan and Paul “Triple H” Levesque along with former executives and board members in George Barrios and Michelle Wilson, alleges that McMahon was predetermined to merge WWE with Endeavor’s UFC in 2023, rather than having a genuine M&A (mergers and acquistions) process that maximized shareholder value.
With the fallout of the sexual misconduct scandal surrounding McMahon that became public in 2022, plaintiffs say any other suitor for a merger or acquisition would not have agreed to allow the former executive chair to stay with the company.
Unlike the cases against McMahon and WWE executives filed by Janel Grant and the “ring boy” lawsuit, the shareholder case is well into the discovery phase.