Summary

Vince McMahon and other former WWE leaders are pushing back on claims tied to their use of Signal during the negotiations that led to WWE's merger with UFC.

According to arguments made in Delaware Chancery Court, attorneys for McMahon and the other executives say investors already have a large body of communications to review and that there is no meaningful gap in the record. McMahon's legal team said he produced roughly 22,000 messages from multiple platforms, with one attorney describing him as a prolific texter.

The filing also states that data from McMahon's personal devices was preserved after federal authorities seized them during the investigation connected to the sexual misconduct allegations against him. The Signal material investors wanted was reportedly not available until October 2025, when those devices were returned.

Quote from Eric Leon

The attorney representing WWE's other senior leaders argued that the merger discussions were not hidden in disappearing-message chats alone:

"These parties negotiated this deal really the old-fashioned way. They did it with dinners and lunches, and they did it over the phone, and we produced all of the phone records."

What the lawsuit says about the WWE-UFC deal

Investors are challenging the fairness of the $21.4 billion WWE-UFC merger and alleging that McMahon steered the process in a way that protected his own influence. The suit claims he rejected other offers to favor Endeavor and TKO CEO Ari Emanuel.

That keeps McMahon tied to another major legal fight around WWE's sale process, even after the company was folded into TKO. It also keeps fresh attention on executives such as Nick Khan, whose role in the broader federal probe has already drawn scrutiny in earlier reporting on his testimony.

What this means for Vince McMahon and TKO

McMahon's defense here is centered on the idea that the record around the merger is already broad enough for the court to examine, not on denying that Signal was used. For WWE and TKO, that means the focus stays on whether the deal process itself was fair and fully documented.

If investors convince the court that missing messages mattered, the merger negotiations could face even deeper examination. If the current defense holds up, McMahon and the other executives will argue the existing phone and message records already tell the story of how the deal was done.

Sources

As reported by Bloomberg Law.