New lawsuit against Vince McMahon raised eyebrows on WWE-UFC merger - Reports
A new lawsuit has been filed which alleges that Vince McMahon and the WWE board rushed a 'sham sale process' in the company's merger with Endeavor.
The merger of UFC's parent company with WWE to create the new TKO Group Holdings raised a lot of eyebrows in the WWE Universe, and some investors were not happy about the sale. Per The Hollywood Reporter, it was claimed that WWE Executive Chairman Vince McMahon and several other board members rushed the merger forward, turning down more lucrative offers for a deal that favored Endeavor and McMahon himself.
Endeavor was run by McMahon's friend and ally, Ari Emanuel. Investors' minds are now seeded with the doubt that the deal was done to allow McMahon to hold onto his position in WWE and the new company. This further might have dodged complications due to sexual misconduct allegations that arose against McMahon back in 2022.
The report stated:
"According to the complaint, this included undisclosed companies submitting cash offers at $95-$100 and $90-$97.50 per share. But because they contemplated cashing out WWE stockholders and barred McMahon from rolling over his shares, which would’ve signaled his “complete ouster” from the wrestling world, the board “never bothered to make” counterproposals, the suit states." (H/T- F4WOnline)
Vince Russo recently criticized Vince McMahon for controversial storylines
Former WWE head writer Vince Russo heavily criticized Vince McMahon for the controversial storylines during his era.
While speaking in an interview on Sportskeeda Wrestling's The Wrestling Outlaws, Russo stated how easy it was back in the day to convince the women of the industry to do controversial things, as it was a male-dominated business.
"I worked with some of the most beautiful women you'll ever see in real life in that wrestling business, and a couple of those businesses I played a role on television where I had a lot of power and influence," Russo said. "You know how easy I could have been making out with Velvet Sky if I wanted to? Let's just be honest, I would have never done that in a million years." [2:37 – 3:07]
The veteran further added that it was McMahon who came up with such questionable storylines, and despite that, the women of the industry used to comply.
"You put a woman in that situation, it's different now, but back then you put a woman in that situation, it's the boys' club, it's professional wrestling," Russo said. "Bro, they ain't gonna say no. They're not gonna say no. Linda McMahon's not gonna say no. Stephanie McMahon's not gonna say no. All those angles that Vince did with Trish and all those women, they're not going to say no." [3:09 – 3:36]
It would be interesting to see if Vince McMahon will make any more appearances in WWE or not.
What are your thoughts on WWE's merger? Sound off in the comments section below.