New details emerged this week in the ongoing WWE shareholder lawsuit tied to the 2023 merger between WWE and Endeavor, with Vince McMahon’s legal team defending his use of the encrypted messaging app Signal during a Delaware Chancery Court hearing on Wednesday.

The lawsuit was filed by a group of WWE shareholders led by an Ohio labor union pension fund. Plaintiffs claim McMahon had already decided WWE would merge with Endeavor to create TKO, allegedly shutting out other possible buyers in the process and negatively impacting shareholder value.

During the hearing, attorneys representing the shareholders pushed for sanctions against the defendants, arguing that important communications were not preserved despite a legal duty to retain them. The missing material reportedly includes Signal conversations, text messages, and handwritten notes from McMahon.

According to Bloomberg Law, McMahon attorney Haley Stern of Kirkland & Ellis argued there is no concerning gap in the available records. Stern told the court McMahon had already produced roughly 22,000 messages pulled from several communication platforms.

Stern also stated that McMahon’s personal devices had previously been seized by federal authorities investigating sexual misconduct allegations against him. She explained that Signal data requested by shareholders could not be recovered until the devices were returned in October 2025.

The report noted:

“McMahon’s attorneys preserved data from his personal devices, even after they were seized by federal authorities investigating sexual misconduct allegations against him, she said. But Signal data sought by the investors wasn’t available for retrieval until after those devices were returned in October 2025.”
The plaintiffs maintain that missing Signal chats may have included information relevant to the case, especially because Signal allows users to enable disappearing messages.

Eric Leon of Latham & Watkins, who represents WWE and several other defendants aside from McMahon, argued that the merger discussions largely took place through direct conversations rather than written exchanges.

“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.”

The court has not yet ruled on whether sanctions will be issued.

A major focus of the lawsuit centers on a February 2023 exchange between McMahon and WWE President Nick Khan regarding WrestleMania 39 creative plans involving Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes. In the exchange, Khan responded to McMahon with the word “Langis.” After McMahon questioned the meaning, Khan instructed him to read it backwards, leading plaintiffs to claim Khan was directing McMahon to continue the conversation on Signal.

Shareholders allege that McMahon, Khan, Paul Levesque, Stephanie McMahon Levesque, former WWE executive Brad Blum, and current TKO CEO Ari Emanuel all used Signal during the relevant time period. Court filings also claim at least one Signal conversation involving each individual had disappearing messages enabled.

In addition, plaintiffs have requested an investigation into possible code-named Signal group chats, including one reportedly referred to as “Stunner.”

The case is currently scheduled to head to trial in June 2026.