Court documents published by POSTWrestling.com show that Endeavor’s Mark Shapiro, who is now President of TKO Group, predicted exactly what was going to happen when Vince McMahon resigned, returned, and then sold the company to them.
The documents involve chat transcripts between McMahon and various Endeavor members and are part of a shareholder lawsuit against McMahon and TKO.
“Nick and Stephanie are going to take over the WWE for the next nine months,” Shapiro wrote hours after McMahon ‘retired’ in July 2022.
“At the end of the nine months Vince be back with a new board or he will take the company private or he will sell it/coming to us,” he continued, adding “The courtship is on.”
“Let’s go,” replied Andrew Schleimer, who is now the CFO of TKO Group.
McMahon returned in January, three months earlier than Shapiro’s prediction, with a new board, and then started the strategic review of the company, eventually coming to an agreement with Endeavor to sell the company to them.
Documents also show that McMahon and Endeavor chief Ari Emanuel were in constant communication throughout the months he was away from WWE.
The extensive report can be read at POSTWrestling.com.
Colin Vassallo is the editor of Wrestling-Online