WWE Shareholders Drop Lawsuit Against Vince McMahon

A group of WWE shareholders who sued company chairman Vince McMahon have dropped their lawsuit. Bloomberg reported Thursday the shareholders are no longer seeking to pursue charges against McMahon, 77, after he paid back the $17.4 million it cost the company to investigate claims of hush money payments made to cover up alleged sexual misconduct. The shareholders had sued McMahon over the costs.

An SEC filing in late March showed McMahon had reimbursed WWE for the money WWE spent on its internal investigations. The $17.4 million McMahon reimbursed to the company was unrelated to the $19.6 million the longtime WWE owner had reportedly paid out to several women since 2007 in an effort to avoid any public sexual misconduct allegations. That amount was reportedly discovered during WWE's internal investigation launched into the matter last year.

The longtime WWE chairman returned to his role leading the company in early 2023 after briefly retiring in mid-2022 after the allegations became public. The initial retirement announcement, which didn't mention the allegations, investigation, or lawsuit, shocked a professional wrestling community that couldn't imagine McMahon ever willingly stepping away from the company he purchased from his late father and helped expand across the globe. The suspicions held by many fans and members of the industry proved true true when McMahon made a dramatic return at the turn of the year, reinstating himself on the board and reclaiming his position as the company's chairman, ousting his daughter, Stephanie. Months later, McMahon helped facilitate WWE's sale in April to Endeavor, which also owns UFC.