A new filing in a class action lawsuit against WWE cited recent actions by a judge against WWE officials in arguing the company cannot be trusted with evidence.
Brandon Thurston of POST Wrestling reported on the recent filing in a lawsuit that argues WWE engaged in deceptive marketing practices about access to premium live events (PLEs) on ESPN Unlimited.
The suit was originally filed in January of this year. The plaintiffs claim that a number of fans still had to pay a $29.99 monthly fee for access
to WWE PLEs even though they already had access to ESPN through cable or other providers, which they said is not how WWE and ESPN had presented access to PLEs in the deal.
The new filing references a separate lawsuit against WWE and how company officials handled evidence related to that case. The other ongoing lawsuit claims the 2023 sale of WWE to Endeavor was a “sham,” and last month the judge overseeing the case sanctioned WWE president Nick Khan and Vince McMahon — former WWE CEO and majority owner — for allegedly destroyed evidence.
Judge J. Travis Laster, vice chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery, sanctioned both men for “spoliation of evidence” over their alleged use of an automatic-delete setting on the Signal messaging app. Laster found that WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque and former WWE executives Stephanie McMahon and Brad Blum had also used Signal’s auto-delete function.
In 2023, Endeavor announced WWE would merged with UFC to form TKO Group Holdings. McMahon’s resignation from TKO was announced in January 2024 in the wake of a lawsuit filed by Janel Grant, a former WWE employee who accused McMahon of sexual assault.
In a post on X (Twitter), Thurston cited legal documents showing the plaintiffs in the PLEs lawsuit are fighting for discovery to continue.
“Plaintiffs in class action lawsuit over WWE’s move of PLEs to ESPN streaming point to the separate merger lawsuit for why discovery should not be stayed,” Thurston wrote.
He added: “They argue WWE can’t be trusted to preserve evidence, pointing to recent ruling against Nick Khan for destroying evidence.”
What do you think of these various ongoing legal actions against WWE? Let us know in the comments.
