TKO President Mark Shapiro set to be deposed in WWE shareholder lawsuit

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TKO President and Chief Operating Officer Mark Shapiro will be deposed in the ongoing WWE shareholder lawsuit. He is set to provide testimony on November 18.

Shapiro was among the most high-profile executives involved in the TKO merger who apparently had not been subpoenaed yet until new filings, which were reviewed by Wrestlenomics, appeared on the docket on Monday.

Shapiro, along with Ari Emanuel, was a leading executive of Endeavor at the time of the WWE-UFC merger in 2023. Shapiro continues to lead Endeavor’s predecessor company, WME Group, while also working as the most front-facing executive of TKO Group Holdings. Under TKO — again, along with CEO Emanuel — Shapiro oversees WWE, UFC, Professional Bull Riders, and other businesses.

The consolidated shareholder and class action suit, which started in November 2023, alleges that Vince McMahon predetermined the sale process and steered WWE toward a deal with Endeavor when shopping WWE for a company transaction in 2023.

Shapiro is not a defendant in the case, which is being litigated in Delaware Chancery Court. The defendants are McMahon, Paul Levesque, Nick Khan, George Barrios, and Michelle Wilson — all of whom were WWE board members when McMahon forced his way back into the company in January 2023 and announced WWE would explore a merger or sale.

The plaintiffs’ attorneys are expected to question Shapiro about whether Endeavor’s deal structure uniquely allowed McMahon to retain control of WWE after the merger. It’s standard for attorneys for the defendants to also question the deponent in support of their defense.

McMahon is represented by separate counsel from the other defendants.

McMahon ultimately resigned for a second time from the company in January 2024 following a separate sex trafficking lawsuit brought by Janel Grant. Many of the facts of Grant’s case and the shareholder suit are intertwined as both narratives surround sexual misconduct allegations against McMahon, which came to light in 2022.

Like others who have been or will be deposed in the case, Shapiro’s testimony won’t be immediately available to the public. Deposition excerpts could appear in future filings, or could be presented as evidence in a trial if the case continues.

According to previous filings, other upcoming depositions include: