WWE: Board Members Revealed for WWE-UFC Merged Company, MLW Lawsuit Update, More News

Aug 11, 2023

Board of Directors Revealed for WWE & UFC Merged Company TKO Group

In a recent filing to the SEC, WWE revealed ten of the eleven official members of the Board of Directors for the upcoming WWE and UFC merged company called TKO Group Holdings.

It was also stated that WWE has one more member to appoint from their side of the Board of Directors.

Vince McMahon (WWE)
Ari Emanuel (Endeavor)
Egon Durban (Endeavor)
Nick Khan (WWE)
Steve Koonin (WWE)
Jonathan Kraft (Endeavor)
Sonya Medina (Endeavor)
Mark Shapiro (Endeavor)
Carrie Wheeler (WWE)
Nancy Tellum (Endeavor)

MLW Antitrust Lawsuit Against WWE Update

As noted before, Major League Wrestling’s original antitrust lawsuit against WWE was dismissed this past February and had filed a new amended lawsuit this past March.

PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that Live Nation Entertainment, which handles bookings for major venues, filed an objection request to the United States District Court in California on August 7th. In the filing, it was stated that the reason for their objection request was due to issues revolving around MLW’s request for documentation evidence for their lawsuit spanning too long of a period of time.

Live Nation Entertainment is claiming that MLW’s request was “overbroad, and therefore unreasonable and oppressive, as there is no limitation as to time. This request is vague as to the term “exclusivity”. Live Nation Entertainment Inc further objects that this request calls for disclosure of privileged information, including confidential information.” Specifically, Live Nation Entertainment stated that MLW wants documents “references activity back to 2001, which implies plaintiff is seeking 22 years of records, which is clearly unduly burdensome.”

Portion of Live Nation Entertainment’s filing:

“All documents relating to: a) The negotiation of exclusivity provisions in contracts and contract amendments with WWE concerning the booking of any Live Nation Venue; b) WWE’s request for exclusivity in the booking of, or attempt to book, any Live Nation Venue for events; and c) Communications with WWE concerning third parties’ or Competitors’ booking of, or attempt to book, any Live Nation Venue for events.”
“All documents relating to requests by WWE that you cancel, refuse to book, or refuse to promote non-WWE events, including events of Competitors, held at any Live Nation Venue, including but not limited to documents relating to: a) Threats by WWE that retaliatory actions would be taken if you allowed non-WWE events, including events of Competitors, to be booked or to take place at any Live Nation Venue; and b) Any provision in any agreement with WWE that prohibits, hinders, or limits you from booking or promoting events with Competitors, including but not limited to provisions that prevent you from booking or promoting any Competitor’s events within a certain time period before or after a WWE event held at any Live Nation Venue.”
“All documents relating to the Action, including but not limited to communications with third parties relating to any subpoena issued seeking evidence or testimony relevant to the Action”

WWE News & Notes

WWE recently released a behind-the-scenes video from this past Saturday’s SummerSlam 2023 event in Detroit, Michigan.

WWE’s stock reached a new all-time high value of $114 at the end of trading on Thursday, surpassing the previous all-time record of $111 on July 11th. In regards to peak value, WWE’s stock hit a peak of $114.72 prior to closing on Thursday, which also surpassed the previous record of $112.22 on July 11th.

WWE recently released the official poster for their upcoming Payback 2023 event on September 2nd in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania featuring all four members of Judgement Day.

Rhea Ripley announced on Instagram that she recently got engaged to AEW talent Buddy Matthews.

LightShed Partners’ Brandon Ross reported that his analyst firm is currently skeptical of FOX retaining the rights to WWE’s Friday Night SmackDown series over issues with their current increased commitments with NFL and college football. Ross reported that they are unsure where SmackDown would go if FOX were not to renew its television deal. Ross also reported that NBC Universal is believed to be close to finalizing a deal to retain WWE’s RAW series for USA Network. (Source via PostWrestling.com)

As noted before, R-Truth has been out of action for WWE since this past November due to a torn quad injury. R-Truth recently provided an injury update on Twitter revealing that he was recently at WWE’s Performance Center training for his in-ring return in the future.

In a recent interview with the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast, legendary manager and WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy Hart gave his thoughts about Pretty Deadly being his choice for a team to manage if he was still active in wrestling. Hart stated “Yeah, Pretty Deadly. I like those kids, you know why? Because they remind me of my era, they talk big, they get knocked around, but they’re colorful. They’re not real big giant guys, I like them. I think they can draw some really big money, I’d love to — if I had a chance to do it again, that’s who I’d like to be with.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)

In a recent interview with Inside The Ropes, Bayley gave her thoughts about Ronda Rousey’s recent departure from WWE and recent criticisms of WWE’s Women’s Division. Bayley stated “If she wants more then Ronda should do more. I’m tired of her saying she wants more, come out here & do it. Let me see. Do I see Ronda Rousey out here doing interviews? No, I see Shayna Baszler. I don’t see Ronda Rousey. I’m here, I have a match at MITB. I’m gonna climb a freakin’ ladder, you know? Where is she?“

As noted before, this past Monday’s WWE RAW show in Minneapolis, Minnesota featured Kofi Kingston making his surprise return from injury. In a recent interview with the WWE The Bump show, Kingston gave his thoughts about his recent in-ring return to WWE. Kingston stated “It felt incredible, it felt amazing. It was weird. So when me and Woods walked into the building, we both got this like anxiety, just walking in and being back into the fold. I have never been out of action for as long as I was. I think it was almost five months to the day. I think I got hurt on March 3. Then I had my surgery on 3/16. I’ve just not been out for that long. So it was a little bit strange, to be back in the fold and in the locker room. Of course, everything, it’s always business as usual. The world goes on when you’re not there, you know what I mean, in terms of WWE. But it felt good. It felt good to be just back home. So yeah, definitely excited to be back. Myself and Woods, we are looking forward to re-infecting the WWE Universe with the power of positivity … Honestly, it was like riding a bike, to be honest. Just having been away from the ring for that long, you always have this question in the back of your mind, like, ‘Am I gonna forget how to do this? Are the people gonna forget who I am?’ Especially with my ankle injury, am I still gonna be able to do what I do? Am I still gonna be able to move around well out there? But fortunately, the WWE Universe has a way of just making all the pain and everything go away. As soon as you walk through those curtains, you don’t feel anything pain-wise. There’s such a rush of adrenaline, and you go out there and you do what you do. So that’s what we did. It was fantastic, it was incredible.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)