[Calderyon]

Five Different Law Firms Investigating WWE On Behalf Of Investors
By Ross Berman |June 21, 2022

WWE is officially under the microscope.


After news broke that the WWE board of directors were investigating hush money payments made by Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon to cover up allegations of misconduct, both by former employees and by McMahon himself, a law firm announced it was investigating WWE on behalf of investors, looking into whether or not WWE violated securities laws. As of today, four other law firms have begun their own similar investigations. While none of these have yet gone far enough to be classified a “class” in a class action lawsuit, they are the preparatory stages for such a case. All of the investigations were announced through Business Wire.

Some of the investigations require investors that have lost a certain amount of money, while others only require investors to either have suffered losses from WWE stock or to currently own WWE stock. All share the same general purpose, to determine whether WWE mismanaged the company or neglected their fiduciary duties in a way that could be considered harmful to shareholders.

The issues began last week, when The Wall Street Journal announced that the WWE board of directors had been investigating the payments since April — one of which was allegedly paid out to silence a female employee with whom McMahon had had an affair. This led to the announcement that McMahon would step down from his corporate duties, while still overseeing the company’s creative direction. McMahon’s daughter Stephanie has stepped in as interim Chairwoman & CEO.

Despite WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis being put on administrative leave after being named in the board’s investigation, McMahon — the central figure of the investigation — remains on WWE television, making appearances on “WWE Smackdown” and last night’s episode of “Monday Night Raw.”

https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/20...-of-investors/

Two More Law Firms Investigating WWE
By Ross Berman |June 23, 2022

To paraphrase Smash Mouth, the investigations keep coming, and they don’t stop coming.

Following news of five different law firms investigating the company, two more have now announced they’ll be looking into WWE’s handling of fiduciary responsibilities to investors in the build up to, and fallout from, a bombshell report from the Wall Street Journal detailing an investigation by WWE’s own board of directors into hush money payments made by chairman & CEO Vince McMahon. The news has had a dramatic effect on WWE’s stock price, leading to the investigations on behalf of long-term WWE shareholders, who feel the company’s actions were not in the best interest of investors.

Like the other five companies, Pomerantz Law Firm and Moore Kuehn, PLLC will both look into whether WWE breached their fiduciary duties to shareholders, committed securities fraud, or engaged in other unlawful business practices. If proper evidence is found in the investigation, a class action law suit could be formed on behalf of investors, but no investigation has been officially designated a “class” as of publication.

An investigation into January 2022 Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) between McMahon and a former WWE paralegal led to the discovery of numerous NDAs between McMahon and former female employees alleging misconduct. WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis was also named in the WWE board’s investigation. McMahon has since stepped down from his corporate duties while maintaining control over the company’s creative direction. Laurinaitis has been placed on administrative leave.

Since news of the investigations broke, McMahon has made appearances on both “WWE SmackDown” and “WWE Raw.” The 76-year old executive did not address any allegations or the investigations on-screen or backstage, where he was said to be in a jovial mood despite the situation.