Janel Grant’s Legal Team Demands Evidence in WWE Trafficking Case Against Vince McMahon

Janel Grant isn’t backing down in her sex trafficking lawsuit against WWE and Vince McMahon. Now, she’s asking the court to force WWE and McMahon to hand over internal documents as the legal battle heats up.

On Monday, Grant’s legal team filed a motion seeking evidence tied to whether the case will be heard in public court or pushed into private arbitration — a move McMahon and WWE have been fighting for.

In her lawsuit, Grant accused McMahon of sexually abusing and trafficking her while she worked for WWE, and claimed the company enabled and covered up his misconduct. WWE and McMahon are trying to move the case behind closed doors, citing an arbitration clause in the $3 million nondisclosure agreement Grant signed in 2022. But Grant’s team says that NDA is invalid, arguing it was signed “in an extreme state of duress and coercion at the hands of Vince McMahon.”

Her attorneys also allege that the NDA was part of “the furtherance of crimes, including several violations of federal securities laws by Defendant McMahon.” They pointed to a recent SEC order forcing McMahon to repay WWE $1.3 million and hit him with a $400,000 fine.

Grant’s legal team is demanding WWE and McMahon hand over a wide range of communications and documents, including board materials, NDA drafts, and files already reviewed by federal investigators. Among the 20 categories of documents and communications she is requesting are:

• Documents showing who participated in drafting or reviewing the NDA.
• All communications concerning the termination of Grant’s employment and/or the NDA.
• All drafts of the NDA.
• Communications between McMahon and Linda McMahon concerning Grant and/or the NDA.
• Communications between McMahon and Dr. Carlon Colker concerning Grant and/or the NDA.
• Grant’s complete employment file.
• All WWE HR documents and communications concerning Grant’s employment and separation.
• Communications between McMahon’s legal team and Jonathan Shapiro concerning the NDA.
• All WWE Board materials from January 1, 2019 to January 30, 2025.
• All minutes from the Board’s Audit Committee from the same period.
• Communications with Endeavor about WWE’s litigation liabilities between 2019 and 2023.
• All documents produced to government investigators regarding Grant and/or the NDA.
• Records of subpoenas or voluntary requests from the SEC and responses.
• All documents regarding WWE’s claim that McMahon failed to disclose settlement agreements.
• Materials deemed discoverable under the crime-fraud exception by federal courts.
• Documents showing the scope and methodology of WWE’s internal investigation.
• Identification of everyone interviewed during WWE’s internal investigation.
• Documents and communications concerning the findings and recommendations of WWE’s internal investigation.

The motion also brought to light a February court ruling that pierced attorney-client privilege under the crime-fraud exception. That ruling found probable cause that McMahon used legal counsel to help cover up misconduct involving NDAs — including Grant’s.

Despite a meeting held last Friday, Grant’s attorneys say WWE and McMahon “declined to offer any documents” to support their push for arbitration.

A spokesperson for Grant told POST Wrestling, “They claim the NDA and its arbitration clause are enforceable, but resist any attempts to investigate whether Ms. Grant was coerced into signing it—facts that go to the heart of its enforceability. They can’t have it both ways.”

Grant is asking the court to delay the next round of legal filings until WWE and McMahon provide the requested evidence. WWE and McMahon submitted their latest arguments to move the case to arbitration on June 16. Grant’s response is due July 11, with the defendants allowed to reply by August 1.

Grant’s lawsuit also describes how McMahon applied pressure during the NDA negotiations, warning that refusal would “jeopardize McMahon, his family, and the Company,” while threatening that she would become “a public headline, suffer reputational ruin (including from pornographic content McMahon had captured), and face legal consequences from McMahon’s and WWE’s near-limitless resources.”

This situation with Janel Grant, WWE, and Vince McMahon keeps getting uglier, and it’s clear the legal drama is far from over. With accusations of coercion, shady NDAs, and federal investigations in the mix, it’s hard to imagine this quietly disappearing into arbitration.