A leaked voicemail has pulled back the curtain on Vince McMahon’s mindset before WWE’s sale process went public, and it sounds like he already had Ari Emanuel and Endeavor circled.
The message came after a December 2022 dinner at The Mark Hotel in New York. Vince McMahon was there with Ari Emanuel, Mark Shapiro, Nick Khan, Stephanie McMahon, Paul Levesque, and Linda McMahon. At the time, Nick Khan and Stephanie were WWE co-CEOs, while Triple H had taken over WWE creative.
Stephanie tried to stop the whole thing. Nick Khan later testified that Stephanie pushed back on Vince returning and selling WWE.
“I remember Stephanie discouraging her dad from coming back as the CEO because we didn’t know what role he was going to come back in, and I remember her expressing that there was no need to sell the company if that’s what he was contemplating.”
That plea didn’t work. After the dinner, Vince left a leaked voicemail for banker Jeff Sine of The Raine Group, and he sounded ready to move forward with Ari.
“Very good meeting with Ari and company. And I think and probably the best thing to do is to go forward with the deal with Ari. It solves a lot of problems.”
Vince then made it clear he saw Endeavor as the faster and easier path.
“Together, I think it’s a stronger situation than either one of us on our own. But I’m pretty sure that’s the way I want to go now. It’s easier, faster and all that kind of stuff.”
That is huge because Vince had not formally returned to WWE yet. Weeks later, he forced his way back onto the board, Stephanie resigned, and WWE officially began the sale process that led to TKO Group Holdings.
There was also another wrinkle once bids started coming in. Liberty Media submitted a bid close to Vince’s public $9 billion asking price, and Vince wanted Ari to know about it fast.
“Hey Jeff, I think Ari should know about Liberty. Um, could hear it from either me or you, ASAP. I don’t want him to hear it by the grapevine or anything like that.”
The WWE-UFC merger was announced on April 3, 2023. Shareholders later sued, claiming the deal was rushed and tilted toward Endeavor because it allowed Vince to keep a future role. The defendants denied those claims, and the case was settled in principle before trial.
Vince did land a lifetime role as TKO Executive Chairman, but that didn’t last long. He resigned after Janel Grant filed her sex trafficking lawsuit against him and WWE in 2024. McMahon has denied the allegations.
The leaked voicemail paints a brutal picture for WWE history: Stephanie tried to talk Vince out of selling, but Vince walked away from that dinner ready to do the Endeavor deal anyway.
What do you think about Stephanie McMahon trying to stop Vince from selling WWE? Leave your feedback in the comments.
