Just hours before the WWE shareholders lawsuit was set to go on trial, parties involved reached an agreement in principle, getting this saga closer to an end after a few years in the works.

The trial was set to start yesterday in Delaware’s Chancery Court and the trial was removed from the calendar just a few days before.

Former WWE CEO Vince McMahon, WWE President Nick Khan, and former WWE execs George Barrios, Michelle Wilson, Frank Riddick III, and Steve Koonin were all listed as defendants in the lawsuit where plaintiffs accused McMahon of only choosing Endeavor’s bid because he knew that he could keep control over WWE after he sold, something that wasn’t the case with other bidders.

A source close to Vince McMahon told us that this kind of litigation follows every single transaction involving a public company.

“Endeavor’s bid was by far the highest. It was signed off on by three separate independent banks: JP Morgan, Raine and Moelis,” the source said. “That’s why WWE’s Board of Directors gave their unanimous approval.”

The merger of WWE and UFC under the TKO brand created a massive combat sports company and “shareholders made an absolute fortune” from the transaction, according to the same source.

It’s hard to argue that fact.

In April 2023 before the acquisition was announced, WWE shares were hovering in the $97 range. Today, TKO shares are trading at $205, an increase of over 100% in the stock market.

The trial could have also been somewhat of a disaster for McMahon as well, as further details in his sexual misconduct case could have been made public. During the discovery process in the shareholders lawsuit, the plaintiffs requested McMahon turn over tons of documents related to his hush money case.

McMahon and Khan were also going to face an uphill battle on the stand after the two were sanctioned by the Delaware Chancery Court for acting “recklessly” by enabling a setting to auto-delete Signal messages while WWE was in the process of being sold to Endeavor.

The judge had ruled that he would presume several facts to be true, including that McMahon’s decision-making regarding the merger was influenced by Emanuel’s promises that he would remain at WWE and have legal support for federal investigations into allegations of sexual misconduct, that McMahon had decided to pursue a deal with Endeavor before the WWE began a strategic review process, that Khan communicated with Emanuel in 2022 to facilitate the deal, and that McMahon and Khan worked with their financial adviser to steer negotiations toward Endeavor and away from other potential bidders.

Terms of the settlement have not been released as the judge still has to approve it.