Vince McMahon’s use of disappearing-message apps is now becoming part of the ongoing legal fight tied to WWE’s merger with UFC under TKO.
According to a new Bloomberg Law report, McMahon’s legal team defended his use of Signal and other messaging platforms after WWE shareholders accused him and other defendants of failing to preserve potentially important communications connected to the Endeavor deal.
The lawsuit centers around claims that McMahon already had the UFC-WWE merger planned out before shareholders were fully considered, allegedly costing them money in the process.
Back in April, the plaintiffs filed a motion accusing the defendants of destroying or failing to preserve relevant Signal messages and other evidence tied to the case. McMahon’s attorneys pushed back against those accusations and argued there is no missing communication gap that should concern the court. They also claimed McMahon has already turned over a massive amount of messages from multiple platforms. From the Bloomberg Law report:
“McMahon’s attorneys preserved data from his personal devices, even after they were seized by federal authorities investigating sexual misconduct allegations against him, she said. But Signal data sought by the investors wasn’t available for retrieval until after those devices were returned in October 2025.”
The report also noted that the investors believe missing Signal chats could still contain relevant information because the encrypted app allows messages to disappear permanently.
“The investors argue messages apparently missing from chats on Signal, an encrypted platform that can be set to have content disappear, could’ve been relevant to the litigation.”
Eric Leon of Latham & Watkins LLP, representing WWE in the lawsuit, argued that the deal itself was largely negotiated through more traditional communication methods instead of encrypted messaging apps.
“These parties negotiated this deal really the old fashioned way. They did it with dinners and lunches, and they did it over the phone, and we produced all of the phone records.”
One strange detail from the case that resurfaced involved a text exchange between McMahon and WWE President Nick Khan in February 2023. Khan responded with the word “Langis” during a discussion about creative, despite previously saying McMahon was no longer involved in WWE creative matters. McMahon famously replied:
“What in the blue hell is ‘Langis’?”
The judge has not yet ruled on the shareholder motion involving the Signal messages and evidence claims.
Do you think disappearing-message apps like Signal should be allowed in high-level corporate business discussions tied to billion-dollar deals? Leave your thoughts and feedback in the comments below.