Ari Emanuel is opening up about his dealings with Vince McMahon during the scandals that ultimately preceded the sale of WWE and McMahon’s departure from TKO.
In his new memoir, Roll the Calls, Emanuel recalled being at Wimbledon in July 2022 when The Wall Street Journal published its initial report regarding allegations of sexual misconduct and hush-money payments involving McMahon.
Emanuel said McMahon called him after the story broke and denied the allegations while telling him that he planned to step down from WWE.
“I was at Wimbledon when The Wall Street Journal dropped its first bombshell report: Vince making secret payouts to several women to settle harassment suits. I stared at my phone, then did something I never do: slipped it into my pocket. The rest of the match I didn’t look at the thing once. But I felt it in there like some tiny animal, wiggling, buzzing, chirping. People asking if I’d seen the story. Asking what it meant for the company. For me. Truth was — I didn’t know. And now, months later, I still don’t.
“As I walked out of Wimbledon, Vince called and assured me the charges were false. But he also said he was going to step down, for the good of the company. His daughter, whom I’ve always remembered fondly from our first meeting, would take over.”
McMahon initially retired from WWE in July 2022 before returning to the company in early 2023. Emanuel wrote that McMahon’s return left him viewing the situation as a “mess,” while Endeavor began pitching the idea of acquiring WWE and combining it with UFC.
“A short time after that, however, Vince changed his mind and took back the company. What a mess. Such a mess, in fact, that I can see only one solution, and now I’m steadily pitching that solution to Vince. Vince, old buddy: Sell us your company. The idea is to merge Vince’s wrestling empire with UFC, creating one giant fighting mega-organism. Vince can stay on as a sort of chairman emeritus.
“Shapiro and I get him into a room, show him all the things we’ve learned from UFC, the knowledge that we could bring to bear. We talk about running his company, but it’s more about saving the company. Because the whole enterprise is teetering. Vince, who’s having all manner of health problems, seems not to fully understand.”
Endeavor and WWE eventually reached an agreement that combined WWE and UFC under TKO Group Holdings.
The situation changed again in January 2024 when former WWE employee Janel Grant filed a lawsuit against McMahon, accusing him of sexual assault and trafficking, among other allegations. McMahon has denied Grant’s allegations.
Emanuel recalled his reaction to the lawsuit and a subsequent conversation with Mark Shapiro in which they agreed McMahon needed to be completely removed from TKO.
“And then…f**k. More revelations. The worst yet. Vince accused of defecating on a woman during a threesome. Incredible how many things in the world of business are undreamed of in business schools. These revelations are on a different level, orders of magnitude more troubling than the previous ones.
“Moments after they break, Shapiro calls. Ari—you reading this sh*t? Yes. We gotta get him out. Yeah. I know. All the way out the door, Ari. Right the f**k now. No emeritus position, no involvement in the company whatsoever. I know. You ready? Yeah.”
Emanuel then detailed the call with McMahon, writing that he knew what needed to happen but was uncomfortable delivering the message himself.
“Shapiro dials; Vince answers right away. I know what needs to be done, I have clarity, but I’m feeling uncomfortable. So I deploy my go-to phrase— Tell him, Mark. Shapiro sighs. Vince, we’ve crossed several red lines and we’re in new territory here. We both wait, listening to the white noise.
“Finally Vince says— Okay. Tell me what to do and I’ll do it. Today. With these two enormously profitable companies now under one banner, which we call TKO, we hope this new structure of Endeavor will, at long last, thrill Wall Street. It doesn’t. The stock price doesn’t budge.”
McMahon resigned as TKO Executive Chairman shortly after Grant’s lawsuit was filed.
