Ian Frisch of VICE Sports is featuring a lengthy article looking exploring behind-the-scenes changes within WWE the last five to six years including the creation of the NXT brand and the WWE Performance Center under now WWE COO Paul “Triple H” Levesque.
One of the most interesting aspects of the article revealed that back in March of 2012 when ratings began slumping for WWE television, Shane McMahon helped setup a “surprise meeting” through WWE’s Kevin Dunn where he proposed taking over creative.
“When Stephanie found out Shane was going to be there, she went white in the face,” the source told me. “And Paul freaked out.” Shane had set up the meeting through Kevin Dunn, WWE’s executive vice-president of production and Vince’s right-hand man for nearly three decades; he is the second-highest-paid employee at the company behind Vince (according to SEC documents, Dunn’s 2016 base salary is $909,560). Shane had a simple proposal: that he take over all of creative, including the writer’s room, with Frey and his team at Full Fathom Five as consultants.”
The article also examines long-tenured employees of WWE that were suddenly let go by the company in recent years including Sally Presutto, the former senior director of live events. Presutto noted she never spoke with any of the McMahon family.
“I was very hurt. After 23 years, with no explanation—that’s the end of that. People that have proven to be loyal and dedicated seem to be let go. That’s how they do things around there sometimes.”