Shortly before the new year began, it was reported that WWE Executive Producer & Chief of Global Television Distribution Kevin Dunn was leaving the company. Dunn, who had been with WWE for more than three decades, was said to have stepped back from some of his responsibilities before his departure and made the decision partly due to a conflict in how the company’s TV programming should be run following its acquisition by Endeavor last September.
On January 1st, WWE President Nick Khan confirmed the departure in an internal memo to talent and staff in which he thanked Dunn for his years of service and recalled how he, alongside Vince, played an instrumental role in building WWE into what it is today.
Now, more insight into Dunn’s surprising departure has been revealed in a new report. Writing in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reports that back in November, Endeavor began making production-related decisions without consulting Dunn and aimed to make budget cuts in his department in order to raise profits. This was a factor in Dunn’s personal decision to leave and ties in with a previous report that he was “never going to do anything that was dictated” to him as he had run the production side for so long without having to answer to anyone.
Additionally, Meltzer notes that it was widely expected by many within the company that Dunn would leave when Vince McMahon retired back in 2022. However, backstage figures didn’t want to make further changes to the company’s executive structure at the time due to how both McMahon and John Laurinatis departed in case it affected the stock price. The expectation then was that Dunn would still be leaving eventually but it was still a surprise to many when it was reported that his departure was nigh.