As noted before, longtime WWE Executive Producer Kevin Dunn departed earlier this month from WWE following an almost 40 year tenure with the company. WWE recently hired Lee Fitting to be Dunn’s successor as their new Head of Media and Production.
PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that his sources stated that the general reaction within WWE over Fitting’s hiring was not positive. Johnson reported that Fitting’s hiring as Dunn’s replacement “absolutely made waves among those in the production and television departments.” Several of those spoken to reportedly stated that they were not trilled that an “outsider” would now be in charge of WWE’s production. Others spoken to reportedly stated that they were concerned about what Fitting’s hiring might mean for the future of their jobs in the company should Fitting bring in his people to take over production jobs at the expense of WWE employees.
Others spoken to reportedly stated that they are currently in a “wait and see” mindset to see what would happen before they would become concerned. Several people spoken to reportedly stated that they were disappointed that WWE did not promote from within due to some had believed that Executive Vice President of Television Chris Kaiser deserved the consideration and the same feeling for Lighting and Set Director Jason Robinson.
One source spoken to reportedly stated that Fitting’s hiring should have not come as a surprise due to Fitting’s past ties with TKO President and COO Mark Shapiro during their time together in ESPN. This same source reportedly also stated that Fitting’s hiring matched Shapiro and WWE CEO Nick Khan’s expectations for what is next in sports.