In a shocking turn of events, WWE announced on Thursday night that long-serving WWE Co-Presidents George Barrios and Michelle Wilson were no longer with the company. In a press release Thursday evening, Vince McMahon stated he “would like to thank George and Michelle for their 10+ years of service and contributions to the organization. I am grateful for all that was accomplished during their tenure, but the Board and I decided a change was necessary as we have different views on how best to achieve our strategic priorities moving forward.”
Going forward, the statement also revealed that “Frank A. Riddick III, who has served as a member of WWE’s Board of Directors for more than 11 years, has been named interim Chief Financial Officer, reporting to WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon. WWE has commenced a search for both a permanent Chief Financial Officer and Chief Revenue Officer.”
George Barrios joined the company in 2008 as the new Chief Financial Officer, before growing into his role as Co-President. Before WWE, he worked for the New York Times amongst other companies. Michelle Wilson joined WWE a year after Barrios, in 2009, as the Executive Vice President of Marketing, working through the ranks until becoming Co-President with Barrios. As news broke, WWE stock plunged by 14% on Wall Street.
“We have a deep team of talented, experienced and committed executives across the organization,” McMahon continued in the press release, “and the Board and I have great confidence in our collective abilities to create compelling content, engage our global fanbase across platforms, increase revenues, and drive shareholder value.”
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.
