WWE Co-Presidents Exit the Company in Major Corporate Shakeup

WWE announced via press release on Thursday that both co-president George Barrios and Michelle Wilson are leaving the company effective immediately. The release states Frank Riddick III, a member of the WWE Board of Directors for the past 11 years, will fill in as the new interim Chief Financial Officer for the company. Vince McMahon commented on Barrios and Wilson's departures, saying in the release, "I 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.

"We have a deep team of talented, experienced and committed executives across the organization, 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," he added.

Barrios was originally hired as WWE's CFO back in March 2008, while Wilson was first brought in a year later as the executive vice president of marketing. The pair are credited with helping the launch of the WWE Network, which peaked in paid subscribers at 1.79 million in the first quarter of 2018.

The company will announce its quarterly earnings for the final financial quarter of 2020 on Feb. 6. Within an hour of the news breaking, WWE saw its stock drop nearly 17 percent after hours.