Amidst a company-wide shakeup, WWE has released two more tenured employees according to Fightful Select and PWInsider. In previous weeks, WWE let go of several members of the talent relations department, long-time employee Sue Aitchison as well as wrestlers from both the main roster and NXT.
This afternoon Fightful Select confirmed that Steve Rubin who served as WWE’s Senior Director of TV Event Relations has been let go following a report from PWInsider that indicates Michael Levin, Vice President of International Events and General Manger of Emerging Markets, has also been released.
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Rubin worked for WWE for over two decades beginning his career as a production assistant for several years before climbing the ladder as a Senior Associate Producer who helped with WWE’s Fanatics series. He was then appointed to his former position where he worked for over a decade. Levin worked out of the company’s London office for seven years, first joining in 2016 as the VP of International.
The releases follow WWE’s move into the “Paul Levesque era” that they have been emphasizing since WrestleMania 40. Stephanie McMahon appeared during the weekend to help usher in the first major PLE under her husband’s name. There have been more than a few production changes as well, including less augmented reality entrances which were a major part of Kevin Dunn’s time with the company alongside the extensive camera cuts. The updated changes are credited to Lee Fitting who stepped into a new role as the lead of media and production in January. Dunn exited the company in December and was replaced by WWE’s Vice President of Line Producing Brian Fadem who now helms NXT in his absence.
“We’ve made a conscious decision together Lee, Nick [Khan] and myself to slowly roll out some of those changes over time,” Levesque said during the WrestleMania 40 press conference. “There’s a lot more coming, but when I tell you Lee Fitting, that I love working with him. He has a passion for this just like we do. Might be new here, but he’s all in.”
Levesque added, “He’s the kind of guy that I want to go to work for. I want to do stuff to make his job easier. I want to collaborate with him and I want to make things better with him. So I can’t say enough good stuff about him. A lot of the change that you see a lot of the success that you’re seeing comes from Lee Fitting.”
