There was a major corporate shake-up at WWE Thursday afternoon as longtime Co-Presidents George Barrios and Michelle Wilson were forced out of their executive roles as well as their seats on the company’s Board of Directors.
Frank A. Riddick III, who has been on WWE’s Board for more than 11 years, has been named the interim Chief Financial Officer while the company searches for a permanent CFO and Chief Revenue Officer. Riddick will report to WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon.
“I would like to thank George and Michelle for their 10-plus years of service and contributions to the organization,” said McMahon in a statement. “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.”
The shake-up isn’t without reason, as Monday Night Raw, the company’s flagship show, has been in a concerning ratings decline over the past two years. From 2017 to 2019 the company has averaged 31 million less viewers, with a particularly drastic drop between 2019-2018. See the full statistics below:
2019 Total: 125.746 million viewers over 52 episodes
2019 Average: 2.418 million viewers per episode
2018 Total: 149.628 million viewers over 53 episodes
2018 Average: 2.823 million viewers per episode
2017 Total: 156.971 million viewers over 52 episodes
2017 Average: 3.018 million viewers per episode
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