Business had been good for the McMahon family's wrestling juggernaut since becoming a publicly traded company in 1999, so much so that the 'certified billionaire' storyline for Vince wasn't stretching the truth too much. By 2001, things were still red hot, but would significantly cool towards the end of the year. To combat any drop in business, WWE decided to cut no less than 40 staff members, mainly in the internet division of the company. This was the first major staff cull for WWE in 8 years, but didn't really get a lot of news coverage at the time. Nobody on the writing staff was released, but the internet and magazine offices were merged, being led under the leadership of Shane McMahon, who was given a shiny new title, 'President Of Media' as a result. Stuart Snyder, who had previously been COO of the promotion, was axed, freeing up his estimated $1.1 million salary. On the surface, this didn't bring about many sweeping changes to WWE, but it was a sign of things to come - the amount of employees the company has shed since 2001 is pretty overwhelming.
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.
