Big WWE Production Change Following Kevin Dunn's Departure
With former TV production executive gone, WWE trying out new types of recorded promos.
Kevin Dunn's departure during the past month was bound to lead to some changes in WWE's television product, but it might surprise fans just how quickly some new methods have made it onscreen.
Fightful Select reports that already viewers are seeing changes that Dunn didn't previously want are becoming the norm in this new era. Of note are two pre-recorded videos that were shot in a distinctively different style than fans have witnessed on Raw or SmackDown before.
A couple of weeks ago on Raw, Chelsea Green and Piper Niven visited a club to confront new women's tag champs Kayden Carter and Katana Chance. And on SmackDown last week, Tyler Bate and Butch were seen grabbing coffee and chatting about Butch having an identity crisis.
"What is that name going to be?" - Tyler Bate to Butch...#SmackDown | Live on TNT Sports & discovery+ pic.twitter.com/7giifu01Y3
— WWE on TNT Sports (@wweontnt) January 13, 2024
Fightful notes that this is similar to segments that have aired on NXT, which isn't accidental. The outlet reports that Triple H allowed Jeremy Borash to assemble a team in the developmental brand, flying under Dunn's radar. Now that the former WWE executive is gone, there's an opportunity to spread those different styles across all brands.
Sources have spoken highly of the new process, which comes with freedom to produce them. One source indicated that under Dunn, segments like these would have involved multiple cuts to different things, rather than letting this play out more naturally. Both segments have reportedly been received positively.
Another segment that differed from the previous WWE style aired on Raw last week, with Tomasso Ciampa cutting a direct-to-camera promo backstage as he and Johnny Gargano walked toward gorilla for a match, rather than conducting a static interview backstage or in gorilla.