WWE Layoffs Continue As Two More Long-Term Employees Leave

WWE merged with UFC in April of last year, finalizing the deal in September, which led to a series of cuts affecting both backstage staff and in-ring talent.

These releases have continued into 2024. Since the formation of TKO Group Holdings, redundancies have significantly impacted WWE staff.

Fightful Select has confirmed some WWE layoffs that occurred early Thursday afternoon, involving several long-term employees. Kristen Prouty was one of the first names revealed to be released from the company.

She had been with WWE for nearly 25 years, starting her career in 2000. Prouty had risen to the position of Senior VP of Entertainment Relations, a role she held for almost 20 years, and was “instrumental” in helping WWE sign the current United States Champion Logan Paul.

Another notable release was Tavia Hartley, who had been with WWE since 2021. She served as an appearances manager and was also part of Talent Operations.

It remains uncertain whether these layoffs are related to the announcement that the UFC and WWE live events divisions are merging into one division moving forward.

TKO Group Holdings is cutting costs in certain backstage roles within both WWE and UFC to maximize total revenue.

As of today, there have been no talent releases according to Fightful Select, which has reached out to WWE for confirmation about further cuts or individual names but has not yet received a response.

The last major talent releases made by WWE occurred last April over the weekend of the “WWE Draft”. Several main roster and “WWE NXT” talents were cut, including Jinder Mahal, Cameron Grimes, and Xia Li.