The world’s most famous professional wrestling organization, WWE, is set to hire a former NFL team president as their new head of talent relations.
On Thursday, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter reported that WWE is expected to install former Las Vegas Raiders President Dan Ventrelle into a key role within the organization.
“Former Las Vegas Raiders’ President Dan Ventrelle has accepted a role with WWE, overseeing the company’s roster as Executive Vice President, Talent. The position reports to WWE Chief Content Officer Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque.”
Report on WWE’s new head of talent relations
WWE is in the midst of major changes in major positions of power. Following an expose by the Wall Street Journal in June, the promotion’s founder and figurehead Vince McMahon was forced to step down and eventually retire from the entity he turned into a billion-dollar company. The WSJ report revealed a plethora of secret hush money payments made by the 77-year-old executive over the last decade to women claiming sexual harassment, or to quiet individuals he had affairs with.
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Following McMahon’s retirement, his daughter Stephanie and former VP Nick Khan took over as Co-CEOs. Former head of talent relations and WWE legend Paul Levesque is now heading up the broadcast content end of the WWE product.
Former Las Vegas Raiders executive will replace John Laurinaitis in new role with WWE
Ventrelle was dismissed from his role as team president with the Raiders in May unexpectedly after less than a year in the position. However, he was a part of the organization for nearly two decades. Following his firing, Ventrelle claimed the team’s decision was in retaliation after he informed the NFL about complaints that team owner Mark Davis created a hostile work environment, and other instances of potential misconduct.
Ventrelle will leave one scandalous situation and look to right the ship and fill the position of an individual involved in a separate scandal this year. McMahon was not the only person involved with the various hush money payments in the WWE in recent years. The organization’s previous EVP of Talent, John Laurinaitis was also reportedly involved. When the story broke, he was sent home indefinitely and was quietly released from the company weeks later.
Ventrelle will now oversee one of the best rosters in the world of professional wrestling and help to cultivate new talent using the organization’s developmental leagues NXT 2.0 and NXT Europe — which is expected to debut later this year.