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More updates on WWE tightening its belt ahead of their next release of financials, a report on second quarter earnings scheduled for sometime in August, is coming out today.
PWInsider reports that in addition to the in-ring performers who were let go last week, Creative team members were also let go. Writer Jay Gibson was the name listed in the report from Mike Johnson. Gibson worked on the soap opera The Young and The Restless before being brought onto the WWE team in 2012-13. There's no official word on who else or how many members of the writing or Creative staff were let go.
Our own Keith Harris has been all over this story, and brought you news of pending cuts to the Developmental program yesterday. The PWInsider report discusses that, and Johnson says that his sources told him other moves have been made to cut costs, and there is a good deal of anxiety within the company - especially among long-tenured employees with higher salaries whose removal from the books could make a noticeable difference.
In addition to Creative and Developmental, Production is also seen as a place where the company could save money with cuts.
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News also came out today that the 2014 edition of SummerSlam will not feature fan Axxess events in the week leading up to the Los Angeles show. The exhibits and displays that provided fans an opportunity to meet and greet WWE Legends and Superstars are a staple of WrestleMania week, and were incorporated into SummerSlam a few years back as WWE tried to establish the August show being bigger than its other pay-per-views (PPV).
According to Johnson at PWInsider again, though, the decision to pull the plug on the pre-show festivities this year was made back in January and is not seen as being part of the ongoing efforts to make financial reports more acceptable to investors - presumably because of less then stellar WWE Network figures.
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Cageside Seats will have more news and analysis on all of WWE's moves.