Following the surprise wave of WWE talent releases on Friday, May 2, 2025, which included top stars such as Braun Strowman, Shayna Baszler, Dakota Kai, and others, attention has turned to who is ultimately responsible for the personnel decisions in the new TKO Group Holdings structure.
While many fans assumed the cuts were driven by corporate executives, new reports indicate that Paul “Triple H” Levesque, WWE’s Chief Content Officer, plays a direct and final role in determining which talent is let go.
During a Fightful livestream, Sean Ross Sapp offered a clear and pointed comment regarding Triple H’s authority over talent decisions:
“From what I was told, if he wants somebody to be there, they’re going to be there. Gonna be there. Let me be clear about that — if he wanted them there, they would be there. They would absolutely be there.”
Additional context was shared by Ibou of WrestlePurists via Twitter/X, offering insight into the internal decision-making process:
“Triple H is the final say on any roster personnel decisions. Most non-injured wrestlers that are benched from the TV that he books are candidates to get cut whenever he’s told it’s time to shed roster salary.
The priority is that their books, and profit margins look good to shareholders after every quarter, which is why to juice up numbers, they shed contracts. Figuring out the WHEN on these matters is Ari [Emanuel] and Nick [Khan]. Figuring out WHO goes is Paul Levesque. I don’t know who needs to hear this, but you’d have to be impressively naive to believe otherwise.
The actual WWE product, roster, talent acquisitions, and business transactions with other promotions is Triple H’s domain…
The people that scapegoat TKO solely and pretend HHH has nothing to do with it when being mad at releases need to get real. Ari Emmanuel is likely unable to name more than 15-20 talent on the entire WWE roster.”
WWE has not issued a public comment regarding the internal decision-makers behind the May 2nd cuts, but the releases—following just one day after a wave of corporate layoffs including longtime staff like Ryan Pappolla—have drawn strong reactions across the industry.
Several of the released wrestlers, including Shayna Baszler, Cora Jade, and Dakota Kai, were believed to be integral parts of WWE’s women’s roster and had recently appeared on programming or were expected to return from injury soon.
Stay tuned to PWMania.com for more updates on WWE’s ongoing roster changes and exclusive backstage reports.
Triple H is the final say on any roster personnel decisions. Most non-injured wrestlers that are benched from the TV that he books are candidates to get cut whenever he’s told it’s time to shed roster salary.
The priority is that their books, and profit margins look good to…
— Ibou (@BackupHangman) May 3, 2025
