Ex-WWE Director of VOD Admits It Was ‘Never Easy’ Working with Kevin Dunn

There’s been a notable shift in WWE’s presentation since Kevin Dunn’s departure from the company, with Lee Fitting stepping in. Dunn was a major part of WWE for several years and now a former WWE Director of VOD has admitted that it was never easy working with him.

Kevin Dunn was a significant figure in the Stamford-based promotion for over 30 years, playing a crucial role in shaping the wrestling giant that fans know today. However, Dunn’s tenure unexpectedly came to an end in December 2023.

While speaking on the Insiders podcast with Conrad Thompson, former WWE Director of VOD and Supervising Producer John Carlan shared his experiences working with former Executive Producer Kevin Dunn. Carlan described their working relationship as challenging, noting that Dunn had high expectations and that their interactions were not always easy. Despite some disagreements and policies Carlan didn’t always support, their relationship was generally positive, with moments of camaraderie, such as socializing after shows.

“It was hard. It was never easy. He certainly had a high bar. At times, I didn’t like it, to be honest. Our relationship was good for the most part. We had a couple of ups and downs. We also had times where we had fun after the show where we would hang out in a group and he’d be part of that. It was hard. There was a lot of things there…it’s difficult because there were things that were handled differently than I would have handled them personally. There were certainly some policies that not all of us agreed with. He was the boss. It was what it was. There are people who are still there that grew up from Kevin that may have some of the same qualities that I may not necessarily agree with, but we rolled with it day-to-day. It wasn’t like I worked a lot with him directly. I had a little tenure on the road. That was my closest interaction in a professional environment. He was around if there were shoots that were very important. There were other times where we had fun and we had old production meetings.”

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Carlin recounted a memorable moment involving Dunn and a production meeting. Dunn, a big Raiders fan, was known for running production meetings after road trips. During one such meeting, Carlin, a Patriots fan, planned a stunt involving a Tom Brady jersey to poke fun at Dunn, who was a Raiders fan. Carlin coordinated with Stephanie McMahon, who supported his plan.

At the meeting’s end, Carlin revealed his jersey and performed the stunt, which elicited laughter from everyone. Dunn’s playful response was that if the Patriots won the game, Carlin would be fired, though it was all in good humor. Carlin acknowledged Dunn’s controversial reputation but suggested that some aspects of it are exaggerated or inaccurate.

“Every time we came back from the road, KD would run the production meeting with all the producers. He would give a recap of the week and we’d go through different things and people would have questions. KD is a big Raiders fan. I’m a big Patriots fan. We’re leading up to the Tuck Rule game in 2001. Stephanie McMahon used to go the production meetings. We got close because we grew up Patriots fans and went to school down the street from each other in Boston. I told Steph before the meeting, ‘Underneath my work clothes, I have my Tom Brady jersey on. At the end, he’s going to ask if anyone has questions.

I’m going to get up and say ‘We’ll see you this weekend,’ and I’m going to rip my work shirt off and spin around. Will you have my back?’ She said, ‘I have your back.’ We went through the meeting. I was dying inside thinking, ‘Am I really going to do this?’ I did it. Everybody popped and laughed. He looked at me and goes, ‘I’ll tell you right now, if they win this game, your ass is fired.’ It never happened, it was all in fun. It was great. That was a fun interaction with him. He’s certainly controversial, no question. A lot of that outside stuff is inaccurate, but a lot is accurate.”

Even Jim Ross is a huge fan of WWE’s current style of production as well. Regardless, many people are simply glad Kevin Dunn no longer has anything to do with WWE anymore and considering the remarkable improvements in overall production quality, perhaps that is truly for the best.

What do you think of this story concerning Kevin Dunn? Do you believe it’s for the best he is no longer part of WWE? Sound of in the comments section below!