All Elite Wrestling has made a major hire behind the scenes.
Mike Johnson of PWInsider reports that AEW has hired Michael Mansury, WWE’s former Vice President of Global Television Production, and he is set to start with the December 14 episode of AEW Dynamite. Johnson noted that Mansury was said to be backstage at AEW Full Gear, but he will officially begin his new role as the Senior Vice President and Co-Executive Producer on Wednesday night.
Mansury previously worked for WWE from March 2009 through May 2020, and he gradually climbed up the ladder from production assistant to his Vice President role. He was listed as the director for many televised WWE shows in the latter years of his tenure. Per Johnson, Mansury was seen as a substantial member of the Triple H regime, and he had been widely expected to replace Kevin Dunn someday. Following his departure from WWE, Mansury worked for Pat McAfee as an executive producer before he took on the role as the Senior Vice President & Executive Producer – Global Production for ONE Championship, an MMA organization.
Mansury seemingly commented on his move to AEW in a tweet on December 12, as he said hello to wrestling.
Hello wrestling, my old friend… pic.twitter.com/JqN08WDNzp
— Mike Mansury (@mr_mansury) December 12, 2022
Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite will be the special “Winter is Coming” episode of the show.
Update: Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select also reported that Mansury had been viewed as the potential replacement for Dunn before he left the company. Sources noted that Mansury couldn’t have climbed much higher than his position in WWE unless Dunn left his role, which didn’t happen. Sapp cited one source who indicated that they thought Triple H would try to bring Mansury back one he took over, but they didn’t expect to see him return unless it was for Dunn’s position.
Additionally, the report cited talent and staff from both AEW and WWE who expressed their happiness about the hiring and noted that they think it will help AEW’s content. Sapp cited one WWE source who noted that Mansury is “more in touch” with AEW’s demographic, and he can likely increase the company’s production level in a significant way. Another WWE source, who is often critical of AEW, called the addition of Mansury AEW’s biggest hire of the year.
RELATED: Ruby Soho vs. Tay Melo Added To 12/14 AEW Dynamite: Winter Is Coming
