Patrick Dooley, viewed internally as one of Triple H’s most trusted executives in WWE, was fired in a move that reportedly came down from the top of TKO Group Holdings.
Dooley left the company in late July amid a round of budget cuts.
PWInsider initially reported that the executive was considered Paul Levesque’s “number two” on virtually all matters outside of the creative team. He served as Senior Vice President of Global Strategy & Creative Operations and had been with WWE since 2018.
Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the decision to let Dooley go didn’t come from Triple H or a mid-level WWE executive, but from someone at the Ari Emanuel/Mark Shapiro level at TKO.
“The decision to let go of Patrick Dooley, Triple H’s #2 on all non-creative matters, came from someone at the Ari Emanuel/Mark Shapiro level at TKO.”
Meltzer added that Dooley’s departure caught people off guard:
“People in WWE were surprised by Dooley being cut.”
Dooley wasn’t strictly a behind-the-scenes figure. In November 2025, for example, he officially represented WWE in announcing the deal that brought AAA to FOX platforms in Mexico and other Latin American countries. WWE identified him as the executive responsible for global strategy and creative operations.
TKO has not publicly announced a replacement for Dooley.
The company reported this week that WWE generated $620.9 million in revenue in the second quarter of 2026, up $64.7 million from the same period a year ago.