WWE doesn't get political, unless it's backstage on a production truck.
The pandemic was certainly a weird time, and left WWE in an unusual situation where they were forced into studio wrestling. First it was at the WWE Performance Center, then at Amway Arena, and finally Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay.
It was at WWE's Thunderdome that something caught the eye of staff and talent. A production truck -- led by Kevin Dunn -- adorned with a crudely duct taped "Trump 2020" flag on the side of it. One talent told us that in the midst of constant cuts, it was just a day that reminded them that "the talent didn't matter to the higher ups." The photo was taken at the Tropicana Field Thunderdome, which would have been while President Trump was publicly denying the results of the 2020 election. WWE did not utilize the Tropicana Thunderdome prior to the election. We're told that the flag was posted in December 2020, and that Dunn himself was sidelined from work for several weeks to start 2021.
One source that aided in confirming the news said that the promo that Vince McMahon had Titus O'Neil cut kick off WWE Raw in July stating "WWE doesn't do politics" frustrated them after seeing this on a production truck. Fightful had first heard of this in early 2021, but were not able to verify it until this month.
There's no way of knowing who physically posted the flag, or asked for it to be put up, but we did hear that it was a truck ran by Kevin Dunn. Word had made its way through the company, and the photo that you see above had also made its way through to staff and talent last year. Those that physically saw it confirmed that it was a WWE production truck located past an area where they would get their temperature taken before entering the actual Thunderdome to work.
One talent we spoke to said that they'd bet that Vince McMahon probably didn't know this happened. Another said that during that era, Vince McMahon would often be in his office throughout the day when he was there, and emerged much less than before and after the Thunderdome era. Despite his clear friendship and allegiance to Donald Trump, most talent we spoke to didn't believe McMahon would have wanted this as a part of the backstage atmosphere. There were sources that had indicated that Dunn had made his political beliefs known in their presence, which Vince McMahon would generally actively discourage.
While talent expected Kevin Dunn to be let go with the McMahon-Laurinaitis regime change, Triple H has said that Dunn figured into a big part of WWE's future. About a half dozen WWE talent we've spoken to pointed out the production style as something they're hoping would change in the near future. Specifically, one top talent and one former talent said that the reasoning they're given for some of WWE's production aspects undermine their in-ring work. We've also been told that WWE doesn't believe they have anyone currently that could replace Dunn, as the likeliest candidate was let go during a prior round of layoffs, and a return isn't likely based on how the exit went down.
We've been told as of now, Dunn is expected to remain with the company.
For those asking, yes, this would have been written if it were a Biden flag.
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