Longtime WWE Producer Dean Malenko Reportedly Quits Company

has heard from multiple sources that Dean Malenko, a WWE employee for the near-unanimity of this millennium (including as a producer for the previous eight years), has quit the promotion.

Malenko's exit marks the second loss of a veteran producer for WWE in 2019, after Arn Anderson was let go in late-February.

As of press time, no official reason has been given for Malenko's departure.

After a 22-year career spent making his name as a technically-proficient junior heavyweight inside the ring, including spending the last year and a half of his career in WWE, Malenko retired in 2001 at the age of 41. Since then, he had worked for the company in various capacities, including trainer and producer. Malenko also appeared occasionally on WWE television in his backstage official's role. His last appearance came in June 2018, presiding over an AJ Styles/Shinsuke Nakamura contract signing.

Malenko won championship gold in WWE, WCW, and ECW in his time as a wrestler, and became renowned for classic matches against the likes of Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, and Rey Mysterio, among others. Malenko was also ranked number one in the 1997 PWI 500.