More On Shady Actions By A Former WWE Exec, Company "Pays To Play" At WrestleMania XXX?

- I noted several weeks back that there was more to the original Wrestling Observer Newsletter story on former WWE VP of Venue Merchandising & Operations Alan Rebhun and troubles during his time with the company. Rebhun was let go shortly after a concessions debacle during WrestleMania XXX weekend in New Orleans but there were many issues leading up to his departure.

The original story on Rebhun noted that the WWE road crew was upset because they weren't given the contract to run the WrestleMania concessions, a deal that Rebhun had given to an outside company. It was really the WWE road crew, some WWE Vice Presidents, contractors, buyers and assistants that were upset that weekend because they were the ones doing all the work, such as setting up displays, stands and the WrestleMania Superstore while Gameday, the controversial concessions company that Rebhun hired, was getting paid. Gameday brought with them a lack of staffing and inferior vendors, including some that were chosen from homeless shelters to sell programs.

Rebhun was known in the concessions industry as one that you had to "pay to play" with. He tried to bring that with him into WWE. Rebhun used his own t-shirt printers, his own production companies and others. It was said that he had inferior products produced and charged higher costs, with the difference going to him "under the table."

The original Observer report noted that Rebhun brought some positives to the company such as raising t-shirt prices from $25 to $30 at live events, which boosted numbers, but it appears Rebhun had ulterior motives for those increases.

A running joke through the industry and through WWE was that these people Rebhun was close to were known as "gotta guys" because Rebhun would always say he's "got a guy" that could do this or do that. Questions were raised as to why Rebhun paid Gameday roughly 25% more in commissions than previous companies WWE used to vend WrestleMania events, adding to the speculation that Gameday "paid to play" at WrestleMania XXX.