WWE stock took a plunge on Thursday after a shake-up saw the departure of two co-presidents of the company.

WWE announced in a press release on Thursday that co-presidents George Barrios and Michelle Wilson are leaving the company and will no longer serve on the board of directors effective immediately.

Also in their statement, WWE announced Frank A. Riddick III, who has been on WWE's board for more than 11 years, will the interim Chief Financial Officer while the company searches for a permanent CFO and Chief Revenue Officer. He will report directly to WWE Chairman & CEO, Vince McMahon.

Vince commented on the shake-up in the press release, thanking Barrios and Wilson for their work.

He said: "I would like to thank George and Michelle for their 10+ years of service and contributions to the organization.

"I am grateful for all that was accomplished during their tenure, but the Board and I decided a change was necessary as we have different views on how best to achieve our strategic priorities moving forward.

"We have a deep team of talented, experienced and committed executives across the organization, and the Board and I have great confidence in our collective abilities to create compelling content, engage our global fanbase across platforms, increase revenues, and drive shareholder value."

However, as a result of these high-level personnel decisions, shares of WWE plunged as much as 22.95% in after-market trading, at $48.00 per share.

WWE will report its fourth quarter and full 2019 financial results on February 6, and it's here that we may see why the company has made the decision to part ways with Barrios and Wilson.

Back in July 2019, Variety had reported that ratings for Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live, had fallen around 20% each compared to the beginning of 2018.

This fall, as well as the ratings following SmackDown's move to FOX last October, could be the reason behind WWE's shake-up, but we should know more once the company releases its fourth quarter and full 2019 financial results next week.