A few hours ago, WWE announced that they had hired Eric Bischoff and Paul Heyman as Executive Directors.
Heyman will become the Executive Director of RAW while Bischoff has been made Executive Director of SmackDown Live. Both men will report directly to WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.
This huge move will make sure that it provides “two distinct creative processes for its flagship shows”.
Sports Illustrated reported that when SmackDown Live moves to FOX, Bischoff will liaise with FOX executives. They also went on to say that there are no plans for both men to be introduced as an on-screen storyline.
Below is the full WWE press release:
WWE® NAMES PAUL HEYMAN AND ERIC BISCHOFF EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS
Stamford, Conn., June 27, 2019 – WWE (NYSE: WWE) today announced that it has named Paul Heyman as Executive Director of Monday Night Raw and Eric Bischoff as Executive Director of SmackDown Live, newly created positions reporting directly to WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon.
In their executive roles, Heyman and Bischoff will oversee the creative development of WWE’s flagship programming and ensure integration across all platforms and lines of business. The creation of these roles further establishes WWE’s ability to continuously reinvent its global brand while providing two distinct creative processes for its flagship shows.
With more than 30 years of experience in the sports entertainment industry, Heyman served as President of ECW from 1993-2001, securing pay-per-view distribution for the company as well as a national cable television deal with TNN. After his time with ECW, Heyman joined WWE’s Creative team and is widely credited with helping launch the careers of many current and former WWE Superstars.
Bischoff is a former WCW President and New York Times bestselling author. During his WCW career, Bischoff oversaw the signing of some of the biggest names in sports entertainment and helped create and develop the NWO storyline. He was also instrumental in securing a television deal for WCW Monday Nitro on TNT and WCW Thunder on TBS. After WCW, Bischoff co-founded Bischoff-Hervey Entertainment, a production company that launched TV reality shows and mobile games.
Blake’s Take: This is a huge move and comes straight outta nowhere (hey Randy!). Both men are known as creative geniuses coming from their WCW and ECW days. This will surely help combat the falling ratings for both RAW and SmackDown Live. Could it also be seen as a sign of getting their house in order before All Elite Wrestling begins airing their show on TNT later this fall?
