WWE shocked the wrestling world on Thursday when they announced they had hired Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff to work as the new executive directors for Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live, respectively. In a press release the company explained that the pair would “oversee the creative development of WWE’s flagship programming and ensure integration across all platforms and lines of business,” the press release read. “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.”
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While the Heyman announcement was somewhat expected given his recent involvement in creative with the likes of Ronda Rousey, Becky Lynch and Paige, the Bischoff hiring came as a bit of a shock. The former WCW executive producer was responsible for some of the WCW’s most successful angles during the Monday Night Wars, but he hadn’t worked on a creative team since his time in (TNA) Impact Wrestling from 2010-14.
Bischoff posted his reaction to the news on Saturday, while also teasing what’s in store for the Blue Brand.
Equally humbled, honored, and more excited than I can possibly articulate here. Thank you so much for the overwhelming support. It’s been an amazing journey and the best is yet to come. @WWE #SDLive
— Eric Bischoff (@EBischoff) June 29, 2019
“Equally humbled, honored, and more excited than I can possibly articulate here,” he wrote. “Thank you so much for the overwhelming support. It’s been an amazing journey and the best is yet to come.”
Shortly after the news broke, and advertisement popped up online teasing Bischoff’s arrival on SmackDown this upcoming Tuesday night. However it was later reported that those advertisements were not meant to be released, and that it’s still up in the air whether or not either man appears on their respective show this week.
In a recently resurfaced interview with Inside the Ropes, Bischoff gave his thoughts on WWE’s brand split.
“I think after going through my own experience and having been apart of the WWE’s experience, the advice that I have would be to be as disciplined as you can possibly be at keeping the brands distinct,” he said. “If you don’t make them feel completely different, it won’t work. And part of that is creating stakes, part of that is it’s got to feel real, it’s got to believable or nobody is going to buy into it.”
