Heyman and Bischoff named Executive Directors of Raw and smackdown

Lord TSC

Story breaking but Heyman had been named Executive Director of Raw and Bischoff of Smackdown. Apparently will take massive creative control for their shows.

https://www.si.com/wrestling/2019/06/27/wwe-paul-heyman-monday-night-raw-eric-bischoff-smackdown-live-vince-mcmahon?utm_medium=social&xid=socialflow_twitter_si&utm_campaign=sinow&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_source=reddit.com

Obviously more to follow....

CastorTroy

Interesting. Of course if Vince vetos all their decisions it'll be a bit redundant. Otherwise we could be back to the days where the brands seemed to compete with each other.

Didn't realise Bischoff was with wwe. Thought he was off doing something else.

Lord TSC

CastorTroy wrote: »

Interesting. Of course if Vince vetos all their decisions it'll be a bit redundant. Otherwise we could be back to the days where the brands seemed to compete with each other.

Didn't realise Bischoff was with wwe. Thought he was off doing something else.

I dont think Eric was, unless it was a legend type deal.

I honestly can't imagine either taking the jobs unless they has assurances of a decent level of control.

ForstalDave

Lord TSC wrote: »

I dont think Eric was, unless it was a legend type deal.

I honestly can't imagine either taking the jobs unless they has assurances of a decent level of control.

Wonder if they gave Bishhoff access to the purse strings or will they keep the hiring separate

lawlolawl

So, two guys who ran companies that WWE put out of business are going to run TV for WWE?

Are they setting them up as fall guys to take the blame once the ratings completely die?

Lord TSC

Per mike Johnson....

The announcement today that Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff have signed on with WWE to become Executive Directors of the Raw and Smackdown brands is a legitimate announcement, not a storyline situation.

WWE has been pursuing Heyman to come on officially in their corporate circles as far back as February, PWInsider.com can exclusively confirm.  An offer was issued to Heyman to come on board full-time as a top member of the creative team around the same time Bruce Prichard was brought back as a Senior Vice President.  Heyman had been working on certain storylines and with certain talents, including Ronda Rousey, Brock Lesnars and others dating back far before then.  He's been in the inner circle when it comes to the creative process for some time without an official title.  He and WWE have been circling around this deal for a long time.

The Eric Bischoff deal came together within the last several weeks.  Bischoff has been working on pre-production of the planned Netflix Hulk Hogan biography film and had a slew of personal appearances booked.  Over the last week, he quietly began canceling those appearance dates, so that is likely when he came to terms with WWE.  We are told he will be working directly with FOX as WWE builds their relationship with Smackdown's new home.  To say this is a massive return to form for Bischoff is a grand understatement.  We are told that WWE approached him about the role.

We are told that they will be overseeing all aspects of their individual series, answering directly to Vince McMahon.  They are now the top of the pyramid, respectively, for Raw and Smackdown.   Heyman is expected to continue his role as Brock Lesnar's advocate.  There is no word yet whether Bischoff will appear on camera, but given how good of a performer he is, one would think it's just a matter of time.

sky88

i thought this was a storyline when i saw it and they gm roles but wasnt expecting that whatsoever

i wonder were turner sniffing around eric for aew cause i mean heyman is not completely out of left field

basically this says if your an old timer get a podcast with conrad and youll get back in wwe

ERG89

CastorTroy wrote: »

Of course if Vince vetos all their decisions it'll be a bit redundant.

Of course he will. Tbf I'd have even less faith in Bischoff who's clueless.


Russo is expecting a call soon. He won't get it but I know he's optimistic about it.

Loughc

Heyman is an excellent appointment given how good his creative mind is and how good smackdown was when he was writing it.

How long will this last is anyone’s guess. But I wouldn’t expect either to make it to Mania. Hope I’m wrong and this is the start of decent Raws and Smackdowns but ultimately with Vince still in control will it make any difference at all?

CastorTroy

Will this be effective immediately or does it kick in from October?

Loughc

CastorTroy wrote: »

Will this be effective immediately or does it kick in from October?

Effective immediately it seems.

sky88

Loughc wrote: »

Heyman is an excellent appointment given how good his creative mind is and how good smackdown was when he was writing it.

How long will this last is anyone’s guess. But I wouldn’t expect either to make it to Mania. Hope I’m wrong and this is the start of decent Raws and Smackdowns but ultimately with Vince still in control will it make any difference at all?

honetly that smackdown run was unbelievable under heyman best hes ever booked

Itssoeasy

Very interesting move and the devil will be the detail. Paul Heyman did great things on smackdown in the early 2000's and he answered to vince then. If Paul can genuinely shape the show how he sees it in a PG environment(which has been done btw)then it could be a great move.

Bischoff I don't know about yet. Yes, he's dealt with network executives during his time in charge of WCW so he'll be an asset there. I wonder how his vision is creatively now as opposed to before.

Loughc

Part of me wants Heyman to come out Monday night and completely sh*t on Vince and end the wildcard rule and call out smackdown and Bischoff and make the brand split mean something again.

Loughc

Regardless of the outcome it’s the most exciting move wwe has done in ages so good for them for trying to stop the rot. Hopefully there’s a full reset after extreme rules.

lawlolawl

Loughc wrote: »

Regardless of the outcome it’s the most exciting move wwe has done in ages so good for them for trying to stop the rot. Hopefully there’s a full reset after extreme rules.

Stop the rot by putting in an ex WCW guy and a guy that wrote some good stuff for Smackdown years ago?


It's more of the same again.

nazmoalex

Has to be a positive, for now at least, that they (WWE) have taken a step to switch things up. See how it goes, hopefully things start to move in some sort of a clear direction.
Not a huge fan of either guy in the last few years, but this at face value seems like a fresh start for the both of them.
No such thing as a perfect booker, but anything different would be welcome at this point.

lawlolawl

https://twitter.com/MmmGorgeous/status/1144251563629830146

cian68

I don't see Bischoff as someone with anything to offer tbh but good luck to the pair of them. Does Heyman still have it in him to dedicate that much thought/energy to wrestling? I thought he was happy enough with the cushy manager job

Itssoeasy

cian68 wrote: »

I don't see Bischoff as someone with anything to offer tbh but good luck to the pair of them. Does Heyman still have it in him to dedicate that much thought/energy to wrestling? I thought he was happy enough with the cushy manager job

It's no secret that the young wrestlers want to get his advice and get his help. Heyman may be many things and not be the greatest businessman ever put on the earth, but even if it's been fifteen years ago since he was in charge of Smackdown, I know I'd watch an updated version of that in 2019.

CastorTroy

Loughc wrote: »

Part of me wants Heyman to come out Monday night and completely sh*t on Vince and end the wildcard rule and call out smackdown and Bischoff and make the brand split mean something again.

That's where things are gonna get complicated. They don't want the role to be onscreen but Paul will still be Brock's advocate. So not sure how he'll handle it, since in theory he can make any match for Brock that he wants and we all know it.

And will they acknowledge the change in any way? Call it a new era.

Now any suggestions as to what they'll do? Abolishing the Wild Card rule is one, as said

J. Marston

Loughc wrote: »

Regardless of the outcome it’s the most exciting move wwe has done in ages so good for them for trying to stop the rot. Hopefully there’s a full reset after extreme rules.

I wouldn't do another reset so soon.

The shake-up is supposed to be a reset. The wildcard was supposed to another one of sorts. Another one again so soon will have little to no impact on people.

Agent Coulson

Bischoff ran TNA into the ground the last time he had a role of power in wrestling.


Heyman and his Smackdown writer role was 2001 to 2003 that was 16 years ago.




Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt are the men there should be turning too.

sky88

when didnt they just let trips and shane take a brand each if they were keeping it with older guys

PTH2009

Exciting but will have little effect on the fans really as it's all backstage stuff.

25 odd years ago If u suggested all these guys working together you be called insane

So what will gorilla look like now
Vince
Heyman and Bischoff (one each at there show)
Triple H
Steph
Shane McMahon (what's his actual post backstage?)
Michael Hayes
Billy Kidman

Rock Lesnar

If they are both answering to vince, they'll probably have very little input and nothing much will change, now if they are left alone, it could be interesting but i wont hold my breath

Sirsok

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Bischoff ran TNA into the ground the last time he had a role of power in wrestling.


Heyman and his Smackdown writer role was 2001 to 2003 that was 16 years ago.




Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt are the men there should be turning too.

I showed my mate the firefly funhouse videos, has miner interest in wrestler but he genuinely couldnt believe how bad those segments are, maybe he didnt get some of the nuances, but i kinda have to agree with him, that muscle man dance video is a steaming pile of poop.

lawlolawl

Rock Lesnar wrote: »

If they are both answering to vince, they'll probably have very little input and nothing much will change, now if they are left alone, it could be interesting but i wont hold my breath

They'll most likely be micro-managed to the last.


It's not like they'll be able to decide to get Shane off screen, bump Corbin down the card or do what really needs to be done and kill off the years long attempt at making Roman "the guy".

The White Wolf

Just gets weirder by the week. Can't see either guy long term settling easily under Vince's thumb.

Mr.Nice Guy

Sounds encouraging with Heyman involved. Wrestling needs some creative oomph right now for the mainstream with WWE in a rut, and the nearest opposition being a circle jerk for a niche, beta male, cringeworthy audience.

Genuine stars that transcend the wrestling bubble are needed more than ever.

Jimmy McGill

Remember when they got rid of Corbin as GM and they stood in the ring with the cringy speech of how the fans were in control from now on. Hardly anything has changed since then, it seems like we're getting the same matches over and over. Ratings have been rock bottom. Every aspect of what goes on at tv tapings all has to go through Vince first. I don't expect these new appointments to be any different, everything still has to be signed off by Vince. And we'll still get the same boring old stuff. I hope I'm proved wrong though.