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Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff To Report Directly To Vince McMahon
Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff will reportedly have new roles in the WWE. The duo have been named Executive Directors according to Sports Illustrated.
Paul Heyman’s role will be Executive Director of RAW, while Eric Bischoff will be Executive Director of Smackdown Live. These positions will report directly to Vince McMahon, and are full-time. As of right now, there is no plans to introduce these roles on television as part of a storyline.
Eric Bischoff is also scheduled to work directly with executives from FOX, which will play host to WWE Smackdown this fall.
According to PWInsider, WWE has been pursuing Paul Heyman to become a top member of WWE’s creative team as far back as February. Eric Bischoff’s new deal came together over the last several weeks. Bischoff has began cancelling appearances, which is likely the time when he signed this new role with WWE. Bischoff has also been working on pre-production on Hulk Hogan’s Netflix biopic.
Paul Heyman currently has a role as an on-screen performer, managing Brock Lesnar, as well as working closely with the WWE creative team. Bischoff’s run with WWE ended in 2007, and has made occasional appearances for the company, most recently during the 25th Anniversary of RAW in 2018.
WWE issued the following 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.