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Vince McMahon missed this past week’s SmackDown Live in Manchester, NH.
In the latest edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it was noted McMahon was not present at the taping, but was on the phone constantly and he reviewed the show prior to it going live. Paul Levesque and Bruce Prichard were said to be in charge, with Levesque working Gorilla position, and Prichard presenting the show to producers backstage.
Ryan Ward will continue his position as lead writer of SmackDown, unless Eric Bischoff tries to make a change, which will need to be approved by Vince McMahon first. Ryan Ward has been with the company for 10 years now, and added Vice President of Creative Writing to his resume this past March.
Eric Bischoff is scheduled to begin full-time with the company at next week’s SmackDown in Worchester, MA. Bruce Prichard, who pushed hardest for his hire will be assisting him in transitioning into the new role. Some backstage do feel that Bischoff not being at any events prior to starting the job puts them behind in deciding what changes need to be made to improve the product.
There was talk of people asking why Bischoff wasn’t at least at the show to watch how things are done before he starts full-time, and the same was said last week. His deal was to move in this week and start with the 7/16 show. It’s been noted to us that every week he’s not there puts him another week behind and the battles necessary to be the catalyst of change and improvement are going to take a long time
And the journey begins! pic.twitter.com/hXlhAMykQ8
— Eric Bischoff (@EBischoff) July 11, 2019