It wasn’t even a year ago that WWE announced Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff as the new Executive Directors of RAW and Smackdown. The Heyman and Bischoff experiment was first announced by WWE on June 27th, 2019. Heyman lasted just under a year in the role, while Bischoff was gone in under 4 months.
Now, both RAW and Smackdown’s creative teams have been consolidated with Bruce Pritchard serving as the lead. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the move did not come as a surprise to many behind the scenes.
The report would quote an unnamed source from WWE’s front office as saying, “I am shocked it took this long. Everyone knew it was coming. Vince did not like Paul.”
It is also being reported that the global pandemic caused a shift in Vince McMahon’s priorities. While Heyman said upon taking the role that it would take RAW 18-months to establish new stars, McMahon evidently ran out of patience.
“It’s said by those close to the situation that once COVID-19 started that McMahon’s mentality changed about everything,” wrote Dave Meltzer. Before the pandemic, WWE had a more longterm outlook. Since the pandemic hit, short-term viewership performance became the greater concern.
WWE’s statement on Thursday stated that Heyman will continue to have an on-air role in the company. He currently serves as the advocate of Brock Lesnar.