by The world of professional wrestling has been extremely interesting in 2019. All Elite Wrestling is on the rise, while WWE is seemingly on a steady decline. Falling ratings, angry fans, and small attendance numbers have lead WWE to do something drastic to turn things around, which many wrestling fans assumed they would do. However, no one expected this decision being made.
Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated first reported that Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff have been named Executive Directors of Raw and Smackdown, respectively.
Justin Barrasso writes “Heyman is set to become Executive Director of Monday Night Raw, while Bischoff will fill the same role for SmackDown Live. Both will report directly to WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon. WWE confirmed the news with Sports Illustrated, with an official announcement expected later today. The two positions are full-time executive roles, with no plans at the current time for this to be introduced as part of a TV storyline.”
WWE, shortly after this story broke, released a press statement on their website saying “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.”
Any wrestling fan that grew up during the late 90’s will be the most excited about this. At this time, the then-WWF had it’s highest popularity, with World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling both also gaining a huge following. Vince has always lead the WWE, while Paul Heyman was the head of ECW and Eric Bischoff produced WCW. This decision can lead to some amazing results, with three of the greatest minds in Professional Wrestling History making one cohesive unit.
This provides a huge challenge for All Elite Wrestling. These three men made some iconic television moments competing against each other, and now they will be competing as one against new competition. While AEW is getting big coverage, this may be a worrying time.
The Attitude Era was considered the best time in Wrestling History, with some of the best programming the genre has to offer. Keep an eye on the world of pro wrestling: it’s going to be a wild ride.
