Controversial WWE employee returns after leave of absence - Reports

The WWE machine is made up of several hundred employees, in addition to the few hundred independent contractors that serve as performers. Many working behind-the-scenes are current or former WWE Superstars and wrestling legends, who have excelled for the company in other areas. Now one controversial star from the Vince McMahon Era has made his return to work.

Bruce Prichard is WWE's Executive Director of the Creative Writing Team. The Texan began his career in 1973 at age ten, selling posters for Houston Wrestling. The former Brother Love worked for World Wrestling Entertainment from April 1987 until December 2008, as a performer, producer, director, and Vice President of Talent Relations. After stints with TNA and other ventures, Prichard returned to the Stamford-based company as Senior Vice President in March 2019, was promoted to Executive Director of SmackDown that October, then promoted to the CWT Executive Director.

The Expert took a temporary leave of absence in November due to family health issues, and it was rumored he could return to work as soon as the new year. Michael "PS" Hayes also took a leave around that time due to personal reasons, but the Senior Producer and Vice President of Creative Writing & Booking returned to the job in late November. PWInsider now reports that Prichard is back on the road with the company this weekend.

Prichard is returning to work just in time for the first WWE shows of 2025. The 61-year-old is backstage at the Footprint Center in Phoenix for tonight's SmackDown, and is expected to be at Monday's RAW Netflix premiere at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.

Prichard was close with Vince McMahon over the years, and now works directly with Triple H in his corporate roles. When away from the company, Bruce hosts his Something To Wrestle podcast, which he and co-host Conrad Thompson launched in August 2016. This led to a brief spin-off companion video show on the WWE Network in April 2018, titled Something Else to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard.

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Backstage news from first WWE SmackDown of 2025

World Wrestling Entertainment is currently presenting the first SmackDown episode of 2025. The show also marks the blue brand's move to a three-hour format.

Matt Bloom is backstage at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, AZ for tonight's SmackDown. PWInsider added that the Head Coach of NXT and the WWE Performance Center has been at all TV tapings as of late, but it remains to be seen if he's being trained for some sort of promotion.

Officials also brought in more producers to work tonight's SmackDown, which will likely be the case moving forward now that the show will air for three hours each Friday. Producers for the final SmackDown of 2024 were Tyson Kidd, Shane Helms, Jason Jordan, Molly Holly, and Michael "PS" Hayes. Producers for this week's RAW were Hayes, Kidd, Chris Park, Shawn Daivari, Kenn Doane, Jamie Noble, and Adam Pearce.