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What's the story?
During WWE's Second Quarter 2019 Earnings call earlier today, Vince McMahon revealed why he hired Eric Bischoff and Paul Heyman as Executive Directors of SmackDown Live and Raw, respectively.
McMahon stated that Bischoff and Heyman's presence will allow him to deal with long-term storylines and talent development, without getting into the mix himself.
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For those unaware, Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff have been involved with WWE in the past. During 2003-04, Heyman and Bischoff both played on-screen General Manager roles for SmackDown and Raw, respectively. Back in 2002, Heyman was one of the writers on the Blue Brand, and was responsible for the creation of the SmackDown Six, a bunch of wrestlers that was responsible for saving SmackDown from its rating woes.
If we go back even further, Bischoff's WCW toppled WWE in the rating war for 83 straight weeks during the Attitude Era, while Heyman held his own in ECW at the time.
The heart of the matter
It has been around a month since WWE announced that the company was appointing Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff as the Executive Directors of its premier shows. The news was incredibly well received by fans and wrestling personalities alike, with wishes pouring in from all corners of the pro-wrestling world.
The Second Quarter 2019 Earnings call saw Vince McMahon open up on a variety of topics, most notably AEW, SmackDown moving to FOX, and the hiring of Bischoff and Heyman.
According to Vince, the hiring of Heyman and Bischoff will allow him to deal with long-term storyline arcs in a better manner and focus more on talent development, while "not being in the weeds" like he has in the past.
What's next?
It would be interesting to see what changes both Raw and SmackDown Live undergo in the coming weeks, with Heyman and Bischoff at the helm.
What are your thoughts on Vince McMahon's reasoning for hiring Heyman and Bischoff?
