STAMFORD, Conn.: WWE Thursday announced that it has named Paul Heyman (WWE superstar Brock Lesnar’s advocate on the scripted shows) as executive director of Monday Night Raw and former WCW president Eric Bischoff as executive director of SmackDown Live, newly created positions reporting directly to WWE chairman & CEO Vince McMahon.
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.
US media reports that the executive shakeup McMahon has engineered is part of a larger plan to introduce fresh creative energy to not just shore up falling ratings, but also as a counter to upstart American professional wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling, LLC (AEW), which launched on 1 January. AEW has already scored a TV deal with TNT and its television debut is reportedly scheduled for October.
AEW’s inception was announced by entrepreneurs Shahid Khan and his son Tony, with the former acting as the promotion’s lead investor, and the latter being the founder, president and CEO of the company.
With more than 30 years of experience in the sports entertainment industry, Heyman served as president of ECW from 1993-2001, securing pay-per-view distribution for the company as well as a national cable television deal with TNN. After his time with ECW, Heyman joined WWE’s creative team and is widely credited with helping launch the careers of many current and former WWE superstars.
Bischoff is a former WCW president and New York Times bestselling author. During his WCW career, Bischoff oversaw the signing of some of the biggest names in sports entertainment and helped create and develop the NWO storyline. He was also instrumental in securing a television deal for WCW Monday Nitro on TNT and WCW Thunder on TBS. After WCW, Bischoff co-founded Bischoff-Hervey Entertainment, a production company that launched TV reality shows and mobile games.
