Eric Bischoff’s tenure with WWE atop “SmackDown” was short-lived.
The former WCW president was replaced by longtime Vince McMahon lieutenant Bruce Prichard as executive director of “Friday Night SmackDown,” WWE announced Tuesday. Bischoff is “no longer with the company.”
Prichard has been in the wrestling business for nearly 40 years and has been a vital part of the creative team since coming back to WWE in late February. He will report directly to McMahon and will “oversee the creative development of ‘Friday Night SmackDown’ across all platforms and lines of business.”
Bischoff was hired as executive director of “SmackDown” in June, and Paul Heyman was given the same position for “Monday Night Raw” at the time. Bischoff moved from his home in Cody, Wyo., to Stamford, Conn., because of the commitment the job would entail.
“Bruce is a great producer, good friend and I am certain he is going to thrive in his position,” Bischoff tweeted on Tuesday. “He’s going to be working with a great team of the most dedicated and hard working people I have had the pleasure of working with and getting to know.”
After taking the position, Bischoff admitted he was not familiar with WWE’s current product and said it would take some time for him to have influence over creative on “SmackDown.” There was also a report from the Wrestling Observer in July that Bischoff’s role would most likely be to “interface with the various departments in the company [WWE] and Fox” and be less focused on creative. Bischoff has extensive experience producing television.
Bischoff admitted last week during his “83 Weeks” podcast with Conrad Thompson that the lead-up to the debut of “SmackDown” on Fox took a small toll on him.
“It was a hell of a week, it was a hell of a show, but it took a little out of me, I have to be honest about it,” Bischoff said on the podcast.
It will be interesting to see what’s next for Bischoff and how “SmackDown” evolves with Prichard in charge.