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What's the story?
The pro wrestling world was rocked this week when WWE announced that Brock Lesnar's advocate, Paul Heyman, has been named the new Executive Director of the company's flagship show, Monday Night Raw.
In what many fans considered to be even more shocking news, the company named former WCW Executive Producer and WWE on-air talent, Eric Bischoff, the Executive Director of Smackdown Live as the blue brand prepares to debut on FOX this coming October.
Following the breaking news, the lingering question has been, when will Heyman and Bischoff begin their new roles in WWE? The answer is mid-July.
In case you didn't know...
Paul Heyman is no stranger to WWE or its fans. The brains behind ECW has been the on-screen advocate of former WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar for years, and Heyman has also contributed creative ideas in the past for angles involving The Beast, Alexa Bliss, and former WWE Raw Women's Champion Ronda Rousey.
Eric Bischoff is known for sparking the Monday Night Wars back in the late 1990s when Bischoff's WCW Monday Nitro show battled WWE Raw on Monday nights and featured the phenomenon known as the NWO.
Bischoff's experience in dealing with network producers during his time in WCW made him an attractive candidate for the role of Smackdown Live's Executive Director as WWE readies itself for one of its biggest partnerships to date with FOX.
The heart of the matter
According to the most recent issue of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff are expected to begin their new roles in WWE "imminently", with mid-July rumored to be the start date for both men.
WWE's next big event is the annual Extreme Rules PPV, and it takes place on July 14th, however as of this writing it remains unknown whether or not Heyman or Bischoff will be working on the show in a creative capacity.
What's next?
"What's next" is indeed the major, looming question surrounding Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff's new roles in WWE, as fans question how much real control the two men will have over their respective brands given they will report to Vince McMahon, who always has the final say when it comes to WWE creative.
With Brock Lesnar as the current Money in the Bank contract holder, it's all but guaranteed that Heyman will have a major hand in The Beast's creative direction in the coming months, but it remains to be seen when Eric Bischoff will begin to leave his mark on the current WWE product.
How do you feel about Eric Bischoff and Paul Heyman's promotions in WWE? Will it help the current TV product or hurt it?
