More on Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff Being Hired as Executive Directors of Raw and SmackDown

As noted before, WWE announced that Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff were recently hired as the Executive Directors for RAW and SmackDown Live, respectively. WWE also announced that these are newly created positions within the company and in terms of hierarchy, both will be reporting directly to Vince McMahon on all matters related to creative.

In regards to when Heyman and Bischoff will begin their duties as Executive Directors for their respective brands, there have been conflicting reports with Dave Meltzer reporting that both will be starting by mid-July. Pro Wrestling Sheet’s Ryan Satin reported that instead it will be a much slower process before they are actually given full creative control over their brands.

FOX executives reportedly were caught off guard with this announcement, according to the Wrestling Observer Radio. Meltzer reported that FOX executives preferred having Paul Heyman run SmackDown had WWE given them the choice beforehand.

Meltzer also reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that former TNA employees currently working in WWE were also caught by surprise from the Bischoff announcement. The current feeling from them was that when Bischoff held a similar role in TNA, it was a big disaster for the company.

WWE’s locker room reportedly were similarly caught by surprise, according to Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp. Sapp reported that several wrestlers questioned why Triple H was not picked for one of the roles and at least two others were pessimistic about the new changes due to Vince still being in charge, “so that’s all you really need to know.”

In regards to Triple H, Fightful debunked recent rumors that Triple H had turned down the offer to directly run one of the main brands in order to focus more on the NXT brand and its future.