SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
If there were any thoughts Eric Bischoff was hired as Executive Director of Smackdown Live to work behind the scenes and not play an on-air role, those thoughts were wiped out with today’s advertisement for tickets for his first Smackdown in San Antonio, Tex. next week.
The ad features Bischoff front and center, surrounded by Bayley, Finn Balor, Dolph Ziggler, Randy Orton, Charlotte Flair, and Kofi Kingston. The ad reads: “See what Eric Bischoff has in store for Smackdown Live!”
They are also advertising Kofi vs. Dolph for the WWE Title and Becky vs. Charlotte for the Smackdown Title.
Yesterday, WWE announced Bischoff will be the new executive director of Raw, a new position within the creative hierarchy. This ad suggests if Bischoff has actual power behind the scenes to enact real change in the presentation of the show, he will also be utilized as an on-air character.
Here is a 90 second snippet of Bischoff telling me in 2009 what he felt was wrong (and fixable) about Vince McMahon’s approach to presenting his product… (NOTE: This interview is currently being edited and prepped to be posted on the VIP Podcast Feed this weekend in two installments over two hours each.)
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Listen to Keller’s entire 4.5 hour interview w/Bischoff from 2009
You can hear a 4.5 hour interview I conducted with Eric Bischoff ten years ago in the summer of 2009 where he marched through his entire career, with a focus on the highs and lows of his time running WCW and also his transition to WWE as a character. He spoke openly about his thoughts on Vince McMahon after getting to work with him behind the scenes in WWE after years competing with him. We are offering a special VIP membership price this week for those who want to dive into our in-depth analysis of the Bischoff and Heyman hires with over two hours of podcast analysis focused on that topic yesterday, plus our exclusive coverage of ROH Best in the World and AEW Fyter Fest this weekend along with all other VIP features. Check us out for 99 cents for a full month of access. For details, CLICK HERE.
[Thanks to PWTorch reader Jason Embry for sending us the ad]
What Smackdown needs, two hours straight of Bischoff and Hogan (not)!!!!!! Maybe Eric will fire Shane McMahon? That would help immensely!!!
Eric has demonstrated a lot of introspection and maturation over the years. He also has a solid business mind, and is an articulate communicator. It will be interesting to see what he does — and how much power they give him.
Presenting him as a face authority figure would be an interesting wrinkle.
Hopefully it won’t just be a reprise of the cocky general manager persona, which has been done (and overdone) before.