Bruce Prichard has replaced Eric Bischoff as Executive Director of Friday Night SmackDown, the company has announced.
“Prichard will oversee the creative development of Friday Night SmackDown on FOX and ensure integration across all platforms and lines of business, replacing Eric Bischoff,” WWE’s statement reads.
Prichard has worked for WWE on and off since the 1980s, and most recently rejoined the company in February as Senior Vice President. He also regularly appeared on screen in the early 1990s as the character Brother Love.
Eric Bischoff was hired as Executive Director of SmackDown in June, as a counterpart to Paul Heyman, who was named as Director of Raw. However, while Heyman has reportedly been very hands on since his promotion, Eric Bischoff has reportedly had very little impact on the SmackDown product. Now, just two weeks into the WWE/Fox partnership where Bischoff was reportedly going to be an integral part, his is apparently on his way out the door.
Coincidentally, both Prichard and Bischoff have successful wrestling podcasts alongside co-host Conrad Thompson, “Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard” and “83 Weeks” respectively.
Read WWE’s full press release below:
Stamford, Conn., October 15, 2019 – WWE (NYSE: WWE) today announced that it has named Bruce Prichard the Executive Director of Friday Night SmackDown, reporting directly to WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon.
Prichard will oversee the creative development of Friday Night SmackDown on FOX and ensure integration across all platforms and lines of business, replacing Eric Bischoff.
Prichard brings nearly 40 years of experience in sports entertainment with an extensive background in character development and creative storytelling. Over the course of his career, Prichard has served in a variety of roles including announcer, producer, agent and on-screen personality. Earlier this year, Prichard returned to WWE as a member of the company’s creative team.
Friday Night SmackDown airs at 8 pm ET/PT on FOX.
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