Bruce Prichard Explains How Eric Bischoff Was Hired As Smackdown Executive Director

On the latest episode of Something To Wrestle With, Bruce Prichard talked about the circumstances surrounding Eric Bischoff’s hiring and subsequent firing as the Executive Director of Smackdown in 2019. Prichard confirmed that he facilitated the initial conversation between Bischoff and Vince McMahon.

Prichard explained that Fox executives wanted a specific point person for creative as SmackDown prepared to move to the network. You can check out some highlights below:

On Bringing Him In:

“Well look, Eric was looking for something to do, and Eric asked me if there was anything for him to do here. And all I did was open the door for Vince and Eric to have discussions and for them to talk. In the midst of all of this, the idea of being — you know, going live on Monday and then live on Friday, that was going to shake up the very foundation of how we produce television. Because we had been doing it Monday to Tuesday. So Monday night was Raw, Tuesday night was Smackdown. And in doing so, there needed to be less overlap and less ‘all hands on deck.’ We needed separate teams just by virtue of the way that television was going to change how it was written and how it was produced.”

On Fox Wanting a Point Person:

“So the folks at Fox wanted to have a point person. They wanted to have a point person on creative that they could talk to, and that they could discuss ideas with, and that could help guide them as to what’s coming. What they can look forward to, as far as promotions and things of that nature. So that was the germ of it, but all I did was say, ‘Hey, Eric Bischoff is looking for something to do. Would you be willing to talk to him?’ The answer was yes, they talked. And that was Vince’s decision.”

On His Involvement:

“Did I have input in it? I had input by putting them together. Did I discuss with Vince how the tapings could work and how we could create two completely separate teams? Yeah, we discussed it. But it was his call, and it was born out of the Fox folks really wanting to have someone specific. And then Chris McCumber on the NBC side, NBCU, he wanted the same thing.

“So there was an opportunity there to create. The position was created out of air. It was, ‘Okay, we have this person. What are they?’ ‘They’re not the executive producer.’ ‘Alright, then what are they?’ ‘They are in charge of the creative team for the respective shows, and they’ll be an executive director.’ So that’s how the title came about. In reality, they were executive vice presidents and executive directors. So that was the germ of it.”

On the Pairing of Bischoff & McMahon:

“I think there was oil and water. I really do. I think oil and water and basic philosophy, and also in structure. So you know, it just happens sometimes. Because you look at what Eric has done, post [with RAF]. He’s got us hit on his hands, and good for him. And he built that. And that’s something that he can point to and say, ‘Okay, I did this.’ I think it was just oil and water; wrong place, wrong time. And I don’t know that the structure and environment of what our company is and what it has become is — its tough to teach an old dog new tricks. Trust me, I know. Very, very difficult for me to learn new tricks.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Something To Wrestle With an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.