Tag: Bruce Prichard

Bruce Prichard Assumes WWE Talent Relations Role, John Laurinaitis Placed On Leave [Report]

Bruce Prichard is reportedly filling in for John Laurinaitis, who has been placed on leave while the WWE board conducts its investigation.

As its board conducts an internal investigation into alleged hush payments, WWE has implemented a few personnel changes. As reported, Vince McMahon recently stepped aside as CEO and was replaced by his daughter Stephanie, now the company’s interim CEO and chairwoman. Another boardroom move was reportedly initiated on the evening of Monday, June 20, when Bruce Prichard was announced as WWE’s Interim Head of Talent Relations.

Per PW Insider, a Prichard will assume the role previously occupied by John Laurinaitis, who has been placed on “administrative leave”. The move was reportedly announced via an email to WWE personnel, which stated that Laurinaitis would not be on the road with WWE “pending the conclusion of our Board of Directors’ internal investigation.”

Prichard is also a Senior Vice President of WWE and serves as the Executive Director of both Raw and SmackDown.

On Wednesday, June 15 the Wall Street Journal dropped a bombshell story that claims WWE’s board received an email containing details of a workplace affair McMahon conducted with a now-former WWE paralegal and the subsequent payments made in exchange for the unknown person’s silence.

The email alleges that the female paralegal was initially hired on a salary of $100,000 per year, but her salary was doubled after she began a sexual relationship with McMahon. Allegedly, when McMahon ended the relationship with the former WWE employee, he “gave her like a toy” to the company’s general manager of talent relations John Laurinaitis.

Vince McMahon & Bruce Prichard To Take Over Production Of NXT

It’s being rumored that Vince McMahon and Bruce Prichard will be taking charge of NXT production soon. The show admittedly needs a bit of sprucing up and it appears a full rebrand is on the way, with a logo change already placed on exhibit.

However, according to Bryan Alvarez of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, people at WWE are telling him that the new NXT will be produced by McMahon and Prichard.

“Like anything, anything can change, anything is possible but I talked a while ago about how we’re gonna have a new NXT. It’s gonna be like the old NXT. I have heard from several people now that when they go back to live shows, this is going to be a Vince McMahon-Bruce Prichard production,” Alvarez was quoted as saying by WrestlingNews.co.

It was previously reported that the show is set to undergo a full overhaul. The new logo gives credence on that front and there’s also some new music from artist Wale. When the show goes live on September 14, in two weeks’ time, fans will be treated to a new WWE Performance Center, with the lighting and colors all different. This is understood to be a result of McMahon’s insistence on moving away from the dark theme. It’s also being reported that there will be talent changes too, with the company now poised to hire younger talent and fewer indie wrestlers.

Per Alvarez, people have been speculating for years with claims McMahon had influence on the show but that was never the case, as it will be moving forward.

In regards to possible changes for the NXT roster, Meltzer noted that there is a chopping block involving names that have been in NXT for a long time. It was reported last month that NXT would focus more on younger and taller wrestlers with a focus more on developmental.

In an update, @Wrestlevotes reports that their sources say the day-to-day operation of NXT won’t be changing drastically, and that it’s still very much in the hands of Triple H, Shawn Michaels, William Regal, Matt Bloom and others.

It was also noted that the look of the weekly NXT TV produce will have a “Vince & Co.” stamp on it.

The news of McMahon and Prichard producing the weekly NXT show led to “#RIPNXT” trending worldwide on Twitter over the last 24 hours.

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1431419478609379337

Sources: TheSportster and Wrestling Inc.

Paul Heyman No Longer Executive Director Of Raw, Bruce Prichard To Lead Team For Both Shows

WWE has confirmed their creative teams from Raw and SmackDown have been consolidated into one group which will be led by Bruce Prichard.

According to a statement from WWE:

“In an effort to streamline our creative writing process for television, we have consolidated both teams from Raw and SmackDown into one group, led by Bruce Prichard. Paul Heyman will concentrate on his role as an in-ring performer.”

As you’ll recall, Heyman was made the Executive Director of Raw in June of 2019. Eric Bischoff was hired to be the Executive Director of SmackDown as well, but that didn’t last long and he made his exit from the company months later in October. He was then replaced by Bruce Prichard.

Ratings for all the major wrestling shows have fallen drastically since the Coronavirus pandemic forced the promotions to hold tapings without real crowds. In February, the first full month before the pandemic, RAW averaged 2.29 million viewers (down 14% from an average of 2.67 million viewers in February of 2019). In May, the show averaged 1.77 million viewers, a drop of 23% from February and 24% from the 2.33 million viewers RAW averaged in May of last year. The past six weeks have featured five of the least watched episodes in the show’s history.

PWInsider reported that a source noted to them that Vince McMahon has recently been “very upset” and openly “frustrated” with Raw.

During the Q1 2020 investors call in late April, McMahon was asked why ratings have declined despite the company being the only live sports content on television during the pandemic. Even though SmackDown ratings have also suffered, McMahon claimed that SmackDown ratings had seen virtually no change, while RAW has suffered because of the new talent on the brand, who need time to get over.

“So there’s no audience and it’s a different show, a completely different show,” Vince said. “And I think we’re going to get there. While we may be able to take this negative and already turn it into somewhat of a positive, as far as ratings and what have you are concerned. SmackDown has virtually been no change, very little. RAW has suffered, but not necessarily because of the environment, it’s suffered because we bring in a lot of new talent and to RAW, and it takes a while to get these new talents over.

“We no longer have Brock Lesnar obviously, but we have a new champion and a lot of new performers coming in. So it takes a while. So that’s the reason, and how you use those performers in this story or that story or what have you. So, with new talent it’s just going to take a little while. I’m convinced though, that the RAW’s ratings are going to bounce back considerably.”

Sources: Pro Wrestling Sheet and Wrestling Inc.

Backstage Talk On Eric Bischoff’s WWE Departure And Future, SmackDown Creative, Bruce Prichard

As noted earlier at this link, WWE announced that Eric Bischoff is no longer with the company. Bruce Prichard has replaced him as the SmackDown Executive Director.

The firing of Bischoff was not a shock to people close to the situation in WWE, according to F4Wonline.com. The departure came earlier this morning. PWInsider adds that Bischoff was informed of the release after a SmackDown creative meeting at WWE HQ in Stamford, CT.

Regarding Prichard, WWE’s press release on the Executive Director change acknowledged that Prichard was hired to work the WWE creative team earlier this year, but it did not mention how he was also hired to work as Senior Vice President a month later. Bischoff was hired to be the blue brand Executive Director back in June when Paul Heyman was hired as the RAW Executive Director. Bischoff was to work closely with FOX network officials in heading up the blue brand. It was reported at the time that Prichard was the one who would acclimate Bischoff to the new role, and that Prichard was the one who pushed the hardest for WWE to hire Bischoff in the role.

It was reported today by Dave Meltzer that Prichard and SmackDown head writer Ed Koskey will be the main people in charge of the blue brand going forward. Prichard had been working with Bischoff up until today’s departure. John Pollock of POST Wrestling added that even with the the recent creative team splits between RAW and SmackDown, Prichard was one of the few that was still attending both shows.

There’s no word yet on if FOX officials had any influence when it came to WWE firing Bischoff. Meltzer noted on Twitter that FOX originally wanted Heyman to work as the Executive Director of SmackDown. There’s no word yet on why WWE went with Heyman for RAW and Bischoff for SmackDown.

Regarding Bischoff’s future, there’s also no word yet on what Bischoff has planned. PWInsider noted that Bischoff likely does not have the standard 90-day non-compete clause in his contract because he was an executive, not a talent, and he could appear in another promotion if he wanted. We noted before that Bischoff and his family recently moved from their property in Wyoming to live in Connecticut so he could be close to WWE HQ. It’s unknown if they still have property there, or if they plan on staying in Connecticut.

It was noted by Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer Live that some people in the company saw Bischoff’s release coming. Morale had been down for a while but it reportedly took a bigger hit on October 1 when the changes were being made. According to Alvarez, there’s been a belief among some in WWE, including Vince McMahon, that going to FOX and making other changes would bring this new “boom period” for the company but the feeling among some is that reality has set in, and they see that this “boom period” kickoff isn’t happening.

It was also reported by Alvarez on WOL that a lot of people didn’t like working under Bischoff, and that some of the people who did work under him wanted to quit. Bischoff was allegedly hard to get in touch with and often hard to find backstage. Alvarez said he had heard that Bischoff barely did anything and was often seen in catering. Some people who talked weren’t even sure what Bischoff was doing at times. Bischoff’s critics also alleged that he didn’t really know anyone and wasn’t familiar with the talents, and that he didn’t go out of his way to learn. Bischoff had noted in media interviews after being hired that he was spending some time to get familiar with the product and the roster, admitting that he wasn’t fully caught up with everything. Alvarez said he always heard “zero good things” about Bischoff, at least from his sources, and that there was always a lot of negative talk. Alvarez also noted that his sources recalled how Bischoff would show up for meetings and then “vanish” with people not being able to find him. We don’t know if Bischoff was off handling other company business, but it’s possible. Alvarez also talked about how he would ask who was running the show if Bischoff was nowhere to be found, and they would name Prichard. With that said, it’s believed that there will be no drastic creative changes now that Prichard is taking the role because he’s been handling some of those duties.

Back when Bischoff was first hired, it was believed by some that he was largely being hired as a scapegoat, and they speculated that he would be fired when something went wrong. It was speculated that the SmackDown ratings may have led to Bischoff’s departure but that’s unlikely for a few reasons. SmackDown has only been on FOX for two weeks and it was expected that the second week would be down from the premiere because the premiere was also billed as a nostalgia show for the 20th Anniversary, and there are almost always drops in viewership following those events. As we’ve noted, the FOX premiere drew an average of 3.888 million viewers while Friday’s Draft episode averaged 2.877 million viewers.

There are rumors of more releases and shake-up-related releases possibly coming soon, according to WOL, but this has not been confirmed. Stay tuned for more updates on Bischoff’s departure and future, and any other changes that are made.

Bischoff took to Twitter and commented on Bruce taking over the gig.

“Bruce is a great producer, good friend and I am certain he is going to thrive in his position. He’s going to be working with a great team of the most dedicated and hard working people I have had the pleasure of working with and getting to know,” Bischoff wrote in the tweet seen below.

https://twitter.com/EBischoff/status/1184193985952268288

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Eric Bischoff Replaced By Bruce Prichard As Executive Director Of WWE Friday Night SmackDown

WWE announced that Bruce Prichard will replace Eric Bischoff as the Executive Director of WWE Friday Night SmackDown. Prichard will report 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.

WWE had named Bischoff as the Executive Director of WWE SmackDown this past June, while also appointing Paul Heyman as the Executive Director of WWE RAW. There had been reports over recent months about Bischoff not being heavily involved with the SmackDown creative process.

WWE released following press release regarding Prichard replacing Bischoff:

WWE® NAMES BRUCE PRICHARD EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF SMACKDOWN®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.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Bruce Prichard Reportedly Not Heading WWE Creative Team

As previously reported, Bruce Prichard transitioned into a new, full-time creative role with WWE prior to last week’s episode of RAW.

On the latest Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer further elaborated on Prichard’s backstage role, explaining that there is yet to be a defined position for Prichard as he settles in to this full-time spot within the company. Meltzer noted that Prichard is technically not on the writing team, although he’s involved in the process.

Although he may not be Vince’s “right-hand man” as initially believed, Prichard is said to still be a key guy involved in the overall creative process and his opinions will be weighed as such. Michael Hayes, David Kapoor, Ed Koskey, and Brian James were named as a few of the people who will apparently be higher up on the chain of command than Prichard.

On a recent edition of his Something To Wrestle podcast, Prichard personally went in to detail about returning to the WWE creative team. For now, Prichard is looking forward to distinguishing where he will best fit in today’s modern world of pro wrestling.

“I’m not being coy, but a lot still needs to be worked out as far as what my role will be,” Prichard explained. “I’m going to come back and help out wherever I can be most valuable. We’re working through it, we’re figuring out where I might fit best, and how, and what, and why, and everything else. It’s something that happened pretty quickly with me going to TV.

“A lot has changed in 10 years. I have to see where I fit in and they have to see where I fit in,” Prichard continued. “There’s still a lot of questions to be answered…We’re going to figure out what it’s going to be, where it’s going to be and all of that good stuff. All those questions are still to be answered. We’re working our way through it. We’re going to experiment with some things and have some fun and see where we go.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage News On WWE’s Recent Hiring Of Bruce Prichard

Image result for Backstage News On WWE's Recent Hiring Of Bruce Prichard

Bruce Prichard is set to return to the WWE in a top, full-time position as part of the company’s creative team.

Prichard has actually been traveling with WWE and working as a backstage consultant since January of this year, according to Dave Meltzer on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio. It is believed that the deal to advance Prichard in to his current, new role within the company was finalized this past Friday.

Apparently, the idea of bringing Prichard back to the creative team in a full-time position was first mentioned early last week. It was instantly well received and the idea gained enough momentum by the weekend that Prichard will now reportedly be Vince’s right-hand man and a “very key guy” to the creative functions in WWE.

Tonight’s WWE RAW from Atlanta, GA marks the first show that Prichard will be working directly with Vince McMahon. Already advertised for tonight’s RAW is Ric Flair’s 70th Birthday Celebration and the anticipated return of former WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns.

Along with Prichard, WWE has had an influx of new hires backstage, including Steve Corino, “Hurricane” Shane Helms, Sonjay Dutt, Shawn Daivari, Impact Wrestling Hall of Famer “Abyss” Chris Parks and WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett.

Source: Wrestling Inc

Bruce Prichard Appears At Impact Wrestling Taping … Says The Name TNA Is Dead

Something to Wrestle host Bruce Prichard made his anticipated return to Impact Wrestling at their TV tapings on Thursday … and he informed the crowd that the name TNA is dead.

Prichard had inked a deal with Impact for both an on-air and backstage role, which began with last night’s appearance.

According to those in attendance … Bruce said Impact had hope a few years ago, but TNA as a name is now dead, so the company will only be known as Impact Wrestling going forward.

For everyone asking, his podcast isn’t going anywhere — he’s already let that be known.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

Bruce Prichard Hired By Impact Wrestling For On-Air And Backstage Role

Image result for Bruce Prichard TNA

Pro Wrestling Sheet reports that Bruce Prichard has been hired by TNA Impact Wrestling for a backstage role as well as a on-air role.

PSW reports that Prichard will be be flying to Orlando for the Impact tapings this week to appear in an on-air role, as well as work in an advisory position behind the scenes.

It’s unclear what Prichard’s on-air role will be at this point, but PSW was told the huge numbers his podcast has been receiving were partly the reason for bringing him back.