Key Reason For Paul Heyman & Eric Bischoff Becoming Executive Directors Of WWE Raw & SmackDown Live Reportedly Revealed
And it's not because the shows haven't been very good...
Last week, WWE announced the appointment of Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff as the Executive Directors of Raw and SmackDown Live respectively.
While the reason for this happening, on the surface at least, was down to poor weekly shows and dwindling ratings, it appears there is more to the appointments than meets the eye.
According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, a negative reaction from Wall Street (not Mike Rotunda but the actual Wall Street) has forced Vince McMahon's hand.
For the avoidance of any doubt, here's what the latest WON had to say: "The addition of Heyman and Bischoff comes for a variety of reasons and goes back several weeks. The key reasons were an expected negative reaction from Wall Street in the declining indicators of brand popularity, such as arena attendance, merchandise and WWE Network numbers based on the prior year.
"Even though WWE is completely idiot proof as far as being a profitable company through late 2024 due to its domestic television deals, the stock price is based on the idea the move of SmackDown to FOX will lead to a boom period where all business indicators will rise to much stronger levels.
"But the declines have led to questions being asked, particularly with the news of AEW getting a TNT television deal making then the most legitimate U.S. competition since probably 1999."
While the reason for this happening, on the surface at least, was down to poor weekly shows and dwindling ratings, it appears there is more to the appointments than meets the eye.
According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, a negative reaction from Wall Street (not Mike Rotunda but the actual Wall Street) has forced Vince McMahon's hand.
For the avoidance of any doubt, here's what the latest WON had to say: "The addition of Heyman and Bischoff comes for a variety of reasons and goes back several weeks. The key reasons were an expected negative reaction from Wall Street in the declining indicators of brand popularity, such as arena attendance, merchandise and WWE Network numbers based on the prior year.
"Even though WWE is completely idiot proof as far as being a profitable company through late 2024 due to its domestic television deals, the stock price is based on the idea the move of SmackDown to FOX will lead to a boom period where all business indicators will rise to much stronger levels.
"But the declines have led to questions being asked, particularly with the news of AEW getting a TNT television deal making then the most legitimate U.S. competition since probably 1999."
Written by Ross Tweddell
Written and video journalist for Cultaholic Wrestling | twitter: @rossonrasslin | instagram: @rossonrasslin
