Paul Heyman & Eric Bischoff Reportedly Had Legitimate Trades For Talent During Creative Director Tenures
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 11: Professional wrestler advocate Paul Heyman speaks at a WWE news conference at T-Mobile Arena on October 11, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was announced that WWE wrestler Braun Strowman will face heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury and WWE champion Brock Lesnar will take on former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez at the WWE’s Crown Jewel event at Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on October 31. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Not every trade WWE announces was storyline based and this was reportedly the case for Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff as both began their runs as creative directors for RAW and SmackDown.
According to Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer, both Heyman and Bischoff made legitimate negotiations and trades for talent to help create their refreshed rosters. Meltzer notes that Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman being moved to SmackDown was one specific move made by Heyman in order to accrue the talents of Aleister Black, Zelina Vega, Charlotte Flair, Andrade and Buddy Murphy.
Heyman was relieved of his Creative Diretor duties last week and Eric Bischoff was let go back in October of last year. Both have been replaced by Bruce Prichard in their roles. This past Monday’s RAW was the first under Prichard and the show did happen to see a big viewership boost, the largest since the RAW after WrestleMania. The big numbers came from an increase in the over 50 demographic and teenage girls.
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