There has already been a changing of the guard at Smackdown. Back in June, it was announced former WCW president Eric Bischoff had been hired by WWE to be executive director of WWE's blue brand. Now, Bischoff is out and WWE is replacing him with Bruce Prichard.

　　WWE has announced in a press release that Prichard will be replacing Bischoff in the role. Prichard will "oversee the creative development" of Smackdown and report directly to Vince McMahon, Chairman and CEO of WWE. The move comes two episodes into Smackdown's run on Fox. While the network premiere of the series boasted big ratings, the second installment--which featured night one of the WWE draft and Bayley battling Charlotte for the Smackdown Women's Championship--shed nearly 25% of its total viewers.

　　You need a javascript enabled browser to watch videos.

　　Click To Unmute

　　Thompson: The Pop Culture Icon’s Strange Legacy - Loadout

　　Firearms Expert’s FAVORITE Weapons Of 2023State Of Gaming Handhelds In 2023How Lies of P Cracked the Souls GenreLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Ichiban Kasuga Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Chitose Fujinomiya Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Saeko Mukoda Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Eric Tomizawa Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Kazuma Kiryu Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Seonhee Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Koichi Adachi Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Yu Nanba Character Spotlight Trailer

　　Share

　　LinkEmbed

　　Size:640 × 360480 × 270

　　Start at: End at: Autoplay Loop

　　Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?

　　Sign up or Sign in now!

　　Please use a html5 video capable browser to watch videos.

　　This video has an invalid file format.

　　00:00:00

　　HTML5

　　Auto HD High Low

　　Report a problem

　　Sorry, but you can't access this content!

Please enter your date of birth to view this video

　　By clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's

　　Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

　　enter

　　Now Playing: WWE 2K20 - Seth Rollins Vs. The Fiend | Hell In The Cell Gameplay

　　Now, WWE is betting on Prichard to carry the show forward. The press release notes he "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."

　　In addition to his time in WWE, Prichard has also worked extensively with Impact Wrestling, and Major League Wrestling. Since returning to WWE in 2018, he hosted a show on the WWE Network, in addition to rejoining the creative team.

　　Reacting to the news on Twitter, Bischoff wrote, "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."

　　As of the publishing of this story, Prichard has not commented publicly on the announcement. However, WWE has confirmed to GameSpot that Bischoff is no longer with the company.

　　Update: Story was edited to include Eric Bischoff's statement.