WWE Rumors: Vince McMahon brought in Brock Lesnar over Eric Bischoff’s head (Exclusive)
Sources within the WWE have explained that Brock Lesnar’s arrival on SmackDown Live and subsequent title shot was a late choice by Vince McMahon and contrary to Eric Bischoff’s original plans as Executive Director.
With SmackDown Live moving to Fox on Fridays in the coming weeks, a lot of fans were surprised to see Brock Lesnar arriving on SmackDown Live this past Tuesday to announce his intent to challenge for the WWE Championship at their debut show. Lesnar has not only been a Raw talent for the duration of the current brand split but he also hasn’t wrestled a match on Raw or SmackDown since leaving the company in 2004.
The segment itself was apparently scripted by Paul Heyman. This would make sense given that Heyman did most of the talking but it is very telling given that Paul Heyman is the Executive Director of Monday Night Raw rather than SmackDown Live.
While several sources confirmed this, one chose to elaborate, stating that while Eric Bischoff was aware that Brock Lesnar would be making his appearance, there has been a late scramble to put the necessary planning and storyline in place. Bischoff apparently did not request to have Brock appear and was beholden to Vince McMahon’s decision.
Another source made it clear that multiple script options have been quickly put together for whatever long term storyline comes next for Kofi Kingston – champion or not.
Question marks remain over Eric Bischoff’s particular role in the company. Rumors abound that the two Executive Directors of Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live do not have the same role or the same responsibilities despite having the same title. With McMahon and Heyman making roster and scripting choices, this would seem to confirm that Bischoff’s involvement will be more limited than that of his peers.
It remains to be seen how long Brock’s return will last, championship or not. Personally, I can only hope that Eric Bischoff is eventually able to do the job he was hired for without last-minute script changes and Superstars he has nothing written for.