Eric Bischoff Changes Stance On WWE GM Role, Could Return As ‘SmackDown’ GM
It was previously thought that Stephanie McMahon would be the general manager of Raw and that Shane McMahon would be the general manager of SmackDown, but on Monday’s Raw, we found out that Shane and Stephanie would be the commissioners of their respective shows, and they would have to hire their show’s GM on next week’s Raw show.
Several former general managers have appeared on Raw over the last couple of weeks, but Eric Bischoff, who was arguably the best one of them all, hasn’t appeared. That led a ton of people to believe that the one-time Raw general manager will be named as the GM of one of the shows following next week’s draft.
When he was asked on Twitter about a possible WWE return, Bischoff shot down the idea. However, when he was asked again just a few days later, he had a very different response, which led people to believe that he may be revealed as the general manager of SmackDown on next week’s Raw show.
Bischoff was the general manager of Raw when the first brand split happened in 2002. His run as the show’s GM lasted until 2005, and WWE fans have been eager to see him back with the company ever since he and TNA parted ways.
WWE has produced a ton of Eric Bischoff-related programming for the WWE Network over the last year, including a documentary DVD, a one-on-one interview with John “Bradshaw” Layfield, and an original special that counted down Bischoff’s top 10 most controversial moments, where Bischoff teased a WWE return following the conclusion of his list.
Most are assuming that Stephanie McMahon will name Triple H as Raw’s general manager, but as for who the SmackDown general manager will be, that’s a bit more of a mystery.
It’s been a little over 10 years since we’ve seen Bischoff on WWE television, and it does seem like he’s on good terms with the company, so we may end up seeing the former WCW President on next week’s Raw show. But, then again, we may not.
Over the weekend, Bischoff realized that his previous tweet was giving people the impression that he’d be returning to WWE in the near future, so he posted another tweet explaining he wouldn’t be returning as a general manager for either show and that he’s just a fan.
Of course, some people may look at this tweet as a “swerve,” and it very well could be. As of this writing, there haven’t been any reports that WWE has been talking with Bischoff about a comeback, but that doesn’t mean the two sides haven’t been in contact about the possibility of a comeback. Plus, Bischoff’s WWE debut back in 2002 was something that no one saw coming, so the element of surprise may once again be used for Bischoff’s return.
Bischoff has said in the past that he’d be interested in returning to WWE if they made the right offer. But, as of right now, it doesn’t look like they’ve made him any offers at all.
Will Eric Bischoff be named as SmackDown’s general manager on next week’s Raw? It’s possible, and there’s really no other name that’s been floated around for the role. The good thing is that we won’t have to wait all that long to find out, because the Raw and SmackDown general managers will be named in just six days on the July 18 edition of Monday Night Raw.
[Image via WWE]
