WWE Rumors: Real Reason Why Vince McMahon Fired Paul Heyman Revealed

WWE confirmed that Paul Heyman had been relinquished of his duties as the executive director of Monday Night Raw on Thursday. While the announcement states that he was let go because the company is consolidating the creative teams of Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown, other factors reportedly played a part in Heyman’s dismissal.

According to WrestlingNews.co‘s Paul Davis, Vince McMahon fired Heyman due to his frustration with Monday Night Raw‘s ratings in recent months. While Friday Night SmackDown‘s viewership hasn’t fared much better, McMahon is reportedly much more invested in the red brand’s weekly show, which made Heyman’s job more difficult.

Heyman is the second person to be fired from this position. Back in 2019, Eric Bischoff was released from his position as the Friday Night SmackDown executive director because McMahon wasn’t happy with overall performance.

The report states that Heyman tried to implement some of his own ideas into the show while simultaneously keeping McMahon happy. However, both men had different ideas a lot of the time, meaning that they struggled to find common ground in regards to the show’s creative vision.

Bruce Prichard will now oversee the creative teams on both brands, though he will still have to answer to McMahon. However, Davis states that the decision to keep Prichard on board ahead of Heyman is because their ideas are similar. Prichard has been one of McMahon’s most frequent collaborators for decades, and he has a better understanding of what the WWE chairman wants to project.

According to Davis, the current storyline involving Sheamus and Jeff Hardy on the blue brand is a prime example of Prichard and McMahon’s shared taste. The angle, which has revolved around Hardy’s addiction issues, will reportedly feature a controversial segment on this week’s episode that recycles elements from an older WWE storyline that centered around a superstar’s personal issues.

Heyman, on the other hand, has his own ideas. He previously ran his own wrestling company in the form of Extreme Championship Wrestling, and he was fired from his position as the head booker of SmackDown in the early 2000s after clashing with McMahon over creative differences.

Heyman will no longer work behind-the-scenes in WWE, but the company has retained his services as an on-air personality. He’ll undoubtedly return to television screens once Brock Lesnar is booked for his next appearance.

The report also notes that McMahon is frustrated with NXT‘s ratings, though he doesn’t plan on overhauling the show’s creative team.