June 27, 2019 seems like it was a long time ago now, but it was the day that WWE unveiled a blockbuster announcement regarding the futures of both Raw and SmackDown.

With Vince McMahon bringing back the XFL at the start of 2020, he needed other people to over-see the day-to-day running of both his primary brands.

And on that day in June, Raw and SmackDown had new Executive Directors named, who would report to McMahon - and they were none-other than Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff.

The pair battled head-to-head in the early 2000s when they were on-screen General Managers of the opposite brands, and they were both very-much involved in the Monday Night Wars of the 1990s, and it was a great surprise to see them both appointed by McMahon once again.

Whilst Heyman's creative influence looked to be slowly implemented on Monday nights in the last few months, Bischoff's input has been minimal.

In-fact, it was widely reported that Bischoff had nothing to do with SmackDown's creative side, and he was merely hired as a go-between for WWE and FOX.

Bischoff re-located to Stamford, Connecticut in July for the role, some 1,750 miles from his previous home in Wyoming, but it looks like he will be moving back - as he's been relinquished of his duties.

WWE released a statement yesterday stating that Bischoff had been replaced by Bruce Prichard, a man with 40 years experience in wrestling and was formerly Brother Love - manager of The Undertaker - in the early 1990s.

It was noted that Bischoff had simply been 'replaced', with no news on whether he was staying with WWE in a different role, but it was confirmed later in the evening that he was gone.

Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated has reported that McMahon decided to 'fire' Bischoff on Monday night, and he was told the next morning that he was no longer needed by the company.

Barrasso also stated that the firing was a response from McMahon to the ratings drop of SmackDown last week from its opening night on FOX.

The numbers dropped by almost one million viewers - from 3.87 million to 2.9 million - and Bischoff' removal is McMahon's way of showing stockholders that he is 'committed to the future success of SmackDown on FOX'.

We may end up getting the thoughts of Bischoff in the near future as to why his tenure back in WWE didn't work out, but it's a case of 'what could've been' if he was given creative control of the blue brand.