Pros and Cons of Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff Taking over WWE Raw and SmackDown

WWE shocked the world when it announced Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff would be returning to the company to run Raw and SmackDown, respectively.

Heyman has been working with WWE for years as Brock Lesnar's manager, but he hasn't served in a creative role since 2006.

As for Bischoff, his last appearance as a contracted talent happened at the Raw 15th anniversary show in 2007. He has appeared since then at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony in 2017 to induct Diamond Dallas Page and at the Raw 25th anniversary show on January 22, 2018. 

The last time Bischoff worked for a wrestling promotion in a creative capacity was in 2014 when he was still with TNA. 

These are two of the most successful and controversial men in the business. Let's take a look at the pros and cons of bringing them back into the fold. 

One thing Bischoff and Heyman have over almost everyone else backstage in WWE is experience running an entire promotion.

Having worked for the company in the past gives them an idea of how the corporate culture works, and their experience in managerial roles will help them deal with any backstage politics.

Experience isn't everything, but it is important when it comes to creating a successful television show. Having Heyman and Bischoff at the helm alongside Vince McMahon means WWE will have the three most successful promoters of the last 30 years under one roof.

Heyman ran ECW, which was arguably the third-most successful company operating in the late '90s. However, WWE ended up buying the company in 2001 and closing it down.

Bischoff oversaw WCW during its greatest period of growth and helped the company overtake WWE in the battle for ratings for well over a year.

His story ended in much the same way as Heyman's. WWE bought WCW in 2001 and shut it down so it could own its video library and all of its biggest Superstars.

Heyman was in charge of ECW until the end, but Bischoff was no longer the sole authority figure in WCW when WWE bought it. In fact, he was working on his own deal to buy the company before WWE swooped in with a bigger offer.

They might be two of the most experienced guys out there, but they also came up short when they tried to fight WWE.

WWE has been run by the same people for a long time. Members of the creative team and producers come and go, but the McMahon family and Triple H have been in charge of everything for decades.

Having Heyman and Bischoff working directly under McMahon is going to give them a lot of power, and that might lead to some fresh ideas being implemented.

They might be more open to taking ideas from the creative team, and they could try to use some of the same tactics they used when they were running ECW and WCW to bring back lapsed fans.

They won't have carte blanche to do what they like, but they will be in charge of WWE's two biggest brands. If they can help turn things around, WWE might be able to fix its recent ratings problem.

Bringing in two people such as Heyman and Bischoff is bound to create some controversy, and it could lead to a power struggle behind the curtain.

Part of what led to WCW's demise was having too many cooks in the kitchen. At different times, Bischoff, Vince Russo and AOL Time Warner executives were all trying to control the product.

Having McMahon, Triple H, Heyman, Bischoff and an entire team of creative writers trying to contribute ideas at the same time could lead to a lot of communication issues and jealousy.

There might be people in the company who have been there for years who feel like they should have been offered the chance to run Raw or SmackDown. 

Having different perspectives is great as long as everyone can work together.

Heyman and Bischoff have both achieved great success and suffered equal losses during their careers. Bringing them into the company at a time when it is struggling to maintain ratings and excite fans could be seen as either a brilliant or desperate move by management.

Only time will tell if they can turn the product around. Regardless of how much power they are given, everything they propose still has to get approval from McMahon.

We aren't going to see a return to the days of the Attitude Era or anything like that, but we could see certain aspects of the show change to appeal to a more mature audience.

Monday's Raw and Tuesday's SmackDown will be interesting to watch since it will be their first week running their respective shows. Let's hope everything goes well so WWE can start regaining some of the fans it has lost in recent years.

What do you think? Is bringing back Heyman and Bischoff a good idea or will it lead to disaster?