Earlier this month it was announced that after just two months in the role, Eric Bischoff had been fired as the Executive Director of Friday Night SmackDown, much the surprise of most fans.
However, WWE didn't waste any time in replacing him in the role, with Vince McMahon putting Bruce Prichard into the position, with the experienced booker having made his return to WWE in the past year.
While he had been working closely backstage with Vince McMahon on SmackDown, Prichard is now the man in charge of the blue brand, so what can we expect from the show while he is in control?
10 Greater Promo Control
Bruce Prichard has always been known for his excellent writing work and most WWE Superstars who have worked with him have spoken very highly of what he can do for the talents backstage.
One of the reasons for that is the fantastic promos that Prichard is able to create for the talent, with Bruce also allowing for the wrestlers to be creative and really express themselves.
With wrestlers being able to have greater control of their own characters, there should be an improvement in how each talent is able to develop their own individual characters.
9 Wackier Storylines
Because Bruce Prichard was heavily involved in wrestling during the Attitude Era, he certainly knows a thing or two about some of the stranger storylines that have taken place over the course of WWE's history.
While there is always a risk of things backfiring when you run a wacky storyline that is a little out of the ordinary, when they are done correctly they can be excellent and will be instantly memorable.
The fact WWE has put Bray Wyatt onto SmackDown where he will get to work closely with Prichard means that the chances for some wackier storylines are high.
8 Giving Big Names Featured Spots
This was going to be something that happened regardless of who was put in charge of SmackDown, whether it be Eric Bischoff, Bruce Prichard, or someone totally different, as this is WWE attempting to make the blue brand the new A show for the company.
With FOX putting a huge sum of money on the table to purchase WWE, it is crucial that WWE makes this partnership work and because of that, the company is certainly making a push for its main event stars to be on the show.
This is the main reason the likes of Sasha Banks, Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, and The Fiend are all on the blue brand, and Prichard will certainly have to push these stars as much as possible.
7 Pushing More Sports-Style Product
This is another change that FOX is likely going to have a hand in, but due to how serious FOX is taken as a sports network, the show is going to be focused and presented more like a serious sport.
This is something that might take some adjustment and is again not really in Bruce Prichard's firm control, but the company is definitely going to make things more sports-focused.
Fans can expect SmackDown to have a sporty edge, with some fantastic in-ring competition and wrestlers really having to earn their way to the top.
6 Strong Women's Division
While WWE, in general, is promoting women's wrestling, with the revolution continuing it has been clear that Bruce Prichard is going to highlight the women a lot, giving them plenty of segments already since he has taken over.
Prichard has pushed Bayley as one of the top stars of his show, with her heel turn and new character being one of the most exciting characters on the show each week, and it isn't just her getting featured.
The likes of Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, and Nikki Cross have all also been given major pushes as well, and that is going to help provide a great variety to the show each week.
5 Tag Team Wrestling
As well as pushing a strong women's division, Bruce Prichard should also bring a greater focus to the tag team division, especially since he was such a big part of the tag team wrestling scene during his original spell with the company.
Tag team wrestling has been hit and miss for WWE in recent years, with the company having a strong set of teams but seemingly no clue as to how to use them in engaging and entertaining ways.
Hopefully, now Prichard is at the helm, WWE can really start to focus and promote the division once again, with great talents like The Revival and New Day to work with.
4 Storyline Continuity
Considering all the time Bruce Prichard has spent talking about the wrestling company since his time with WWE came to an end originally, Prichard has had the benefit of seeing the product as a fan.
Because of that, Prichard should be making sure that those problems are addressed and not highlighted, and storyline continuity is one of those issues that wrestling fans do get frustrated about.
A lot of the time WWE doesn't remember things that happened just a few months before, but so far Prichard's shows haven't had that problem, in fact, it has been the opposite with the show really referencing past events.
3 Comedy
While SmackDown is certainly going to have a more serious and sports style tone, that doesn't mean there won't be a few fun moments thrown in as well, after all, that is what professional wrestling is supposed to be.
Bruce Prichard has been around the business for long enough to understand the need for a mix of a show, and while comedy isn't something that everyone is desperate to see featured heavily, it does have its place.
When the product is PG, there is an even bigger need for comedy in wrestling and Bruce Prichard is certainly going to feature that.
2 Major Matches
A lot of the times on SmackDown and Raw, WWE likes to keep the matches tame and instead build towards major matches at the upcoming PPV, and while that is the right business model, every now and then it's good to break that mould.
That is something that fans can expect from Bruce Prichard's shows, as we have already seen so far with big title matches being featured on the show as a way of drawing in eyeballs to the product.
While it won't be a massive title match every single week, Prichard's shows can be expected to be fun and have some fantastic wrestling on a weekly basis.
1 New Stars Pushed
Something WWE fans have been desperate to see for a long time now is new stars being created and pushed, rather than simply relying upon the same wrestlers week in and week out.
While major names like Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan are always going to be featured, and rightfully so, fans are already seeing new names and fresh faces being pushed in different ways.
People like Ali, Shorty G, and Drew Gulak have all been given plenty of screen time so far and that is just the beginning, which is exactly what fans had hoped for.