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Should you expect Eric Bischoff, or his fingerprints, on tonight’s SmackDown?

The short answer is no.

The longer answer is that there’s a possibility SmackDown’s recently announced Executive Director Eric Bischoff will appear on the July 2 edition from San Antonio. Sources like Wrestling Observer and PWInsider agree Bischoff will be on hand for the show at AT&T Center. Originally, there probably weren’t any plans for him to appear on-screen. He wasn’t even hired as a television performer, which his Monday night counterpart Paul Heyman already was. But since advertisements were sent out to fans in the area promoting this as his first show back, they may write him into the script.

As to whether or not this will be the first show of the Bischoff era, like the July 1 Raw was the first Heyman-influenced episode of the red brand? Almost certainly not. Unlike Heyman, Bischoff hasn’t been around contributing to the product, so Eric is starting from square one in a way Raw’s Executive Director was not.

Also, as the man himself said on the most recent edition of his 83 Weeks podcast, he’s not moving to Connecticut to start work until late next week. The first episode which takes place after he’s fully on-board is expected to be the July 16 Extreme Rules fallout show.

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