RAW General Manager: Mike Adamle

[Papa Shango]

Really, everyone needs to at least give this a chance. Who knows where this is going? Adamle has had a long, long, career.Clearly he knows a few things we aren't aware of. He may not have been very good on commentary, and we may never know whether he really was that bad or if it was all a genius ruse. But what I DO know is that he's been ol in pre-recorded segments. His appearence on The Dirt Sheet... legendary. His backtage vignettes with Cena... gold.
"What are you doin back here Mike?"
"Well, I only had one match to call tonight, and then I had to use the bathroom."

and my favorite...
"Here try this. JBL gave me some of this Mamajuana Juice, it works great. And remember, it's not because you need it *inexplicably does the"You can't see me" gesture and then whispers* It's because you want it."

Love it.

Really, I implore everyone to just give it a chance. Two weeks,give Adamle two weeks to win you over, one week even. Even if Adamle is a terrible heel, He's great for comedy. Everybody can serve a purpose, if you can just figure out how to use them properly. And at 300,000 a year, I think WWE owes to themselves to find a good use for Adamle. And we owe it, to the company that has entertained us for decades, to allow them a couple of weeks of our viewing time to see if they've found that purpose.

 

[T2KFreeker]

Well, here comes the pain! Seriously though, not overly excited about this, but I'll sit back and see what WWE has up their sleeves. Hopefully Adamle makes a better GM than he does as a comentator. Now hopefully we get Joey Styles back on ECW. It would make it worht it just for that alone.

 

[Kurt]

It's all in the master plan.Adamle played his part in acting like the horrible commentator.He draws heat that could cook cookies in the oven.The fans hate em',so give him a chance.

 

[Havocxx]

Adamle as GM is genius. I loved his commentary work because it was so terrible. It's like the 1960's style Batman with Adam West. It's completely horrid for a Batman show... yet it's somehow completely awesome for being that bad.

Prediction: Adamle is the one that attempted to kill Vince.

 

[myhighlander]

Prediction: Adamle is the one that attempted to kill Vince.

I was thinking the same exact thing.

I think it is a move of genius, being as that the "shake things up" theme seems to be carrying over, so why NOT this choice for GM? I've always believed his "botchiness" as an announcer was a ruse. He's just TOO good a journalist to be THAT bad. When Shane made the announcement, I laughed my ASS off. It was SOOOOOOOO out of left field, that it was PERFECT. Here I was expecting Ted Dibiase Sr., since Regal is the "best free agent" out there, I knew it wouldn't be him just yet. Has to repay his dues again I guess, plus he STILL is the reigning KOTR, remember? I further solidified my thinking with Dibiase, when the "switch" at the last minute was made. Trying to protect his son from any *cough*embarrassment*cough* by a stray 2x4. However, once MA was revealed, it all began to make sense. He's getting even with those that dissed him. JBL is next, for sure. I'm sensing JBL/KANE as to further punish JBL. That's when I got to thinking "hmm, maybe MIKE'S the one that tried to knock-off Mac...

guess we'll see where this leads, but I for one, think that the RAW roster will need to be walking on eggshells, lol!

ps...


*if you spam me for this then I'm @@#$@@# through with this place*

 

[sladetwc]

Mike Adamle is GM of Raw.

My first thought was exactly this:

What in the name of Jack Tunney and Gorilla Monsoon is going on here?

My second thought was this:

That clicking sound everyone hears now is the sound of the entire Raw audience hitting the "mute" button on their remotes at the exact moment that Adamle opens his mouth, every night, every time.

But, after having an entire evening to think about what WWE Creative has done, I think it's a smart move. It means that Adamle, in all of his "Jamaican me crazy" wisdom, can play WWE Fantasy. I mean, honestly, if JBL and Kane are facing at SummerSlam, and John Cena and Batista are facing, then that leaves the door that was unexpectedly wide open for the WHC to the newly un-Y2J'ed Jericho. And I am really excited about the prospects of that, being one of the few that remembers Chris Jericho as The Man of 1.004 Holds.

We'll see, but I'm not ready to stop watching Raw. I AM, however, ready to have Joey Styles step out from behind the computer and join ECW again. Who knows? With Adamle on Raw full-time now, it might even be tolerable to watch.

 

[Tastycles]

I'm going to give this time. At the moment, I'm indifferent. Adamle was beyond attrocious on commentry, and if this gets him off it, then I'm all for it. It isn't hard to make people hate you, no matter how bad you are on the mic, Vickie Guerrero has proven this week in week out. As a result, I'm going to give him a week or two to before I start clamouring for him to be sacked.

I think his modus operandi is going to be punishing all of the people who have dissed him in the past, and that isn't a bad place to start. If you remember, William Regal supported him during his reign of terror, so I expect to see William Regal be given a bit of a rub off of this appointment. Anyway, as I say, I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt for the time being.

 

[wwe93]

i have a feeling that theres gonna be a storyline where one or both of the McMahon kids are just usin adamle as a puppet and secretly running raw w/o vince knowing (when vince comes back)

 

[Frank the Frowner]

You guys gotta understand, you can't really knock Adamle too much on his commentating. He really improved over the last couple of months. He's started to get very comfortable with the product. Vince probably realizes that with Vickie Guerrero inexplicably turning face, and ECW having a full on face GM, Raw, the show he considers to be the flagship, needs a GM that can get booed before even coming out.

I'm really confused as to where things are going to go with the WWE Title though. It seemed like they were building towards Jericho vs. Punk last night, but with HBK apparently coming back to Raw next week, I'll bet anything they're going to finish off HBK/Jericho in some sort of specialty match. Adamle's going to be the heel, so he'll most likely pull the trigger on a Punk/Kane/JBL three-way.

I can't wait to see the complete turn he does on Kofi either. I have a feeling Kofi's not going to be Jamaican him crazy anymore.

 

[Darkshot77]

Mike Adamle may be one if the biggest, most subtle works the WWE has put on us in a while, he was bad enough at comentating that we hated him but he was not so bad that it was rediculous, he made it natural. When he came out he was smug like as if to say "Got ya" he fooled us all. While there were no cheeres for the Batista v. Cena match there were no boos of Adamle. The crowd was in shock. Admale won't cater to heels or faces he will simple do what he wants when he wants and no one can stop him, cause he is the GM. This is gonna be fun to watch

 

[Scott2530]

Like some on this thread have said he has played the bumbling idiot for a while now. I personally think the whole plan has been in the works for a while. Plus, if you remember earlier in the night the match between Rhodes/Dibiase and Lawler/Duggen was changed to Michael Cole by the new Raw GM. That means Adamle set Cole up to get his a$$ beat in that match. Then tried to play off that he was called to be there and didn't know why. People are so mad about him as GM that they failed to realize how conniving and evil he might really be. Like getting back at all the people how have called him an idiot or made fun of him. If they work this storyline correctly by making him seem like an idiot for a while longer and have the wrestlers show blatant dislike for him just to have him go on a rampage making crazy matches, it may be the best GM storyline since the heat Bischoff generated.

 

[Mr-excitement]

He is going to suck as GM. I mean really, what is the logic here? If there was another Monday Night Wrestling show on, I would watch it next week. I am not sure if I will even watch RAW next Monday.
Then again I am not shocked they made a bad choice, WWE creative is not that good to begin with - the Jericho return was botched and only now has picked up any steam, Fans endured months of Hornswoggle as McMahon's kid and still Cena is being shoved down fans throats. I haven't really been impressed over the last month - Shane and Stephanie calling for unity on a wrestling show is moronic, there is more comedy and talking than wrestling and then you have people hit by cars still competing in main events.

I could live with all of that but Mike A as GM really takes RAW to a low level, I mean like Thunder just before it was canceled or USWA after it replaced World Class.
Time to start looking for something else on Monday.

 

[patdsez]

Alright, count me among those who think the Adamle move is a great one. It's as if they've been planning it all along. He played his deficiencies as an announcer to draw heat so that when the time came he could step seamlessly into the role as heel GM. I know that's not the case what with the Regal suspension, but it worked out perfectly. There is no point in ever having a babyface GM. GM's only work when said GM is a heel and Adamle has become just that, a heel. He can play it one of two ways, either he does what lionheart suggested up above and makes people pay for making fun of them, or he can just be a sycophantic tweener who wants desperately for everyone to like him, which won't happen so he'll just make big matches, but won't earn him any cheers. It's new, which I like although it's still way to early for Batista/Cena.

 

[Papa Shango]

He is going to suck as GM. I mean really, what is the logic here? If there was another Monday Night Wrestling show on, I would watch it next week. I am not sure if I will even watch RAW next Monday.
Then again I am not shocked they made a bad choice, WWE creative is not that good to begin with - the Jericho return was botched and only now has picked up any steam, Fans endured months of Hornswoggle as McMahon's kid and still Cena is being shoved down fans throats. I haven't really been impressed over the last month - Shane and Stephanie calling for unity on a wrestling show is moronic, there is more comedy and talking than wrestling and then you have people hit by cars still competing in main events.

I could live with all of that but Mike A as GM really takes RAW to a low level, I mean like Thunder just before it was canceled or USWA after it replaced World Class.
Time to start looking for something else on Monday.

Then please do so. You clearly no longer like wrestling, so why continue to watch. You have grown so disillusioned that you fail to realize that WWE is still providing the same entertainment it was dishing out for years. RAW has always been more about segments than wrestling, it has always placed the same few guys in the main event for several years on end. The fact of the matter is that you have grown too "smart" for wrestling. I put quotes around smart because you are not actually smart, you just think you are. You no longer have the desire you once did to suspend your disbelief, to allow yourself to be caught up in the moment. You look at the glass as half empty. Instead of saying "I hope something good happens this week," you say "I bet RAW is just as crappy as it was last week." With that attitude, you cannot be pleased, no matter what happens. So please, just go watch Two and a Half Men on Monday. Spare us the whining.

 

[Mr-excitement]

Actually I dont see creative planning this at all. What I see is creative reacting to declining ratings and doing something to attempt to get people to rune in next week.

Mike A truly is a lousy announcer and now they are attempting to use that, so Vince coming back will make him look like the savior.

It's kind of like when JR introduced the new Razor and Diesel and people said oh yeah they planned this all along. Nope they were flying by the seat of their pants and they were just trying to beat the NWO. This isn't going anywhere, just as Hornswoggle as Vince's kid went nowhere, the fake Kane went nowhere, and jericho's comeback went nowhere - they didn't plan to turn him heel and fight Shawn. They turned him, because as a face he didn't get over for them the way they hoped.

The only reason to have a GM is to have a face feud with him. In other words, this is yet another attempt as copying the Austin-McMahon feud. Come on how many times have we seen that?

Vince will say he didn't appoint this GM. As far as not seeing it coming, I actually thought it was Jim Ross. Soon after Cole made the joke about Lawler and King he ended up in the match.

Mike A will probably target Cole, this way the WWE can get Cole over on Raw, or he will fire him and they will move Ross back Raw, which explains his appearance there last night. Think about it how do you get Ross back without admitting the mistake??

You have Cole beat up so he can't do it.

 

[mcflyboy]

I think this was a good move, for multiple reasons.

1. It was unexpected and took everyone by surprise. That's always a good thing, and people will tune in to see where it goes, whether they hate or love the idea.

2. Just look how much response this has gotten already. It was announced less than 12 hours ago (and most of those hours were "sleeping hours") and already more than 40 people have posted, and that's just here. Even if the majority of people hate the idea, look how much interest/anger/controversy/discussion this has already raised. This is exactly what the WWE creative teams wanted to happen.

And look where they can go with this.

3. If this has been planned for a while, and adamle really is not as ignorant as he seemed as an announcer, it is absolutely brilliant. Set him up as some sort of evil genius and as others have already said, he'll be the man people love to hate.

4. If he really is bad at announcing, then this move also makes sense. It gets him off the announce team and gives him something to do. Maybe he'll be able to shine in this capacity. And worst case scenario: he truly is bad at announcing and isn't any better at playing the GM role so he turns into a transitional GM. Even that's not so bad, as they can create a story off of someone else usurping power from him. Or they can have vince delivery his famous "you're fired" line. Imagine the pop that would get.


So all in all, I think that there is nothing wrong with this move, because it accomplished what it was intended to accomplish, and there's different directions this can go depending on adamle's "real" skills.

 

[Papa Shango]

So in other words, you're faulting WWE for trying to take lemons and make lemonade? Yeah that makes sense. Cuz we've all heard the phrase "When life hands you lemons, fire the lemons".

Fact of the matter is that you think you've got WWE completely figured out. Everyone thinks they're so smart. It doesn't occur to you for one split second that Vince McMahon may know what he's doing. Let me see you succeed at creating a multi-billion dollar a year company, and run it for 30 years.

It's true that Mike Adamle hasn't been all that great on commentary, although personally I thought he was funny. I'm willing to be a good viewer and trick myself into believing that this was WWE's plan all along, that Mike Adamle was being an idiot on purpose, whether that's true or not. Because unlike smarks, I try to enjoy RAW. So yes, I will give Adamle a chance. Put your ego aside, quit thinking you're so smart, and just watch the Goddamn show.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I'm more intrested in him as GM than I am most of the previous ones. He's amusing. I have to say it never even occured to me that he was told to spout total shite. I always thought it came from the hart, and the fact he knows nothing about wrestling. Either way he was more intresting than the tired Jerry Lawler & Jim Ross, and he had more charisma & enthusiasm than Tazz & Cole.

GM is a role that doesn't need to be filled anyway. But if they're going to have one then they should pick somebody who's intresting. Like him or not you're always curious as to what he's going to say next.

 

[Papa Shango]

I think this was a good move, for multiple reasons.

1. It was unexpected and took everyone by surprise. That's always a good thing, and people will tune in to see where it goes, whether they hate or love the idea.

2. Just look how much response this has gotten already. It was announced less than 12 hours ago (and most of those hours were "sleeping hours") and already more than 40 people have posted, and that's just here. Even if the majority of people hate the idea, look how much interest/anger/controversy/discussion this has already raised. This is exactly what the WWE creative teams wanted to happen.

And look where they can go with this.

3. If this has been planned for a while, and adamle really is not as ignorant as he seemed as an announcer, it is absolutely brilliant. Set him up as some sort of evil genius and as others have already said, he'll be the man people love to hate.

4. If he really is bad at announcing, then this move also makes sense. It gets him off the announce team and gives him something to do. Maybe he'll be able to shine in this capacity. And worst case scenario: he truly is bad at announcing and isn't any better at playing the GM role so he turns into a transitional GM. Even that's not so bad, as they can create a story off of someone else usurping power from him. Or they can have vince delivery his famous "you're fired" line. Imagine the pop that would get.


So all in all, I think that there is nothing wrong with this move, because it accomplished what it was intended to accomplish, and there's different directions this can go depending on adamle's "real" skills.

This guy gets it. There are so many different ways to go with this angle, that at the very worst, the angle gets scrapped after a few weeks. Big deal. WWE really seems to have all it's bases covered on this. All it TRULY needs to succeed is a chance from the audience. But of course, the "smarks" will refuse to accept because it's Mike Adamle. Does no one remember how boring Steve Austin was as The Ringmaster? Does no one remember how hated Rocky Maivia was? Sometimes, all that's needed is a change in character, and a change from commentator to authority figure could be just the thing for Adamle. Only time will tell. Of course, the smarks don't believe in waiting od any kind, that's why they like ROH, they only have to wait three seconds between moves.

 

[BarryHorowitzfanclub]

Personally, I said to myself "They have the guy from American Gladiators announcing wrestling now? That doesn't make sense." And with Adamle being the bumbling idiot announcer, it always looked like it was a goofy move. Now, as GM, it seems a little contrived that he was so dumb and everyoen was so allowed to poke fun at him for so long. Really, in a world where 95% is scripted, I don't see a grown adult accepting a job where people are allowed to "shoot" him down every week.

But, it could be looked at like this: as GM, he won't be counted on much. The "GM" role is a character, not a power position. People should not take this as a promotion. Adamle can be taught so much now and still be a TV figure. Now, if he really doesn't know shit for shit, he can learn w/o having the pressure of instant action dictating his reaction.

So, this is either a teaching experience for him, or a very cleverly planned move.

Sidebar: does Mike Adamle joining RAW have any connection to AG coming back on TV? I figured it must, since NBC always has worked close with WWE.

 

[noone911]

I don't know what to think about this. I don't like Adamle as an announcer, but I think he will make a pretty good heel GM. I won't like him as GM or be compelled to watch because of him but I do think he will play the role well. I HATE Vickie Guerrero and don't like watching her but I think she plays the GM role well also. I'm sure he'll suck and be boring but no matter what he'll get major heat (despite any conceived lack of reaction last night).

I do have to admit that I'm glad they didn't do a lame GM story where Teddy Long does RAW and ECW or Mick Foley is GM or something tired like that. At least they are giving us something new.

Also, does anyone else think he kind of looks like Troy Aikman a little?

 

[brm9893]

I have two observations regarding this decision.

1) Is it possible that this is a disguised admission that Adamle as ECW Commentator was a mistake? Apparently, GM isn't really a "promotion" because we all know that JR would be the announcer to be "promoted" on TV. GM is a work - its intended to create a storyline. But the announcer position is not an area to be trifled with. WWE had to get him out of the chair - what better way to do it than to "promote" him?

2) Does this not open up a whole myrid of storyline opportunities. Consider this list of undeveloped material:
- Cole/King call it an injustice and are "punished"
- Wrestlers break their silence, tell Adamle they don't think he's qualified, and are punished
- Regal claims to have been a better GM and feuds with the boss
- Adamle "fires" JR temporarily and makes himself GM and commentator to get unreal heat
- Adamle hires ex American Gladiators (or Larry Czonka) to join him on RAW

Give this a chance - Adamle had a built-in character waiting for him in the ring. Michael Cole, on the other hand, is where he belongs.

 

[ocekit]

I agree with brm9893 on the implications. He's already started exacting punishment on the commentary team. Perhaps Adamle got tired of being picked on by the other announcers (especially JR) and will exact revenge on them.

I'm not a big fan of Adamle's commentating skills (I don't know a lot of people who are), but if WWE does this right, Adamle could become a good heel-type General Manager. Of course, knowing WWE, it'll go horribly wrong at one point.

Either way, this whole Adamle GM thing needs a bit of time to develop so I think we should hold off judgement...at least for a couple weeks.

 

[Canadian Knight]

I unlike others have not watched ECW, maybe one of them, so I can't say how he will be. However, considering I heard how much heat he was getting I think he maybe a very nice pick for GM. He probably sounds like a real a$$, so that will draw some people. What I don't understand why was Cole in a match and why was JR there?

As for Adamle, only time will say if he is a hit or miss.

 

[mrtuddy]

So it will still take a lot of time for everything to settle in with the wrestling fans, but I hope that this move will be good for the long run.

William Regal was a good GM, but did not really do much with his power until the weeks leading up to his suspension.

I think Adamle will actually do really well with the position. He already showed last night that he likes to make matches and not spend so much time on promos. RAW was amazing right after the draft, and then after I think the third week it started getting stale again -- aka the episode when JBL hit Cena with a car. Last night I thought RAW was spectacular.

Yeah... Adamle as GM could have been a little un-climactic, but who else do you think they could have chosen that hadn't already been done, and that could actually work. If JBL got the position he would abuse his power until he got his championship.

Adamle can bring a mix of different things to the table (or "thing" as Steve Anderson pointed out): While he might not necessarily abuse his power, I think he will be really naive and other wrestlers (JBL) will persuade him to rule in their favor.

I was also thinking that Adamle might make a few mistakes on the job ... as in speaking. Duh, you say, right? But I mean he could intend to make one match but mis-announce it and say it's something else. That could be fun.

And speaking of JBL -- I wouldn't mind to see Adamle surround himself with people who he feels are the toughest: like JBL and the Priceless Douchebags. Maybe Regal and the Burchills... who knows? Like the Canadian Knight said above me -- "only time will tell."

And for all you haters -- remember when Vickie Guerrero came to WWE? She was AWFUL! Now she's one of the best characters in the WWE.