The position of GM finally solved?

[Dave]

In my opinion since they split the brands into 2 separate entities, the position of General manager has been a problem. Everyone knows the problems that Smackdown especially had and still do to some extent, although it has found some stability with the introduction of Vickie.

Raw too has had it's share of problems. I mean the only reason they hired Bischoff was so that Vince could say that his one time rival now worked for him (reportedly). Now they have Stephanie acting as the GM and the rumor is that Stephanie wants some time off to spend with her family. I don't know if this is true or not but my question is:

With Stephanie perhaps leaving the show and the other problems the WWE has with keeping a GM in a job, who would be a good GM in the future?

In my opinion, Triple H is made for that job after he retires from wrestling. Rules with an iron fist and could possibly be a heel GM like Vickie. Any Thoughts?

 

[jellmoo]

Personally I look at the position of a GM as being a writing crutch that isn't strictly needed.

For years all the WWF had was Jack Tunney, who come out every once in a while and make a decision. Other than that, there really wasn't any official running things.

All you really need is an announcer or interviewer to mention who the "board of directors" has chosen as a #1 contender, or to deliver rulings to get by.

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

Personally I look at the position of a GM as being a writing crutch that isn't strictly needed.

For years all the WWF had was Jack Tunney, who come out every once in a while and make a decision. Other than that, there really wasn't any official running things.

All you really need is an announcer or interviewer to mention who the "board of directors" has chosen as a #1 contender, or to deliver rulings to get by.

I couldn't agree more with having a "WWF President" similar to Jack Tunney, who makes the decisions for all Brands, if they decide to keep things the way they are now. For all intents and purposes, these are not separate Brands, given all the talent jumping from show to show to show, lately. Rather, they are just separate shows, like the old days. So if things stay as they are, they mine as well have one figure with authority over all shows (since they aren't really Brands, at the moment).

Also, that is one less person to take up TV time and who doesn't necessarily need to be featured on TV each week.

 

[smalltownfan]

I like the idea of a GM or Commissioner on the shows. Makes for better interaction and it gives the wrestlers someone to complain to. If the GM has a no-nonsense attitude, it makes for really good TV. Ultimately, I think Smackdown will get a new GM because even though Vickie is has HUGE heat on her from the fans which is great for business, she is just not GM material so I see WWE going with someone else in the future and I have an idea as to who that will be...Teddy Long. Teddy had to come back in the company as Vickie's assistant which he hated and then he quit and went to ECW. How fitting would it be if Vickie were fired and replaced by Long? Now, who would run ECW? Here's an idea...Tommy Dreamer. If WWE doesn't like him enough as a wrestler to renew his contract, at least let him stay aboard to run the brand he helped build. Paul Heyman is a long-shot to return, but you never know. Finally, to RAW. If Stephanie is taking time off as rumored, then I'm sure Shane or Vince will step in to run RAW to keep their feud with Legacy going. This obviously means that HHH will move to RAW. I also like Arn Anderson as a GM candidate for any of the brands. He has waited long enough for a role like this and it's time to reward him. In the next several years, HHH will be a great GM or front office executive. Of course, he has the advantage because of the family he married into, but he is just that damn good, too. Other possible immediate candidates for RAW GM include Dusty Rhodes, JBL, or Ric Flair, who seems to be WWE's good graces again and would make life hell for Y2J.

 

[obamartins]

1. Get rid of the General Managers concept.

2. Hulk Hogan vs. Vince McMahon (for ownership of WWE - how does this come about?.....well im sure the supposed creative geniuses of WWE could come up with something)

3. Hogan wins becomes President of WWE

4. Hogan appears on Raw, Smackdown & ECW & is in charge of all 3 shows.

5. Hogan sets up unification matches for all the Championships.

6. Raw, Smackdown & ECW wrestlers must stay on the brand they are supposed to be on at all times.

7. Only the World Champ, IC Champ & Tag Team Champs can visit each show to defend the belts.

8. Each Show has its own unique Championship, Raw - Divas , Smackdown - Hardcore, ECW - Cruiserweight.

9. Hogans return creates fresh intrest in product, TV ratings boost & overall better programming furthermore a plethora of interesting storylines & dream matches.

10. Storyline #1 Triple H becomes unhappy his family no longer in charge of WWE which leads to conflict with Hogan.

11. Stroyline #2 Hogan challenges John Cena to a dream match at WretleMania.

12. Stroyline #3 Hogan faces the challenge of JBL who with his wealth & taking advantage of the credit crunch has become a major shareholder in WWE & tries a hostile take over.

13. Storyline #4 After initial babyface run, Hogan turns heel & reforms the nWo with a couple of young wrestlers such as John Morrison & Jack Swagger.


14. WWE stops confiscating signs, WWE stops scripting every aspect of there show, WWE allows wrestlers more creative freedom, WWE stops telling announcers what to say from the gorilla position, WWE allows blood, WWE allows bad laguage, WWE inducts Macho Man Randy Savage into the HOF, WWE stops hiring people that have no idea about the wrestling business i.e Mike Adamle & 75 percent of the Divas.

Result = Better Product. Get with the Times Vinny Mc.................WBF,XFL,WCW Invasion, ECW revival, WWE Films & now WRESTLEMANIA 25 = FAILURES

mark my words Mania 25 will not get a good buyrate this year compared to last couple of previous years.

 

[cityofevil82]

1. Get rid of the General Managers concept.

2. Hulk Hogan vs. Vince McMahon (for ownership of WWE - how does this come about?.....well im sure the supposed creative geniuses of WWE could come up with something)

3. Hogan wins becomes President of WWE

4. Hogan appears on Raw, Smackdown & ECW & is in charge of all 3 shows.

5. Hogan sets up unification matches for all the Championships.

6. Raw, Smackdown & ECW wrestlers must stay on the brand they are supposed to be on at all times.

7. Only the World Champ, IC Champ & Tag Team Champs can visit each show to defend the belts.

8. Each Show has its own unique Championship, Raw - Divas , Smackdown - Hardcore, ECW - Cruiserweight.

9. Hogans return creates fresh intrest in product, TV ratings boost & overall better programming furthermore a plethora of interesting storylines & dream matches.

10. Storyline #1 Triple H becomes unhappy his family no longer in charge of WWE which leads to conflict with Hogan.

11. Stroyline #2 Hogan challenges John Cena to a dream match at WretleMania.

12. Stroyline #3 Hogan faces the challenge of JBL who with his wealth & taking advantage of the credit crunch has become a major shareholder in WWE & tries a hostile take over.

13. Storyline #4 After initial babyface run, Hogan turns heel & reforms the nWo with a couple of young wrestlers such as John Morrison & Jack Swagger.


14. WWE stops confiscating signs, WWE stops scripting every aspect of there show, WWE allows wrestlers more creative freedom, WWE stops telling announcers what to say from the gorilla position, WWE allows blood, WWE allows bad laguage, WWE inducts Macho Man Randy Savage into the HOF, WWE stops hiring people that have no idea about the wrestling business i.e Mike Adamle & 75 percent of the Divas.

Result = Better Product. Get with the Times Vinny Mc.................WBF,XFL,WCW Invasion, ECW revival, WWE Films & now WRESTLEMANIA 25 = FAILURES

mark my words Mania 25 will not get a good buyrate this year compared to last couple of previous years.

All I have to Say is AMEN Brother!~!!!!

 

[ztwhite]

While I completely agree with the idea of a Jack Tunney-like president, the GM provides the WWE with a position they have not utilized correctly in recent years.

Everyone wants to see legends like Flair, Hogan, Piper, Steamboat, etc... but personally, and I have a feeling this feeling will be shared, I don't want to see them wrestle. The match at 'Mania with Jericho & the Legends is destined to be God awful unless Jericho can pull some magic out of his new short shorts.

Yes - the Flair/Michaels match last year was pure classic, but we all know Flair can't do that every week or even twice a month.

Use these Legends as GM-like figures. Introduce them to the crowd one week and let them tell the crowd that they don't plan on interjecting unless the boys in the back can't work it out on their own. This allows for an infrequent appearance by the GM and a huge crowd pop when they have to show up.

 

[INDYjon22]

Why in the blue hell would u want to put the hardcore title on Smackdown? It was the cruiser wieght titles home for so long that it only makes sense to bring it back to Smackdown. In addition, the Hardcore title would be a perfect fit for ECW even now a days.

 

[NbR1Ch]

Personally, I love the idea of having GM's on television. It provides a unique character for the active wrestlers to play off of and interact with. For Raw, IMO, they should have Vince McMahon as the "GM". I use the term GM loosely in this case because we all know that he runs EVERYTHING, but I think that his main focus should be Raw. I would love to see Randy Orton win the title at mania and continue this feud with the McMahon family. I think that the way things are going, Randy Orton's star is only going to get brighter and I think it would be great to see a reversal of roles where instead of a heel McMahon and a face Austin, we could have a face McMahon and a heel Orton. Plus with the addition of Legacy, it would make for some very intriguing storylines.

In regards to Smackdown!, IMO, they should get rid of Vicky and bring back Teddy Long. Long is a great on screen talent and has been for many years. He definately needs to be upgraded from ECW and move back home. Hopefully in the draft, they will send John Cena to Smackdown. I would love to see some interactions between Cena and Long should Cena turn heel (I WISH!!). Just imagine a heel Cena pretending to be ghetto and Long's response. Priceless!!

ECW? I have to agree with SmallTownFan and go with Dreamer as GM. Hopefully Dreamer will win the ECW title at One Night Stand or whatever bull$hit name they have now (Different topic for a different day). But if not, I believe that WWE would be able to get Dreamer to stay with the company by offering him the role of GM. All IMO of course.

 

[Shocky]

The GM is pretty much in response to the corrupt power head that Eric Bischoff really started in 1996, and Vince McMahon ran with in 1998. Both of those two had a delicious it factor that people simply ate up, and came to despise. It was perfect to have a heel in complete control of the company, setting up for the anti-establishment movement of the latter part of that decade.

Since then, the WWE has tried to recreate that magic, and has done okay with it. I'd argue that Vickie Guerrero is as over as a heel GM as anyone has ever been. The GM role is a good role to have, as it gives a face and identity for that brand. The problem with the WWE, they don't have any real good powerful characters that can fit that role, yet.

JBL would be an absolute perfect GM for Raw coming out of Wrestlemania as I hope he goes into retirement, he's certainly a lightning rod for controversy in and out of the ring, and it would keep him on air without having to watch ole Jiggly Boobs Layfield int he ring.

 

[bulldog76]

The GM is pretty much in response to the corrupt power head that Eric Bischoff really started in 1996, and Vince McMahon ran with in 1998. Both of those two had a delicious it factor that people simply ate up, and came to despise. It was perfect to have a heel in complete control of the company, setting up for the anti-establishment movement of the latter part of that decade.

Since then, the WWE has tried to recreate that magic, and has done okay with it. I'd argue that Vickie Guerrero is as over as a heel GM as anyone has ever been. The GM role is a good role to have, as it gives a face and identity for that brand. The problem with the WWE, they don't have any real good powerful characters that can fit that role, yet.

JBL would be an absolute perfect GM for Raw coming out of Wrestlemania as I hope he goes into retirement, he's certainly a lightning rod for controversy in and out of the ring, and it would keep him on air without having to watch ole Jiggly Boobs Layfield int he ring.

GM/Commish is leaned on too much. But I love the idea of JBL being a Commisioner type. He's good enough on the mic to hold attention and draw emotion but not so good he overshadows who Vince wants to get over. JBL could be used to maintain order within the company and someone the superstars have to have a healthy fear of. He could work announcing in emergency situations. He wouldn't need to work house-shows really. So 2-3 days a week and maybe not even working every week.

But oh well. The GM never has made/broken the show for me. Just an added element. And just my opinion.

 

[bulldog76]

13. Storyline #4 After initial babyface run, Hogan turns heel & reforms the nWo with a couple of young wrestlers such as John Morrison & Jack Swagger.

please... can we let the nWo die? It has already been robbed of any dignity it had when it arrived in the WWF/E.

14. WWE stops scripting every aspect of there show, WWE allows wrestlers more creative freedom, WWE stops telling announcers what to say from the gorilla position, WWE allows blood, WWE allows bad laguage,

yeah. Paul Heyman's ECW did that and where is it at?

Result = Better Product. Get with the Times Vinny Mc

You had an interesting idea with Hogan. But does your commisioner/president/GM need to be the star of the show? Hogan I guess wouldn't be bad as long as he was kept as a novelty who just stepped in to whip everyone back into order here and there. He is a great storyteller who the fans would love to see every now and then.

Vince is with the times. Just not necessarily yours or mine. Face it. Fewer adults are watching and more kids are. If he can create a new generation like he did with the Hulkamaniacs, then 10-15 or 20 years from now, he'll look like a freaking genius. I can't speak of which way WM25 will go but it looks great to me.

 

[AgeOfOrton]

Hopefully when the draft takes place now we can see A general manager on each show in a tidy capacity as recently wwes general manger positions have definitely been all over the place as you have seen Vickie in charge of raw and smackdown. Ric Flair would fill the Raw GM Spot perfectly i think and get in some nice rivalries without competing

 

[golden miz]

please no more wrestlers as gm's have they learned from regal. Either give a gm to a non wrestler,a retired wrestler, or one not currently on the wwe roster. If they bring back a guy like val venus to play the new gm of raw and thats it, I tink raw will benifit since bringing back someonewith that much histor is awalys a good thing. As for a retiree please not Flair, they need to bring in a guy like dusty rhodes, ted diabiasse, or bret hart. I dont think Hart will ever accept, but by bringing in any of these guys wwe has brought in the it factor at gm without using a washed up guy that they usein fueds. As for the non wrestler, wouldnt it be sweet to bring in a ex nfl tuffguy like waren sapp or bill romonoski, each of these guys will bring in a intregue and a way to compete with monday night football. But heres my ultimate pick for what wwe needs as a gm, they need one gm, and that is none other then Nancy Grace, lets think about it, how many times has she already bashed wwe like a million, she hasmajor heat since everyone hates her, her loundmouth and lack of kowledge will be perfect stepping stonesfor fueds, shes the most hated women innews and her experience to bashing the wwe is perfect, and a good way to establish kahli or koslov back on top as her bodyguard sinc god knows were all sick of the gm wrestle love angle.

 

[Cebeards]

Perfect set up....freakin perfect. JBL wins at Wrestlemania and retires as IC Champ (Rey can't win, he hasn't done anything impressive since he's been in the WWE, i'm not kidding). Championship is then vacant for a tournament (Morrison/Punk/Bourne/Kofi/Miz/Rey/etc. Finals being Morrison and Miz would be pretty cool, just please don't let Punk or mysterio in it) and JBL comes back as GM (he could even fire Cole and be the announcer; kings depressing face turn is getting boring anyways. We need a heel announcer). Actually that even gave me an idea to make Rey worthwhile, he could mentor/advise/tutor Bourne, then get jealous and turn on him...damn I'm good.

 

[DeadmanInc.]

I never really cared about GMs until Vickie was made Smackdown's GM. I can't recall any authoritative figure getting so much heat in recent years, and very few superstars can match the heat she gets. Plus, Vickie has always been involved in the main event feuds in ways that no other GM has, particularly due to the fact that she "gets around". Tie in the controversy of her using the Guerrero last name while "getting around" and you have a perfect heel GM.

RAW has struggled to find a good GM for a while now. Bischoff was probably their best GM but he really didn't add much to the show in my opinion. Regal was quite boring until a few weeks before his suspension when he turned off the lights and "prematurely ended" the show. Adamle was clearly not cut out to be a GM but he was one of the few tweener GMs, which made the show less predictable. Stephanie hasn't added much to the show in terms of being a GM, besides being one of the better GMs to look at.

In my opinion, a heel GM is more entertaining than a face one because there's always that chance to recreate that Boss vs Employee feud that Vince and Austin made famous. I'm hoping that JBL becomes RAW's new GM someday since he is damn good on the mic.

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

please no more wrestlers as gm's have they learned from regal. Either give a gm to a non wrestler,a retired wrestler, or one not currently on the wwe roster. If they bring back a guy like val venus to play the new gm of raw and thats it, I tink raw will benifit since bringing back someonewith that much histor is awalys a good thing. As for a retiree please not Flair, they need to bring in a guy like dusty rhodes, ted diabiasse, or bret hart. I dont think Hart will ever accept, but by bringing in any of these guys wwe has brought in the it factor at gm without using a washed up guy that they usein fueds. As for the non wrestler, wouldnt it be sweet to bring in a ex nfl tuffguy like waren sapp or bill romonoski, each of these guys will bring in a intregue and a way to compete with monday night football. But heres my ultimate pick for what wwe needs as a gm, they need one gm, and that is none other then Nancy Grace, lets think about it, how many times has she already bashed wwe like a million, she hasmajor heat since everyone hates her, her loundmouth and lack of kowledge will be perfect stepping stonesfor fueds, shes the most hated women innews and her experience to bashing the wwe is perfect, and a good way to establish kahli or koslov back on top as her bodyguard sinc god knows were all sick of the gm wrestle love angle.

Thank you! Glad someone else was thinking the same thing. Giving them the spot to people like Ric Flair and William Regal has been done before. Quite frankly, I find it incredibly stale and boring.

I would much rather the GM position go to someone who is a Non Wrestler. My ideal person for this role to serve as the Face for WWE television as "WWE President" would be a tweener and an authority figure people are familiar with. That being "Shane McMahon".

I would want Shane to appear randomly on all the shows, but not regularly. He shows up if there is an angle to be done or an important announcement that needs to be made Live in the arena, or does video segments from "Titan Towers" to make occasional announcements. Showing up every week takes the magic out of the position, though ... as it has done with Vince, Stephanie, Vickie, etc. It truly is time, in my view, to end the concept of Brand Managers and go back to one single authority figure.

Shane should be severely toned down. Always appear in suits, and act much more like your typical corporate figure. He needs to differentiate himself from Vince, but I think the way to do that is to not be so "over the top". Make decisions that are popular with the crowd maybe 30% of the time. The other 70%, make decisions the crowd is against. All "in the interest of fairness".

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

The General Manager or President of the WWE has been overdone and has become stale. Vickie Gurrerro receives cheap heel heat for saying 'Excuse me'. That doesn't make her a viable GM. Her relationship with Edge makes very little storyline sense, despite all the ways it manages to get Edge title shots. If you want someone to be the GM of Raw or Smackdown or the entire WWE, you have to find someone who is either inactive as a wrestler or someone who can be intriguing and to be honest, that's hard to come by.

I've heard Shane McMahon thrown out there. Really? Shane McMahon's not drawing anything unless he's falling 50 feet. He's very poor at delivery on the mic and comes off as monotone. Stephanie actually has done a great job, but if she's wanting to spend time with her family, then it's a moot point. Vince McMahon would work enough, but not as much as in the past. I say that what should happen is put a WWE HOF'er as the "Commissioner" or "President" of the WWE. Who that could be is a toss up. I honestly can't think of a strong candidate that would make sense. Dusty Rhodes doesn't make sense because his son is in Legacy, and Rhodes simply can't play the heel very well. Hogan would work...if you want to go down the "Hogan's One More Match" road. I don't think Vince does.

There is still some life left for the GM or President/Commissioner role, but very little. If the WWE wants to hit a homerun with it again, they need to find someone who can work the mic and be a solid heel.

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

The General Manager or President of the WWE has been overdone and has become stale. Vickie Gurrerro receives cheap heel heat for saying 'Excuse me'. That doesn't make her a viable GM. Her relationship with Edge makes very little storyline sense, despite all the ways it manages to get Edge title shots. If you want someone to be the GM of Raw or Smackdown or the entire WWE, you have to find someone who is either inactive as a wrestler or someone who can be intriguing and to be honest, that's hard to come by.

I've heard Shane McMahon thrown out there. Really? Shane McMahon's not drawing anything unless he's falling 50 feet. He's very poor at delivery on the mic and comes off as monotone. Stephanie actually has done a great job, but if she's wanting to spend time with her family, then it's a moot point. Vince McMahon would work enough, but not as much as in the past. I say that what should happen is put a WWE HOF'er as the "Commissioner" or "President" of the WWE. Who that could be is a toss up. I honestly can't think of a strong candidate that would make sense. Dusty Rhodes doesn't make sense because his son is in Legacy, and Rhodes simply can't play the heel very well. Hogan would work...if you want to go down the "Hogan's One More Match" road. I don't think Vince does.

There is still some life left for the GM or President/Commissioner role, but very little. If the WWE wants to hit a homerun with it again, they need to find someone who can work the mic and be a solid heel.

I agree with Vickie. I disagree 100% with Shane.

The idea of the Heel GM on a powertrip is what is actually overdone in WWE. There is another variance of a Heel GM that they have not tried, but had the opportunity to do so (and they blew it). And that was the "Bumbling Idiot in charge". That could have provided comedic gold on Raw in many segments with none other than Mike Adamle, but they botched it. I could have designed several segments with him asking talent to get him coffee ... trying to give Michael Cole tips on how to be an effective Play by Play announcer, etc. that would have produced some awesome TV, but they turned him into a Bland, boring character and missed the boat with him.

Everyone knows that the McMahons are in charge of the company. It only makes sense to have a McMahon in this role, if we are going to have the person fulfill a President role. And having Stephanie in the position really doesn't make sense, given who she is married to. That is too much of a direct conflict of interest.

The idea in this case is not for Shane to be well-liked. The idea is for someone with a name value, to get reactions when he comes out (which shouldn't be every week), and can talk. Shane does just fine in this department.

We want someone in the position with shades of grey ... and I am not just talking about the grey hair, either. Not a face or a heel, but a dynamic character that goes out and does his job. If he was asked to play a corporate character, as opposed to Shane O' Mac, and asked to dress the part, Shane would be perfect.

 

[baldjedi]

JBL could make history by winning in Wrestlemania and retiring to become the GM of Raw right there on the show. That would be historic and it is time for him to get out of the ring. He is not that good anymore and can't carry a match.

I think Edge should get drafted to Raw and end the marriage angle finally with Show winning the title. I do agree Teddy should come back and take over Smackdown, but Vickie does get a good crowd reaction so maybe do a split manager angle with those two until they get rid of her.