WWE General Managers

[navyveteran]

I looked around first to see if there was any similar thread and didn't see any, if there is a folder for this, please just redirect it.

Okay so I just want to pose a few simple questions and see what the various opinions out there are.

First is, are the current GM's worth keeping their role or should they be changed? If you choose to change them, who would you replace them with and why?

Second, what about having no GM's at all? Wouldn't the shows run as smoothly without the distraction of a GM?
For ex. Teddy Longs Herman Cain story that he has going on. (waste of time IMO)
Also, Johnny Ace's 2 minute introduction and his obsession with text messaging.

 

[WORD-LIFE-16]

My favourite GM was always Armando Estrada, he was so great on the mic and did a great job of pushing Umaga down our throats back in 07 during his rivalry with Cena. Armando should come back to manage Brodus Clay as the new Umaga.

 

[keehlnate]

First is, are the current GM's worth keeping their role or should they be changed? If you choose to change them, who would you replace them with and why?

Yes, I'd like both John Laurinitis and Teddy Long to keep their jobs. Laurinitis is definitely better than a laptop, although he is quite boring. But I like his chemistry with Punk - A guy full of personality, and a guy without a personality. I'd like to see it for a while. As for Teddy Long, he is doing just fine and just leave him like that.

Second, what about having no GM's at all? Wouldn't the shows run as smoothly without the distraction of a GM?

Nah. There should be a boss.

 

[yoda's nose]

As for Teddy Long, he is doing just fine and just leave him like that.

Are you serious? Teddy long is awful. All he does is come out to the stage and make tag team matches, and poor ones at that. Also, what is this nonsense with oksana? it makes me cringe everytime those to "flirt" with each other.
Teddy long is the worst GM in WWE history.
Fire him! Fire him now!

I think there should be one GM for both shows.

And it should be.........................................Triple H!
Or maybe a legend such as Arn anderson, Roddy Piper, or Ric Flair.
I dont mind John "sounds like you have" Laringitus, but Teddy longs has to go.
ANYONE would be better than him. Hell, Hornswoggle would be a better GM than Teddy Long.

 

[keehlnate]

Are you serious? Teddy long is awful. All he does is come out to the stage and make tag team matches, and poor ones at that. Also, what is this nonsense with oksana? it makes me cringe everytime those to "flirt" with each other.
Teddy long is the worst GM in WWE history.
Fire him! Fire him now!

Afterall, Teddy is not the one that really makes those matches. But I do believe he is doing a great job being the smackdown GM. The problem here is that he is not used the right way (like the fling with Aksana). The first time he was assign the GM of smackdown it was pretty interesting. So with the proper booking and creativity I believe he'll just be fine.

Hola hola hola playah.

 

[yoda's nose]

Afterall, Teddy is not the one that really makes those matches. But I do believe he is doing a great job being the smackdown GM. The problem here is that he is not used the right way (like the fling with Aksana). The first time he was assign the GM of smackdown it was pretty interesting. So with the proper booking and creativity I believe he'll just be fine.

Hola hola hola playah.

I respectfully disagree with you. IMO, hes awkward and wooden and lacks charisma and really, i just dont buy him as an authority figure.

 

[mr_dna]

I hate Johnny Ace as raw GM bring back the laptop hell i would rather see mike adamle back as GM then him.

So i would change the Raw GM Foley would be great always enjoyed his backstage segments as Commisioner

Smackdown needs a change teddy has been at it to long and he is becomeing very stale . Best pick would be Regal he was just one of the best GMs ever

Stepth would be great but i dont see it happening .


Is a GM Needed ??Yes and No

Is we had Vince/Stepth or Hunter on screen as authority figures they wouldnt be needed but at this time we dont so GMs are needed

 

[Adalam]

If Teddy is to be a GM, then it needs to be of a C brand, like when he was GM of ECW. However, there is only Smackdown and Raw now, so if Teddy's not a GM, what would he be? A manager? A referee? Teddy's fine where he's at, so quit your gripping and nit-picking. As for the Raw GM, next time I see King Laryngitis, Imma shoot my wall. Raw needs a GM with personality.

 

[Viggo]

First off, I'd say no, technically, GMs aren't needed. We all know they're not the real boss, but they're always a good foil for generating heat from the fans, and for that reason, I also think it's better for GMs to be heels.

Johnny Ace is okay for now because he generates some good heat, and it's entertaining to watch Punk poke fun at him. His monotone voice and lack of charisma is actually an asset for this role. The video montage Punk dedicated to the Dynamic Dudes on the Slammys was hilarious.

I couldn't care less about Teddy long. All he says is "Hold up, Playa!" and then you know he's either going to announce a match or change the stips for a match. Pretty lame. I'd rather see someone like Vickie Guererro or William Regal as Smackdown GM.

 

[WolfNyte]

Personally I would like to see Larangitus gone but with a twist. The man who he has been texting is the one GM who was ever any good on RAW IMHO and that was the one and only William Regal Sunshine.

Regal has always been a great Promo generator and his time as RAW GM was epic in my eyes.

Add to that is that HHH is one of his closest friends and back when HHH was becoming HHH in WCW he and William were tag partners and William helped him develop the snotty Conneticut Blue Blood from Greenwich character to go with his Lord Stephen Regal gimick. I dont know if many of you recall since that is going back to 94 - 95.

But yea I am a huge Regal mark sunshine and damn proud to admit it.

 

[ECW Sandman]

My All Time favorite RAW GM was Eric Bischoff he was just a complete dick I loved him in WCW WWE and even now in TNA he really knows how to piss a lot of people off, and to be honest with you no one can out do '' Easy E '' when he was in charge of RAW not even Vince him self Vince would be a heel and then a face Bischoff really knows how to get under every ones skin think back back when he was RAW GM and went in to the production truck and had them fade to black in the middle of a match it pissed a lot of fans off because it was different and it worked.

 

[yoda's nose]

First off, I'd say no, technically, GMs aren't needed. We all know they're not the real boss, but they're always a good foil for generating heat from the fans, and for that reason, I also think it's better for GMs to be heels.

Johnny Ace is okay for now because he generates some good heat, and it's entertaining to watch Punk poke fun at him. His monotone voice and lack of charisma is actually an asset for this role. The video montage Punk dedicated to the Dynamic Dudes on the Slammys was hilarious.

I couldn't care less about Teddy long. All he says is "Hold up, Playa!" and then you know he's either going to announce a match or change the stips for a match. Pretty lame. I'd rather see someone like Vickie Guererro or William Regal as Smackdown GM.

Agree with pretty much all of this.

I wouldnt mind seeing Regal return as a GM. He was one of the best the last time. Wouldnt it be great if they brought Tajiri back as well?

 

[undyinglylty]

my all time favorite general manager,and it will also be this person.STEPHANIE MCMAHON. unlike eric bischoff on raw, she actually cared about the smackdown superstars,plus she did great things on smackdown.she brung back the united states championship, and above all else,created the wwe tag team championship. she gave everbody a chance to be in the spotlight,which they did and because of her,smackdown was the shit from 2002 to 2007,until vickie guerrero and teddy long came into the picture.

 

[Pedigree1]

Johnny Ace is absoutely funny as hell right now!! I am mister John Laurinaitis executive vice president of talent relations and the interim Raw GM!! Funny when he says that in his monotone voice of his!! Im glad the laptop angle went that got annoying real fast. Teddy Long is too damn predictable as the GM!! Holla Holla playa hold on a minute hold on a minute!! Insert match here and or changing the Stips of said match!! To me he used to be believable but not anymore!! Whatever happened to him being on probation??

 

[THTRobtaylor]

I really think this whole Jericho stuff initially is headed for him being GM... "It Begins" kinda fits... and yeah he gets drawn into a match with Punk... if it is, I think he will be the best ever and it fits with his plan to never wrestle again...

In the past, Regal owned the role and to this day I don't see why he is not "president" in the same way JAck Tunney was, someone they can bring out to make judgements when the GM's can't get it right and to be an ass when required...

 

[Skinsley]

I wish Johnny Ace would stop doing the obvious texting crap... its stupid and annoying... and not in a HEEL kind of way.... just annoying.
Other than that he is doing a great job.....his clear fear of the Microphone is hilarious and I cant understand why he seems to get a word wrong every other sentence but its absolute gold to me.... his long winded introduction is a good little earner also. Oh and when he pluggs "future endevoured" its such a disrespect to all he has fired that it makes it entertaining.
I do wish they had sorted out the raw laptop GM first though before re-instating him.

Teddy Long... is boring...does nothing and has no real use. I wouldnt mind Vickie being the GM again, she gets heat and her character forces her to make bias or unusual decisions.... Teddy long doesnt seem to have any creativity when it comes to announcing matches that he pretends he has just made up on the spot.... Vickie Guerrero's Heel and Bias Persona forced the WWE writing team to make her have unorthodox idea's.
Heel Gm's = Spontaneous booking

 

[Dagger Dias]

I think Laurinaitis should never have become Raw GM. Trips in the COO role was better and I would rather see him back in full power. Who is Laurinaitis always texting? They might never reveal that, much like who the anonymous GM was. As for Long, he's kind of worn out his welcome by being GM for such a long time (no pun intended) when all he really does anymore is make tag team main events. There's really no one who could take Long's place though. Having him there is still better than not having a GM though and the same goes for Laurinaitis because someone has to come out to (kayfabe) book matches in order for things to make more sense. GM's are not a distraction as long as they book matches and do not become too integrated into the main storylines.

 

[mose316]

I like the fact that Teddy Long has been the GM of Smackdown which seems like forever. I would like to see someone other than Laurinitis on RAW though....

 

[BK Styles]

Are GM's needed? No. But remember why we have them. Back before the brand-split, when everyone was on the 'same side', they all fell under one authority figure; McMahon. When the brands split and they became separate entities in regards to superstars and storylines, it made sense to have an authority figure on each show. And as the brands are still technically separate (with exception to the supershows), it still makes sense to have an authority figure on each brand. The difference is, they used to be a part of storylines when they first came around, and yes, Laurinitis is now, but Long isn't, and they aren't used to anywhere near the extent as they used to be.

John Laurinitis should be GM...but it should have happened later than it did. HHH as COO (which I think I'm right in saying he still is COO)was much better as the authority figure, and should have been given much more time before JL took over. Yet again, it feels like a trademark WWE rush job.

Teddy Long has been GM for way too long. I used to like him as GM, but after Vickie Guererro we should have had someone new. Long has become stale in that position. Regal, Foley, hell, get JBL in.

My personal favorite GM's were Bischoff on RAW (I will NEVER forget his first night; who woulda saw that coming?) and Steph on Smackdown (a. she was/is smoking, and b. she seemed to be natural to the part.) This was also a good period in WWE (in my opinion), especially Smackdown. As someone who missed out on most of the attitude era (started watching in 2001) this was my personal favorite period, from around 2003 to 2005, where we had Lesnar/Angle, the rise of Cena, JBL's year-long title run, and Evolution. And the GM's both added to my personal enjoyment.

 

[wrestlingmythoughts]

Who ever writes for Teddy Long needs to be fired! His segments at TLC were not only sexist, but borderline rasist. He hold no authority over the talent and rarely makes ground breaking decisions. Make him relevant, or make him history!n

 

[#CenaHeelTurn]

I don't have a problem with Teddy, but I wish they would do something with him and Aksana.

I hate JL as GM. But he needs to be there to further story lines right now.

I'm surprised they haven't come out to say that Hornswoggle was the "Laptop GM" since he wasn't talking back then, just to put a bow on that storyline.

I liked Adamle as GM a lot more than most did, and I agree that Estrada was a good GM too. I can't stand Vickie, period, much less as GM. She's slept with the top heel already, there is nothing else to gain by her being in that spot again.

 

[gwarren]

I wish they'd fire Teddy Long and bring Edge back to be a heel SmackDown GM, I think he could play this role perfectly.

 

[Cracka Jack]

First is, are the current GM's worth keeping their role or should they be changed? If you choose to change them, who would you replace them with and why?

I think Teddy's definitely run for much longer than he should have. He's been GM multiple times now and hasn't really changed at all in that time. While I know that a GM isn't exactly supposed to be the most developed character around, that position could be used by someone entertaining. I've long thought that Michael Cole would be a fantastic GM, if only to get him away from the announce table. Laurinaitis seemed totally out of his element when he started as Raw GM, but he's since grown on me. He comes off as a cheesy, cowardly heel, who'd rather be a dick to people behind their back than confront them. He and Punk are developing a nice relationship together, though it's nowhere near McMahon/Austin.

Second, what about having no GM's at all? Wouldn't the shows run as smoothly without the distraction of a GM?

This might work, though I feel the GM role is an easy position to use right, and tossing it aside would be kind of a waste of a good opportunity. There probably needs to be some sort of authority figure anyway, otherwise rulings seem to come from nowhere and are a bit unsatisfying.