5 greatest authority figures in WWE history

#4 Former SmackDown Manager Teddy Long

Teddy Long started his professional wrestling career as a referee.

Teddy Long started as an errand boy for the likes of Tommy Rich before becoming a member of the WWE crew. It was only later that he gained some prominence as a referee and a manager. In WWE, he acted as a referee from 1998 to 2002 and then went on to manage the likes of Jazz and Mark Henry for the next two years. In 2004, Long was installed as the Smackdown General Manager, and there commenced a journey that remains relevant in the present day, albeit through meme culture.

Teddy is best known for his "Holla Holla Playa" catchphrase. He also had an obsession with subjecting superstars to tag team matches and one vs one fight against The Undertaker. Teddy Long smashed several ceilings as an authority figure. He was the first African-American authority figure in the history of WWE, and the longest-serving general managed in the history of Smackdown.

Not a day goes by where we don’t think about Teddy Long making Undertaker matches 🐐📹 @WWE pic.twitter.com/7alEAXh18s

— WWE on BT Sport (@btsportwwe) July 5, 2020

#3 Former WWE Commissioner Mick Foley

Mick Foley is a 3-times World Champion in WWE.

Mick Foley is three of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time as Foley, Mankind and Cactus Jack. He has also amassed considerable acclaim as an on-screen authority figure. Foley's first stint was as the WWE Commissioner, in which he strived to be a hero of nerds.

His reign at the top of WWE in the early years of the 21st century was crazy and chaotic, with his office receiving a similar uncertainty. Instead of having a permanent office, Foley based his work out of closets, boiler rooms and other improbable locations.

Foley's second stint as an authority figure was from 2016 to 2017, with him serving as the General Manager of Raw. This stint, which mostly involved him disagreeing with the heel Stephanie McMahon, was not as celebrated or stormy as his commissioner days.