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WWE has a long history of appointing on-screen General Managers for their weekly episodic shows, RAW and SmackDown. These authority figures didn't only announce matches but were also an integral part of several storyline developments.
When the first brand split happened back in 2002, both RAW and SmackDown had announced their respective managers, and thus this tradition was born. Since then, we have seen numerous such figures, with each being entertaining in their distinctive way.
While neither of the shows currently has any managerial figure, several fans are clamoring for bringing them back in recent times. Adam Pearce is somewhat of an on-screen authority figure who announces matches on both the shows, but he isn't a General Manager, per se.
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Here in this article, we will take a look at all the nine General Managers in the history of WWE SmackDown and where they are now. Do share in the comments section who among them were your favorites.
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#9 Stephanie McMahon (SmackDown GM, July 18, 2002 - October 19, 2003)
The first-ever General Manager of SmackDown, Stephanie McMahon, was appointed to the position after her return to television after a gap of four months. During her tenure, she convincingly enacted the role of a face authority figure, which was in stark contrast with the heelish character she played on RAW.
Her stint on SmackDown ended after losing an 'I Quit' match to her father, Vince McMahon, at No Mercy 2003. Since then, she has held a variety of on-screen and off-screen positions in WWE, including the General Manager of RAW in 2008-2009.
She's currently the Chief Brand Officer (CBO) of the company and also makes sporadic appearances on TV, the last of which was on July 20 last year on RAW, albeit virtually.
#8 Paul Heyman ( SmackDown GM, October 23, 2003 - March 22, 2004)
After Stephanie McMahon was written-off television, SmackDown head writer and booker Paul Heyman was appointed as the new GM. Heyman was already a well-established on-screen figure back then, thanks to his work in the commentary box and association with Brock Lesnar, as his manager.
During his time as the authority figure, Heyman allied back with Lesnar, whom he had betrayed at the previous year's Survivor Series. After five highly-entertaining months, Heyman was drafted to RAW thus ending his stint as the SmackDown GM.
Since then, he was involved with the new iteration of ECW and returned as the on-screen advocate of Lesnar after the latter's return to the company in 2012. He was also the Executive Director of RAW for a year, starting from June 2019. He's currently aligned with the reigning Universal Champion Roman Reigns on SmackDown.
#7 Kurt Angle (SmackDown GM, March 25, 2004 - July 22, 2004)
Due to some kayfabe injuries which kept him out of in-ring action, Kurt Angle was appointed as the new SmackDown GM while also continuing his feud with the WWE Champion Eddie Guerrero. During this time, he would go on to cost Guerrero the WWE championship against JBL.
Soon enough, it was revealed Angle had been faking the injury, which led to him being fired by Vince McMahon. He would leave WWE in 2006 for TNA, where he had a highly-successful run as a six-time world champion.
After a gap of 11 years, Angle made his WWE return in 2017. Inducted into the Hall of Fame, he was also appointed as the RAW GM on the post-Wrestlemania 33 episode of RAW.
He was furloughed by the company on April 15, 2020, owing to COVID-19 related budget cuts.
#6 Theodore Long ( SmackDown GM, July 29, 2004 - September 21, 2007 and April 10, 2009 - April 1, 2012)
Appointed just a week after Angle was fired, Theodore Long, better known as Teddy Long, would go on to hold the SmackDown GM position for more than three years.
During his time, he worked as a fan-favorite, announcing matches that the fans wanted to see. He even wrestled a match with RAW GM Eric Bischoff at Survivor Series 2005, which he won.
His first stint as the SmackDown GM ended in a hilarious marriage segment with Kristal Marshall, when he suffered a storyline heart attack just after uttering 'I do'.
His second run as the GM starting in 2009 was also almost three years long. He feuded with Vicky Guerrero and John Laurinaitis for most of the time. His stint ended after his team lost to Laurinaitis's team at WrestleMania 28.
Teddy Long was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2017 and has since then made only sporadic appearances. He is scheduled to appear at the RAW Legends Nights special episode in the coming week.
#5 Vickie Guerrero (SmackDown GM, September 28, 2009 - April 6, 2010, and July 13, 2013 - June 23, 2014)
While Vickie Guerrero acted as a face for the initial couple of months of her first SmackDown GM tenure, she soon turned a heel by aligning herself with Edge. She often made decisions that favored and helped him in retaining his World Heavyweight Championship.
She quit the position after choosing to become RAW's GM when given an option to choose any one among RAW and SmackDown in 2009. Her second stint was, however, less memorable. Though Guerrero played her heel part with aplomb, she mostly played a second fiddle to The Authority.
She departed the company in June 2016 and made special appearances until 2019, after which she joined AEW as Nyla Rose's manager.
#4 John Laurinaitis (SmackDown GM, April 2, 2012 - June 17, 2012)
Laurinaitis became the SmackDown GM after his team defeated Teddy Long's team at WrestleMania 28. During his tenure, he appointed Long as his assistant and Eve Torres as the Executive Administrator. He wrestled John Cena in the highly-criticized main event of Over the Limit 2012, in which he came up victorious.
His run ended after he was fired by McMahon during a segment on SmackDown. He's currently employed by WWE as a producer, with his last on-screen appearance being during the 2020 Women's Money in the Bank match.
#3 Booker T (SmackDown GM, August 3, 2012 - July 12, 2013)
Booker T had become SmackDown GM as soon as Laurinaitis was relieved from his duties. Quite honestly, Booker's time as the GM was a forgettable one. The fact that he had appointed Eve Torres and Teddy Long under him led to the two of them making most of the announcements, while Booker himself hardly did anything of note.
However, he soon grew furious with Long for making decisions without his consultation. Soon, an injury kept him out of television for a few months, and upon return, he was replaced with Vickie Guerrero as the SmackDown GM.
Since then, he is engaged in broadcasting duties for the company and is under a contract until 2029, mostly for appearing on pay-per-view Kickoff shows. He also runs his own wrestling promotion, Reality of Wrestling (ROW) in Texas, USA.
#2 Daniel Bryan (SmackDown GM, July 18, 2016 - April 10, 2018)
One of the greatest wrestlers in the history of the business, Daniel Bryan, was appointed as the SmackDown GM by Shane McMahon after WWE's second brand split. His retirement from in-ring action saw him transitioning into this role. During his stint, Bryan also co-hosted Talking Smack, along with Renee Young.
The show also witnessed Bryan and The Miz continuing their years-long rivalry by exchanging scathing promos. Later, he and Shane-O-Mac began a feud with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. The rivalry culminated in Bryan's triumphant return to in-ring action at WrestleMania 34.
Since then, Bryan has consistently been a part of WWE's programming as an active performer. Recently, he revealed that being a father is his first job and wrestling a second one, indicating his intentions of working a part-time schedule going forward in 2021.
#1 Paige (SmackDown GM, April 10, 2018 - December 18, 2018)
The youngest Divas Champion in WWE history, Paige, was appointed as the SmackDown GM, just a day after she retired from in-ring action. The announcement made by SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon was very well-received by the fans as they cheered, 'This is your house' when Paige made her way to the ring.
The move was attributed as a way to keep Paige around since her biopic 'Fighting With My Family' was due to release under a year's time. During her time as the GM, she was mostly seen in backstage segments while occasionally making announcements in the ring.
She was appreciated by the fans, as her character didn't get involved in on-screen storylines but stuck to what a manager should ideally be doing. Her tenure came to an end around six months later, with the McMahon family taking charge of both the shows.
Though she's still under a contract with the company, she's mostly involved in running her Twitch account and her fashion company, The Saraya Store. Of late, she has gotten into a controversy as she refused to hand over her Twitch account to WWE, unlike other company personnel.
This dispute is ongoing, and no middle-ground has been found between the two parties.
