Five worst authority figures in the PG era in WWE

On last nights episode of Monday Night RAW, the fans witnessed the firing of yet another on screen authority figure - something they have become accustomed to seeing. Brad Maddox, who was the General Manager of RAW, was unceremoniously removed from the position after being choke slammed and tombstoned by the devils favorite demon, Kane. Although Maddox has been in power for quite a while, it was one of those instances when neither the fans nor the management has any idea why he was put in that position in the first place.Professional wrestling always had its share of on screen authorities. From Jack Tunney to Gorilla Monsoon, many people have portrayed the role of an authority figure in the WWE. Even superstars such as Shawn Michaels, Mick Foley and Stone Cold Steve Austin served as authority figures on air. However, there have been authority figures that werent welcomed by the WWE Universe, and came under heavy criticism.In this article, I take a look at 5 such authority figures that failed miserably, and have rubbed the fans the wrong way. Since most of the fans dont know who Jack Tunney was, or who Chief Morley was, I will be sticking to the authority figures during the PG era in the WWE.

#1 Teddy Long

After Kurt Angle was fired by Vince McMahon, after faking an injury and costing Eddie Guerrero the WWE title against JBL, Theodore Long became the first African – American General Manager of Smackdown! Long, who initially started out as a referee in the WWE, then became an on – screen manager, mostly accompanying the “heels” (bad guys), but once he was made the General Manager, he became a fan favorite, by helping the good guys and putting the heels at disadvantages. He was also known for giving the fans what they wanted, unlike his counterpart on RAW, Eric Bischoff.

Unfortunately, Long’s act became stale far too soon, and the fans began losing interest in him. With his character becoming monotonous (Even his style of booking matches becoming a joke among the fans), Teddy Long was replaced on WWE TV, but was brought back on RAW under John Laurinaitis. Although he was slowly replaced by other authority figures, Long’s mannerisms are still mocked by the WWE fans and the superstars.

#2 Brad Maddox

We’re going down a slippery slope from here. The next name is none other than the former General Manager of RAW, who was fired on last night’s episode of RAW, Brad Maddox. In all honesty, it made no sense when Maddox was made the General Manager of RAW, and made even less sense when he was fired on last night’s episode.

Maddox made his presence felt in the WWE when he helped Heyman and CM Punk beat Ryback, but before it could be explained completely, Maddox was teamed up with Vickie Guerrero. What was even bizarre was that Maddox was named the new General Manager of RAW, even before the fans had a chance to connect with the character of Maddox. The icing on the cake was the fact that Maddox has probably been the most inactive General Manager in history, with The Authority taking over the charge.

Last night was probably the first time in ages that the fans were reminded the fact that Brad Maddox was still the GM of RAW. WWE didn’t give him a chance to prove himself, which made the firing all the more underwhelming.

#3 Mike Adamle

In a perfect world, Adamle would top my list, but unfortunately, WWE has put us through some horrendous personalities as their on – screen authority figures, which places Adamle at number 3 in my list. Adamle had no personality, no charisma, and he didn’t do himself any favors by not even remembering the names of the superstars!

Some of Adamle’s mistakes have gone viral, like his mispronunciation of Jeff Hardy’s name as “Jeff Harvey”. Sadly, Adamle also served as a backstage interviewer and an announcer, but that didn’t give WWE any indication of his verbal prowess. Although he served as an authority figure for a few months, that was enough for the WWE fans and the management to turn on Adamle for his frequent mistakes, and he soon found his way out of the WWE.

#4 John Laurinaitis

At number 2 is Mr. Personality himself, John Laurinaitis. If backstage stories are to be believed, John is one of the least liked personalities in the WWE, but with Punk name dropping him during his infamous promo in July in Las Vegas in 2011, John became an on – screen personality, often siding with Vince McMahon and trying to double cross Punk.

For some reason, WWE decided to make John a regular performer on RAW, much to the dismay of the WWE Universe. The WWE Universe instantly hated him, not because of the character, but because of his personality, or the lack of. In professional wrestling, there is “good heat”, and then there is “X – Pac heat”, which isn’t what the heels would want, and what John used to get. In the end, WWE made the right decision by taking him off TV.

#5 Anonymous General Manager of RAW

At number 1 is perhaps the most nonsensical conclusion of a storyline that WWE ever came up with. When WWE initially began a storyline involving a heel anonymous RAW General Manager, it intrigued the fans and the wrestling world alike, and when the anonymous GM became one of the top heels of the company, the WWE Universe anticipated it to be an intriguing storyline which would make the product interesting again. What happened next left everyone flabbergasted.

The storyline was quietly dropped, and WWE pretended like the anonymous GM never existed! What could’ve been an interesting storyline resulted in a huge build up for nothing. Worse, WWE mocked themselves by implying that the anonymous RAW General Manager was none other than Hornswoggle, which left the fans fuming. Eventually, it turned out to be one of the worst storylines in recent memory.