On last night’s RAW, William Regal was “fired” after losing to Mr. Kennedy. Unfortunately, since Levesque was in the main event I couldn’t watch the rest of the show so I don’t know if WWE pulled a Russo/Rhodes and just erased the firing from record, but judging by the fan reaction after Mr. Kennedy got the 1-2-3 I’ll assume that Regal is still fired and RAW has no General Manager.
Since I know a few folks employed in Stamford, Connecticut frequent this site, I thought I would offer five basic pointers on key characteristics for the next RAW General Manager. At the end of this column, I will make five suggestions on who might be best suited to be the new General Manager and I’ll tell you right now that none of these choices will get the nod!
First, the RAW General Manager should not be a wrestler. Now this does not mean that a wrestler cannot serve as General Manager; it simply means that if a wrestler is going to be the General Manager, then he (or she) should only be the General Manager. This person shouldn’t hold a championship, shouldn’t be King of the Ring, shouldn’t be featured in matches on RAW each week. The General Manager should be seen as a character who sits in the back each week and “manages” the show. Can the General Manager wrestle? Sure. But only sparingly so that it is more of a “wow” match.
Second, the new General Manager should have some history in leading a group or organization. In other words, you want someone who the wrestling fans know from his leadership in a previous organization. Say, for example, Ric Flair and the way he led the Four Horsemen. While this is not a critical attribute, it certainly is something that would give the character more credibility.
Third, this person should generate strong crowd reaction. I don’t care if it is positive or negative reaction as long as it’s a reaction! Vickie Guerrero generates a ton of a heat while Armando Estrada generates almost no heat in his role (except for his brief feud with Colin Delaney).
Fourth, in order to be effective the new General Manager should not be an after thought. Think back to when Stephanie McMahon was first put in charge of Smackdown and she would start the show with a rundown of what the fans could expect. While I do not think that we need to revert back to that exact set-up, it wouldn’t hurt to have the General Manager start each show with a rundown of what we’ve got in store. At the same time, the General Manager should be featured at different points throughout the show.
Fifth and finally, the General Manager character should resist being a straight face or a straight heel. Is there anything more annoying than when you have a General Manager who is screwing half of the roster on a weekly basis? It makes for bad television and worse – it makes for regurgitated storylines and boring shows.
Those are the five characteristics that I believe the new General Manager should possess. As for my five choices? Ha ha ha…
My first choice would be Eric Bischoff. He was excellent at the job when he first received it and if he adhered to the five characteristics above, he would be great. My second choice would be Paul Heyman, but that’s more of a pipe dream. Not that Bischoff is really a legit option since he’s done with WWE for now, but if they want to bring anyone back, then it should be one of these two men.
Number three would be Shane McMahon because I believe – if presented correctly – he would be the perfect fit. He’s got history in the industry, he’s got the name, and he’s got the charisma. And if he doesn’t work then maybe choice number four would – Stephanie McMahon-Levesque. Stephanie has experience in the position and would certainly generate crowd reaction. Plus, who wouldn’t want to see another exchange between her and Jericho?
Dirty, bottom-feeding, trash bag…
And my final choice would be…Theodore Long! Yup, as of last week’s Smackdown Teddy quit. That puts him on the market and since RAW is in the market for a new General Manager, it could be a perfect fit. Long has all of the attributes listed above and I think that he would be the best man for the job!
What do you think? Head over to The X-Forums to let your opinion be heard!
– E-mail feedback to joe1897@gmail.com
– Read more Balrog Babblings!
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