Kurt Angle vs. Shane McMahon vs. Daniel Bryan: Who Is WWE's Best Boss?

Kurt Angle will go to battle alongside his employees in tactical gear. Shane McMahon is part brand cheerleader, part gangland boss. Daniel Bryan is the endearing dad of WWE.

There are good reasons for Raw and SmackDown Superstars to want to work for any of these WWE authority figures.

The red brand's Superstars answer to Angle, the general manager who often makes sense of the chaos of the show, doling out fair decisions. Over on Team Blue, McMahon and Bryan split managing duties on Tuesday nights, with Shane-O-Mac serving as commissioner and the former WWE champ serving as GM.

But who is WWE's best boss? Who is most likable and just, loyal and generous with opportunities?

The following is a dive into those questions, looking at both what these characters do within the framework of the storyline and how the three men have elevated their respective shows through their presence.

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The Case for Angle

Logic is Angle's strength.

WWE often has a severe lack of that very trait, but the Olympian has shown a habit of making rational decisions. He once told Goldust and R-Truth they didn't have a good enough record to compete for the Raw Tag Team Championships. They didn't.

When The Miz demanded that his team get a fifth partner for the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view, Angle said Braun Strowman could earn that right by defeating Roman Reigns. Otherwise, if The Big Dog won, the match would shift from four-on-three to three-on-three.

He always seems to come up with a sound solution, earning him praise from Daily DDT and elsewhere:

And when a viral infection affected Reigns and he couldn't compete at the PPV, Angle himself stepped in. If a boss is willing to tangle with the monstrous Strowman for the sake of your brand, that's huge.

The WWE Hall of Famer also gets credit for not favoring his son Jason Jordan.

Not to mention, since Angle took over as GM, Raw has pulled in John Cena, Kane and Jordan from Raw. Plus, he was able to snag SmackDown's AJ Styles for two nights.

In terms of performance, Angle has been entertaining in backstage segments. He's been solid on the mic outside of mispronouncing several Superstars' names. 

And his facial expressions as Raw's action unfolds have been hilarious. 

The Case for McMahon

Like Angle, Shane-O-Mac is willing to mix it up for the sake of the brand. When Styles got out of hand, he confronted and clashed with him. The maniacal Kevin Owens needed to be quelled, and McMahon fought him in a Hell in a Cell match.

Those encounters produced some of SmackDown's best matches all year.

And apparently, he has so much pride in the blue brand that he orchestrated an ambush of Raw on Monday. McMahon led the way as Team Blue tore through the Raw locker room. The commissioner directing traffic and siccing his Superstars on his rivals was like something out of The Godfather.

McMahon is beloved, as seen by the loud reaction he gets each week. He's given SmackDown added star power and increased the writers' option in a big way.

The Case for Bryan

Bryan is the youngest of the three male authority figures at 36, but he is the most like a father figure. 

He is quick to punish heels when they step out of line. He has the disappointed-dad glare down pat. He is firm and fair.

But as Tights and Fights podcast pointed out, he's also the dorky dad you can't help but love:

He has to get extra points for not letting his issues with Superstars lead to violence. McMahon lost it and attacked Owens, while Bryan has taken all kinds of abuse from The Miz, Owens and Sami Zayn with a turn-the-other-cheek approach.

That's helpful in a high-stress environment like WWE where tempers are short.

The former WWE champ is funnier than Angle and McMahon. He's more charismatic than his fellow SmackDown authority figure and hugely popular with crowds. That all makes him a valuable GM, someone who gives his show added personality. 

Verdict

If Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon were to administer a performance review for Angle, she'd be sure to point out all the chaos that has unfolded on his watch.

The entire cruiserweight division (plus Strowman) assaulted Enzo Amore despite a no-contact clause. SmackDown infiltrated Angle's show and wiped everyone out. And the Reigns vs. Strowman feud got so out of hand that The Big Dog attempted to murder his rival on PPV. 

McMahon's temper has had him trade punches with his employees. In any world other than WWE, he would have been fired for what he did to Owens, regardless of how the heel provoked him.

Bryan, on the other hand, has been the more patient boss. He's shrugged off personal attacks and continued captaining the ship.

His nerdy charm and comic timing gives him the edge over Angle and McMahon to this point, too.

It would be great to have a boss willing to get down in the dirt with you like Angle, but Bryan is the boss you would most want to have a drink with after work—the father you wish you had.