WWE Authority Figures Of the Past: How Well Does Triple H Compare To Them?

Over the years (and especially after the boom period centered around Steve Austin feuding with Vince McMahon in 1998), WWE and other wrestling companies have used plenty of on-screen authority figures.  Sometimes they were good, sometimes they were evil, and sometimes they were neutral.

Triple H has played this role as "WWE C.O.O." for the last month and a half.  With his presence all over Raw and Smackdown, we've gotten an idea of how he's being positioned in his new role. 

Let's take a look how he compares to some past major WWE authority figures of various titles, both in terms of entertainment value and perceived "competence."

WWF President Jack Tunney: Boring Canadian Rules over Superheroes & Villains

In June 1984, during the WWF's expansion from a Northeast regional promotion to a international power, they made a deal with cousins Eddie and Jack Tunney's Maple Leaf Wrestling promotion based out of Toronto. 

As a result, the Tunneys not only promoted the WWF shows in Ontario, but also the rest of Canada as time went on.  Somehow, as part of the deal, Jack Tunney was made a recurring on-screen character as the President of the WWF.

Tunney replaced New Japan Pro Wrestling booker Hisashi Shinma, who never really did anything in the role other than be named in programs sold at the arenas so the company would seem more "international." 

While he wasn't on TV weekly like authority figures are nowadays, Tunney was around often enough to very memorable to fans of expansion/boom era WWF.

Always dour with a gruff way of speaking and not much of a performer, he was an odd choice for the role, but somehow, he was perfect. 

Whenever an important decision needed to be made, there he was, always being somewhat sarcastically referred to as "the distinguished" Jack Tunney by announcers.

Tunney made plenty of decisions that made sense, that were unfavorable to heels, etc,  Still, he's generally remembered as being incompetent and working against the interest of fans.

This can probably be chalked up to one major announcement: After the memorable Hulk Hogan vs Ultimate Warrior match at Wrestlemania VI, Tunney announced there would be no rematch because it was so grueling. 

While it was planned to just delay the rematch until Wrestlemania VII, plans changed, and Tunney looked like an idiot in the process.

As time went on in the '90s, Tunney appeared less frequently.  The last major angle he was involved with was naming Lex Luger and Bret Hart co-winners of the 1994 Royal Rumble and setting up the resulting title matches at Wrestlemania X. 

He was ousted from the WWF in 1995 when the company decided to promote in Canada on its own.

While Triple H is clearly a better performer, I don't see his run being looked back upon as fondly as Tunney's was.  Tunney was part of the original boom period, which is a big plus.  He also wasn't around often, which made him more special.

In terms of portrayal as a competent authority figure, they're clearly trying to position Triple H as being more clever and fan-friendly.  Speaking of which...

(Interim) "Fan-Friendly" WWF President Gorilla Monsoon Saves Summerslam '95

Long-time wrestler turned announcer and perennial backstage figure Gorilla Monsoon was largely beloved within the WWF and widely respected within the wrestling business in general. 

The area behind the curtain where he ran shows was, is, and always will be called "The Gorilla Position" in his honor.

Meanwhile, as an announcer, he was more divisive.  Many younger fans who watched during the '80s are fond of him, especially his comedy with Bobby Heenan as host of Prime Time Wrestling. 

Others found him obnoxious, trying to put himself above the action. 

Wrestlers were frustrated that things they were told not to do as part of the WWF style would be pointed out as errors during the matches, making him "smarter" than the active talent.

At any rate, he was a major part of the company.  He was one of the minority owners who sold to Vince McMahon along with McMahon's father and got a great deal in return.

Not only did he get paid for his share of the biggest money promotion in the country, but he also got a well-paying job for life as an announcer and a "preliminary wrestler" payoff for every show that the company ran regardless of whether he was present. 

With the business the company was doing and there often being three shows per night, he was set for life.

When Vince McMahon was sidelined by neck surgery and legal issues in 1994, Monsoon was initially tapped to replace him as the main announcer in 1994. 

When his performances were deemed unsatisfactory, Jim Ross was briefly re-hired (after being fired months earlier) to replace him, and he became less and less prominent from then on.

In 1995, when Tunney was ousted from the company, Monsoon was moved out of the full-time announcing gig and named his replacement on-screen as "Interim President."  To differentiate Monsoon from Tunney, he was quickly positioned as "fan-friendly" and since he was around anyway, he was much more active.

His most memorable "fan-friendly" action was in the lead-up to Summerslam '95.  He essentially said that Shawn Michaels vs Psycho Sid wasn't going to be especially good in the ring, so he replaced Sid with Razor Ramon (Scott Hall) and made the bout a ladder match. 

Michaels vs. Razor in the first televised ladder match in WWF history the previous year at Wrestlemania X was widely lauded by both casual and hardcore fans, so it was a good note to start on.

In January '96, Monsoon got physical, as the debuting Vader attacked him.  He fought back briefly with chops before being overwhelmed and "injured" in the process. 

Roddy Piper replaced him as "Acting President," but didn't do much other than make the Wrestlemania XII main event a 60 minute Iron Man Match and get into a feud with Goldust.

At Wrestlemania, Monsoon returned and was named permanent president.  In the main event, he made the infamous decision to go to a sudden death overtime when the hour ended with no falls.

He stuck around a little while longer, but with his health fading, he eventually stopped appearing on television and was no longer used in the president role.  Still, he stuck around for a couple more years to do voiceovers without on-camera shots for shows like the Canadian version of WWF Superstars. 

During this time, he was still referred to as WWF President on those shows and his presence got very strange as the company's content got more adult and Vince McMahon acted as the main authority figure.

Eventually, he stopped doing commentary and last appeared at Wrestlemania XV before passing away several months later.

In terms of "performance," Triple H has been positioned similarly to him.  Lots of fan-friendly decisions in matchmaking and such with the occasional controversial call. 

Monsoon was President during a bad period for business, so less fans will remember him in that role, but the early "fan-friendly" positioning made a good impression on those who do.

WWF Vice President Turned Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter Doesn't Really Do Anything

Late in Tunney's run, future WWF Hall of Famer Sgt. Slaughter randomly showed up on Saturday morning recap show recap show WWF Mania to announce that he had been named Vice President.  If Tunney was out, he was in. 

Obviously, this never happened, and his role was never acknowledged on the main shows.  It may never have been acknowledged again on Mania, either.

A few years later, in 1997, Slaughter resurfaced as WWF Commissioner when Monsoon stopped going on the road.  He didn't really do much other than strip Steve Austin of the Intercontinental and Tag Team Titles when he broke his neck and feud with "future WWE C.O.O." Triple H and Shawn Michaels. 

He ate a Stone Cold Stunner for the former and lost a boot camp match to Triple H to end the latter.

Slaughter was a great talker in his prime, but he hadn't been one for years by 1997 and was a bad fit for the role.  WWF President The Distinguished Jack Tunney had a certain charm, while Commissioner Slaughter was boring.

That was okay, though.  He wouldn't be a focus for long.  Soon, a new, evil authority figure would be in charge and Sgt. Slaughter would join fellow legends Pat Patterson and Jerry Brisco as his "stooges."

WWE Chairman, CEO, and Owner Vince McMahon: The Gold Standard of Evil Bosses

In 1997, after a certain mess with Bret Hart, Vince McMahon became...very disliked by the WWF fanbase. 

Being a genius, he took advantage of this by turning EVIL and resenting beer-swilling, bird-flipping new hero Steve Austin, who he felt would not be an appropriate representative of the company.

There are so many specific angles and such that I could go over that it would take forever, so I'll just talk about why he was awesome and give examples of where his awesomeness was key.

He became such a great over-the-top performer that the best angles he was in were brilliant even the worst angles would be made kind of awesome by his presence, even when he wasn't an evil heel.

A stupid Vince Russo-era mess like The Undertaker "taking his gimmick too seriously" and stalking the McMahons at least gave us the sight of Vince McMahon pleading with 'Taker as he burned Stephanie McMahon's teddy bear.

He carried an aloof Donald Trump in a feud that led to the biggest PPV event in wrestling history.  No matter how often Trump screwed up.

On paper, Vince wrestling God could be offensive, but Vince made it awesome by being Vince.

Vince winning and losing the ECW Championship, causing him to go insane and then get into a limo that exploded and killed him doesn't sound great on paper. 

His performance along with odd production choices (miscues?) like two stoners randomly lurking near the exit of the building as he walked to the limo elevated it to a level of artistic brilliance beyond anything seen in pro wrestling before or since.

And of course his feud with Steve Austin was as perfect a rivalry as there could ever be.  Even with Vince Russo and cohort Ed Ferrara writing the TV shows, Vince's brilliance in editing them and playing off Austin while performing as Mr. McMahon made it great. 

Plus, his early stuff was made better by the weirdness of him acting more like "announcer Vince" as he went evil.

Nobody will ever top Vince McMahon in the authority figure role.

As for Triple H...that's a problem, since they're clearly patterning his feud with CM Punk after McMahon vs. Austin to some degree, and Triple H's performances haven't been especially good. 

When he told Vince that he was ousted the night after Money In The Bank, his performance ("I love you, Pops!") nearly killed the segment by turning the crowd on it, but Vince's genuine emotion, facial expressions, and body language saved the segment.

HE'S VINCE MCMAHON, DAMMIT!

WWE Commissioners, General Managers, etc: The Best & Worst of the Overload Era

After Vince McMahon redefined and reinvigorated the role, there have been a TON of authority figures on WWE television. 

Way, way too many.  Wikipedia has a full list if you're interested, but there are so many after Vince got going that for those who came after him, I'll go over who was most memorable for both the right and wrong reasons.

The Best:

WWF Commissioner Mick Foley: While he's pretty insufferable nowadays, Mick Foley was still awesome in 2000 when he was named WWF Commissioner a few months after being retired by future COO Triple H. 

The roster was loaded, he had great chemistry with the wrestlers (especially Edge, Christian and Kurt Angle), and generally did a fine job.  He was legitimately funny and did a good job coming off as impartial as a babyface commissioner could be. 

He was fired at the end of the year but briefly returned to the role in Fall 2001 in a run that culminated in a bizarre shoot-ish promo followed by a weird send-off on Vince McMahon's jet.

WWF Goodwill Ambassador/WWF & Alliance Commissioner/Raw General Manager William Regal:

While Vince McMahon thinks Regal is a terrible wrestler because he dislikes the British style (really), he does love his promos, and thus, Regal got two fine runs in authority figure roles in the last decade. 

The first run was the best, as he was accompanied by the debuting Tajiri as his houseboy.  They had tremendous chemistry together and their segments were the highlights of many shows.

WWF Co-Owner/Raw Owner Ric Flair:

Ric Flair returned to the WWF in his hometown of Charlotte, N.C., the night after Survivor Series 2001, where the WCW/ECW Alliance led by Paul Heyman & the brother-sister combo of Shane & Stephanie McMahon was killed off in the main event. 

With the story being that the McMahon children bought WCW & ECW with money gained by selling their WWF stock to a consortium headed by Flair, they started with a clever angle that made sense.

Fresh in his new environment, Flair was on top of his game and did a great job.  He feuded with Vince to the point where Raw and Smackdown were split and was in charge of Raw until he turned heel for some stupid reason. 

Then Vince turned face and won back Raw after a last-minute rewrite of the show where Steve Austin walked out because they tried to punish him for trash-talking the creative team.  Oh well.

This led to the era of the general managers, the best of which is/was:

Smackdown/ECW General Manager Teddy Long:

It's pretty amazing to think that with all of the changes on Raw and in general, Long has been Smackdown GM for over seven years.  He'd have a sabbatical or a demotion here and there, but he's generally been the go-to guy. 

He's always been a solid performer, doing a good job even with bad material like his weird heel turn.  Right now he's superfluous enough that he could be used better, maybe managing a wrestler again, but he's a consistently strong performer who deserves the job security he's had for the better part of a decade.

The Worst:

Lieutenant Commissioner/Commissioner Debra:

I remember literally nothing about this but can be sure it was incredibly awful.

Raw General Manager Mike Adamle:

When WWE signed the former NFL player turned sports anchor and original American Gladiators host, many fans rejoiced.  Those who remembered American Gladiators fondly felt he'd be a good fit in WWE, certainly much better than most of the announcers that had been hired outside wrestling. 

Chicago residents knew better: He was great on American Gladiators because it was pre-taped.  On live broadcasts, he was a gaffe-prone disaster.

This quickly proved to be the case in WWE, where he made his first impression by referring to Jeff Hardy as "Jeff Harvey."  The goal had been to make him the voice of WWE on Raw, but he was stationed on ECW to learn how to call a wrestling show. 

He continued to make mistakes to the point that his error-prone announcing was turned into a gimmick.

Since Adamle had to be lured him from nice gig in Chicago, he was being paid very well, and in WWE's eyes, wasn't earning it as host of the C-show.  Thus, he was made Raw General Manager.  The role allowed him to read a script ("his notepad"), but he still made mistakes.  He "resigned" after three months of an uncomfortable heel run and left WWE.

Not long after he left WWE, Adamle revealed in a newspaper article that his history of gaffes was brought on by a seizure disorder caused by head trauma from his NFL days.  Oops.

Network Representative Palmer Canon:

This one needs some context.  In 2005, relations between WWE and Smackdown's U.S. broadcast network UPN were getting hostile.  Raw was leaving sister cable network Spike TV to go back to its original home on the USA Network as part of a big deal with NBC Universal. 

Possibly in response, Smackdown was moved from Thursday nights (the best night for TV viewership) to Friday nights (the second-worst).   UPN also started to get more controlling in terms of content.

Cue the debut of Network Representative Palmer Cannon, a TV executive played by developmental wrestler Brian Black.  He would constantly come up with terrible ideas that Teddy Long would hate. 

Most memorably, he brought in The Boogeyman (said to be a network-contracted actor who went insane during production of his show) and introduced The Juniors Division, which featured a midget wrestlers from the U.S. and Mexico doing really bad comedy.

Black did a decent job, but the gimmick was terrible.  He ended up quitting in the middle of a European tour when John Bradshaw Layfield was constantly hazing him.

Not Necessarily Good or Anything Like That But Effective In Small Doses:

WWE CEO Linda McMahon:

She couldn't act to save her life, but used sparingly and only for major announcements, she was useful.  After a while, it became clear that when she came out suddenly to the old Wrestlemania theme song, it was a big deal and something major was about to be announced.  Like with Tunney, her not being polished helped her in those appearances.

Smackdown General Manager Stephanie McMahon:

Paul Heyman did the impossible when he was head writer of Smackdown: He made Stephanie McMahon somewhat likable.  She wouldn't cut long promos, she would just appear in short segments where she made good matches and talked about how Smackdown was about competition and yada yada.  It was the most effective use of her as a character to date.

The Anonymous Raw General Manager:

After the initial teases using the catchphrases of absent wrestlers, they ran this gimmick into the ground.  Not only was it annoying, but whoever the GM was, (s)he never acted in any sort of consistent manner.  When it seemed like they were going to blow off the gimmick by revealing that Official Spokesman Michael Cole was the GM all along, they didn't.

So, why is the anonymous GM here and not under "the bad"?  That's because the segment where Edge confronted....it...was hilarious. 

Instead of Cole reading emails, the laptop computer representing spoke in an old-fashioned "COM-PU-TOR" voice like the one in "Wargames" (the movie, I don't think the wrestling match had a special computer). 

Edge attacked the scared computer and it was fantastic.