WWE RAW: What Happened to the Anonymous RAW General Manager?

Last night's RAW from Mexico marked the first full episode under the reign of John Laurinaitis, the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations. The time with Laurinaitis in charge hasn't exactly been well-received, but it is hardly the worst that the brand has ever given the fans.

Fans are immediately calling for Laurinaitis to be removed from the position and to crown a new general manager. Laurinaitis is currently under an interim tag, which may not bode well for fans. After all, do you recall the last temporary situation for RAW's authority figure?

Since June 21, 2010, a computer ruled over the RAW brand. The story goes that the loss of Bret Hart as general manager amid the threat of Nexus prompted Vince McMahon to hide the identity of the new person in charge of the brand.

McMahon announced that the general manager would send e-mails in to be read by Michael Cole out loud. Lights would flash and a noise would be heard throughout the arena when a message came in.

For nearly 16 months, it was all about that dumb computer. Every message immediately drew heat from the crowd. It helped spur on Michael Cole's developing heel turn before it grew legs and became a monster. The digital GM wasn't a fantastic idea, but we dealt with it as wrestling fans because the light at the end of the tunnel was visible.

Eventually, it seemed, the identity of this wrestling authority figure would be revealed. The payoff was waiting and the speculation on who it was grew as time went on. Any old star that signed on with WWE was believed to grab the title of the man behind the computer.

That light at the end of the tunnel never came. Even after multiple hints of Edge and Chris Jericho wanting to discover the GM's identity, the computer stayed. The laptop even outlasted both Edge and Jericho on weekly episodes of RAW.

The messages did slow down, though, as the GM seemingly let everyone manage themselves. If you really want to split hairs, that passive approach toward the end from the anonymous GM may have set the groundwork for the riot brought on when HHH was in charge.

Let's fast forward to that short time when The Game was also the guy in charge of RAW. At that time, Triple H was put into Vince McMahon's role and oversaw both brands. Smackdown had a GM in Teddy Long, who wouldn't be moved.

The podium with the laptop on top stayed put, but must have been unplugged. It was all about Triple H. When he had his privileges revoked and handed to John Laurinaitis, it really seemed to be over with.

The anonymous RAW GM was never really fired from his or her post. The GM was also never revealed. It just ended up being that storyline that lasted for over a year without an actual payoff. Now with Laurinaitis getting heat for being both an awful lead and an awful character, fans are actually beginning to miss that annoying laptop.

Sure, it was not pleasant that the GM never stopped being anonymous, but its instances of speaking through the computer voice sounded better than Laurinaitis does now.

I can understand the need to have Laurinaitis as a top authority figure heel, but his weeks as a general manager need to be dwindling down. However, Laurinaitis has an interim tag to his job title, which often comes off in the wrestling world. Get comfy with Laurinaitis, but let us all reminisce in what used to be with the anonymous RAW GM.

For added fun, please comment on this piece with who you feel would have made the best reveal to the anonymous RAW general manager mystery.