WWE Raw: 7 Ways John Laurinaitis Can Be Taken More Seriously on Raw

Regrettably, corporate executive John Laurinaitis has greatly struggled on-screen since being appointed as Raw General Manager by WWE's Board of Directors last month. Coming off as a clueless, campy buffoon who stumbles over his lines and is completely out of his depth, he is easily upstaged by by acts like Triple H and John Cena.

Not all of this is the fault of Laurinaitis, though. WWE management were fully aware of his lack of polish in promos when they appointed him to the role of on-screen heel authority figure and should have probably known better. Having spent years being a corporate suit, Laurinaitis was simply too inexperienced to be a true success in his role right away.  

But is the situation totally hopeless? Well, we don't think so. Certainly, he can improve over time. And here are just a few reasons why...

He Can Get Back in the Ring

As a former professional wrestler, with respectable stints in the National Wrestling Alliance and and All Japan Pro Wrestling under his belt, Laurinaitis is more than capable of getting into the ring to settle his grudge feuds with guys like Triple H and CM Punk. By getting physical he would almost certainly earn some respect in the locker room and fans in the process, who have been programmed to think of him as nothing more than a weak corporate crony.

Stop Messing Around on That Phone

No kidding, it is like every time we cut to him in a backstage segment in the last few months he's texting or talking to someone on his phone. Doesn't he have a job to get on with, or something? We are sure one way Laurinatis would get take more seriously on Raw if he stopped playing about on that thing and got down to business.

It would also save him a ton of money,too. Seriously, this guy's phone bill must be huge.   

Bring Back Vince McMahon

We reckon John's credibility could be greatly aided by bringing back usurped WWE owner Vince McMahon to Raw on a regular basis. Vince was removed from power in July of this year and, sans a cameo on Raw a few weeks to inform HHH that he was no longer in charge, has been absent from WWE's television screens ever since.

Aside from the help the colorful Vince would give WWE's stagnant flagship show, his considerable presence and authority would boost the diminishing credibility of his right hand man.

Try to Regain More Control over Raw

Remember why COO Triple H was stripped of his power over Raw?

The show was out of control, people were running in during main events, wrestlers and announcers were getting viciously attacked... it was absolute chaos. Feeling that Triple H was unable to come up with a competent answer for the problems that were plaguing WWE, they fired Hunter and placed Laurinaitis in charge of Raw.

Have things gotten better since Laurinaitis took over? Eh, not really. The ring collapsed during the Vengeance pay-per-view and the show went on (talk about an unsafe working environment), Kevin Nash almost murdered Triple H two weeks ago, and Miz and R-Truth are still violently attacking whoever they want (poor Zack Ryder is a recent victim).

If John wants to be taken seriously by fans and wrestlers, he should try and regain order over his unruly, deeply troubled show.    

Start Making His Own Decisions

Part of the problem is that Laurinaitis is too much of a corporate crony for fans to take seriously. Whatever he's doing, he is almost always shown to be working for someone higher up the ladder on that phone of his (likely dispatched owner Vince McMahon, although that has yet to be confirmed). Perhaps if he wants to gain more respect from fans and wrestlers, he should start being his own man and making his own decisions.

Sort out the Announcer Situation

With Jim Ross and Michael Cole fighting on air and Cole threatening fans with the scary possibility of a singles match between the pair to determine who will stay on Raw (although this bout has yet to take place), many of the wrestlers--you know, the stars of the show-- have been upstaged as this sorry saga plays out.  

Certainly Laurinaitis would be doing everyone a huge favour if he stepped in and sorted out this messy situation before they came to blows. As Raw GM he has the power to do so, so why not?

Get Some Back Up

One way John could taken more seriously on Raw is to get himself some back up. Hey, every supervillain needs some hugely muscled henchmen to do his bidding, right? Certainly, the likes of CM Punk and John Cena might be more respectful of their new boss if he had one or two enforcers following him everywhere he goes. 

As for who could be a part of the Raw GM's new heel stable? Well, Brodus Clay has been built up as a monster heel thanks to this superb video packages shown on Raw in recent weeks. There have also been plenty of tough-looking rookies  on the past few seasons of NXT that could use a high profile role on WWE television.