The GM Role

[JerryvonKramer]

One of the lasting legacies of the Attitude Era has been the near-constant presence of "the GM role" on almost all wrestling TV since. An on-air authority figure who makes matches, adds stipulations at whim, makes announcements, argues with faces and heels and so on. This role seems to be deeply ingrained in the thinking of the so-called creatives and writers now. I've seen entire TNA shows that seem to take place in "the commissioner's office". And everyone treats it like a big deal when they wheel out a "Legend" to be the "Special guest GM" on Raw.

 

So prevalent is the use of this role, that one might be forgiven for assuming that it is structurally necessary in some way.

 

However, this was not always the case. Allow me to introduce you, younger fans, to this man:

 

 

This was WWF President, Jack Tunney, who for years would come out once in a blue moon to make official pronouncements and rulings on grave matters of the day.

 

Over in the world of NWA and WCW, several men fulfilled a similar function, including Jim Crockett Jr. himself, Bill Watts and Nick Bockwinkel. These guys were only ever seen or heard from when key decisions were to be made, usually involving crucial title decisions.

 

All this changed around 1997 with the emergence of Mr McMahon as an on-screen character who called all the shots, and to a lesser extent with the revelation that Eric Bischoff wasn't just a commentator either. It was clear to see during the epic Austin vs. McMahon feud why this authority figure needed to be seen week after week. The rise of the GM also seemed to coincide with the decline of the manager.

 

Fast-forward to 2012, many years after that feud ended, the GM is as much a part of the wrestling landscape as the ring announcer or the referee. Someone raised on 00s WWE would surely be incapable of thinking of running a promotion without one.

 

Here's my question: why?

 

Is the GM really an important role? Could wrestling TV in 2012 do without it? How did we manage for so many years with just the likes of Tunney turning up once every 4 or 5 months to give DiBiase a slap on the wrist or tell us that Rick Rude has been suspended indefinitely?

 

Would you, personally, miss the GM role if it was suddenly gone forever?

 

Discuss

[Log]

The GM needs to go. If you are starting a new wrestling promotion, and you're telling people you're going to do something different, be an alternative, etc, you'd better not have a goddamn authority figure.

[jdw]

All this changed around 1997 with the emergence of Mr McMahon as an on-screen character who called all the shots, and to a lesser extent with the revelation that Eric Bischoff wasn't just a commentator either. It was clear to see during the epic Austin vs. McMahon feud why this authority figure needed to be seen week after week. The rise of the GM also seemed to coincide with the decline of the manager.

Eric first. The 11/16/96 episode of Nitro made it official, though they had been hinting something was wrong with Eric back to around Havoc. On the 11/16/96 show he went full heel Authority Figure.

 

Vince was after Montreal in November 1997, but really didn't become clearly Mr. McMahon until after Mania.

 

Yeah, I know there were earlier Authority Figures, and on occasion heel ones, including even Vince down in USWA. But I think we all would agree that the Modern Authority Figure role was locked in by (i) Eric going clear heel on the 11/16/96 Nitro, and (ii) Vince going clear heel on the 03/30/98 Raw. Those would be the starting points, for better or worse, of the Authority Figure being a regular (as in pretty much weekly) often Leading character in pro wrestling that was one of the primary tools to further the promotion's storylines along. To a degree he replaced the old Managers, but also assumed the old President / Commissioner / "Match Maker" / Owner roles as well.

 

John

[Jingus]

The modern GM is a lazy writer's shortcut. They can't think of any creative ways to start or continue storylines, so they just go "uh, this happens because the authority figure orders it to happen". It's hack booking and is now a desperately tired cliche.

 

If you are starting a new wrestling promotion, and you're telling people you're going to do something different, be an alternative, etc, you'd better not have a goddamn authority figure.

I don't think I've ever been to an indy show that DIDN'T have an authority figure who regularly interacted with the wrestlers in the angles. It is an omnipresent tumor on the ass of the wrestling industry.

 

Eric first.

Yeah. It's amazing how many people forget that Eric Bischoff was the first promoter to make himself into the evil authority figure; hell, he also played that role during his company's most profitable period ever. He did the exact same stuff Vince did and did it first. Of course his follow-through was weak; Eric was never as willing to book himself to be humiliated and take beatings like Vince did on a frequent basis. He was always more concerned about being the damn "cool heel" who practically never lost. But still, point is that it gets frustrating when people talk about how amazingly innovative the Mr. McMahon character was and how nothing like that had ever been done before.

[JerryvonKramer]

I did mention Eric, but for me the thing that established that role as being viewed as "structurally necessary" to creatives was Austin vs. McMahon, not Bischoff trying to get himself over as part of the NWO angle ... which is to say that the on-air product actually NEEDED Vince in that role to work, whereas I'm not convinced that Bischoff was really needed in his role for the booking to work. Not in the same way. I mean in many ways, you can say all Eric did was steal DiBiase's spot.

[Matt D]

Do we have younger fans here?

[Victator]

The modern GM is a lazy writer's shortcut. They can't think of any creative ways to start or continue storylines, so they just go "uh, this happens because the authority figure orders it to happen". It's hack booking and is now a desperately tired cliche.

 

If you are starting a new wrestling promotion, and you're telling people you're going to do something different, be an alternative, etc, you'd better not have a goddamn authority figure.

I don't think I've ever been to an indy show that DIDN'T have an authority figure who regularly interacted with the wrestlers in the angles. It is an omnipresent tumor on the ass of the wrestling industry.

 

Eric first.

Yeah. It's amazing how many people forget that Eric Bischoff was the first promoter to make himself into the evil authority figure; hell, he also played that role during his company's most profitable period ever. He did the exact same stuff Vince did and did it first. Of course his follow-through was weak; Eric was never as willing to book himself to be humiliated and take beatings like Vince did on a frequent basis. He was always more concerned about being the damn "cool heel" who practically never lost. But still, point is that it gets frustrating when people talk about how amazingly innovative the Mr. McMahon character was and how nothing like that had ever been done before.

 

To the point he refused to sell for Harvey Shiller (think that is the spelling) from TBS. Then ignored the firing like George Costanza.

[Johnny Sorrow]

Do we have younger fans here?

Yeah, I was about to say....

[Matt D]

Do we have younger fans here?

Yeah, I was about to say....

 

Well I'm younger than YOU!

[Rock_Of_Jericho]

I think there needs to be an authority figure, but I do think they've overdone since the Attitude Era feuds. The thing with Tunney was, back in those days, the WWF didn't have as many big decisions because they didn't have as many big shows since the weekly programming was usually full of squash matches. Amped up, I could have seen Jack Tunney around a lot more if they had Raw-like programming back in that time period. Even back in the early RAW days, they had Gorilla Monsoon in Tunney's role.

 

However, gimmick celebrities and GM's of the week are a ridiculous concept and it seems like no GM can make an impartial decision anymore. They punish the guys they don't like and help out their favorites. It makes no sense. I don't mind the role itself, just the execution of it in the past few years. I'd like to see them have a permanent GM who is able to be believable in the role, someone similar to Monsoon who comes in now and again to make a ruling, but largely doesn't get too involved, a little like J.J. Dillon did on Nitro without the bias. Do they need to come out and announce the matches week in and week out to get crowd pops/heat? I don't think so. It's just become a way to get a legend or guest celebrity on the show and it's gotten a little tired, although I can admit I somewhat enjoy it when they break out the Anonymous GM on Raw.

[Jingus]

and it seems like no GM can make an impartial decision anymore. They punish the guys they don't like and help out their favorites. It makes no sense. I don't mind the role itself, just the execution of it in the past few years. I'd like to see them have a permanent GM who is able to be believable in the role, someone similar to Monsoon who comes in now and again to make a ruling, but largely doesn't get too involved, a little like J.J. Dillon did on Nitro without the bias. Do they need to come out and announce the matches week in and week out to get crowd pops/heat? I don't think so.

That's not too far from an idea I had. While fantasizing about what I'd do if I had my own promotion, I came up with an idea for a GM. Basically, this dude would be a reclusive, eccentric alcoholic with a bipolar personality; like Howard Hughes crossed with a hair-trigger junkie. He's not a face or a heel, he's just plain crazy (although with occasional moments of clarity). He only shows up every once in a while, and you never had any idea what the hell he would decree. It might be some game-changing paradigm shift that overhauls the entire company, or it might be ordering two chicks to have a jello-fight match.

 

It serves two purposes: firstly, it's a deconstruction and satire of the whole GM concept and that amuses me. Secondly and more importantly, it would be a great Deus Ex Machina for whenever you need to pull something out of your ass when it comes to booking. Think about it: wrestling is insanely unpredictable. Guys routinely get hurt or quit without notice, sometimes you suddenly gain access to some new employee and can't turn them down (that's the old "hey, Colt Cabana is visiting his grandma in that town that day, are there any local indy shows where he can pick up a quick payoff?" situation), and sometimes your brilliant booking ideas just don't fucking work in front of a crowd and you need to change directions very quickly. An authority figure who is established as being willing to do anything at any time, be it sane and predictable or total WTF, is a hell of a piece of storytelling-duct-tape that you can slap onto almost anything to fix it.

[Cox]

That's not too far from an idea I had. While fantasizing about what I'd do if I had my own promotion, I came up with an idea for a GM. Basically, this dude would be a reclusive, eccentric alcoholic with a bipolar personality; like Howard Hughes crossed with a hair-trigger junkie. He's not a face or a heel, he's just plain crazy (although with occasional moments of clarity). He only shows up every once in a while, and you never had any idea what the hell he would decree. It might be some game-changing paradigm shift that overhauls the entire company, or it might be ordering two chicks to have a jello-fight match.

In other words, he's Vince McMahon.

[Jingus]

But not Mr. McMahon, that's the important part.

[cm funk]

One of the lasting legacies of the Attitude Era has been the near-constant presence of "the GM role" on almost all wrestling TV since. An on-air authority figure w

Here's my question: why?

I think the answer is simple: The WWE has never moved on from a lot of the concepts that worked during the attitude era. It's a common thought process in wrestling that when something works once that it can work again, and countless bookers have tried to recycle concepts, angles and characters over the years. They are still stuck in the Monday Night Wars mode of TV booking, especially on RAW.

 

As for why TNA has relied so heavily on "the GM role" that's simple too: Vince Russo. Since Russo has been gone they've written out Eric Bischoff and put Hulk Hogan in a very simple straight forward role as the authority figure that, shockingly, actually works and gets characters and concepts over.

[cm funk]

Adding to that, worse than the GM role by itself, it's the concepts of "heel GM used to create conflict with faces" and "authority figures struggle over power" that are the stalest and most overused IMO. Hogan in his role works because it's simple and he doesn't play favorites or try and screw people over when he books things. Teddy Long worked for the same reason, and he'd only screw with heels when they deserved it.

 

Johnny Ace for example, while the character was entertaining, the booking with him and Punk/Cena was so boring and predictable.

[subatomic_elbow]

I really like the way CHIKARA uses their GM Wink Vavasseur. He is technically a face, but he often makes pro-heel decisions because he is a clueless front office moron. The character is consistent in his wishy-washy nature.

[JerryvonKramer]

Do we have younger fans here?

This was just sarcasm

 

Here's a little thought: now Tunney was a guy with zero charisma who never looked comfortable in front of a camera, and Jim Crockett Jr was also a guy with zero charisma who never comfortable on camera.

 

So ...

 

Why did Tunney seem to suit the role and work, but not Crockett? Tiny thing I know, but there's no logical reason for Tunney to have worked but he did and vice versa.

[Ricky Jackson]

Maybe looking back in retrospect and with nostalgia Tunney seems good in the role, but I know at the time he was pretty much considered a joke by wrestling fans. He was one of the favorite whipping boys of the Apter mags, and not just in a kayfabe way. I'm sure Meltzer and the smart fans of the era tore him to shreads for his wooden, awkward presence.

[Exposer]

Do we have younger fans here?

Yeah, I was about to say....

 

Well I'm younger than YOU!

 

Yeah, I'm 19 years old. I would say I'm a younger fan. As far as GM's go, I wish they would all vanish for eternity. I'm as sick of them as you old folks are. The GM role/authority figure role got tiring after my 8 year old self watched Vince make Trish bark like a dog and get on her knees. Even at my age, I thought that was terrible television. Eric Bischoff was a nice surprise for one week when he made his debut then started bringing out lipstick lesbians to fondle and make out with one another. Not long afterward he had two Samaons dressed up in street gear to attack ring announcers and female authority figures. I hate the GM/authority figure "They make every decision possible and are on every week" role.

[goodhelmet]

I think the lack of multiple people fighting for the authority role is slowly lacking from today's wrestling.

[Jingus]

I think the lack of multiple people fighting for the authority role is slowly lacking from today's wrestling.

It's getting hard to remember the last time that WWE or TNA didn't feature a bunch of non-wrestlers or retired workers squabbling over political power. Even ROH is getting in on the action; what the hell is wrong with the idea of Jim Cornette just being a manager or commentator, why does he have to be the GM?

[Negro Suave]

Of note is that Authority Figures in All sports are more prominent these days. It is a topic of conversation in many sports what the Comissioner is doing. Same goes with shoddy officiating and conspiracy theories. Life imitating art?

[Sean Liska]

As jdw mentioned, there are no managers anymore. So someone like Johnny Ace isn't really playing a role on the show that far removed from Bobby Heenan, he just has the power to book matches and stack the deck. But the whole idea of building up heat on him and then putting him in a match with the lead babyface isn't that different from the old days. Same with him being forced into tag matches teaming with his henchmen.

[Childs]

Of note is that Authority Figures in All sports are more prominent these days. It is a topic of conversation in many sports what the Comissioner is doing. Same goes with shoddy officiating and conspiracy theories. Life imitating art?

 

I was thinking along the same lines, though I'm not sure it's "these days." Judge Landis was one of the main characters in baseball almost 100 years ago and Pete Rozelle was always regarded as a giant in the rise of the NFL.

 

Regardless, the league or commissioner is generally a character in sports, so there's no reason why that shouldn't be the case in wrestling. It's more that WWE rarely does anything interesting with the role.