10 Most Inept General Managers In WWE History

WWE’s over-reliance on authority figures is a well-worn topic at this point. The company have spent much of the past few decades shoehorning such characters into Raw and SmackDown’s most important storylines, often at the expense of regular talent. Stephanie McMahon emasculating and dressing-down active members of the WWE roster is still a common sight in 2016, and with General Managers and Commissioners still dominating much of WWE’s airtime, the trend isn’t disappearing any time soon.

It’s hardly surprising, given this company’s tendency to take a good thing and do it to death. Eric Bischoff’s villainous WCW persona might have introduced wrestling fans to the “evil boss” concept, but Mr. McMahon undoubtedly perfected the act. WWE have tried to replicate the character’s success on countless occasions since, but it wore thin a long time ago.

The likes of Vince, William Regal and Daniel Bryan prove that a well-written authority figure can still play an important role in wrestling, but WWE’s haven’t always been the strongest hands, particularly throughout the modern era.

WWE history is a minefield of Raw and SmackDown General Managers who were just straight-up bad at their job and accomplished very little as a result. Here are the limp, ineffective, and unassertive GMs who never convinced fans of their authority, AKA the 10 most inept General Managers in WWE history.

Donald Trump has had various flirtations with World Wrestling Entertainment over the years. An alleged lifelong wrestling fan and friend of Vince McMahon, his Trump Plaza has played host to two WrestleManias, and he’s been featured on a number of shows himself. Most notably, Trump stood in Bobby Lashley’s corner as he competed against Umaga (who had McMahon in his corner) in a ‘Mania XX “Hair vs. Hair” match.

Lashley won the match and he, Trump, and Stone Cold Steve Austin shaved Vince bald as soon as the match was over, but let’s be honest, if there’s anyone who could benefit from cutting it off and starting again, it’s The Donald.

Trump assumed a brief authority figure role in June 2009, when McMahon announced that he’d sold the show to the current US Presidential candidate. Trump confirmed the move, but his spell as GM lasted just a single night: Vince bought Raw back the next week, and Trump hasn’t appeared since.

So why the inclusion? Trump wasn’t in power long to enact many major changes, but he did introduce the concept of Raw’s weekly guest host/General Manager, another of Raw’s most derided tropes over the years. This makes Trump directly responsible for Dennis Miller’s horrific showing on the 2009 Slammys edition of Raw, the shambolic Jeremy Piven/Ken Jeong episode, and a host of other guest GM-related crimes.