For over a decade and a half, WWE has shown complete reliance on the authority figure trope -- whereas once, wrestlers would compete in matches booked off-screen and title shots would be earned, these days we have to see a power struggle play out along with the in-ring competition. There have been some great authority figures and quite a few terrible ones over the years, but the gimmick hit its nadir with Raw's Anonymous General Manager. After Bret Hart left the office of GM, he was replaced by a laptop computer that sat on a podium at ringside. Via an annoying "instant message" tone, the computer would announce that an anonymous party had sent an edict. Michael Cole would read it, and the rules had to be followed. Initially, the person on the other end of the line teased his identity -- dropping catchphrases from Stone Cold and The Rock -- but before long, it simply became a Deus ex Machina, changing storylines (and face/heel affiliations) at will. Fans would groan when the tone blared over the loudspeakers. The Anonymous GM was phased out -- without answers -- when Triple H took over as COO, but the story wasn't finished. On July 9, 2012, the computer guest-starred on Raw, temporarily resuming its position. Santino Marella vowed to find out the GM's identity, then tracked him under the ring -- where of course, Hornswoggle was revealed. Apparently, it was him all along, and fans let out one last groan.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
