10 Lamest Wrestling Authority Figures

7. TNA Director Of Authority Erik Watts

Baron Corbin
ImpactWrestling.com

Obsessed as they were at the time with clinging on to absolutely anybody with even a sliver of star power (or a familial link to somebody else that did), NWA-TNA's use of Erik Watts intended to whitewash the period he spent in WCW becoming the catch-all reference to the nepotistic worst of pro wrestling.

Son of then-WCW booker Bill Watts, Erik was rushed on to television in 1992 after less than six months in the industry and wore his inexperience well. His push was predictably the source of deep resentment in the locker room, and collapsed completely when father Bill left the company in acrimonious fashion. Short runs in WWE and WCW didn't rehabilitate his frazzled image, but TNA bizarrely selected him as a babyface Director Of Authority in 2003 after originally bringing him in as the mouthpiece of a useless second-generation stable also featuring Brian Christopher and David Flair.

It was boneheaded booking from the company - through no significant fault of his own, Watts was one of the least-respected figures to try and portray a role that required the support of the audience to survive. Without that (or, particularly, any significant stick skills), Watts was doomed in the position and found himself ousted by the vastly superior Don Callis after just six months.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett