When WWE did the first draft lottery in 2002, they had Ric Flair in charge of the Raw brand while Vince McMahon ran Smackdown. It was smart to put Vince with Smackdown because that show needed more help and Vince's presence it gave the show more credibility. Later in 2002, they brought in Eric Bischoff as GM of that show while Stephanie McMahon became the GM of Smackdown. The Bischoff/McMahon dynamic really worked because Eric was such a great heel boss while Stephanie was fine in the babyface role. They even had that moment where they shared a creepy kiss after Eric took off a Vince McMahon style mask during a Halloween episode. The competing GMs angle worked for about ten years as John Laurinaitis and Teddy Long feuded up to WrestleMania 28 in 2012 for control of both shows. There wasn't much long term planning, though, because Laurinaitis was ousted within a couple of months anyway. Still, it felt like WWE realized that GMs feuding was a worthwhile thing and it was. It doesn't matter now, though. It would have been nice if they did a better job of having the Raw GM hate the Smackdown GM and vice versa. They tried things like the Bragging Right trophy, which was belt up for that particular PPV and then completely forgotten within a week or two. It was still good to see issues between the people in power because we were so used to the GMs having problems with talent that at it least it was different to see them having issues with each other instead.
John wrote at WhatCulture from December 2013 to December 2015. It was fun, but it's over for now. Follow him on Twitter @johnreport. You can also send an email to mrjohncanton@gmail.com with any questions or comments as well.
