10 Things WWE Did When It Was Huge (And Need To Do Now)
4. Reinstate Jack Tunney
The General Manager plot device is creatively dead. The role itself is overplayed, the precipitative effect on story craft equally as galling. The role annihilates suspension of disbelief. Why would a multimedia monolith not structure a card in advance, but merely hope that matches materialise in front of their face?
The dramatic weight of a Jack Tunney appearance was vast. He only appeared to deliver major news because his presence wasn't required elsewhere. Unlike a Kurt Angle or a Shane McMahon, who babysit squabbling children, he had his sh*t together. Furthermore, he didn't make matches up on the fly; his WWF was the proverbial well-oiled machine, far easier to take seriously as a legitimate sporting endeavour even when populated by more outlandish characters. Tunney wasn't a natural performer. Ironically, this lent his stilted appearances a more credible air. He delivered his "bombshells" as the backstage administrator he very much was. They were brief and to the point. He didn't witter on for fifteen minutes of pure padding.
The wrestling was the main attraction; he was there to administrate and facilitate it.
Tunney sadly succumbed to a heart attack in 2004. Revisiting his role would require a total revamp of WWE's entire storytelling formula - its philosophy. Since they no longer have to try, this is but a pipe dream.