10 WWE Authority Figures Who Weren’t Actually All Bad
5. Stephanie McMahon (SmackDown)
An anomaly on this list, in the sense she would be a heel before and after. This entry applies only to the alternate universe Stephanie McMahon - the first ever General Manager of SmackDown between 2002-2003 following WWE's decision to abort the co-ownership Brand Extension between Vince McMahon and Ric Flair.
Stephanie and her Raw counterpart Eric Bischoff were intentionally rabble-rousing choices by the Chairman to give things a shake up in the wake of a chronically stale 2002.
But as a few in this list can attest to, there's something about the Thur...Fri...Tuesday night institution that brings out the best in people. She magically gained a sense of fairness, and seemed extra-keen to be at the front of the best wrestling show on TV.
Famously helping launch John Cena at her Halloween party, supporting a gay wedding years before the bulk of America did, sleeping with Scott Steiner to try and stop Raw getting him, and literally fighting her own father to help a one-legged man keep a job, for that year or so, she really was all about the show.
Getting battered by her dad all the way out of SmackDown's back door, she completed her tenure fully as a face with so much as a twist ending. Next seen taking a Stunner then sacking Jim Ross in 2005, Steph's status quo was restored. Was it just all a dream?