10 WWE Authority Figures Who Weren’t Actually All Bad
2. Teddy Long
There weren't many with the patience and virtue of Teddy Long in the era in which he was tasked with running SmackDown, and later ECW. A perennial nice guy surrounded by cartoonish heels undermining him and fellow GMs, Commissioners, and owners constantly trying to nick his job, he managed a whopping eight years at the helm of the blue brand, rarely losing his composure or his smile, which in wrestling is a known occupational hazard.
Outside of a wholly confusing storyline where he was bullied into recreating the Montreal Screwjob with The Undertaker, CM Punk, and Scott Armstrong, Long remained a babyface in opposition to a murderers' row of heelish authorities, including Eric Bischoff, Jonathan Coachman, William Regal, Vickie Guerrero, and Hornswoggle on a laptop.
And of course, discussion on T-Lo could not be concluded without his wipe-clean solution to any SmackDown mess, particularly if it was all kicking off in the opening segment. Now a meme and a running joke WWE has actively played upon in Long's one-off returns to the show, "we're gonna have a tag team match, playa" became Teddy Long's charming response to just about any kind of squabbling during his broadcast.
His best trick as a performer, he took an increasingly lazy booking device and got it over week after week after dreaded week, proving just how onside the fans were with his General Manager status. Holla holla Teddy.