Ranking Every WWE Smackdown General Manager - From Worst To Best
1. Teddy Long
Like Vickie Guerrero, Teddy Long was a manager before he ever became General Manager of SmackDown. He was also a heel, though he turned face when he accepted the new job.
Long's likability was crucial to his success. Even by 2004, the position of heel authority figure was stale and clichéd, and always led to attempted rehashes of Austin versus McMahon. Having Long as a babyface meant that all of those old tropes were avoided, leading to new and interesting storyline possibilities.
Long represented SmackDown in interpromotional battles with Eric Bischoff and brought new stars to the brand with the New Talent Initiative. He also overruled the results of a No Way Out 2006 match to add Rey Mysterio to WrestleMania's World Heavyweight Title bout.
In 2007, Long was removed from his position as GM in favor of Vickie Guerrero, but it was only a short-term change. He became GM of the ECW brand, then took control of SmackDown once more in 2009. During his second tenure, he feuded with Drew McIntyre and oversaw the underrated Christian-Randy Orton feud.
It's a shame that WWE brought Long back on Raw just to humiliate him for an evening. As SmackDown's best General Manager ever, they could do a lot worse than bringing him back for the position.