This list brings together authority figures – people who hold on-screen power – in
professional wrestling promotions or brands within North America.
The North American wrestling industry portrays authority figures as responsible for making
matches, providing rules and generally keeping law and order both in and outside of the ring.
The role can vary according to disposition.
A face authority figure tends to give what the fans want and favors fellow face-wrestlers:
note for example Theodore Long.
Heel authority figures tend to run their shows out of their own self-interest: Vince McMahon's
Mr. McMahon gimmick exemplifies this type.
WWE authority figures
In the past, WWE's authority figure was presented by the President, who had booking power and
controlled all wrestlers.
However, in 1997, the President was replaced by the Commissioner, with Sgt.
Slaughter serving as the first WWE Commissioner.
During the Attitude Era of WWE, not only the Commissioner, but Vince McMahon had booking
power as well through his Chairman position under his evil character "Mr. McMahon".
McMahon usually used his power in order to haze his nemesis, Stone Cold Steve Austin.
When Shawn Michaels was Commissioner, he was able to overrule McMahon, but he only sporadically
exercised his booking power, and was working with an "Iron-Clad" contract where he couldn't
be fired.
When Mick Foley acquired the position, he took full reign until he was fired from the
position.
Upon splitting the WWE into two separate brands in the WWE Brand Extension of 2002, on-screen
co-owners Vince McMahon and Ric Flair proceeded to draft WWE wrestlers into two separate rosters.
Flair took ownership of Raw, while McMahon controlled SmackDown.
After McMahon regained control of the entire company, he removed Flair from control of
Raw, relinquished his own position, and appointed separate General Managers to control the different
brands.
On July 18, 2011, Triple H came to Raw and told Vince McMahon that the Board of Directors
revoked his "day-to-day operation power" and named him to manage it instead.
After that, Triple H became the WWE's Chief Operating Officer who had the booking power
in WWE on both Raw and SmackDown brands until the Board stripped him of his power, and named
John Laurinaitis the Interim General Manager of Raw.
Chairman Vince McMahon, Sr.
Vince McMahon Chief Executive Officer
Steve Austin1 Linda McMahon2
Vince McMahon 1 Kayfabe-appointed CEO by Linda McMahon;
subsequently lost power in a ladder match at King of the Ring.
2 Linda McMahon gained control after her husband Vince McMahon was barred from appearing on
WWF television after Fully Loaded.
In real life, Linda McMahon served on the board of directors for WWE from 1980; Vince
McMahon appointed her to the position of CEO in 1994 during the WWF steroid scandal.
President Willie Gilzenberg
Hisashi Shinma Jack Tunney
Gorilla Monsoon Roddy Piper – Interim President
Chief Operating Officer Triple H
Theodore Long – Assistant to the COO1
1 Theodore Long announced that Triple H had given him the power to book Raw when necessary.
This arrangement ended when John Laurinaitis became Interim General Manager of Raw.
Director of Operations Kane
Commissioner Sgt.
Slaughter Shawn Michaels
Mick Foley1 Debra – Lt. Commissioner –
William Regal 1 While Mick Foley was Commissioner in 2000,
he was the ultimate on-screen authority, overriding everyone else.
Raw authorities
Owner Ric Flair
Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon - Executive Vice President1
Donald Trump 1 Shane McMahon made occasional appearances
all throughout this time and had booking power.
General Manager Eric Bischoff1,
Chief Morley – Chief of Staff, Steve Austin – Sheriff
Steve Austin 2 Mick Foley 2
Vince McMahon – Interim General Manager Jonathan Coachman – Executive Assistant
Jonathan Coachman – Acting/Interim General Manager,
William Regal Jonathan Coachman – Executive Assistant
Mike Adamle Shane McMahon
Stephanie McMahon Vickie Guerrero 3
Vickie Guerrero Bret Hart
Hornswoggle 4Michael Cole – Spokesman for the Anonymous General Manager
John Laurinaitis 5David Otunga – Legal counsel Theodore Long – Assistant to the General
Manager Eve Torres – Executive Administrator
AJ Lee Vickie Guerrero – Managing Supervisor 6Brad
Maddox- Assistant to the Managing Supervisor
Brad Maddox 1 Bischoff was briefly fired from the general
manager position on February 10, 2003.
He would be rehired by Vince McMahon later that night.
2 Austin and Foley served as Co-General Managers with Bischoff during their respective tenures
in 2003.
3 On February 23, 2009, the Board of Directors named Vickie Guerrero Interim General Manager
when Stephanie McMahon took a leave of absence.
She became permanent GM on April 6, 2009.
4 From July 18, 2011 when Triple H became the WWE's COO, the Anonymous General Manager
had not appeared and used any booking power on Raw, but the podium still appeared on Raw
every week until Hell in a Cell on October 2, 2011.
However, on July 9, 2012, it was finally revealed that Hornswoggle was the Anonymous General
Manager.
5 On October 10, 2011, Vince McMahon returned to Raw and announced that Triple H was relieved
of his booking duties by the Board of Directors and that John Laurainatis was the Interim
General Manager.
He became General Manager on April 1, 2012.
6 Guerrero was given the title of Managing Supervisor by the Board of Directors when
she regained control of Raw on October 22, 2012.
SmackDown authorities
Owner Vince McMahon
Stacy Keibler – Personal assistant Dawn Marie – Legal assistant
General Manager Stephanie McMahon
Paul Heyman Kurt Angle
Theodore Long Palmer Canon – Network Executive
Vickie Guerrero – Assistant General Manager
Vickie Guerrero Theodore Long – Assistant General Manager
Theodore Long Vickie Guerrero – Official Consultant
Zack Ryder – Assistant to the General Manager Santino Marella – Assistant to the General
Manager
John Laurinaitis David Otunga – Legal Counsel
Theodore Long – Assistant to the General Manager
Eve Torres – Executive Administrator
Booker T Theodore Long – Senior Advisor to the General
Manager Eve Torres – Assistant to the General Manager
Vickie Guerrero Saturday Morning Slam authority figures
Owner Vince McMahon
General Manager Mick Foley
NXT authority figures Host
Matt Striker Ashley Valence – Co-Host
Maryse – Co-Host
Match coordinator William Regal
General Manager Dusty Rhodes
John "Bradshaw" Layfield William Regal
ECW brand authorities
Owner Vince McMahon
General Manager Paul Heyman
Armando Estrada Theodore Long
Tiffany – Assistant General Manager
Tiffany 1 1 On April 7, 2009, the board of directors
named Tiffany Interim General Manager when Theodore Long announced his return to SmackDown
as General Manager following Vickie Guerrero's appointment as General Manager of Raw.
She became permanent General Manager on June 30, 2009.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling authority figures
Director of Authority The Director of Authority operated as the
on-screen authority-figure for the company Erik Watts
Don Callis Jeff Jarrett
Vince Russo Dusty Rhodes
NWA Championship Committee TNA Wrestling also maintained a championship
committee – established in 2004 to help the Director of Authority to book matches
and to keep contenders in proper order.
The Committee members also served as guest judges for TNA Impact!
when broadcast by Fox Sports Net, as all matches had a time limit and if the match went to
time, a judge had to make the call as to who had won.
The committee consisted of: Dusty Rhodes
Harley Race Terry Funk
Funk never appeared on-screen in TNA
Roddy Piper Larry Zbyszko
Management Director Jim Cornette
Matt Morgan – Bodyguard/Enforcer
President Dixie Carter,, 1Mick Foley – Executive Shareholder
Hulk Hogan – Managing Partner Rockstar Spud – Chief of Staff
MVP – Investor 3
Hulk Hogan –,2Mick Foley – Network Consultant
1 Dixie Carter has been legitimately TNA President since 2003 after Panda Energy International
became majority shareholder of TNA.
However, she began to have an on-screen role in 2009.
2Hulk Hogan was President from October 2010 to October 2011 after Carter unkowingly signed
her power away to him in a contract.
Carter was re-established as on-screen President following Sting defeating Hogan at Bound For
Glory.
3Even with MVP no longer the Director of Wrestling Operations as of June 26, 2014 edition of
Impact Wrestling, he would still be an investor.
General Manager Sting
Hulk Hogan (Executive) Director of Wrestling Operations
MVP 1 Kurt Angle 2
1As a result of the outcome of the Lethal Lockdown match at Lockdown, MVP partly took
control of TNA as the Director of Wrestling Operations.
2As a result of a decision made by TNA's board of directors, on June 20, 2014, MVP was stripped
of his title, with Kurt Angle announced as MVP's replacement as the Executive Director
of Wrestling Operations.
Knockouts Division Commissioner Traci Brooks
Ms. Tessmacher Karen Jarrett – Executive Vice President
Traci Brooks – Executive Assistant
Brooke Hogan – Executive Xplosion Commissioner
Desmond Wolfe – Executive Producer
Eric Bischoff Ms. Tessmacher – Executive Assistant
Representative of the TNA board of directors Earl Sullivan Armstrong – 1
1Made the announcement on June 20, 2014 that MVP was stripped of his title as Director
of Wrestling Operations, then later on announced Kurt Angle as MVP's replacement as Executive
Director of Wrestling Operations.
Ring of Honor authority figures
Jim Cornette – Commissioner Ric Flair – ROH Ambassador
Jim Cornette – Executive Producer Nigel McGuinness – Match-maker
IWA authority figures
Savio Vega, General Manager Orlando Toledo, General Manager
Joe Bravo, General Manager World Championship Wrestling authority figures
Ted Turner purchased Jim Crockett Promotions and launched World Championship Wrestling
in 1988.
The company went through a series of Vice Presidents and bookers, ranging from those
with little wrestling experience to those entrenched in the old territorial methods
of promotion, until Eric Bischoff took control in 1994.
His tenure saw the creation of WCW Monday Nitro, the start of the Monday Night Wars,
and the formation of the New World Order.
Declining ratings saw Bischoff ousted in 1999, and former WWF writer Vince Russo was hired
in an attempt to salvage the company.
WCW was purchased by the WWF in March 2001, however the company was featured prominently
on WWF television as part of the Invasion storyline for the remainder of the year.
Owner Ted Turner
Harvey Schiller – Vice President of Turner Sports
Shane McMahon1 Vince McMahon
1 Shane McMahon owned WCW as part of the Invasion storyline.
Executive Vice President Jim Herd
Kip Allen Frey Bill Watts
Eric Bischoff Bill Busch
President Eric Bischoff
Ric Flair1Charles Robinson – Vice President
1 Flair became on-screen president after defeating Eric Bischoff in a match on Nitro.
Commissioner Nick Bockwinkel
J.J.
Dillon Roddy Piper
Terry Funk Kevin Nash
Jeff Jarrett - Acting/Interim Commissioner
Ernest Miller,, Mike Sanders
Lance Storm William Regal1
1Regal served as commissioner during the Invasion storyline.
Miscellaneous figures Vince Russo,1Ed Ferrara1
Eric Bischoff 1 Upon arriving in WCW, Russo and Ferrara
introduced "The Powers That Be", a mysterious on-screen presence that controlled the company.
Extreme Championship Wrestling authority figures
Tod Gordon – Owner Paul Heyman – Owner
Cyrus - Network representative
Stephanie McMahon – Owner1 Vince McMahon – Owner
1 Stephanie McMahon owned ECW as part of the Invasion storyline.
See also
List of professional wrestlers List of professional wrestling promoters
Notes and references