5 possible names for 205 Live General Manager candidates

Monday Night Raw is run by Kurt Angle underneath Stephanie McMahon, while SmackDown Live has General Manager Daniel Bryan and Commissioner Shane McMahon at the helm.

Up until now, the cruiserweight division has operated as a combination of the two shows, with Angle making most of the matches despite how the program would air after SmackDown.

On this week's episode, however, it was Daniel Bryan who announced that next week on 205 Live, the cruiserweight division would be receiving its own general manager to operate and manage the tasks of running the show.

His or her first act will be to address the vacated Cruiserweight Championship situation following Enzo Amore's release from WWE, which is obviously a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of this new authority figure.

With no teases as to who this person will end up being, the WWE Universe is left to its own speculation, predictions, theories, hopes and wishes for who will be named the 205 Live general manager.

Here are a handful of some interesting suggestions and ideas who could be potential options to pick from.

Honorable Mentions

Tyson Kidd and several others could be good options to consider for the 205 Live general manager position.

Before getting to the actual list, let's examine some of the people who didn't quite make the cut, but are still worth talking about for one reason or another.

One of those names is MVP, who we last saw on the 25th anniversary of Monday Night Raw earlier this week.

Montel Vontavius Porter obviously has a good enough relationship with WWE right now for them to bring him back for that random appearance, which could be an indication that the two sides are going to be working together going forward.

He is charismatic, great on the microphone, and experienced enough portraying someone with power from his time in Impact Wrestling. Plus, he is past his prime in the ring and could use this to land himself a gig for a long foreseeable future.

There are also the backstage producers Billy Kidman and Dean Malenko, who are no strangers to WCW's cruiserweight division as they helped make that what it was. It's hard to imagine they would step out behind the curtain for anything this significant, though, as they only ever really show up for quick, sporadic appearances now and then.

WWE could also rehire James Ellsworth if they are looking for someone to be the total opposite of an authority figure from Angle and Bryan since Ellsworth would be a pushover weakling that could be bullied. That is doubtful, though, since he was recently released from WWE a few months back.

Sadly, if WWE is indeed going to make a joke out of this, the suggestion of Hornswoggle can't be ignored. He was the very last to hold the previous incarnation of the Cruiserweight Championship and he was also the Anonymous Raw General Manager, so it isn't as though this hasn't been done before.

Tyson Kidd is another name that could be considered, as his in-ring career has been finished for quite some time and if he were still able to wrestle today, he would almost positively be on the 205 Live roster as a veteran to the younger talent there.

Finally, it's worth discussing the idea that Percy Watson or David Otunga could fulfil the role. In Watson's case, he isn't quite clicking as a commentator in NXT and has enough personality that can be showcased better as a general manager, while Otunga is a former commentator who only appears now and again as a pre-show panel analyst.

We've seen people adjust their roles in the company time and time again, and if WWE is looking for someone in-house and quick to fill in this role, Watson and Otunga could rather easily be called upon to take charge.

#5 Mark Henry

At face value, this might seem like a joke, but this is a sincere, honest suggestion for a multitude of reasons.

Set aside your scoffs that it would make no sense to have someone of Mark Henry's size to be the general manager of the cruiserweight division, as that in no way needs to be a qualification.

If that were the case, why is Vic Joseph a commentator when he has never wrestled before, and what was the rationalization for Vickie Guerrero being in a position of power when she was? Brad Maddox was a referee before he was an authority figure, too, and that was okay.

Nothing in the nonexistent rules states that you have to be under 205 pounds to manage the 205 Live division.

Henry is a legend and waiting on a Hall of Fame induction that he is sure to receive in the future after multiple title wins and a beloved career going all the way back to 1996.

He has also recently been influential in taking Neville and grooming him for the next level (no pun intended) which resulted in his ascension to the top of the division and someone who felt highly enough of himself that he even believes he's above 205 Live entirely, clearly.

With Henry no longer an active competitor and someone who showed range with everything from the serious Hall of Pain version of his character to Sexual Chocolate, he could be a valuable asset to working behind the scenes and trying to figure out how to spice up this division going forward.

Plus, given his status as The World's Strongest Man, who is going to test him as general manager?

#4 X-Pac

When considering bringing back talent and trying to tailor them to the cruiserweight division, it's hard not to think of Sean Waltman.

While he previously had a strained relationship with WWE for a few different reasons, X-Pac has been back in good graces for several years now, making appearances at Hall of Fame ceremonies and doing guest spots like the Raw 25 special.

Virtually everybody comes with some baggage, and Waltman is no stranger to having skeletons in his closet, but he's lobbied for a position with the company in the past and now might finally be the time to let that happen.

After all, Shawn Michaels is working with NXT, Triple H is a head honcho, Billy Gunn was a trainer at the Performance Center, and Road Dogg is a producer, so why is Waltman the only person from DX left out of the equation?

He had a reputation in the '90s of being someone that WWE could put in the ring with and if a decent enough match didn't happen, it showed that the other wrestler might not have what it takes, which means he's someone who understands how to handle the in-ring aspects of this business from a different perspective than just his own performance.

If this happens, it would be fun to hear Waltman ask the crowd to "make some noise" if they want to see a particular match happen whenever he books something on the fly.

#3 Gregory Helms

In some ways, this is very much the same as the X-Pac pick, but with a few details being different.

Waltman had his share of name changes with X-Pac, Syxx, The 1-2-3 Kid and The Lightning Kid while Gregory Helms went by the superhero moniker of The Hurricane, was "Sugar" in a boy band and also just used his middle name, Shane, too.

Helms was the premiere cruiserweight athlete in WWE during the old title lineage, holding the championship for not only the most combined days but also the single longest run that lasted over a full calendar year.

Since leaving WWE in 2010, he has worked on the indie scene and was an agent and talent for Impact Wrestling for a stint as well, though he is no longer employed there, opening him up to the freedom to be hired for this job if both sides were to be interested.

Judging by Helms tweeting the McMahon family to throw his name in the hat to help with the cruiserweight division, at least he seems to be on board with the idea.

With the return of The Hardy Boyz last year and their deep friendship connection to Helms, they could be the ones who put in a good word to allow his name to be part of the conversation.

When establishing the clout to be the general manager, all that would need to be said is to announce him as the longest reigning cruiserweight champion in WWE history and that checks off as good of a qualification as any you could ask for.

#2 Drew Gulak

One person who has officially become part of this storyline within WWE's own structure is 205 Live's own Drew Gulak.

This makes absolutely perfect sense, considering his gimmick has been to change 205 Live for the better by executing his vision of a Drewtopia.

We've seen PowerPoint presentations detailing his ideas he would implement, such as abolishing chanting, high-flying, flashy ring attire and interrupting when people are speaking.

This campaign has gone on for months and it almost feels as though this would be the culmination of everything, where Gulak finally does have the power to make these changes for the better or worse.

The tricky thing to do is to have these changes happen without hurting the product, as flippy athletic moves are what everyone is going to want to see more of, rather than less of. However, if done properly, this could be a brilliant retooling of the dynamic between Vince McMahon and 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin.

As an authority figure who doesn't want 205 Live to be the cruiserweight division it needs to be, he would be holding everybody back and giving the fans a reason to lust for something more—the type of show that a babyface like Cedric Alexander, Mustafa Ali, Kalisto and others would be fighting to preserve.

If WWE is looking for a way out of replacing Enzo Amore as a bothersome head of the division, Gulak was the second-in-command of The Zo Train and did more than his fair share of pulling that along, so he could be the best successor in an even better fashion.

It's hard to beat Gulak as an option, but there is still one more person who could potentially be announced a usurp that spot from him.

#1 "Rockstar Spud" James Curtin

Although nothing formal has been announced by WWE, James Curtin—better known as Rockstar Spud—has been expected to join the 205 Live roster for quite some time after leaving Impact Wrestling.

Numerous rumours circled numerous dates as for when he would make his first appearance, but nothing ever came to pass, which is suspicious.

Perhaps the reasoning for this was that the plan all along was to debut him as the general manager after the Royal Rumble, which is why this announcement is happening next week instead of now.

Curtin's claim to fame outside of the pure indie scene was his role as Chief of Staff under Dixie Carter for Impact, which led to two X-Division title wins and other accolades from 2013 until recently.

As a brand new character to the WWE Universe, Curtin could be virtually anything from the start—a brash and brazen heel, a supportive and quirky babyface, or even a combination of the two.

Perhaps this could even be the next feud for Gulak, who is furious that his proposal was ignored while a babyface like Curtin was brought in to fill the position instead.

The only thing getting in the way of this manifesting is if WWE brought him onto the roster to be an actual competitor, in which case, a decision would have to be made between the two options as it doesn't make sense for both to happen at the same time.

Until next week, we don't know for sure who the general manager will be, but these are just a few suggestions of some potential picks WWE may go with. Be sure to tell us who you'd like to see fill the role and what your predictions are in the comments below!

Send us news tips at [email protected]