5 SmackDown GMs and why WWE had to let them go

The role of an on-air authority figure tends to be a tumultuous one for performers in WWE. After all, the person in power tends to get featured prominently, whether it’s a heel throwing obstacles in the way of faces or a face cutting promos week after week in support of the heroes, chastising the villains.

Authority figures have a tendency to wear out their welcome for overexposure week in and week out, or to simply run their course for the storylines that creative has drawn up for them in the role. Other times, people get cast in the GM role on a trial basis when WWE sees potential, other plans don’t work out, or an injury forces a hot performer out of the ring and WWE seeks to maintain momentum by plugging him or her into a different role in the short term.

This article takes a look back at five of SmackDown’s most memorable general managers, recalling their performances in the role, and looking at why WWE ultimately transitioned them out of that role, if not the company on the whole.

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#5 Theodore Long

Theodore Long spent more time as SmackDown GM than anyone.

There may be no one more synonymous with the SmackDown GM role than Theodore Long. After a lengthy career as a manager and referee, Long stumbled into the GM spot and wound up more entertaining and likeable than most authority figures can be. He wound up transitioning in and out of the GM spot over the course of an eight-year period, all but the default SmackDown GM for the length of the first brand split.

The end of Long’s tenure atop SmackDown seemed to come down to WWE’s creative direction. First, the company consolidated kayfabe power under John Laurinaitis when he took control of both Raw and Smackdown. Then, in the absence of much better for Long to do, and having run his course as GM, WWE ultimately released in a major talent cut in 2014. There don’t seem to have been hard feelings, though, as WWE ultimately welcomed Long back into the fold for a Hall of Fame induction.

#4 Vickie Guerrero

Vickie Guerrero was a surprisingly successful heel authority figure.

After Eddie Guerrero's sad demise, WWE purportedly offered his widow, Vickie, a job for life. It was unclear how she would fit in as an on-air talent, but she surprised a lot of fans by emerging as one of the most compelling heel authority figures in post-Attitude WWE. Her work saw her preside over SmackDown, which included a lengthy period backing her kayfabe hubby Edge, and later Dolph Ziggler in their main event runs.

Vickie would wind up transitioning to a position of power on Raw as the original brand split broke down and leadership over SmackDown alone, became a less meaningful distinction. Later, she would take on a more straightforward managerial role before finally electing to leave WWE on her own terms. By that point in her life, she was remarried and had reportedly decided to go back to school to pursue a career in medical administration.

#3 Kurt Angle

WWE got the most it could out of Kurt Angle when he was hurt.

Kurt Angle is best remembered for his in-ring work as a WWE star. He rode his Olympic gold medal credential to a hellacious heel run for the second half of the Attitude Era and then became a defining star of the era to follow as he was one of the few Attitude main eventers to stay on full time for the five years to follow.

Angle did have one brief period when he was not a wrestler. Instead, he was the GM of SmackDown. It was a strategic move to keep an injured Angle, as arguably the most over the star on his brand, in the public eye, with his personality shining brightly on the mic when he couldn’t work in the ring. The move proved wise as it kept Angle fresh in the minds of the audience members so he could slide right back into the main event picture when his body allowed him back in the ring.

Little did fans know that the SmackDown GM stint would also serve as preparation for the role Angle would settle into over a decade later as the GM of Raw.

#2 Paul Heyman

Paul Heyman was right at home when placed in charge.

In 2003, Paul Heyman was appointed to the role of SmackDown general manager, a fine spot for one of the best talkers in wrestling history. Heyman was successful, if unremarkable in his role as the blue brand’s figurehead, but after a half year, he got moved out of that spot when he was drafted to the Raw brand, only to reject the position on account of not wanting to work as Eric Bischoff’s assistant.

In reality, WWE was strategically positioning Heyman for the relaunch of ECW as a third brand. Heyman would become the on-air authority figure for the ECW brand that he had, in reality once presided over, while having creative input, but not autonomy. In the end, Heyman has confessed to having been dissatisfied with WWE’s vision for ECW—particularly in pushing established stars like The Big Show and more mainstream guys like Bobby Lashley over more organically ECW styled performers like CM Punk.

#1 Stephanie McMahon

In a rare face run, Stephanie presided over SmackDown during the first brand split.

Since the second WWE brand split, Stephanie McMahon has been synonymous with Monday Night Raw, standing alongside Mick Foley and then standing alone as the chief figure for the red brand. From 2002 to 2003, however, in the early days of the first brand split, Stephanie was the on-air leader for SmackDown.

Interestingly, this era marked Stephanie’s lone sustained period as the face authority figure as she represented women’s empowerment and was generally successful in standing up to heels, including her own father.

In the end, Vince would get the upper hand on his daughter, defeating her in an I Quit Match to cost her the GM job as per the storyline. In reality, Stephanie was due for a little time off. She’d wrestle that match with her father mere days before marrying Triple H in real life. Family matriarch Linda had also claimed in interviews to have been upset with her husband for putting their daughter at risk so shortly before such a big day.