FATP:- Looking at 5 Potential Replacements for John Laurinaitis
Welcome to the second exclusive FATP column here at wrestlingrambles.com. Hopefully you all enjoyed No Way Out last night and my review of the show which was posted earlier today. Overall, it was a decent show, not great, but not a bad summer PPV from the juggernaut that is WWE.
You’ve probably heard the result of last night’s main event, where John Cena beat the Big Show in a “Steel Cage Match”, which resulted in Vinnie Mac firing Big Johnny, before Cena gave Laurinaitis an Attitude Adjustment through the Spanish announce table. That poor table man, what’s it done to deserve that? Every time you see the Spanish announcers during the broadcast, you know that their table isn’t going to be in great shape at the end of the night! Laurinaitis’ firing leaves us in a bind. There’s no authority figure for Raw or Smackdown, so who’s going to steer the ship going forward? In honour of John Laurinaitis, and in the name of People Power, I’m going to look at five potential replacements for Big Johnny. As always, feel free to leave your own suggestions in the comment box below and let’s get to it!
William Regal
Although William Regal has been a general manager before, I think he’s effective in that role. Regal’s a great talker and he’s got an air of authority around him. Don’t let the fact that he’s never been a WWE or World Champion distract you from the fact that he’s also a great wrestler. The reason that I’m suggesting Regal is that, after barely being seen on Raw or SmackDown over the last year or so, he was involved in a backstage segment with Mr. McMahon last week on Raw. Could Vince have been interviewing Mr. Regal for the position of general manager? Only time will tell.
Vickie Guerrero
There was a time where I’d change the channel whenever Vickie appeared on-screen. Since then, I’ve grown to appreciate her for what she is: she’s a tremendous modern-day heel manager. As soon as she appears on stage, shrieking “EXCUSE ME!” at the top of her voice, I sit there and laugh. There are very few people who can do what Vickie does, and that’s get genuine heat for her clients. Moving Vickie back to the position of general manager lets Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler break away from her without having to feud with each other and it keeps Vickie on TV without losing any heat.
Michael Cole
When you look at Cole’s face, it’s a face that only a mother could love right? Yup, Michael Cole is on this list. When Cole is playing the heel role at full tilt, he’s a complete jackass on commentary, but if you switch him from behind the desk into a “position of power” and it would be a tremendous move by WWE. Taking Cole off commentary on Raw and SmackDown means that, if they want to, WWE could recall Jim Ross to the announce booth before the three-hour Raw shows begin at the end of July.
Mick Foley
Mick Foley returned to WWE from TNA late last year and he’s been used sparingly. In the last week, WrestlingInc.com’s Daniel Pena reported that the reason for that is because Triple H feels Foley is: “an out-of-shape nobody who should be paying us to appear on our shows.” If that’s the case, and I’ve no reason to believe it’s not given the source, then Triple H needs to do what Vince McMahon has often done, and do what’s right for business. If the opportunity arose to have Foley back on screen and it could be worked around his schedule, then there’s no reason why Mick couldn’t be an effective general manager.
Eve Torres
Since turning into a fully-fledged bad girl, Eve Torres has been one of the standout on-screen performers in WWE. She looks even sexier and she’s had a lot of screen time since becoming the administrator to John Laurinaitis. It’d be a shame if WWE let all their time go to waste by leaving Eve at the wayside now that Johnny’s been fired, because they’ve spent so much time developing her into the best female heel authority figure since Stephanie McMahon. If it were up to me, I’d replace John Laurinaitis with Eve Torres and let’s see what she can do!
I know that not everybody will agree with me choosing some of these names, but they’re the only five I could realistically think of that WWE could put in the role. They’re not going to put Vinnie Mac back on TV every week and Mr McMahon-in-law, HHH, will be busy being Brock Lesnar’s punchbag throughout the summer, so their options are limited. I think it’s better when there’s a heel authority figure that the babyface has to go up against. It creates more entertaining TV than a happy, smiley authority figure that gives everyone what they want. Mind you, that’s just my opinion, I know you’ll have your own. Feel free to either get in touch with me on Twitter, @georgec1982, or leave a comment about the article and let’s talk it out!
I’ll be back next week with the latest edition of “From Across the Pond”, exclusively for all of the readers of wrestlingrambles.com, so until then, thanks for reading and have a great week!
Peace out,
George
Twitter: @georgec1982
William Regal >>> Eve Torres
That’s what I think, but I was coming at it from what WWE is more likely to do
Paul Heyman, please. Maybe due to all these lawsuits he’s racking up, HHH is forced to appoint Heyman to GM.
I like that idea!
that’d be epic, but I can’t see Paul E wanting to be on TV every week? I’d love him as GM though. He’s money on the mic
HHH thinks Mick Foley is an out of shape nobody? That’s rich coming from a man who only holds the position he does because he’s part of the family. As an ingredient in a main feud he has it, but he’s not star in his own right in my opinion. Before he married Steph, he was working opposite Rock and Austin as an adversary. Before that he was carrying HBK’s bags.
Not to mention that before stepping away from full time competition Foley put him over at No Way Out in 2000. A little gratitude perhaps. Rant over!
Anyway, overall a good article. I couldn’t see Mick doing it full time, he’s got his own stuff that he’s getting on with so making the Smackdown tapings and Raw every Monday probably wouldn’t be ideal for him. Again, Regal’s working in NXT with JR. I’m under the impression that they’re working together not only to commentate but also to look at the guys coming through and get a close up of their work.
Given what happened on TV last night as well, I’m guessing it won’t be Vickie.
If he’ss actually been released by TNA, what about Ric Flair? As long as he is banned from EVER wrestling again in his contract this could work.
Or, for a left field answer: The Rated R Superstar Edge. It would depend on whether he’d be willing to do it and if himself and WWE could work out a deal.
Teddy Long is another obvious candidate for the job, and if I’m honest I wouldn’t be surprised if he got the Smackdown gig back and they just used a new GM to fill the Raw seat.
Thanks Michael! I appreciate that! I was trying to think of the five that I wanted who would be most realistic, so I came up with that list. I completely agree with what you said about HHH – it’s disrespectful to say that about Foley, considering it was probably Foley who did most to get HHH over as champ when he first won the belt!
Ric Flair is another great shout, but I don’t see him coming in as long as this court case with WWE/TNA is still going on. Once that’s done, I can see him back.
Eugene!
Ha! Eugene would be tremendous in the role as a guest GM, but could you see him doing it every week?
Musical Chairs forever!
I love William Regal and after seeing him dethroned on NXT to a very charismatic Dusty Rhodes I hope WWE will keep him in the limelight in some form. He was such a great man to meet in person back in Belfast, he’s honestly such a gent so I’ll always hold him in high opinion. He’s an amazing talker but by the way he was talking in Belfast he was starting to step away from the whole business, possibly a retirement in the near future. Or else he might stay in FCW and help out there. I don’t know if he’d be up for travelling every week.
I’d LOVE to see Eve in the General Manager position. She was turned into such a marketable character over the recent People Power era. She’s got great heat and can talk well on the mic. The character she’s got going on now would suit the job to a T. Eve really is the modern day Stephanie McMahon, I just hope they keep the ball rolling with her.
Eve’s better in another position. *cough*
wasn’t she Big Johnny’s “Head Administrator” *cough*
Cum again?
LMFAO! Capt Smooth I think that was the funniest thing I’ve read all week which, considering its only Monday is a pretty impressive accomplishment.
I try.
I’ve never met Regal, but I know people who have said the same as you. That he’s a humble guy and just a good lad above all else!
I’d love to see more Eve on Raw! That’d keep my interest anyway!