Authority Figures

From Iwe

Current revision as of 01:04, 6 September 2012

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 Wright's Mr. Wright gimmick exemplifies this type.

[edit] IWE authority figures

[edit] Chairman

• David Ackeret, Sr. (1955–1980)
• David Ackeret (1980–Present)

[edit] Chief Executive Officer

• Steve Johnson (June 7, 1999 - June 27, 1999)¹
• Shannon Ackeret (September 2, 1999 – September 16, 2009)²
• David Ackeret (September 16, 2009 – Present)

¹ Kayfabe-appointed CEO by Shannon; subsequently lost power in a Ladder match at King of the Ring.

² Sheila Wright gained control after her husband Gary Wright was barred from appearing on IWF television after Fully Loaded. In real life, Sheila Wright served on the board of directors for IWE from 1980; Sheila Wright appointed her to the position of CEO in 1994 during the IWF steroid scandal.

[edit] President

• Willie Gilzenberg (1963– November 15, 1978)
• Hisashi Shinma (1978–1984)
• Jack Tunney (September 1984 - July 12, 1995)
• Gorilla Monsoon (July 12, 1995 – August 3, 1997) (interim from July 12, 1995 to March 31, 1996, when he officially became President)
• Roddy Piper - Interim President (1996) (substitution for an injured Gorilla Monsoon)

[edit] Chief Operating Officer

• Triple K (July 18, 2011 - present)¹
  • Theodore Long - Assistant to the COO (September 5, 2011 - October 10, 2011)²

¹ Triple K had all booking power on Raw and SmackDown until being stripped of it by the Board of Directors on October 10, 2011.

² Theodore Long announced that Triple K had given him the power to book Raw when necessary. This arrangement ended when John Laurinaitis became Interim Raw General Manager.

[edit] Commissioners

• Sgt. Slaughter (August 4, 1997 - November 23, 1998)
• Ryan Barnhart (November 23, 1998 - June 26, 2000)
• Mick Foley (June 26, 2000 - December 18, 2000)
  • Debra - Lt. Commissioner - (October 30, 2000 - March 5, 2001)
• William Kapphan (March 8, 2001 - October 11, 2001)

[edit] Raw brand authorities

See also: IWE Raw and List of IWE Raw guest stars

[edit] Owners

• Ric Flair (March 18, 2002 - June 10, 2002)
• David Ackeret (June 10, 2002 - June 15, 2009)
  • Dustin Ackeret Executive Vice President (June 10, 2002 - June 22, 2009)¹
• Donald Trump (June 15, 2009 - June 22, 2009)
• David Ackeret (June 22, 2009 – Present)

¹ Dustin Ackeret made occasional appearances all throughout this time and had booking power.

[edit] General Managers

• Eric Bischoff (July 15, 2002 - February 10, 2003), (February 10, 2003 - December 5, 2005)
  • Chief Morley - Chief of Staff (November 25, 2002 - May 5, 2003)
  • Steve Johnson - Co-General Manager/Sheriff (April 28, 2003 - April 17, 2004)
  • Mick Foley - Co-General Manager (December 1, 2003 - December 15, 2003)
• David Ackeret - Interim General Manager (December 12, 2005 - May 29, 2006)
• Jonathan Coachman - Executive Assistant/Interim General Manager (May 29, 2006 - August 6, 2007)
• William Kapphan (August 6, 2007 - May 19, 2008)
  • Jonathan Coachman - Executive Assistant (August 6, 2007 - January 4, 2008)
• Mike Adamle (July 28, 2008 - November 3, 2008)
• Jessica Ackeret (November 24, 2008 - April 6, 2009)
• Lynn Lehr (April 6, 2009 - June 8, 2009), (May 10, 2010)
• Bret Heart (May 24, 2010 - June 14, 2010)
• Anonymous General Manager (June 21, 2010 - October 2, 2011) ¹
  • Michael Cole - Official Spokesman (June 21, 2010 - October 2, 2011)
• John Laurinaitis - Interim General Manager (October 10, 2011 - June 17, 2012) ³
  • David Otunga - Legal Counsel (October 10, 2011 - June 17, 2012)
  • Theodore Long - Assistant to the GM (April 3, 2012 - June 17, 2012)
  • Eve Torres - Executive Administrator (April 23, 2012 - June 17, 2012)
• AJ Lee (July 23, 2012 - present)

¹ On February 23, 2009, the Board of Directors named Lynn Lehr Interim General Manager when Jessica Ackeret took a leave of absence. She became permanent General Manager on April 6, 2009.

² From July 18, 2011 when Triple K became the IWE's Chief Operating Officer, the Anonymous General Manager had not appeared and used any booking power on Raw, but the General Manager's 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 Raw General Manager.

³ On October 10, 2011, David Ackeret returned to Raw and announced that Triple K was relieved of his booking duties by the Board of Directors and that John Laurainatis was the interim General Manager. He became permanent General Manager on April 1, 2012.

[edit] SmackDown brand authorities

• See also: IWE SmackDown

[edit] Owners

• Dustin Ackeret (March 18, 2002 – present)
  • Kelsey Keibler - Personal Assistant (April 11, 2002 - August 12, 2002)
  • Torrie Marie - Legal Assistant (May 30, 2002 - September 26, 2002)

[edit] General Managers

• Bonnie Wright (July 18, 2002 - October 19, 2003)
• Paul Heyman (October 23, 2003 - March 22, 2004)
• Matt Borske (March 25, 2004 - July 22, 2004)
• Theodore Long (July 29, 2004 - September 21, 2007)
  • Palmer Canon - Network Representative (August 25, 2005 - April 27, 2006)
  • Lynn Lehr - Assistant General Manager (May 18, 2007 - September 21, 2007)
• Lynn Lehr (September 28, 2007 - April 6, 2009) </sup>
  • Theodore Long - Assistant General Manager (November 30, 2007 - May 16, 2008)
• Theodore Long (April 7, 2009 - April 1, 2012)
  • Lynn Lehr - Consultant (November 20, 2009 - February 25, 2011)
  • Zack Nuss - Assistant to the General Manager (July 29, 2011 – January 6, 2012)
  • Justin Black - Assistant to the General Manager (January 6, 2012 - April 1, 2012)
• John Laurinaitis (April 1, 2012 - June 17, 2012)
  • David Mahrt - Legal Counsel (April 1, 2012 - June 17, 2012)
  • Theodore Long - Assistant to the GM (April 3, 2012 - June 17, 2012)
  • Nicole bergman - Executive Administrator (April 23, 2012 - June 17, 2012)
• Booker T (July 31, 2012 - present)
  • Theodore Long - Senior Advisor (July 31, 2012-present)
  • Nicole Bergman - Assistant to the General Manager (August 17, 2012-present)

[edit] NXT Authority Figures

[edit] Host

• Matt Striker (February 23, 2010 - June 13, 2012)
  • Ashley Valence - Co-Host (June 22, 2010– August 31, 2010)
  • Maryse - Co-Host (March 8, 2011– August 24, 2011)

[edit] Match Coordinator

• William Kapphan (February 29, 2012 - June 13, 2012)

[edit] General Manager

• Dusty Semmler - Interim General Manager (June 20, 2012 - present)

[edit] XCW brand authorities

See also: XCW (IWE)

[edit] Owners

• David Ackeret (June 7, 2006 - February 16, 2010)

[edit] General Managers

• Paul Heyman (under the title of ECW Representative) (June 13, 2006 - December 4, 2006)
• Armando Estrada (August 14, 2007 - June 3, 2008)
• Theodore Long (June 3, 2008 - April 7, 2009)
  • Tiffany - Assistant General Manager (June 10, 2008 - April 7, 2009)
• Tiffany (June 30, 2009 - February 16, 2010) 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 Lynn Lehr's appointment as General Manager of Raw. She became permanent General Manager on June 30, 2009.

[edit] Total Nonstop Action Wrestling authority figures

See also: Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

[edit] Directors of Authority

The Director of Authority operated as the on-screen authority-figure for the company

• Erik Watts (July 23, 2003 - January 28, 2004)
• Don Callis (January 28, 2004 - February 4, 2004)
• Jeff Jarrett (February 11, 2004 - February 18, 2004)
• Vince Russo (February 18, 2004 - November 7, 2004)
• Dusty Semmler (November 7, 2004 - June 17, 2005)

[edit] NWA Championship Committee

TNA Wrestling also maintains a championship committee — established in 2004 to help the Director of Authority to book matches and 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, the judge had to make the call as to who had won (somewhat as in boxing).

The committee consisted of:

• Dusty Semmler (founder, original member, November 2004 - June 2005)
• Harley Race (original member, November 2004 - ???)
• Terry Funk (original member, November 2004 - March 2005)
  • Funk never appeared on-screen in TNA
• Roddy Piper (replacement for Funk, March 2005 - ???)
• Larry Zbyszko (original member, November 2004 - 2006)

[edit] Management Director

• Jim Cornette (July 16, 2006 - May 21, 2009)
  • Matt Morgan - Bodyguard/Enforcer (August 9, 2007 - April 10, 2008)

[edit] President

• Dixie Carter (April 19, 2009 - October 14, 2010), (November 25, 2010 - March 3, 2011) (October 16, 2011 - Present) ¹
  • Mick Foley - Executive Shareholder (October 23, 2008 - January 4, 2010)
  • Hulk Hogan - Managing Partner (January 4, 2010 - October 14, 2010)
  • Cting - General Manager (October 20, 2011 - Present)

• Hulk Hogan - (October 14, 2010 - November 25, 2010), (March 3, 2011 – October 16, 2011)
  • Mick Foley - Network Consultant (May 3, 2011 - June 2, 2011)

¹ Dixie Carter is legitimately TNA President since 2003 after Panda Energy International became majority shareholder of TNA. However, she began to have an on-screen role on 2009, which is around the same time that Panda Energy acquired Jeff Jarrett's stake in the company.

[edit] Executive Producer

• Eric Bischoff (January 4, 2010 - October 16, 2011)
  • Ms. Tessmacher - Executive Assistant (April 28, 2010 - September 20, 2010)

[edit] Knockouts Division Commissioner

• Traci Brooks - (August 28, 2008 - January 2009)
• Ms. Tessmacher - (September 20, 2010 - October 14, 2010)
• Karen Jarrett - (September 1, 2011 – December 15, 2011)
  • Traci Brooks - Executive Assistant (September 1, 2011 – December 15, 2011)

[edit] Xplosion Commissioner

• Damian Lufborough - (May 16, 2011 - June 16, 2011)

[edit] Ring of Honor authority figures

• See also: Ring of Honor

[edit] ROH Ambassador

• Ric Flair - (April 5, 2009 - May 30, 2009)

[edit] Executive Producer

• Jim Cornette - (December 5, 2009 - present)

[edit] Notes and references