Mick Foley is a legend of the professional wrestling business. All you have to do is YouTube the phrase ‘Hell in a Cell’ to see him make his most infamous indelible mark on the sport.
There’s no doubting his history, it’s his present and future that we at Cultured Vultures are a tad worried about.
When Foley was brought in by Stephanie McMahon to act as Monday Night Raw’s new General Manager, fans were satisfied with the potential for new storylines and entertaining segments involving Mrs. Foley’s baby boy, similar to his previous commissioner role of yesteryear.
But things haven’t quite worked out that way. Instead, we’ve had to suffer through numerous awkward promos from Mick as he tries to bumble his way through his lines – which he often forgets.
His impassioned promos have lost their edge since he began cutting a new one every single week for a different superstar.
They’ve varied from Cesaro and Sheamus best of seven series, when he challenged them to channel their aggression, to Sami Zayn, when he challenged him to channel his aggression against Braun Strowman.
We also don’t really know if Foley is a heel or a babyface. Whether he’s gifting Roman Reigns another title match or he’s preparing to throw in the towel on behalf of Zayn during his Strowman bout, it has been difficult to keep up. I’d be surprised if Mick knew himself what he was these days.
His boss, Stephanie McMahon, is also a perpetual heel/babyface flip-flopper, so that doesn’t help anyone either.
With rumours running rampant over the possible firing of Foley in the not so distant future, here are five better options for Monday Night Raw’s next General Manager.
5. Lana
The Ravishing Russian has been a popular edition to Monday Night Raw since her debut alongside future husband Rusev back in 2014. Even if the Bulgarian constantly refuses to allow his wife to enjoy the accolades from the WWE Universe.
The pair have been quiet recently on WWE TV, with the company using them sparingly. The move to shift Lana into a position of power on Monday nights would be the perfect opportunity for Rusev to catapult himself back up the card to the main event, where he belongs.
Lana could abuse her power, giving her husband title match after title match, stacking the deck in his favour at every turn. This would intensify the heat on the couple, thus affirming their status as monster heels.
There is also the potential for Stephanie McMahon to – if creative really want to continue her whole power trip angle – hire Lana as a GM, so she can act as a spokeswoman for the Authority’s plans and ideas.
4. William Regal
Regal has done a terrific job as NXT’s General Manager in recent years and has always been a popular figure with the WWE universe.
His most recent involvement with WWE’s newest competition for their United Kingdom Championship was great, and could be worked into storyline.
The Blackpool Brawler has been influential in scouting and bringing in several independent talents, which is no secret to the WWE fans – especially with kayfabe now seemingly a thing of the past and the curtains being pulled back at every opportunity.
Fans know of Regal’s talents and expertise. He has a certain charisma about him and he looks, and acts, like management should.
This would also provide an opportunity for WWE to call-up more talent from NXT and centre the storyline on their wanting to follow a GM whom they respect to his brand.
Add to that the fact that Regal brought guys like Jushin Thunder Liger to his NXT Takeover events, and there’s the hope that he one day could do the same for Monday Night Raw.
3. Eric Bischoff
I cannot be the only one who would LOVE to see Bischoff back on TV for a long-term run with WWE once more.
He created a brilliant character in WCW and added to it during his WWE run. The man knows the business and has one of those punchable faces – even when portraying a babyface.
The dynamic of a Stephanie McMahon/Eric Bischoff partnership would also be intriguing. Would Bischoff be her puppet? Would he pretend to be her puppet until his grand plan of taking over came to fruition?
These are the kind of stories that WWE should be telling.
2. Sting
The Stinger was forced into premature retirement after receiving a buckle-bomb from Seth Rollins at the ripe old age of 56-years-old. It was a crying shame for the superstar after having finally debuted on WWE television after years of delays and refusals.
If he can’t wrestle for Vince McMahon, he should still certainly be on television in some capacity. And that capacity could be General Manager of Monday Night Raw.
When he finally showed up at Survivor Series 2014, the anticipation had been unbelievable. A feud with the Authority and Triple H followed, before his action with Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
But we didn’t really get to see much of his character. We didn’t see too many promos, too many backstage segments or too many run-ins with any other superstars. And that was a missed opportunity in my book.
If he were to return as GM for WWE’s flagship show, we would get those interactions. We would see him have a face-to-face with the Big Show (a.k.a the Giant) from his WCW days. We would witness Sting having a jovial chat with a now babyface Seth Rollins. Think of what Kevin Owens could do with Sting as his muse.
And we would see a brand-new dynamic between Triple H, Stephanie McMahon and Sting as they all try and work together under the one brand umbrella. Who wouldn’t want to see that?
1. Kurt Angle
WWE’s newest addition to their Hall of Fame is a welcome one. Fans have been clamoring for Angle to return to his home for years, and it’s finally happened.
The Olympic Hero would be an outstanding choice for GM because, let’s face it, he was once the most entertaining star on the roster. His ability to make any story work was fantastic, he was hilarious (cowboy hat segment, Jimmy Crack Corn segment), and he is a bonafide star.
He can play babyface and heel equally as impressively and can go from jokey Angle to serious athlete in a heartbeat. He won an Olympic Gold Medal with a broken freakin’ neck, remember.
This role as GM may well see his in-ring career come to an end. And even though, personally, that’s the last thing I want to see – if becoming Raw GM is the only way we’ll get a permanent return of Kurt Angle, I guess I’d just have to accept it.
He is one of the best superstars WWE have ever had, and I would be delighted to see him back where he belongs. Oh it’s true, it’s damn true.
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