The Faceless Fiasco: How WWE’s Anonymous Raw GM Storyline Crashed And Burned

Back in 2010, in the summer, WWE inserted a new, faceless figure of authority onto its flagship television show, Raw, in the guise of an anonymous General Manager who could speak only via emailed messages relayed aloud through announcer Michael Cole. What began life as an intriguing premise soon descended into one of the most panned and poorly executed angles in modern WWE lore. That is the story of the Anonymous Raw GM era—a story of wasted potential, fan frustration, and a reveal that confused everyone in attendance.

The Origin of a Mystery

On 21 June 2010, Vince McMahon, in a gesture, removed Bret Hart as General Manager of Raw and announced a new, faceless GM taking over. That faceless character’s name would not be mentioned, and its dicta relayed via an email to a computer at ringside. Michael Cole, in a heel turn, became a mouthpiece for the GM, opening with a flourish, “And I quote,” reading out each message.

The scenario initially generated intrigue and rumor amongst followers. Who could possibly have been controlling events in the shadows? A modern-day superstar? All-time legend in WWE? Possibilities seemed infinite, and followers tuned in week in and week out in anticipation of seeing a glimpse of an answer to the intrigue.

Red Herring and Misdirection

The months ticked by, and with them, WWE began dropping hints about who could possibly become the GM, but most of them were nothing but red herrings designed to mislead the fan base. Catchphrases and mannerisms of renowned wrestlers, including Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, and even Vince McMahon himself, punctuated messages of the GM11.

The character, whose identity seemed to have a preference for certain wrestlers but clashed with many, included in its adversaries such wrestlers as Bret Hart, Chris Jericho, and most notably Edge, and John Cena. All these seemed to have fueled speculations about who could possibly utilize the laptop.

Cole’s Power Trip

Meanwhile, Michael Cole operated in an atmosphere of secrecy, with him at its epicenter as its mouthpiece. Cole’s heel character in this period, enjoying reading aloud GM’s oftentimes contentious actions, developed during this period. Cole titled himself “The Voice of WWE” and feuded with its broadcast companion Jerry Lawler.

The rise in prominence for Cole saw many speculate that Cole himself could have been the faceless GM, in plain view all along. That would have been a logical reveal, but WWE had a different scheme in store for them.

Edge vs. The Machine

From all of the wrestlers who fought with faceless powers, no one butted heads with them in a more contentious manner than Edge. Edge’s annoyance with the GM culminated in one memorable episode of his chat show, “The Cutting Edge.”

Edge took GM’s platform onto the stage with him, even providing a voice modulator for direct conversation. What then transpired was the surreal spectacle of Edge arguing with a computer, screaming at it for an explanation for GM’s cowardice and lack of sound decision-making. Edge, seeing no purpose in such an activity, attempted to leave, but the GM saw fit to pit him in an immediate contest with John Cena.

The standoff culminated in Edge destroying the GM’s computer in a fit of rage. That act of insurrection would have consequences, for the Anonymous GM then exercised its powers to swap Edge with SmackDown, sending him off Raw altogether.

A Storyline Loses Steam

The Anonymous GM premise dragged out for several months with no resolution in sight, and fan intrigue began to fade out. Freshness of the premise had started to fritter out, and nobody could perceive a seeming conclusion in sight, and thus, everybody grew irritated with it. As per a former WWE writer, Kevin Eck, no concrete plans for whom the GM character actually represented existed when the plotline began.

The era of Anonymous GM came to an end in a formal manner in July 2011, a little over one year after its beginning. Triple H replaced Raw when he became the new COO for WWE, effectively dropping the GM plot with no conclusion. For many of its followers, it appeared a tacit admission that the plot failed.

The Underwhelming Reveal

Just when it appeared that the Anonymous GM controversy would go unexplained, WWE shocked everyone with a reenactment of the plot a whole twelve months later. On 9th July 2012, during a bout of Raw, Santino Marella performed a bit of comedic detective work and theatrically uncovered the actual identity of the GM—Hornswoggle.

The revelation that a diminutive comedy character had been the mastermind behind a year of Raw programming left fans bewildered and disappointed. What had begun as an intriguing mystery ended as little more than a punchline.

Behind the Scenes of a Botched Angle

The years have uncovered information regarding disorganized planning (lack of planning, in fact) for the Anonymous GM plot to become apparent. Information regarding events surrounding Hornswoggle’s unplanned yet successful audition for the role has been posted by Kevin Eck:

One of the columnists humorously added that it must have been Hornswoggle for the manner in which the payoff failed for him to be McMahon’s son. The columnist concurred it sounded silly but considered it silly enough that McMahon would bite at it. Bite at it, and bite at it, he did.

The original plan was for Hornswoggle to become a character in character, with a thick accent, after the reveal, but when it seemed apparent that Hornswoggle could not pull off the character, Vince McMahon decided to cancel the entire angle at the last minute after the first reveal. 17

Missed Opportunities

In hindsight, there were numerous routes that WWE could have taken with the Anonymous GM storyline that could have delivered more satisfying conclusions. Some of the most famous fan hypotheses and potential reveals included:

Michael Cole: As a mouthpiece for GM, Cole himself was deep in with the angle. Having him expose himself as a mastermind could have been a motivation for him to heal and become powerful. hungry13

Vince McMahon: Never one to insert himself into a storyline, Vince emerging as the GM would have played to his character’s desire for control.

Triple H: As soon as he took over following dropping the GM role, “The Game” could have been a fitting choice that filled in with new angles.

The infamous for plotting, Heyman could have leveraged the cover of anonymity to make a return to prominence in WWE 13.

Even having kept the GM’s anonymity forever could have been preferable to the Hornswoggle reveal. As a wrestling journalist wrote, “Perhaps, and I can hardly believe I’m saying it, the GM will stay a faceless entity, a move that perhaps could have been taken almost eight years ago.”

Legacy of Defeat

The Anonymous Raw GM narrative is a cautionary fable regarding poor long-term planning in professional wrestling. What began as a fascinating tease devolved into a disappointing exercise in treading water and stumbling towards an underwhelming conclusion.

The fact that in 2014, WWE revisited the theme (this time not even announcing an identity at all) showed that the corporation hadn’t learned a lesson out of its failures18. Fans and critics alike bristled at having yet more beep-beeping computers and emails in store for them.

The Anonymous GM fiasco is a reminder of why a defined conclusion for big storylines is important when bringing them in. As much as a lot of wrestling stories develop organically, totally dropping long-term angles and carelessly resolving them can drive off an audience that has invested its time and its eyeballs.

Conclusion: Threat of Faceless Authority

In the end, the Anonymous Raw GM plot failed in its attempt at long-term narrative resolution at the expense of short-term tension, for in not revealing the GM’s identity for such an extended period with no satisfactory pay off, WWE lost out in creating a memorable character of authority.

The failure of the angle also proves challenging in creating strong stories for faceless characters in wrestling. As much as intrigue can be an effective tool, in the long run, people demand the humanity and personality conflicts that make for strong wrestling angles.

And with companies such as WWE and others testing out new and unorthodox conceptions of an authority figure, Anonymous Raw GM is a constant reminder of not to make such a concept work. It is a reminder that in professional wrestling, best of all, is when the most powerful characters stand out in front of everyone and confront them face-to-face.