If Russo wasn't tied up with NWA, I'd guess him...but will it be another major name? Piper? Shane? The guessing begins now, ends Thursday(or tomorrow, if you peek at spoilers).
Pffffffffff! I was just going to start a thread with the subject, "Who's the Smackdown GM?" and the text, "PLEASE, God, don't let it be Dusty Rhodes."
So who could it be?
1. Dusty: When they did that backstage segment where they teased the GM arriving and Shane came it, I said to myself, out loud, "FUCK, it had better not be Dusty." That would be pretty horrible. We do not need to see that. On the other hand, Flair is on Raw, so he probably won't have to kiss Dusty's "ass." Or maybe Bischoff ("It would be in your best interests to kiss Dusty Rhodes' ass tonight") will organize a trade for Dusty's ass and make Flair kiss it on Raw.
2. Flair: I don't know how, but I'd put him as the favorite right now. They have nothing to do with him otherwise. He certainly can't keep working Raw main events.
3. Vince: Yup.
4. Vince (Russo): Maybe there's not a good chance, but if you think there's no chance, you obviously haven't been watching wrestling very long.
5: Steffo: Not mentioned in any context tonight. Hmmmmmm! Even Vince's never-ever-mentioned-before brother was referenced.
6: HBK: Like Flair, nothing to do with him. Not an awful choice. Doesn't really seem like a management type, but they could pull it anyway.
7. Josh from Tough Enough: You know, so NWA TNA can't get them for their X division. Pffffffff.
8. Shane, Heyman, Foley, Vince's steel-magnate brother: Mentioned as possibilities tonight, so you know it ain't them.
Also: Why the hell is it "possibly illegal" for Eric Bischoff to "sign" talent away from a show owned by the same person as his show? I would just like to say I was on the phone with a known law student at the time, and he can't think of any possibilities.
¡Azúcar, flores y muchos colores! Estos fueron los ingredientes elegidos para crear a la niñita perfecta. Pero el profesor Utonio agrego accidentalmente otro ingrediente a la formula: ¡la sustancia X! Y así nacieron, ¡las Chicas Superpoderosas! ¡Con sus ultra súper poderes, Bombón, Burbuja y Bellota dedican su vida a combatir el crimen y las fuerzas del mal!
God, I just thought the same thing myself. I swear they do these things just to get the Internet into hyper-speculation mode. Let's throw out a list of suspects, shall we?
Foley Dusty Shane/Steph (unlikely, given the brush-off Shane got earlier) Heyman Shawn Michaels Jimmy Snuka (Aw, c'mon!)
Arn Anderson Vince Russo (god, I hope not)
Can't think of anymore off-hand. Bret Hart would be on there, since Vince is in fence-mending mode, but he's had a stroke (get well, Hitman!), so he's out. Anybody else? Anybody wanna lay odds?
"All I ever asked for in life is an unfair advantage." Microchip, Punisher Annual #2
Dusty Rhodes Shane McMahon Paul Heyman Mick Foley(unlikely as hell) HBK(needs a role now) Viscera(3-2 odds) Sting(my personal choice, and one that would make me a fan for life... or at least until they drop the ball again)
Of the above, I've gotta say Shane-O is not only the most likely(though Dusty's apparently cropped back up recently), but perhaps even the most interesting. We haven't seen him for awhile, and he's a McMahon that's not Stephanie. That's two things in his favor.
I think it's gotta be Shane. Just after the diatribe he had earlier. Linda will probably make it so.
I should also note that I like what they're doing here. Finally giving it a real "competition" feel. Flair-Vince didn't even have that. Plus, anything that gets Bisch back on TV is good in my book (pats heart, points)
I'm gonna say right now that it's gonna be Snuka. Considering that Confidential has been used in the past to set up stories for the future, he seems like a very likely choice.
I would mark out like a freak if it were Mike Sanders, but I doubt it. I still hope he gets pulled up, though. I just don't think most casual fans would know who he is, though, so he wouldn't have much shock/surprise/hell yeah value.
"All I ever asked for in life is an unfair advantage." Microchip, Punisher Annual #2
I'll let you know when I'm there tomorrow night. HA!
I think its going to be Steph since she has been advertised on the local radio station to return. It would be a great swerve to have Steph come out only to reveal Shane is the new GM.
A Fan- I want Foley, but who the hell doesn't after watching the Dark Lord return to wrestling.
At this point, I wouldn't even rule out Jeff Jarrett ....
I'd LOVE for it to be Foley, but I have to admit that's unlikely. He was mentioned already, and he's already had his fill of playing commissioner back in 2000.
Bret Hart or Bobby Heenan probably aren't in good enough condition to take over the role, even setting aside Bret's feelings about Vince.
Sting? Ehh. I can't imagine the GM going around in facepaint and black leather, and having it be Steve Borden in a suit wouldn't have nearly the same impact as Sting showing up on WWE TV.
Snuka? Remote possibility. Is he articulate enough to play the role well?
HBK? Feh. Oh goody, more endless, coy insider promos about events that are ancient history to the casual fans.
From a storyline perspective, though, why would Vince choose Shane? They still weren't getting along tonight.
I can still see it being Shane, but I'm thinking it might be an older retired wrestler who can constantly stand up to Bischoff. Not sure who, though...
You gotta understand that when J.R say's that it is "illegal" for Eric to be trying to sign talent away from one show to the other, what he means is "against the rules that were supposedly established in the draft".
I mean it obviously isn't illegal at some level, because Benoit is now wrestling exclusively on RAW, and he was a Smackdown draftee. It is just that Vince did that personally, and he can do whatever he wants. Vince also mentioned that Smackdown would be "compensated" and he has yet to explain how, maybe Rey is it.
Furthermore, it is fairly apparent that Smackdown has the better group of wrestlers right now, with top heels in Angle, Jericho and the up and coming Canadians. They have top faces Rock and Triple H (for now) and a pushed Cena. They have the popular tag team champs, not to mention a good(albeit underused) group of cruiserweights.
So I really think it would be to the benefit of both shows if either Rock or Triple H did have something going on with RAW. It's not as if either of them are wrestling heavily right now anyway, so I doubt that the show will fall apart if one of them leaves.
No! Shane needs to wrestle on Raw for me! Fall from tall objects through glass for me Shane!!! And please, please, bring back your wonderful enterance music! Here comes the money, In~DEED!
-Jag
Dude, I love Shane. I want him to have my baby.
"You gotta hate somebody before this is over. Them, me, it doesn't matter."
"Hate, who do I hate? You tell me."
"Who do you love?"
-Wintermute to Case in William Gibson's Neuromancer
I'd LOVE for it to be Foley, but I have to admit that's unlikely. He was mentioned already, and he's already had his fill of playing commissioner back in 2000.
I would LOVE for Mick Foley to be back as Smackdown's GM, but I really don't think it'll happen. Call him a commish, GM, president, owner, or whatever the hell the authority figure title of the week is, but Foley's had enough of that. Of course, he didn't like it because that particular role had no direction at the time. The role has a direction now and it can be Mick Foley saving WWE from Eazy E.
Then again, Vince is the one who decides on GMs, so it'd be unlikely from a storyline perspective. The only way it could happen would be if Linda overturns Vince like she has so many times and names Foley (or any other face, for that matter) GM.
And that's the bottom line, because it's false! It's DAMN false!