The role of an authority figure in wrestling is typically to create compelling storylines and feuds with the talent on the roster. Every major wrestling promotion has experimented with the angle of a wrestler vs authority figure storyline since it can lead to huge success. Both instances of great feuds and disappointing ones showed how different things can go.
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Promotions benefited from fans wanting to see the wrestlers that clicked with authority figures overcome or create conflict. However, other instances led to failure due to lack of chemistry or a weak story. Each side showed that there is a huge risk and high reward with this kind of a storyline. The following wrestler vs authority figure feuds were either the best or worst of its kind.
The infamous Summer of Punk focused on a worked shoot storyline of CM Punk being frustrated with management. Both Vince McMahon and Triple H were insulted by Punk for their decisions and general points about things a decent percentage of the fans found annoying.
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Punk's biggest matches came against John Cena, but it felt like Punk was feuding with the authority figures more than anything else. The overall storyline found huge success to get Punk over at a new level from where he was before.
WCW tried to have their own version of a heel authority figure when Eric Bischoff joined the New World Order. Ric Flair ended up being Bischoff's biggest feud due to both on-screen and backstage issues that became part of the show. Bischoff legitimately punished Flair and tried to sue him for missing an episode of Nitro to attend his son's wrestling tournament.
WCW eventually brought Flair back to feud with Bischoff, but it just felt awkward seeing them shoot about something most fans didn't know about before the internet took off. The hostility existed for years before they finally made peace many years later working together in other companies.
TNA found their best authority figure vs wrestler storyline when Maria Kanellis ran the Knockouts division. All the face women in the division dealt with Maria's ruthless heel mentality, but her assistant Allie felt the brunt of it.
Fans started to love Allie playing a naive character wanting to do the best as Kanellis continuously bullied her. Allie eventually standing up to Maria turned into a huge moment that fans invested in and made her an important part of the Knockouts division moving forward.
Drew McIntyre is currently one of WWE's biggest stars, but his first tenure with the company was a disappointment. WWE pushed McIntyre hard as Vince McMahon's "chosen one" and an instant storyline with Smackdown General Manager Teddy Long.
The support of McMahon saw McIntyre using his power to make life miserable for Long. There were some good moments involving Matt Hardy facing Drew, but the overall authority figure vs arrogant wrestler angle did nothing for either party.
Chris Jericho's WWE debut is remembered as a star making moment, but that wasn't the case. A slow start saw Jericho struggling to find momentum until having promo exchanges with Stephanie McMahon of all people as a hated authority figure.
Both Triple H and Stephanie had verbal battles with Jericho that showed his full personality for the first time. Jericho had some great matches with Triple H, but it was the segments with Stephanie that helped him get to the next level.
TNA tried to replicate WWE in multiple ways with the AJ Styles vs Dixie Carter feud. Dixie turning heel saw her cutting weak promos clearly inspired by Stephanie McMahon's heel work. Styles referencing his contract ending and having conflict with Carter was a rip off of CM Punk's WWE angle.
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The matches of AJ delivered when winning the TNA World Championship from Bully Ray, but the overall storyline took away from it. Dixie jumped the shark more than ever by going that hard in the heel direction to ruin any momentum.
WWE didn't realize how much success would come from the Daniel Bryan vs The Authority storyline. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon were the main villains holding Bryan down when forming The Authority with Randy Orton as their handpicked champ.
The storyline seemed to end when Bryan lost multiple rematches, but the fans kept rallying behind him. WWE eventually had to go back to the story with the epic WrestleMania 30 pay off of Bryan winning the big one for a perfect ending.
Vince Russo spiraled out of control in WCW with some of the worst ideas in wrestling history to further sink the company. Goldberg was forced into a ridiculous worked shoot feud with Russo by breaking character and refusing to lose matches as the storyline.
The moments of Goldberg calling out Russo looking at the camera or walking out of matches just frustrated fans wanting to see the former top star dominate again. Goldberg hated this feud so much that he questioned if Russo was a plant sent by WWE to kill WCW.
The peak of the authority figure in wrestling will always see Vince McMahon feuding with Steve Austin as the best storyline of its kind. Austin won the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 14 after a full year of being the most beloved superstar.
WWE pulled the right next move by making McMahon a thorn in Austin's side once the champ. Their rivalry featured many of the greatest WWE segments and even a couple of fun matches. Austin reached new peaks with the Attitude Era taking off thanks to his feud with management.
The Yes movement of Daniel Bryan had fans loving him as the new top face, but WWE tried to transfer that to other wrestlers. Big Show started awkwardly doing the Yes chant to try to get in the heads of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.
However, this entire angle showed WWE dropping the ball in more ways than one. Big Show losing his savings with bad investments and Stephanie trying to use that to blackmail him led to a brutal storyline. No one cared about Big Show trying to get revenge on The Authority at that stage of his career with other options like Bryan and CM Punk there.