Teddy Long Talks How To Be A Good Authority Figure

Teddy Long or Theodor Long was a pretty common name in the 2000s and early 2010s in WWE. He is mostly known for his General Manager Role of Smackdown. He has also played referee, player-manager, and other roles.

Teddy Long started his career way back in 1985 in the WCW. He worked there for eight years. WWE signed him in 1998 and was given a role of a referee. He continued working as a referee till 2002 and after that, he started managing wrestlers. Rodney Mack, Mark Henry, Christopher Nowinski, Jazz, and Rosey are the wrestlers that Long managed. In 2004, Long became the General Manager of Smackdown and fans loved his role.

Teddy Long Talks How To Be A Good Authority Figure

Long recently appeared on WINCLY where he said how to be a good authority figure in professional wrestling. He said,

I think what makes an authority figure pop is that the authority figure gives the people what they want. My thing is this, if people came to that arena and spend their hard-earned money to see a good show, then I want them to be happy.

I want them to go home happy, and I want them to be able to talk to their neighbors and everybody and say, ‘Hey, I went to see SWE last night and brother, did I have a great time.’ Now not only do I want to make the people happy but sometimes I have to make the wrestlers happy too because sometimes they’re in a situation that they can’t get out of, but I can straighten it out for them.

So I just want to make everybody happy and have a great show, and when you leave there, I want you to be entertained, talking about it when you get home and letting everybody know when they come back, I’ll be there and, ‘why don’t you come with me?

Long’s point is pretty clear and we think he is right. A good authority figure is something that gives the fans what they want to see. But the question is, is WWE actually listen to its fans? The answer is, no in most cases. There were a lot of wrestlers that fans wanted to see get pushed, but they never got it. A lot of matches that fans wanted to see, but they could never see it. We hope WWE will start listening to the fans solely soon.