The Anonymous Raw General Manager was a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

authority figure Authority is commonly understood as the legitimate power of a person or group of other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' may be practiced by legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government,''The New Fontana Dictionary of Mo ...

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

, who anonymously controlled the Raw brand from June 21, 2010 to July 18, 2011. The Anonymous General Manager controlled the show by sending emails to a laptop, the emails were usually read on-screen by its spokesperson, Michael Cole.

Hornswoggle Dylan Mark Postl (born May 29, 1986) is an American professional wrestler and YouTuber. He is best known under the ring name Hornswoggle. He is signed to WWE under a legends contract and performs on the independent circuit, sometimes under the ...

was revealed to be the Anonymous Raw General Manager after the character returned for one night on July 9, 2012. In November 2014, the Anonymous General Manager made a brief return to television, but was, for a second time, removed from power.

First run

Mr. McMahon first unveiled the Anonymous Raw General Manager on the June 21, 2010 episode of ''Raw'', after firing the previous general manager,

Bret Hart Bret Sergeant Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling background at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal U ...

. While Michael Cole often acted as the spokesperson, the Anonymous Raw General Manager once used a computerized voice when it was interviewed by

Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...

on ''The Cutting Edge''. The interview ended with Edge destroying the General Manager's laptop. Occasionally the Anonymous General Manager left hints at its true identity, such as dropping catchphrases from popular superstars, however these were

red herring A red herring is something that misleads or distracts from a relevant or important question. It may be either a logical fallacy or a literary device that leads readers or audiences toward a false conclusion. A red herring may be used intentiona ...

s. The Anonymous General Manager controlled Raw until July 2011, when it was phased out in favor of COO

Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (; born July 27, 1969), also known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive and former professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as its chief content officer. Levesque began his wres ...

and Vice President of Talent Relations

John Laurinaitis John Hodger Laurinaitis (born July 31, 1962), also known by his former ring name Johnny Ace, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and business executive. He has wrestled for such promotions as World Championship ...

without its identity ever being revealed. As buildup towards ''

Raw 1000 Raw 1000 was a television special that was broadcast live on July 23, 2012, airing on USA Network (in the U.S.) as the 1000th episode of WWE's flagship show '' Raw''. It was held at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The show feature ...

'', previous Raw general managers returned for one night only to control the show. The Anonymous Raw General Manager returned on July 9, 2012. There, it was revealed that

had been the Anonymous General Manager throughout its first run. According to former WWE writer Kevin Eck, WWE had no plans regarding an identity for the Anonymous Raw General Manager before it was initially fizzled out. Hornswoggle was suggested by a writer during a creative team meeting as a joke which played off the poor reception to an earlier storyline where Hornswoggle had been revealed to be Mr. McMahon's illegitimate child. Hornswoggle has stated that the original plan for his general manager character was " mob-boss style character with this

Napoleon complex The Napoleon complex, also known as Napoleon syndrome and short-man syndrome, is a purported condition normally attributed to men of short stature, with overly aggressive or domineering social behavior. It implies that such behavior is to compe ...

, throwing his power around", but these plans never came to fruition.

2014 return

Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...

, The Authority, who had previously held power in WWE, were deposed. The following night, ''Raw'' closed with the Anonymous General Manager's familiar e-mail noise, followed by Michael Cole's reading of an e-mail in which the Anonymous General Manager promised to bring "order" back to WWE. The identity of this general manager remains unknown, an article on WWE.com questioned its gender and the possibility of it being Hornswoggle again. Heading into 2015, the laptop disappeared again with The Authority taking over again.

References

External links

* {{wwe superstar, hornswoggle, Hornswoggle Professional wrestling gimmicks Professional wrestling authority figures WWE Raw