Authority figures in wrestling This list brings together authority figures — people who hold on - screen power — in selected professional wrestling promotion s or brands within North America . The North American wrestling industry portrays authority figures as responsible for making matches , providing rules and generally keeping law and order both in and outside of the ring . The role can vary according to disposition . A face authority figure tends to give what the fans want and favors fellow face - wrestlers : note for example Theodore Long . Heel authority figures tend to run their shows out of their own self - interest : Vince McMahon ' s Mr . McMahon gimmick exemplifies this type . WWE authority figures . In the past , WWE ' s authority figure was presented by the President , who had booking power and controlled all wrestlers . However , in 1997 , the President was replaced by the Commissioner , with Sgt . Slaughter serving as the first WWE ( or WWF at that time ) Commissioner . During the Attitude Era of WWE , not only the Commissioner , but Vince McMahon had booking power as well through his Chairman position under his evil character " Mr . McMahon " . McMahon usually used his power in order to haze his ( kayfabe ) nemesis , Stone Cold Steve Austin . When Shawn Michaels was Commissioner , he was able to overrule McMahon , but he only sporadically exercised his booking power , and was working with an " Iron - Clad " contract where he couldn ' t be fired . When Mick Foley acquired the position , he took full reign until he was fired from the position . Upon splitting the WWE into two separate brands in the WWE Brand Extension of 2002 , on - screen co - owners Vince McMahon and Ric Flair proceeded to draft WWE wrestlers into two separate rosters . Flair took ownership of " Raw " , while McMahon controlled " SmackDown " . After McMahon regained control of the entire company , he removed Flair from control of " Raw " , relinquished his own position , and appointed separate general managers to control the different brands . On July 18 , 2011 , Triple H came to " Raw " and told Vince McMahon that the Board of Directors ( kayfabe ) revoked his " day - to - day operation power " and named him to manage it instead . After that , Triple H became the WWE ' s Chief Operating Officer who had the booking power in WWE on both " Raw " and " SmackDown " brands until the Board stripped him of his power , and named John Laurinaitis the Interim Raw General Manager . Chief Executive Officer . Kayfabe - appointed CEO by Linda McMahon ; subsequently lost power in a Ladder match at King of the Ring . Chief Operating Officer . Theodore Long announced that Triple H had given him the power to book Raw when necessary . This arrangement ended when John Laurinaitis became Interim Raw General Manager . Commissioners . While Mick Foley was commissioner in 2000 , he was the ultimate on - screen authority , overriding everyone else . Raw authorities . Owners . Shane McMahon made occasional appearances all throughout this time and had booking power . General Managers . Bischoff was briefly fired from the General Manager position on February 10 , 2003 . He would be rehired by Vince McMahon later that night . ECW brand authorities . General Managers . On April 7 , 2009 , the Board of Directors named Tiffany Interim General Manager when Theodore Long announced his return to " SmackDown " as General Manager following Vickie Guerrero ' s appointment as General Manager of " Raw " . She became permanent General Manager on June 30 , 2009 . World Championship Wrestling authority figures . On - screen owners . This occurred during The Invasion storyline . Total Nonstop Action Wrestling authority figures . Directors of Authority . The Director of Authority operated as the on - screen authority - figure for the company NWA Championship Committee . TNA Wrestling also maintains a championship committee — established in 2004 to help the Director of Authority to book matches and to keep contenders in proper order . The committee members also served as guest judges for " TNA Impact ! " when broadcast by Fox Sports Net , as all matches had a time limit and if the match went to time , a judge had to make the call as to who had won ( somewhat as in boxing ) . The committee consisted of : President . Dixie Carter has been legitimately TNA President since 2003 after Panda Energy International became majority shareholder of TNA . However , she began to have an on - screen role in 2009 . Hulk Hogan was ( storyline ) President from October 2010 to October 2011 after Carter unkowingly signed her power away to him in a contract . Carter was re - established as on - screen President following Sting defeating Hogan at Bound For Glory . As a result of the outcome of the Lethal Lockdown match at Lockdown , MVP partly took control of TNA as the ( storyline ) Director of Wrestling Operations . Director of Wrestling Operations . As a result of MVP abusing his power in TNA and creating the fiction with Bobby Lashley & Kenny King .