WWE Elections or Who Could Replace Kane as the Director of Operations

Kane has occupied the position of Director of Operations ever since he surrendered his mask to Stephanie McMahon and joined the Authority back in October 2013. It’s been two years already since the birth of the Corporate Kane gimmick and the WWE Universe has long grown accustomed to it. The times when there were constant changes of power and wars over who would be the RAW GM seemed far gone. However, this Sunday, at Hell in a Cell, Kane’s position as a Director of Operations is in serious jeopardy. Knowing that either Seth Rollins will drop the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, or Kane will lose his job, I’d be more inclined to advise Kane to look around for job offers.

With the WWE’s most precious championship on the line, it’s easy to forget the added stipulation, regarding Kane’s position. However, it is just as important, if not even more important than the title itself. Removing Kane from his Director of Operations role would mean that someone else must take his place. A new leader for the daily operations on WWE TV will be needed. This could change absolutely everything. Would they be face or heel? Who would they side with? Would they be dangerous and cunning or pathetic and servile? There are so many questions to be asked and the answers to all of them affect directly the foreseeable future of RAW and SmackDown.

A couple of days ago the official WWE YouTube page released two electoral campaign videos for the next Director of Operations. The two candidates are David Otunga and Corey Graves.  The packages are both 45 seconds long and have satirical qualities. They somehow manage to mock the regular elections’ promotional material, incorporate commonly used WWE catchphrases and build a candidate’s image, all while trash-talking their opponent. Interestingly enough, both men are more or less heel, so the public’s vote (if there is one) will always end up going to the Authority. Then again, this is how dictatorship works, isn’t it? The question here is who would be a better fit for the role – Graves or Otunga?

David Orunga would be the standard choice for a WWE GM/Director of Operations. He’s servile, annoying and absolutely full of himself. His gimmick involves sticking his Harvard law degree in everyone’s face, while sipping on a cup of coffee, dressed in a pretentious, usually checked sweater. Unlike Kane, Otunga’s been mostly missing from TV in the last two years. His only appearances are as a pre-show analyst. I would imagine that if Orunga was to take Kane’s place, he’d instantly irritate everyone backstage. He’d be the type of a guy who’d do exactly what the Authority wants him to do but he’ll do it while boasting about his own physique and/or education. Basically, he’d be Brad Maddox 2.0, minus the cute awkwardness. Otunga would be a coward heel with way too much power, vested in him. At some point, his decisions would become too easy to sway by force. Also, I’d imagine once the talent figures that out, Otunga would suffer a lot of bullying from both faces and heels.

Corey Graves, on the other hand, is a far more controversial character. There are two ways it could go with him – the fans would either adore him, or despise him. He used to be a “badass”, hardcore heel before his numerous concussions took him out of the game. The NXT crowd always reacted loudly to him because he just had that unquantifiable presence to him. However, the fans simply love attacking him on social media. Graves rarely posts something that’s even remotely controversial, without finding himself on the receiving end of waves of hatred. In his commentary (according to Otunga’s video at least) Corey always goes with Seth Rollins when he has to pick a side. That sounds like a choice the Authority would approve of. I think Graves would be unapologetic in his decision making as a Director of Operations but he’d always be ready to cheat or manipulate others, in order to get the results he wants. Corey Graves in power could be very dangerous.

The competition between Otunga and Graves could be fun to watch. I would imagine that once Kane is gone the Electoral Campaign will become a functioning storyline. The two of them will possibly have segments on RAW/SmackDown and they’ll try to persuade the guys back in the locker room or the audience (depending on who has the power) to vote in their favour. I think that even when one of them eventually wins, the other one won’t stop. There will be political games backstage and the scenery could change at any moment.  My worry is that the WWE would put too much comedy into this and it will overpower the rest of the show, in the same way the Authority storyline dominated the narration for a while. It is also possible that Team Otunga and Team Graves will be the teams to face each other at Survivor Series. Overall, if Kane loses on Friday, the WWE will change drastically. Whether it’s for the better only time will tell.

I see the benefits of having either one of these candidates. However, I would give my vote to Corey Graves because Otunga is too stereotypical and we have seen similar type of “douchebag” characters in that position before.

Who would you want to see elected as the new Director of Operations if Kane loses his job this Sunday?

What do you think? Comment below with your thoughts, opinions, feedback and anything else that was raised