Teddy Long Had The Most Bizarre Heel Run In WWE History
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Teddy Long has always been a fan favorite character in the WWE, whether it be his, "hollas" and "playas", his sweet obsession with tag team matches, or the fact that he was simply one of the best authority figures in professional wrestling. He was a rare babyface general manager that didn't treat anyone unfairly. He played by the rules, and when the heels didn't want to play by those same rules, he would put them right in tag team matches or one on one with The Undertaker. However, it was against The Undertaker that Teddy Long made a weird choice in screwing him over, thus turning heel. It didn't last very long, but it was certainly a strange experience.
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Teddy Long Turns Heels At Breaking Point 2009
By 2009, The Undertaker was starting to wind down. He wasn't at the point of only wrestling at WrestleMania yet, but he wasn't around all twelve months of the year anymore. At SummerSlam 2009, he made one of his lesser returns to attack newly crowned World Heavyweight Champion, CM Punk. This led to a submission match at the only Breaking Point pay-per-view in company history.
The Undertaker would dominate Punk throughout the eight-minute contest and tap out Punk to his Hell's Gate submission move. However, immediately following the finish, Teddy Long came out to announce that the match would continue. He said that The Hell's Gate had been banned the year prior by Vickie Guerrero during The Undertaker's feud with Edge, and that the ban was still effective. The match continued and Punk put on his Anaconda Vice submission just for the bell to randomly ring as if The Undertaker tapped. Well, the event took place in Montreal, so it was time for another Montreal Screwjob ripoff. Punk was still champion, Undertaker was upset, and Teddy Long had turned heel.
Teddy Long's Heel Run Only Lasted A Mere Few Weeks
On the SmackDown immediately following Breaking Point, Teddy knew he screwed up. He was surrounded by security guards all night because security guards in professional wrestling have always been so useful. Vince McMahon called him an idiot for screwing over The Undertaker then ordered Long to go out to the ring and explain his actions. He admitted to a conspiracy against The Undertaker which also included CM Punk and the referee. He then claimed he was going to explain why, didn't really explain why, and then went to leave the arena. When he entered the limo, the driver was The Undertaker. This is the origin of the infamous, "buckle up, Teddy" line. Smoke filled the limo and The Undertaker drove off.
The next week on SmackDown came, and during a CM Punk promo, druids brought out a casket. In the casket was Teddy Long, gagged and bound. Punk helped him out of his predicament, and Long announced that The Hell's Gate submission was officially reinstated to Punk's dismay. Punk and Taker had one more pay-per-view singles match against each other that year, at Hell in a Cell. Taker won in a glorified squash match, and Long would congratulate The Undertaker, effectively turning back to a babyface after only a few weeks. This heel run was definitely a strange one compared to his original run as a heel.
RELATED: Teddy Long & Undertaker's Unexpected Bond, Explained
Teddy Long Had A Run As A Heel Manager In The Early 2000s
A couple years before he was appointed general manager of SmackDown in 2004, Teddy Long's purpose in the WWE, at this point, was as a manager. He managed several key names like Mark Henry, D'Lo Brown, Jazz, and Mark Jindrak. With the exception of Jindrak, those names, along with a few others, were all part of a stable known as the Thuggin and Buggin Enterprises. He would tell fans to, "get down wit da brown" and "back da mack." Like Long's both runs as a heel, this group did not last very long. The most memorable part of this run was when he threw his shoe at Trish Stratus to break up a pin at Backlash 2003.
RELATED: 10 Best Wrestlers Managed By Teddy Long
Teddy Long found his calling in the WWE as a babyface authority figure. He was great at it. He was such a natural foil to Bischoff's heel antics when he was first put in the position of power that he was a breath of fresh air. That's a big reason why this run just seemed so weird. It was random and out of place because he was so liked by the fans. It wasn't necessarily a failure, as he was getting heel heat and real boos, but after five years of being a good guy in charge, nobody wanted to see him in that position.
