The Authority | |
---|---|
Stable | |
Members | See below |
Name(s) | The Authority[1] |
Former member(s) | Triple H (Co-leader) Stephanie McMahon (Co-leader) Vince McMahon (Co-leader) Kane Seth Rollins Randy Orton Scott Armstrong Billy Gunn Road Dogg Batista Big Show Joey Mercury Jamie Noble |
Debut | August 18, 2013 |
Disbanded | April 4, 2016 |
Years active | 2013–2016 |
The Authority[1] was a villainous professional wrestling stable in WWE, which originated due to Triple H helping Randy Orton win the WWE Championship from Daniel Bryan at the 2013 SummerSlam pay-per-view immediately after cashing in the Money in the Bank contract.[2] The name of "The Authority" was introduced on October 7, 2013 on Raw during a match between The Shield vs Cody Rhodes, Goldust and Daniel Bryan. Jerry Lawler first said "The Authority" during that match. The Authority initially referred to only Triple H and Stephanie McMahon as a power couple.[1] The Authority shares similarities with The Corporation and The McMahon-Helmsley Faction, and also had ties to Triple H's previous stables D-Generation X (DX) and Evolution, the latter of which existed alongside The Authority for a brief period in 2014.[3]
The stable was led by company executives Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. Many other wrestlers were a part of the group, most prominently including Randy Orton as The Authority's hand-picked champion and "Face of the WWE" until November 2014, Seth Rollins as "The Man" until suffering a knee injury in November 2015, and Kane as the "Director of Operations" until October 2015.[3] The Shield (Rollins, Roman Reigns, and Dean Ambrose) formerly acted as The Authority's main henchmen to offer protection or carry out attacks until March 2014.[4]
The stable became inactive following WrestleMania 32, when Triple H was dethroned as WWE World Heavyweight Champion by Roman Reigns[5] and Shane McMahon received authority to run Raw.[6][7] Triple H and Stephanie reunited against Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 33, where Rollins defeated Triple H, but the two were not referred to as The Authority again until February 2018, where Triple H and Stephanie McMahon were defeated by Kurt Angle and Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania 34 in a mixed tag team match.[8]
The Authority (Stephanie McMahon and Triple H) did not appear on the pre-taped Raw from the U.K., setting up DOO Kane, Raw GM Brad Maddox, and Smackdown GM Vickie Guerrero to bicker about booking matches throughout the show.