The Authority

The Authority
Information
Members	See below
Promotions	World Wrestling Entertainment
Debuted	August 19, 2013, December 29, 2014
Disbanded	May 1, 2016

The Authority was a group of heel wrestlers and WWE management apart of World Wrestling Entertainment. The Authority primarily refers to the power couple of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, the leaders of the group.

The group was formed during the August 19, 2013 Monday Night Raw during the coronation ceremony of Randy Orton after he had won the WWE Championship at SummerSlam 2013 by cashing in his Money In The Bank contract and defeating Daniel Bryan in a screwjob.

World Wrestling Entertainment (2013-2016)

Feud with Daniel Bryan (2013)

On the August 12, 2013 edition of Monday Night RAW, Triple H named himself Guest Referee in the match between John Cena and Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam 2013. At SummerSlam 2013, Daniel Bryan defeated Cena to win his first WWE Championship. As he was celebrating, Randy Orton came out, and Triple H made a heel turn by attacking Daniel Bryan, allowing Orton to win the WWE Championship for the seventh time.

The Authority was formed August 19, 2013 edition of Monday Night RAW, Triple H tried to justify his actions, saying it was "best for business". Daniel Bryan came to the ring, and was attacked by The Shield. Triple H order the Shield to let Daniel Bryan coming to the ring, and Randy Orton gave an RKO to Daniel Bryan, ending the night with their hands in the air. On the following Smackdown, Randy Orton delivered another RKO on Daniel Bryan after his win in the main event against Wade Barrett August 26, 2013 edition of Monday Night RAW, Triple H gifts a car to Orton, which ends up being spray painted with "YES!" all over by Daniel Bryan. Later, Daniel Bryan has a gauntlet match with the Shield, and after pinning Seth Rollins, was attacked by The Shield causing them both a DQ, and Randy Orton.

The following week, on the September 2, 2013 edition of Monday Night RAW, Big Show was forced to face Bryan in the main event by Stephanie McMahon. Big Show is reluctant to wrestle, but Bryan continues to attack. After the match, Big Show was forced to use the WMD on Bryan, leaving him motionless in the ring. On the September 9, 2013 edition of Monday Night RAW, Bryan defeated Dean Ambrose, but is attacked by the Shield. Big Show is forced once again to knock out Bryan, but stalls long enough for Bryan to deliver a running high knee to Orton.

Feud with The Big Show (2013)

On the August 26th Raw the clan returned to feud with Miz, Dolph Ziggler and Big Show due to their reaction to the Shield's attack on Daniel Bryan. During the August 30th SmackDown, Orton defeated Miz. Afterward, Orton asked the Shield to attack Miz, but Bryan prevented this by using a steel chair. but the attack with a chair.

During the September 2nd Raw Ziggler lost a match against Ryback and Big Show lost by DQ to Bryan in the main event. Afterward he hit Bryan with the WMB at Triple H's insistence.

On September 16th Show was coerced into launching his WMD at Dusty Rhodes when told it was either that or allow the Shield to continue assaulting him. The same night, Bryan was stripped of the title he won the previous night (at Night of Champions 2013) due to a fast-count made by Scott Armstrong.

Feud with the WWE (2013)

On the September 16th Raw when Daniel Bryan beats Roman Reigns by DQ due to the intervention of Randy Orton who attacked Daniel Bryan, most active faces attacked Orton and The Shield and celebrated the victory of Daniel Bryan.

In November 2013, The Authority started to doubt Randy Orton's skills to win matches on his own. At Survivor Series 2013 Orton was booked to defend the WWE Title against the Big Show without anyone from The Authority coming to the ring with him. After Orton defeated the Big Show, John Cena came out and had a stare down with Orton. The next night on Raw Triple H booked Orton and Cena in a tile unification TLC match at the 2013 TLC event.

At the 2013 Slammy Awards, Orton was knocked into Stephanie McMahon and would be pedigreed by Triple H. Following this, Triple H, Kane, and Stephanie McMahon would stand shoulder to shoulder with John Cena after Cena, Triple H, and Kane would help Stephanie to her feet. The following Smackdown, Orton would apologize to Triple H who would accept it telling Orton that would be the only time he would.

At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, The Shield was defeated by CM Punk in a 3-on-1 Handicap Match after Reigns accidentally speared Ambrose, allowing Punk to gain the victory. But, Orton defeated Cena to unify the WWE Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship into the umbrella term WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

At Royal Rumble, it's been a great night for The Authority, The New Age Outlaws defeated Rhodes & Goldust to win the WWE Tag Team Championship titles. Orton would defeat Cena again in a rematch after an interference by The Wyatt Family. During the Royal Rumble match, there was a tease of dissolving The Shield when Ambrose tried to eliminate Reigns

At Elimination Chamber, Orton would retain his title in the Chamber match, defeating Cena, Sheamus, Bryan, Christian, and Cesaro with a help from The Wyatts & Director of Operations Kane.

In March 2014, The Shield broke away from The Authority, as they felt as though Director of Operations Kane was using them as his own personal enforcers, and that he wasn't in position to give them orders. Kane recruited Road Dogg and Billy Gunn to deal with The Shield, but they lost at WrestleMania XXX. Triple H also lost to Daniel Bryan, but gained some revenge after the match by assaulting Bryan's injured shoulder with a chair shot. Ultimately Bryan would prevail in the main event, despite further interference by Triple H and Stephanie, when he made Batista submit.

Feud with The Shield and Evolution's reunion (2014)

The next night on Raw, Triple H challenged Daniel Bryan for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The Shield were ordered by Stephanie McMahon to help Triple H winning the title. Bryan was attacked by Orton, Batista and Kane before his title defense to ensure Triple H's victory. However, The Shield interfered during the match and attacked the Authority, preventing Bryan from losing the title. The next week, The Shield competed in a 11-on-3 handicap match where Reigns, Ambrose and Rollins were outnumbered and assaulted by eleven superstars after the match ended in no contest. Orton, Batista and Triple H, reunited as Evolution, came to the ring and proceeded to attack The Shield.

Meanwhile, Stephanie and Kane continued Authority's feud with Daniel Bryan for the WWE Title. Following WrestleMania XXX, after Kane and The New Age Outlaws lost to the Shield, Kane was berated by Stephanie McMahon to find the "Big Red Monster" that he was before, and retrieved his mask-vowing to send his former tag team partner Daniel Bryan to the depths of hell. That same week on Main Event Kane came to the ring wearing his mask and beat down Big Show, who had just won a match with Jack Swagger. Kane brought Show in the ring for a chokeslam and then attacked him outside of the ring with the steel steps. On the April 21 episode of Raw, Stephanie McMahon announced he'd challenge Daniel Bryan for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Extreme Rules. Kane then attacked Daniel Bryan, hitting three Tombstone Piledrivers, one on the floor, one on the steel steps and one on the announcer's table. The following week on Raw, Kane ambushed Bryan's wife Brie Bella during her title match against Paige and attempted to drag her through a hole in the ring. Kane would also chokeslam Bryan. At Extreme Rules, Kane was defeated by Bryan, and The Shield beat Evolution. The next night on Raw, Triple H would force Ambrose to defend his United States Championship against 19 other wrestlers in a 20-man battle royal, which Ambrose was eliminated last by Sheamus, ending Ambrose's WWE record reign at 351 days. Triple H would then book The Shield to compete in a six-man tag team match against The Wyatt Family, which the group lost with a distraction by Evolution, who proceeded to assault the Shield.

On the May 19 episode of Raw, Maddox defied Triple H's orders of not allowing any members of The Shield at ringside by making the guest commentators Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns. The following week, Brad was relieved of his duties by The Authority by having Kane attack him at the start of the show. At Payback, after threatening to fire Bryan's wife Brie Bella after Stephanie McMahon viewed Brie shoving her as "assault", Brie instead 'quit' before slapping Stephanie. Evolution was defeated by The Shield in a Six Man No Holds Barred Tag Team Match after Evolution failed to eliminate a single member of The Shield. The following night on Raw, Batista, frustrated with not receiving a proper one-on-one match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, walked out on The Authority and (kayfabe) quit WWE. Later that night, Rollins turned villain by attacking Ambrose and Reigns with a steel, thus betraying The Shield and defecting himself back to The Authority. Revealed that he was Plan B by Triple H to end The Shield.

Feud with John Cena, the addition of Seth Rollins & Nikki Bella, and downfall (2014)

On the June 9 episode of Raw, Bryan's doctor stated Bryan was not clear to compete; therefore, the Authority would strip Bryan of the title. That same night, the Authority would create a 6-man Ladder match for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Money in the Bank, with them adding Orton to the match. On the June 23 episode of Raw, the Authority would also add Kane to the match. Meanwhile, Seth Rollins would begin to feud with former Shield teammate Dean Ambrose and on the June 17 episode of Main Event, acting on behalf of the Authority, would announce a traditional Money in the Bank ladder match also naming himself as the first entrant. At the pay-per-view, Rollins would win the Money in the Bank contract, defeating Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler, Kofi Kingston, Rob Van Dam and Jack Swagger; however, both Orton and Kane were unsuccessful in winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, losing to John Cena. At Battleground, Rollins would defeat Ambrose by forfeit after Ambrose would be ejected from the arena by Triple H and both Orton and Kane were once again unsuccessful in winning the title from Cena in a Fatal four-way match, also involving Roman Reigns.

Daniel Bryan took time off from the WWE to recover from his injury, Stephanie McMahon began feuding with The Bella Twins by constantly putting Nikki in handicap matches. Brie would return to WWE on the July 21 episode of Raw, appearing in the crowd as a fan, with Stephanie being arrested for battery after slapping Brie and for resisting arrest. That same night, Triple H would chose John Cena's opponent for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam; after seemingly choosing Orton, Orton would be attacked by Reigns. Brock Lesnar would then make their return to WWE to align with The Authority and Triple H would chose Lesnar to face Cena instead. At SummerSlam, Orton would be defeated by Reigns; however, Rollins would defeat Ambrose with an interference from Kane, Stephanie would defeat Brie after Triple H prevented her from winning by pulling the referee out of the ring & Nikki turned on her sister and aligned herself with The Authority, and Lesnar would defeat Cena to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

The following night on Raw, Stephanie McMahon came out to Daniel Bryan's music to celebrate her victory. She also invited Nikki Bella out to address her betraying Brie Bella. Nikki said she and Brie were supposed to be a team, but that she had felt betrayed by Brie's actions in quitting the company at Payback. Brie came out and confronted Nikki, but Nikki said she would never forgive her and slapped Brie across the face (cementing her heel turn), leaving Brie in tears. On the same event, The Authority revealed a new belt (subsequently retiring the Big Gold Belt) to represent the WWE World Heavyweight Championship which was presented to Brock Lesnar. Orton teamed up RybAxel but was defeated by Reigns, Rob Van Dam, and Sheamus. Seth Rollins fell victim to a surprise Ice Bucket Challenge and beating from Dean Ambrose during an interview segment. Triple H then set up a SummerSlam rematch in order to 'finish off' Ambrose, with the WWE Universe voting on the stipulation; the vote was made for a Falls Count Anywhere match. Ambrose was closing in on a victory when Kane (who had been sitting at ringside) once again interfered and set up Ambrose for Rollins' Curb Stomp through a pile of concrete blocks next to the announce table. Rollins was awarded the victory via knockout and Ambrose was stretchered out of the arena. Ambrose was then reported to have refused treatment and 'gone missing' afterwards. On August 19 edition of Main Event, Triple H announced later that John Cena would invoke his rematch clause at Night of Champions. On the same night, Nikki returned to her home state of Arizona, now a member of The Authority, defeated Emma, but the fans booed her & chant "YOU SOLD OUT" on Nikki throughout the entire match for joining The Authority.

In the weeks leading up to Survivor Series, The Authority secured the final spots on their team with Mark Henry, Rusev - after helping him retain the United States Championship in a rematch against Sheamus - and Luke Harper. The Raw before the event, The Authority granted Harper an Intercontinental Championship match against Dolph Ziggler - who had joined Team Cena - and he won the championship. Stephanie then put Team Cena members Big Show and Sheamus in a match for a future World Title opportunity, only for Rusev and Henry to attack both men, leaving Sheamus injured that he had to drop out of Team Cena. Cena secured the spots on his team with Ziggler and Big Show still staying on, and they were surprised with the additions of Erick Rowan and Ryback. On the November 21 episode of Smackdown, in response to comments made by Cena stating that he felt responsible for his team, Triple H announced that if Team Cena lost, all of Team Cena - except Cena himself - would be fired. Later that night, with Cena absent, the rest of Team Cena were attacked by Team Authority and a chair-wielding Triple H.

At the event, WCW legend Sting made his WWE debut by attacking the Authority's crooked referee Scott Armstrong and Triple H, after which he helped Ziggler to pin Rollins to give Team Cena the win, thus ending the Authority's control over the WWE.

After the Survivor Series loss Triple H and Stephanie McMahon left Raw to return to WWE's headquarters. The remaining members of The Authority, plus Big Show & Brie Bella who turned into villains plotted by Triple H & Stephanie, would still associate with each other with the "Authority" name.

Return of Triple H & Stephanie McMahon (2014-2016)

On the December 29, 2014 edition of Monday Night Raw, the guest hosts of the event, Edge and Christian, were attacked by Authority members Seth Rollins and Big Show. Christian was struck in the stomach by Rollins' briefcase, but managed to roll to safety. However, before Edge could exit the ring, he was held down by Big Show. Rollins then called out Cena, and threatened to give a Curb Stomp to Edge, guaranteeing a neck injury, if Cena didn't bring Triple H & Stephanie back into power. Cena then verbally reinstated them, but Rollins tried to Curb Stomp Edge anyway. Luckily, Cena entered the ring and fought off Rollins and Big Show just long enough for Edge to escape. However, Cena was quickly overwhelmed, and was knocked out with a WMD by Big Show. Authority Co-Leaders Triple H and Stephanie McMahon then entered the arena, and celebrated their return with the other members with a champagne toast.

On January 19, 2015, the Legends' Reunion edition of Monday Night Raw, The Authority came to see an calm but irate Lesnar after Rollins attacked him and Cena with a Curb Stomp. Both Triple H and Stephanie McMahon tried to calm him down but he replied to Triple H that "they're gonna fix" and they came out here to fight. Seth Rollins appeared on the Titantron taunting Brock about what he did last week. After Paul Heyman yelled about his prediction about Brock retaining his World Heavyweight Champion. Cena arrived and wanted to have another shot to reinstate Rowan, Ryback and Ziggler. Triple H finally gave him another opportunity to reinstate the three men by fighting a 3-on-1 Handicap Match against Rollins, Kane and Big Show. He also told him if he lost, then he will give up his opportunity in the Triple Threat Match against Lesnar and Rollins at the Royal Rumble.

During the 3-on-1 handicap match, Cena ended up being incapacitated by both Big Show and Kane after he knocked Rollins with an AA and being pulled on the leg by both of them while Triple H and Stephanie McMahon were watching them on ringside. When Rollins was ready to Curb Stomp Cena, Sting reappeared on the Titantron to distract the Authority and Rollins before appearing on the entrance ramp, allowing Cena to steal the win from Rollins with a roll-up. This angered Triple H due to the distraction made by Sting who finally left the scene and an irate Triple H angrily called Sting out at ringside to fight while all the audience cheered him with "Yes!" chants and "Triple Sting" until Lesnar arrived for his retribution against Rollins who he intensively brawled with before he was stopped by both Kane and Big Show. Lesnar proceeded to give both of them an F-5 as Rollins escaped with both Joey Mercury and Jamie Noble.

At the Royal Rumble, The Bellas defeated Paige and Natalya in a tag team match. But their fellow Authority member, Rollins was unsuccessful in winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship from Lesnar in a Triple Threat match also involving Cena. In the Rumble match, both Show and Kane were unsuccessful after Roman Reigns eliminated both men at the same time. At Fastlane, Rollins, Kane and Show defeated Ziggler, Rowan and Ryback in a 6-man tag team match. Following the match, Randy Orton made his return, attacking J&J Security and Kane. Later that night, Triple H would have a face-to-face confrontation with Sting, which ended up in a brawl. Sting issued a challenge to Triple H for a match at WrestleMania 31, which Triple H accepted. Finally, Nikki Bella defended her title against Paige & retained it by grabbing her tights. The following night on Raw, The Authority attempted to persuade a returning Randy Orton to rejoin them following his attack of Authority personnel, though Orton would not give a direct answer until the group met up backstage. Orton agreed to rejoin the stable, and he and Rollins were subsequently booked in a tag team match for later that night against Daniel Bryan and Reigns. The loss Orton and Rollins suffered in the match further exacerbated tension between the two. The tension would finally reach a head a few weeks later when Orton refused a hot tag from Rollins during a match with Roman Reigns. Orton would then brutally beat Rollins for several minutes after the bout, ultimately putting him through an announce table with an RKO.

At WrestleMania 31, The Authority won several big victories; Triple H defeated Sting in Sting's WWE debut match (shaking his hand afterwards) after interference from both D-Generation X and the nWo, Big Show won the 30-man André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal by last eliminating Damien Mizdow. But The Bella Twins were defeated by Paige & AJ Lee in a tag team match. After losing in his singles match against Orton earlier in the night, Rollins cashed-in his Money in the Bank contract during the main event between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, turning it into a triple threat match, becoming a world champion for the first time and giving The Authority its first world title since Orton lost it in the previous WrestleMania.

Members

• Triple H (Co-leader)
• Stephanie McMahon (Co-leader)
• Seth Rollins
• Kane (Director of Operations)
• Dean Ambrose
• Jamie Noble
• Joey Mercury
• Roman Reigns
• The New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn)
• Batista
• Randy Orton
• The Big Show
• Jon Stewart (One night only member & Host of SummerSlam 2015)

Relationships

Allies

• Adam Rose
• Alberto Del Rio
• Alicia Fox
• Bray Wyatt
• Brie Bella
• Cameron
• Erick Rowan
• Heath Slater
• John Bradshaw Layfield
• Kevin Owens
• King Barrett
• Luke Harper
• Mark Henry
• Naomi
• Nikki Bella
• Rosa Mendes
• Rusev
• Scott Armstrong
• Sheamus
• Shawn Michaels
• Stardust
• Summer Rae
• Tamina Snuka
• The New Day (Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, and Big E Langston)
• X-Pac

Enemies

• Adrian Neville
• Brock Lesnar
• Cesaro
• Chris Jericho
• Christian
• Daniel Bryan
• Dean Ambrose
• Dolph Ziggler
• El Torito
• Edge
• Fandango
• Goldust
• Jack Swagger
• Jerry "The King" Lawler
• John Cena
• Roman Reigns
• Ryback
• Sting

In wrestling

• Triple H
  • Pedigree (Double underhook facebuster)
• Stephanie McMahon
  • Pedigree (Double underhook facebuster) – adopted from Triple H
• Kane
  • Chokeslam
  • Tombstone Piledriver
• Seth Rollins
  • Pedigree (Double underhook facebuster) – adopted from Triple H (2015–present)
  • Curb Stomp (Running stomp to the back of opponent's head) – (2012 – 2015)
• Nikki Bella
  • Rack Attack (Backbreaker rack drop)
• Brie Bella
  • Bella Buster (Sitout facebuster)
• Big Show
  • Chokeslam
  • KO Punch / WMD – Weapon of Mass Destruction (Right-handed knockout hook)
• Triple team finishing moves
  • Triple powerbomb (Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns; Seth Rollins, Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury; Triple H, Randy Orton and Batista)

• Double-team finishing moves
  • Backbreaker rack (Roman Reigns) and diving knee drop (Seth Rollins) combination
  • Turnbuckle powerbomb (Seth Rollins) followed by a spear (Roman Reigns)
  • Sitout powerbomb (Batista) and jumping neckbreaker (Orton) combination
  • Double chokeslam (Big Show and Kane)
  • Twin Magic (Simultaneously switching places on a distracted referee, often followed by a Bella Buster or a small package) (The Bella Twins)

Championships & accomplishments

• WWE
  • WWE Championship - (1 time) Randy Orton
  • WWE United States Championship - (4 times) Dean Ambrose, Rusev, Seth Rollins, Alberto Del Rio
  • WWE Intercontinental Championship - (1 time) Luke Harper
  • WWE Tag Team Championships - (2 times) The Shield (Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns), The New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn)
  • World Heavyweight Championship (WWE) - (1 time) Randy Orton
  • WWE World Heavyweight Championship - (5 times) Randy Orton (2), Seth Rollins (1), Sheamus (1), Triple H (1)
  • WWE Divas Championship - (1 time) Nikki Bella
  • Money in the Bank (2014) – Seth Rollins
  • André the Giant Memorial Trophy (2015) – Big Show
  • Slammy Awards (14 times)
    • "What a Maneuver" of the Year (2013) – Roman Reigns for the spear
    • Faction of the Year (2013 & 2014) – The Shield
    • Trending Now Hashtag of the Year (2013) – The Shield for #BelieveInTheShield
    • Breakout Star of the Year (2013) – The Shield
    • Insult of the Year (2013) – Stephanie McMahon for insulting Big Show
    • Rivalry of the Year (2014) - vs. Daniel Bryan
    • Fan Participation (2014) – Rollins for "You Sold Out"
    • Double-Cross of the Year (2014) – Seth Rollins for Betraying The Shield and rejoining The Authority
    • Anti-Gravity Moment of the Year (2014) – Seth Rollins for Diving off the balcony at Extreme Rules
    • Match of the Year (2014) – vs. Team Cena at Survivor Series
    • Best Couple (2014) - Brie (with Daniel Bryan)
    • Superstar of the Year (2015) - Seth Rollins
    • Diva of the Year (2015) - Nikki Bella

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • Feud of the Year (2013) – The Authority (vs. Daniel Bryan)
  • Feud of the Year (2014) – Seth Rollins (vs. Dean Ambrose)
  • Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (2013) – The Authority (Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, Randy Orton, and Kane)
  • Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (2014) – The Authority (Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, Randy Orton, Kane, Seth Rollins, and Nikki Bella)
  • Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (2015) – Seth Rollins
  • Tag Team of the Year (2013) – The Shield (Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns)
  • Wrestler of the Year (2015) – Seth Rollins
  • Ranked Seth Rollins No. 1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2015
  • Ranked Brie No. 16 of the top 50 female wrestlers in the in the PWI Female 50 in 2014
  • Ranked Nikki No. 1 of the top 50 female wrestlers in the PWI Female 50 in 2015
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • Most Improved (2013) – Roman Reigns
  • Most Overrated (2013) – Randy Orton
  • Most Overrated (2014) – Kane
  • Tag Team of the Year (2013) – The Shield (Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns)
  • Worst Feud of the Year (2013) – vs. Big Show
  • Worst Feud of the Year (2014) - Nikki Bella (vs. Brie Bella)
  • Worst Feud of the Year (2015) - vs. Team PCB vs. Team B. A. D.

1 ^ Orton's first reign and the beginning of his second reign were when the title was still known as the WWE Championship.

External links

• Profile