Instead of The Authority being a tight-knight heel faction run by Hunter and Stef with a ruthless, venomous hand-picked heel champ in Orton and the most cold-blooded enforcer you could ever get in Kane, they’ve turned it into a fractured mess.The Corporate Outlaws could have been a great thing if done right, given Road Dogg STILL being an absolute beast on the mic. He’s fucking corny, but that dude knows how to work a crowd like few others.

So what happened?

Kane’s done a great job screwing Bryan and The Shield. The Shield beating was fucking epic, but it’s a shame it happened in front of such a cold crowd on the B show. They also screwed the pooch by adding the NAO to the mix in a very forced way.

Orton has a done a phenomenal job in turning the tables on a crowd that is easily the hottest pro-face (i.e, Bryan) crowd we’ve seen since Austin at pretty much every turn. On one hand, it’s not rocket science, but he’s done an excellent job of turning largely uncalled for and inaccurate “boring!” chants into a torrent of grade-A heat. The problem is they’ve also turned him into a whiner, and his promos go from the fire of his fantastic initial run as their top heel to that of a spineless, crying pussy. Some guys make for great heels in that mold, but Orton’s not the guy to do that with.

During all this, The Authority is basically just Hunter and Stef with Kane as a sort-of connected enforcer, while they’ve taken to trying to screw Orton as much as possible. Hunter and Stef have done a great job with this gimmick, but extremely shaky storylines and idiotic decisions have robbed this entire Mania build of something that could have been truly special. There’s a metric ton of bright spots here, mostly Bryan related, with Orton proving to be a true pro in making the best of a bad situation for him and HHH/Stef killing with promos that remind you of the guy who basically made Mick Foley into a true-blue main event performer by being the best heel of his generation.

***Sorry Dewey, but Hunter’s sadistic streak made your dad just as much as your dad’s ability to take insane bumps and sell like crazy made Hunter during their time together.

All in all it’s been a mixed bag but Hunter and Stef have shined very bright in many regards, but the disjointed nature of this buildup has robbed everyone, including Bryan, of the true greatness this could have easily been.