The Authority became a dominant fashion on WWE television for a few years. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon were the main members that used their power to stack the deck in favor of their wrestlers while making it hard for the faces opposing them. Both Seth Rollins and Randy Orton had lengthy WWE Championship reigns during their respective stints as the face of the group.
We will look back at all the consistent members that had a noteworthy run as part of The Authority. Fans rooted for the likes of John Cena, Sting, Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler as some of the more popular wrestlers to challenge them. Find out just how the order of importance for the group was during their run on top. These are the members of The Authority officially ranked.
10 J and J Security
The duo of Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury comedically joined The Authority as Seth Rollins’ lackeys. They used the name of J and J Security to represent Rollins by essentially getting beat up by his opponents most weeks to protect him.
Noble and Mercury provided great entertainment of comedic moments trying to help out Rollins. The joke was that they tried to serve as Seth’s personal security team despite being smaller than the rest of the roster coming after them. Their comedic moments did help add more fun to The Authority.
9 Corporate Kane
WWE tried adding a new character for Kane as Corporate Kane in The Authority. Fans of Kane would see him wearing a suit without his mask most weeks. Kane was tasked with protecting Seth Rollins or Randy Orton depending on whichever was the leader.
The presence of Kane did help the group as a credible name. However, it hurt his momentum as no one cared about watching Kane wrestle anymore. The best moments of Kane came as a heater trying to help out the bigger stars rather than competing on his own at a high level.
8 The New Age Outlaws
Former D-Generation X members Billy Gunn and Road Dogg reunited with Triple H in The Authority. The legendary New Age Outlaws tag team reformed and won the WWE Tag Team Championship during their short run in the group as active workers.
Many fans understandably felt that they were too old to contribute while many old school viewers were happy to see the New Age Outlaws back together. Gunn and Dogg even received a WrestleMania 30 match teaming with Kane to get squashed by The Shield.
7 Big Show
One of the more memorable heel turns of Big Show came during a huge Survivor Series 2014 event. The stipulation saw The Authority having to give up power if they lost to the face team. Big Show was part of the face team until a huge shift during the match.
The decision to turn heel saw Big Show stab his teammates in the back by knocking out John Cena. Big Show then brokered a deal for more job security by aligning with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. The turn saw Big Show remain with the group throughout their changes by feuding with Cena, Roman Reigns and other top names.
6 Batista
Batista had a short run with The Authority shortly after his heel turn in 2014. Fans rejected Batista in favor of Daniel Bryan on the road to WrestleMania. Batista remained heel after the WM match by uniting with Triple H and Randy Orton to reform Evolution within The Authority.
The time spent in the group helped Batista get more heat for Evolution’s feud against The Shield. Batista did well in the role and played a huge role in putting over the trio. Fans barely remember Batista’s time in The Authority, but it was the best part of his run.
5 Stephanie McMahon
The heel personality of Stephanie McMahon makes her arguably the most interesting of the McMahon characters. Stephanie’s return to the screen as a dominant heel saw her making many enemies along the way like Daniel Bryan, Big Show and the Bella Twins.
Brie Bella entered a rivalry with Stephanie following Bryan’s injury and WWE wanting to get some pay off for the feud. Stephanie returned to the ring for the first time in over a decade successfully defeating Brie. The overall presence of Stephanie is a major reason why The Authority worked.
4 The Shield
The Shield became part of The Authority from the summer of 2013 until the end of the year. Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns became three of the biggest heels representing Triple H and Stephanie McMahon against their enemies.
Names like Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, Cody Rhodes and Goldust were tasked with trying to slow down them down. The Shield was the biggest game changer in The Authority becoming relatively unstoppable for quite some time in 2013.
3 Randy Orton
Randy Orton was the first handpicked choice from Triple H and Stephanie McMahon to lead The Authority. The shocking moment of Triple H hitting Daniel Bryan with a Pedigree and Orton using his Money in the Bank title shot to cash in made the group find success.
Orton continued to pick up steam with his presence in the group extending his WWE Championship reign. Matches against Bryan, Big Show and John Cena all added more heat to Orton as he clearly enjoyed his time as a top heel in The Authority.
2 Triple H
Triple H’s leadership in The Authority featured him cutting the most important promos during the early stages of the group. Fans hated Triple H for his role in costing Daniel Bryan the WWE Championship to start the group following that scenario.
The match of Triple H vs Bryan told the best version of the story with their classic match at WrestleMania 30. Even Sting had a great debut clashing with Triple H as a vigilante character stepping in when he felt help was needed. Triple H was an outstanding heel with immense success in the role.
1 Seth Rollins
Even though he was part of The Shield during their time in The Authority, Seth Rollins deserves some love for his singles run following a heel turn. Fans were heartbroken when Rollins chose to end The Shield by turning on Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose.
Triple H’s offer convinced Rollins to end the time with his best friends for a bigger opportunity on his own. Rollins became the top heel and was the first member of The Shield to win the WWE Championship. The biggest accomplishment of The Authority was that it helped create a new top star with Rollins.