Theodore Long

Theodore Long
Long at a SmackDown event in 2007
Birth name	Theodore Robert Rufus Long
Born	(1947-09-15) September 15, 1947 (age 69) Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.
Residence	Marietta, Georgia, U.S.
Spouse(s)	Stephanie Keller (m. 1982)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Teddy Long Theodore Long Theodore R. Long
Billed height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Billed weight	173 lb (78 kg)
Billed from	Atlanta, Georgia
Debut	1985
Retired	2014

Theodore Robert Rufus "Teddy" Long (born September 15, 1947) is an American retired professional wrestling personality who made appearances for WWE, having served as a manager, referee and authority figure, best known for his tenure with WWE. Long began his career in the National Wrestling Alliance where he became a manager. In 1998, he debuted in the WWE (then named World Wrestling Federation) as a referee but returned to managing in 2003. He later served as General Manager of SmackDown for two tenures lasting a combined six years as well as one reign as ECW General Manager.

Long started out as an errand boy for wrestlers Tommy Rich and Abdullah the Butcher. He eventually became a member of the ringcrew and was promoted to referee in the NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions in 1985 as Teddy Long. In 1989, at the Chi-Town Rumble event, Long was the replacement referee when Ricky Steamboat won the NWA World Championship.

Shortly thereafter, Long began to turn into a villainous character when he started to bend the rules for heel wrestlers. On April 2, 1989, at Clash of the Champions VI in New Orleans, Long blatantly made a fast count allowing Mike Rotunda and "Dr. Death" Steve Williams to defeat The Road Warriors for the NWA World Tag Team Championship. After this match, the National Wrestling Alliance relieved Long of his refereeing duties. This was actually a story lifted from Championship Wrestling from Florida, where Long had been a referee and did several heel-decisions in the ring, including one for Ron Simmons over Skip Young.