Managers

[The Calgary Kid]

I wasn't really sure where to put this on the forum, but this seems as good a place as any. There has been a common theme in a lot of threads about putting guys who aren't great on the mic with a "mouthpiece", or just using another character to get them heat (Vicki Guerrero with Ziggler, for example). You've got Singh with Khali, but that's just because Khali doesn't speak English. Maryse is a valet, but also wrestles. Serena is the only other person, other than Vicki, who simply stands outside the ring during matches and occasionally gets involved without having another role in the ring, but doesn't really offer more than cheerleading.

Thinking back to the glory days, guys like Jimmy Hart, Bobby Heenan and Jim Cornette, or even The Genius, to name a few, were well known corner representatives who could latch onto certain Superstars or vice versa, whether to give them heat or legitimacy. Heel/face turns could be explained by the acquisition of managerial services. It also made it more logical that guys who weren't necessarily rocket scientists or even just needed an extra bit of advice and strategy to get them by, could benefit from having someone do the thinking for them, not just the talking. Consider also the element of backup if you belonged to a particular "family", not even necessarily a stable. Further, it also allowed for more logical tag team or Survivor Series pairings, rather than random name-out-of-hat scenarios.

In other sports there are coaches, and traditionally in wrestling, there have been managers. These days, however, there hasn't really been anything at all similar, excluding NXT pros, which is a completely different story. Do you think that this is something that WWE and its Superstars are missing or could benefit from? My thinking is yes. What say you?

 

[acstylez]

Yes, I agree. Think about the people who benifit from multitalented wrestlers. MNM had Melina, who could distract, assult, and most importantly talk. That led them to 2 tag team titles. LAX had Konnan, that led to them beating, both Aj Styles and the fallen Angle. both were tna poster boys. But when they replaced Konnan with Shelly and and Hector it, failed. Because niether could talk like Konnan. But, I also need to make sure you know that sometimes all a maneger needs to do I is cheerlead. Like all Stacy Keibler needed to do was stand outside and show off her ass on occasion.

 

[MaddMatt]

An important thing to note is that guys like Bobby Heenan, Jimmy Hart, and Jim Cornette can't be compared to simple valets and mouthpieces. At that time, managers were veterans of the business - guys with valuable experience to pass on to new/raw/inexperienced talent. Their role with the wrestler they managed went beyond masking that wrestler's inadequacies. They were able to act as a mentor the wrestler, and provide feedback from a first hand perspective that someone backstage doesn't have. They were part of the match, and their experience allows them to translate the events of the match or promo into learning opportunities for a weak wrestler/speaker. I agree they need to bring back managers, but that doesn't mean having a guy with no mic skills appearing with a hot chick or someone who gets cheap heat. Have guys like Jim Ross and Dusty Rhodes as managers - men who have been successful; who know the business of wrestling and can be a mentor to these guys that are struggling to become that complete package.

 

[mral82]

Yes, I agree. Think about the people who benifit from multitalented wrestlers. MNM had Melina, who could distract, assult, and most importantly talk. That led them to 2 tag team titles. LAX had Konnan, that led to them beating, both Aj Styles and the fallen Angle. both were tna poster boys. But when they replaced Konnan with Shelly and and Hector it, failed. Because niether could talk like Konnan. But, I also need to make sure you know that sometimes all a maneger needs to do I is cheerlead. Like all Stacy Keibler needed to do was stand outside and show off her ass on occasion.

Yes managers would work and Dude MNM were 3(not 2) time WWE Tag Team Champions all over the course of 2006-2007. I'd say at this stage of Jerry's life he should step aside from the headset and manger some of the younger kids and form a stable and let Josh Matthews ctake his place as the Cole-Matthews team from NXT are awesome and would actually want to see more of it on RAw.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

A manager's role is oh-so important for a newcomer at times, especially when the performer is a monster heel.
The most prominent in my mind at the moment is Paul Heyman for Brock Lesnar

Now I'm not saying that Brock wouldn't have been a star without him but I'm pretty sure with Heyman he got over so much easily. Heyman would brilliantly sell Brock's devilish intentions in the promos, and Paulie's promo skills are second to none.

Even his ranting and shouting at ringside, would get a nice response from the crowd.
He was a huge blessing for Brock's career and managers like James Mitchell and, for me, Paul Bearer come to mind.
They could tell an incredible tale by doing so little at times.

 

[Wade's Public Transit Bomb]

There's only a hand full of managers and I really don't like it. I also don't like that cliche of "Well, if they put a hot chick with you...". Sexist son-of-guns. haha

I think there is two WWE guys who get promo time would be better off with a manager:

If Jackie Swagger is portrayed as a real athlete, shouldn't he get an agent? Heck they can even do a storyline about how Jack finally learned that he needs more influential guidance or something. I dunno.

John Morrison has bombed in just about every promo he has done in the year.. At least give him a pretty dime piece so the audience can ignore the bad promo. haha

And I like Maryse and Teddy together. They make a REALLY attractive couple. However, I really think they are going to be holding Maryse back. Maryse just has that "It" factor that almost all of the other divas and many of the men wrestlers just don't have. I feel like it would out better if they were have Maryse wrestle and Teddy put her over. lol

 

[ccotreau1]

I wasn't really sure where to put this on the forum, but this seems as good a place as any. There has been a common theme in a lot of threads about putting guys who aren't great on the mic with a "mouthpiece", or just using another character to get them heat (Vicki Guerrero with Ziggler, for example). You've got Singh with Khali, but that's just because Khali doesn't speak English. Maryse is a valet, but also wrestles. Serena is the only other person, other than Vicki, who simply stands outside the ring during matches and occasionally gets involved without having another role in the ring, but doesn't really offer more than cheerleading.

Thinking back to the glory days, guys like Jimmy Hart, Bobby Heenan and Jim Cornette, or even The Genius, to name a few, were well known corner representatives who could latch onto certain Superstars or vice versa, whether to give them heat or legitimacy. Heel/face turns could be explained by the acquisition of managerial services. It also made it more logical that guys who weren't necessarily rocket scientists or even just needed an extra bit of advice and strategy to get them by, could benefit from having someone do the thinking for them, not just the talking. Consider also the element of backup if you belonged to a particular "family", not even necessarily a stable. Further, it also allowed for more logical tag team or Survivor Series pairings, rather than random name-out-of-hat scenarios.

In other sports there are coaches, and traditionally in wrestling, there have been managers. These days, however, there hasn't really been anything at all similar, excluding NXT pros, which is a completely different story. Do you think that this is something that WWE and its Superstars are missing or could benefit from? My thinking is yes. What say you?

If you also recall, The Genius (aka Leaping Lanny Poffo) also wrestled during the time he was a manager. Granted it wasn't as frequent as when he was Leaping Lanny Poffo, but I do recall him wrestling on occasion

 

[lulamaemobster]

My username should tell you how I feel about this topic. Guys like Swagger could use the mouthpiece because, while he's pretty good at promos, his lisp makes him sound a little weak. He doesn't have the rough aggressive voice of SCSA or the booming arrogance of The Rock but he speaks clearly and you he sounds like he believes in what he's saying it's just that the lisp is all you think about when you hear him. I think the way the WWE is set up doesn't really lend to the managers being teachers of the business anymore but a lot of guys like DiBiase, Morrison, and Eli Cottonwood could use managers at least until they learn how to cut promos.

 

[CuddleBuns84]

Could the WWE benefit from managers? Why absoultely! A lot of guys are just bland, and make a bad product.

For example: John Morrison. He needs a manager bad, and no, he doesn't need to be teamed up with R-truth. He needs just a regular manager. Not a valet, but a manager. Do the heel thing again, he isn't a fun face. He always had heat when he was a heel, and Melina was his valet/manager. It worked really well, this crap he has.. Sucks!

Food for thought: You guys forgot Harvey Wippleton. That was just great... He presented that short-man syndrome we all love to hate, and really got people over.

Other guys who could use a manager are: Nexus, all they need now is a evil genius that will really build up some heat. Joey Styles would fit that role.

Yoshi whatever his name is. That's right, I turn the title when I seem him. He needs a manager, that explains the greatness of how he is the most amazing thing in the world. An amazing talent... A manager with him, would be amazing! Someone who would cheat for him, and he would never know that guy was cheating for him. It would create heat for the manager, but get him over with the fans.

Christian still has his peeps, might as well get him an "agent". That's a guy who needs the hot assistant. He has so much talent, but needs that little bit more of marketing to get him out of that upper mid-card, to the best in the business. Him and Jericho are the same size, came in the same time, yet Jericho is considered the best... Reason why, Just one damn good intro. Let's get some sexy ass around Christian, and hope for great results.

Last but not least... Jillian has the same singing gimmick for that last 3 years!!!! She has the heat? Why not give her some meat? She would be great as a manager, she would have the egotistically view point thinking that it is about her singing. You can give her a big goon Big Zeke. He can take out the ring, and make sure we get to handle her singing.

 

[The Calgary Kid]

I enjoy that most of you aren't in favor of the "give him a hot valet" idea, because I sincerely believe that it really doesn't accomplish as much as might be thought, and is also part of my argument. Maybe people look forward to seeing Ted more now because he brings the eye candy with him (I admit, any excuse to see Maryse is good enough for me), but she doesn't offer the credible guidance and assistance that Virgil did for his dad (and to an infinitely lesser extent, Ted, Jr. as well).

The thing about managers that brings credibility to the Superstars, as Matt said above, is that they offer knowledge, strategy and advice based on several years of experience in the biz, even outside of kayfabe. And indeed, someone like The Genius did put in the occasional match, which was good for comedy--way more entertaining than Hornswoggle eating Lucky Charms.

Also, I must say, kudos to those who separately came up with the "agent" idea. Swagger as an athlete could make that work well, and while someone mentioned Jillian doing that for someone, if she's going to stick around, why not get her an "agent" to go along with her singing gimmick and make her relevant in the barren Divas division? Granted there's the separate brand issue, but it could, in theory, even be the same guy.

 

[Hazardous]

you also forgot one of the creepiest, yet memorable Managers in WWF history! Paul Bearer.
He did all the talking for The Undertaker for a long time, also managed Mankind, Vader, and brought in and talked for Kane also. was always one of my favorite, and that voice.. oh god that voice.. you knew something dark was coming.

But yes, WWE does have something missing since all the managers left. really i think it was cost cutting, and character development. but they had a role, and played them very well for the most part.

 

[The Calgary Kid]

Funny, you said "creepy", I thought you were going to say Jameson.

I agree, Paul Bearer did have a big part to play for a long time (also a great guy, btw). Hard to believe I didn't mention him, but I was only throwing out a few names. He did play a crucial role in developing Kane, who didn't speak, and Taker, who barely spoke for a while, which has allowed for the creation of two important players in WWE history, one of them the most iconic star in recent memory. One could make a case that if not for the direction and speech given by Bearer, the Undertaker character might not have been as successful as it has been (biker phase be damned).

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I LOVE the "agent" idea for Swagger. Get a veteren ex-wrestler who can talk to play the role, it would be perfect for Jack and he could benefit alot from this.

Morrison defiantely needs a manager, he just cannot talk and although he has all the physical gifts and in-ring skills, he needs a mouthpiece until he learns how to cut a great promo by himself.

WWE is seriously lacking some classic managers, who regularly swap between wrestlers and build up factions of their own (E.G Paul E Dangerously and the Dangerous Alliance), which could boost the careers of young up-and-coming superstars.

Hell, they could do worse than bringing in Father James Mitchell, probably the best in the business today, but his faction probably wouldnt be suitable for the PG era