Mt. Rushmore of Managers

[relentless1]

Whos the top 4 Managers of all time?

Bobby Heenan:

Managed: Andre, Ray Stevens, Ken Patera, Rick Rude, Ric Flair, John Studd, Mr Perfect and the list goes on and on; two of his clients won the World title and he was integral in huge storylines such as Andre vs Hogan at WM 3

Paul Heyman:

Managed: Brock Lesnar, Rick Rude, CM Punk, Steve Austin, Big Show, RVD and Kurt Angle, 5 out of 7 of these wrestlers he managed to a World title or while having held a World title.

J.J. Dillon:

Manager of the 4 Horsemen; arguably the greatest faction of all time, kinda speaks for itself!

Freddie Blassie:

Managed: Hulk Hogan, Iron Shiek, Nikolai Volkoff, George Steele, Peter Maivia, Ray Stevens and Jesse Ventura amongst others; pivotal in the early WWWF days and managed Shiek to the World title


Who would you put atop the Mt Rushmore of Managers and why?

 

[HeenanGorilla]

Personally, when thinking about my response, "led __ to a title" didn't enter my mind. Kind of laughable to picture these guys holding a heavy bag and training their fighters. Did they really lead them? Or were they simply the manager of wrestlers who were given the title for one reason or another?
If I were to consider who "led" their people to titles, which seems silly, I would probably put Sunny on the Mount Rushmore of managers, as she was THE reason her teams were given the belts.

I will look forward to the responses, as people like Dillon, Cornette, Grand Wizard, Gary Hart, etc. are all people who seem to be accepted as managerial greats--I just didn't see most of the things for which they are best known.

For me, Bobby Heenan was the best. While I will not put her on this list, I have previously argued that a major part of what made Randy Savage great was Elizabeth. No, not her "managing", but the fact that she was the centerpiece of almost ever major angle Savage had and, without her and the storylines she directly provided, his career would have been much less memorable. For context, I am a huge Macho Man fan and have also previously argued that he is the true Mr. WrestleMania (another post, of course--just showing that I am a fan, not someone looking to diminish Savage's legacy). Bobby Heenan was the same way, in that he was the reason many of his guys were in such heated matches. Hogan vs. Heenan Family was big money in the 80s. Granted, Hogan vs. anybody in the 80s was big money--Kamala, Killer Khan, whoever--but the reason people wanted Hogan to beat Heenan Family members so much was because of Bobby Heenan. He brought the heat; he was who people wanted to see beaten. I don't believe Big John Studd, for example, walking to the ring by himself to face Hogan would have been nearly as big a deal without Heenan involved. Of course, Heenan's comedic value on the mic as an announcer was wonderful, but this is a post about managers and I think Heenan's work in that capacity was tremendous on its own.

A man that many people underrate, in my opinion, is Jimmy Hart. What charisma! That damn megaphone--talk about people wanting to see guys beat up because of their manager. You take Jimmy Hart away from the Honky Tonk Man--which I have praised as a wonderful heel gimmick--and that thing loses steam much sooner than it did. Dino Bravo, Greg Valentine and so many others owe their heat to the Mouth of the South.

That, to me, is what makes a great manager. The fact that people get so fired up about a match solely because of what the manager has done. Ravishing Rick Rude, Bret and Anvil, Mr. Perfect--these guys would have been hated/loved on their own. Honky would have also--just not for nearly as long. But, the other guys I mentioned above, they owed a lot to Heenan and Jimmy Hart.

I know you asked for the Top 4, but to stand by my own criteria, I don't have two others. I did enjoy other managers like Captain Lou Albano, Paul Bearer and Mr. Fuji, to name a few, but in the era I was a fan and for the ones I saw a lot of and feel I can give a fair assessment to, Heenan and Jimmy Hart are on a whole other level.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

My top 4 managers of all time

1. Bobby Heenan: When talking about managers pretty much everybody who's watch wrestling for a long time will have him in their MT rushmore. Easily the best managers of all time, he took guys like Haku and Babarian who really weren't meant to be main event guys or even top star and made them top star. HE was the best talker and just could sell like nobody's business.

2. Jim Cornette: Cornette was pretty much the equivalent of Heenan in the south. What Heenan was able to do in AWA and later in WWF, Cornette did it in JCP and later in WCW before joining WWF in 93. The guy was again a great talker and help a lot of his guys get over as main event stars.

3. Jimmy Hart: Looking at him, you could tell that he was made for this role. The guy manages the who'S who in memphis and then WWE and WCW. When talking about managers, he's probably as recognize as heenan or cornette.

4. Paul Heyman: i really had to put him in here not just for his modern stuff with Lesnar, but also for his ealry stuff in WCW. From being the managers of the real midnight express in the late 80'S to managing one of the most memorable stable in WCW history in the dangerous alliance. He's done it all. Like the others three, the guys is one of the best promo in the business and that'S the most important thing as a manager.

 

[thebarber]

Heenan, Heyman, Jimmy Hart and Cornette.

 

[DarkLordofTheSixth]

New member here I usually just read the posts here but felt like I needed to put in my 2 cents worth here.

1. Somebody everyone missed and the only true wrestling manager of the last 40+ years years Paul Ellering who actually managed the Road Warriors/Legion of Doom and who was very much the reason they got over so big. No Paul Ellering and we might never have known of the LOD. His work with the Authors of Pain also gave them very much the start and gravitas they needed to get over to bad the powers that be didn't see that.

2. J J Dillon Another one who was very much a part of the group he was with although he was just a part of the group and did not really "manage" them

3. Booby Heenan What is there to say about the Brain that everybody else has said? Nothing.

4. (Tie) Jimmy Hart What is there to say about the Mouth of the South that everybody else has said? Nothing.

4. (tie) Jim Cornett Closest to a real manager after Paul Ellering and he he did manage his own territory

 

[FromGlasgowScotland]

1, Bobby Heenan. Pretty much the same reasons everyone else gave. Not only best manager but also best colour commentator of all time and in top 10 of greatest names in wrestling of all time.
2, Capt Lou Albano, I'm surprised this name isn't on anyone else's list.
3, Jim Cornette.
4, Paul Heyman.
quite difficult list to do when there's so many other greats like Jimmy Hart, Mr Fuji and Freddie Blassie. who were all still kind of an option for my 3rd of 4th place.

 

[Glacier]

JJ Dillon
Percy Pringle
Sir Oliver Humperdink
Jim Cornette
Mr Fuji

 

[enviousdominous]

1. Bobby Heenan, nobody did it better than him. He made you believe that there were higher stakes for every match that he was a part of, and he made you hate him.

2. Gary Hart, the man who defined the serious manager. There was nothing funny about Gary, he looked into your soul with his cold eyes and made it apparent to you that his client was going to severely hurt his opponent.

3. Jim Cornette, his gift of gab is unmatched. Jim would enrage the people who hated him, and he would enthrall the people who loved him. He could turn any mundane episode of NWA World Championship Wrestling into absolute gold.

4. Sherri Martel, the most badass woman who ever stepped in the ring. Sherri could talk a big game, and she could take bumps better than most of the men. She elevated the careers of everyone that she worked with, clients and opponents.

 

[mjg1987]

Bobby heenan
Jimmy hart
Mr fuji
Sensational sherri