Should WWE Bring In More Managers?

[RicoLen]

It's something I've missed for a long time, a manager's stable. The Heenan Family was incredible, and it got to be a point of honor to say you were a member of the Heenan Family. The Mouth of the South Jimmy (JIMMY!) Hart was also an amazing manager, that megaphone of his came into play so many times, either as an annoyance to the face, or as a weapon for the heel.

Why not bring back some guys? Older wrestlers that might want to be back on TV in a support system? Why not Mike Rotunda gimmicked as I.R.S. again? That'd be a great gimmick for a manager. Who wouldn't want the IRS as their manager? Or The Enforcer, Arn Anderson? Or Ricky Steamboat? I mean these guys are travelling with the wrestlers already, why not put them on TV and show them turning some green noob into something, or taking some mid-carder and making them a champion?

The manager used to be a staple of pro-wrestling, why is it so unseen these days, especially on the scale of someone like Heenan, Hart, & Fuji, who had multiple wrestlers, and frequently with someone with a title?

 

[EdgeLives_4evr]

To a certain extent bringing back managers would be cool. But the managers have got to be believable. Like Arn Anderson as a manager would never work out. He seems more like a guy that would want your respect in the ring first and he's too old to even try to get back in. I.R.S would be great!!!!! I think they should bring someone new so that they could start a new gimmick with them.

 

[daddyJ_t]

its funny u mentioned this and jimmy hart, cause ive read that jimmy hart offered his services to r-truth tonight at ss and hopefully this will be a sign of things to come with managers returning. hhh is bringing back tag wrestling, why not mouth pieces?

 

[RicoLen]

its funny u mentioned this and jimmy hart, cause ive read that jimmy hart offered his services to r-truth tonight at ss and hopefully this will be a sign of things to come with managers returning. hhh is bringing back tag wrestling, why not mouth pieces?

That's why I started the thread, I just didn't want to get in trouble with spoilers so I shy'd away from the reason for it.

But Managers have been something I've been wanting to see for a long time. A year ago I was thinking Bret Hart should hang around and manage the Hart Dynasty... There's just not enough legit managers and there haven't been since the mid-90's.

 

[Skairipa Matrix]

id like to see managers return jimmy hart might end up with r-truth now because of what happened tonight but i just dont see managers becoming a big part of the business again

 

[Patrick Bateman]

I was thinking about this when one of the tag-team threads came up in the last week or two.

I'd like to see something like the "Heenan Family" done with Vickie Guerrero. I'm sick of her being with a "love interest" of sorts. Make it so guys want Vickie in thier corner- cuz she can get them W's inside the ring. Maybe get her a couple different singles wrestlers and a tag-team. What about a tag-team like Kidd & Reks getting together and asking Vickie to take them to the top? Maybe after she takes them places, someone like Drew McIntyre shows up & says he's noticed what shes done with Kidd & Reks and he want's to get in on it himself.

As for former in-ring competitors as managers- I could see some guys worth it, I guess. What about someone like Bill Regal? I think he could totally do it. I think Arn could do it also. I was never a fan or IRS, myself. Now- If he want's to come back as a manager for his sons in a tag-team, that would make sense. No need for the IRS character tho.

 

[The Future Rises]

I was actually buying it when Jimmy Hart was offering to be R-Truth's manager backstage at Summerslam. But unfortunately it was just a "Litte Jimmy" comedy sketch. I mean R-Truth and Jimmy Hart would be a great pairing. Just imagine the heat these two could draw together.. Or better yet.. Just imagine R-Truth with a megaphone!

I think they should get more managers. Currently in the WWE we have Vickie Guerrero managing Dolph Ziggler which is getting a little stale. I think Dolph should drop her and get Michael Cole as his manager. Those two can be this generation's Mr.Perfect and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. Not that I'm actually comparing the two just the thought of the cocky young perfectionist with the loudmouth "weasel" would fit in well with Dolph Ziggler and Michael Cole just like it did with Perfect and Heenan back then.

 

[Bear3209]

I could actually buy the bit with Jimmy Hart and R-Truth, because Jimmy Hart was dealing with alot of Conspiracys (ex: jumping from Natural Disasters to Money Inc than jumping to Mega Maniacs) but than R-Truth relized Little Jimmy ... YOUR THE LIL JIMMY, your the reason for all this conspiracy.. and it would work good.

I could actually see someone like Booker T being a manager because he did make the comment a few times that he trained Alisha Fox how to do the scissors kick, and make it look good... Somone i could not see as a manager is Cole, other than being the loud mouth obnoxious person that he is.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

I think it'd be a great idea. Managers work more for midcard guys to me. You basically use them as a slingshot. Guy got tools but isn't getting over? Give him a manager who is hated, let him get the heat from association, when you think the guy is over on his own, drop the manager and see.

I think they're doing basically that with Vickie and Ziggles. I'd like more managers, I really really liked Armando Alijandro Estrada.

A stable would be good too. Stables get guys over in the same way, through "assocation". Think about the nWo. Norton, Vincent, Horace Hogan, none of those guys would have been as over if they weren't wearing the black and white. Well maybe Norton because he was a baby-eating badass.

 

[PUNKforPresident]

I'm all for bringing back Managers, but I'm not in favor of bringing back former superstars. WWE does not want to turn into TNA. With Nash coming back 1 legend is enough on the roster. I do think they should give Jim Ross and Lawler the headsets along on RAW and Cole should manage. I think Cole would make a great manager. Managers are mainly used to to work the mic. Cole can draw major heat for a heel character who has trouble working the mic. Thats why Paul Bearer was so great...Kane and Taker never talked and were still HUGE stars because they had Bearer there to tell the story for them. I could see someone like John Morrison getting a manager that could elevate him to the next level.

 

[abraxasdeux]

Yeah, I'll definately agree

There are next to no managers in the WWE and honestly, that's becoming a bit of a problem

A lot of the wrestlers aren't exactly good on the mic and that's of course where managers come in, to be the mouth-piece and to make the wrestler look good to the audience who may just as soon not care about the poor bastard

Jimmy was fantastic at that and deserves immense kudos for his work in both the WWF and WCW

Bill Alfonso is definately another name that needs to be tossed around more often. As annoying and cocky as he was, he certainly got the job done by putting someone over as a heel

 

[TheCrusher]

Bring back managers...in moderation. A lot of old school ideas can still fly as long as they are not overdone.

A guy I'm beginning to think could get over as a monster-type heel is Brodus Clay (not entirely sold on it yet, but maybe.) He would benefit tremendously from a manager who could help get him over as he works up from Superstars to at least midcard. And there is not just the advantage of the onscreen rub. A guy like Clay could actually use the one-on-one attention backstage from a mentor who could teach him how to work a crowd.

 

[WJDwjdWJDwjd]

I think now would be a great time to bring in the rumored "Fortunate Sons" stable on Smackdown. DiBiase and Rhodes are already teamed up on Smackdown and their fathers have been working with WWE a lot lately. Bring up Bo Rotundo or Husky Harris and Richie Steamboat from FCW and trade Joe Hennig over to Smackdown after Otunga and him lose the championships. Bring in their respective fathers (the ones that are still alive anyway) and have them talk about their pedigrees in the wrestling business and how the other superstars that don't come from a wrestling family don't belong there. Their goals could be to eliminate a different superstar every week that is a first generation performer. Have a major midcard storyline culminate at Survivor Series in a traditional 5 on 5 elimination match. Rhodes, DiBiase, Steamboat, Hennig, Rotund/Harris vs any 5 Smackdown first generation wrestlers. For instance: Big Show, Kane, Daniel Bryan, Ezekiel Jackson and a mystery opponent that turns out to be The Undertaker.

Just to clear up what managers I'd use primarily: Ted DiBiase Sr, Dusty Rhodes and I.R.S.

 

[RicoLen]

The one thing about managers coming back is that they have to be respected people. At least in my opinion. Because if they're not, they're going to get treated like Michael Cole or Vickie Guerrero, where people more or less hate them because they're more or less boring with a little bit of annoying and do a disservice to the business as a whole, and not because they're legit heels that people love to hate.

The other problem I have with Vickie & Cole is that they both know absolutely dick as far as the public is concerned about wrestling, so it really doesn't make sense to have them as managers, IMO at least.

If you bring in guys that people know and respect, people will at first want to watch just to see them back and see them with the mic pushing some young guy that hasn't developed good mic skills yet. But as time goes on they'll want to see the team, the old guy with the mic and the young guy dominating in the ring. That's how it was with Heenan & Hart especially, as time goes on the old guys can work with the young guys to develop mic skills and they can get chances every now and again to try out their abilities.

Joe Hennig would be a perfect (pardon the pun) example of a guy that should have a manager for a mouthpiece, and just focus on mat skills and work on mic skills behind the scenes with whoever his manager might be. A lot of good names have been thrown around too, like Dusty Rhodes, DiBiase Sr., William Regal (OMG I hate even the sight of him, he'd be a great manager, because everyone knows he's a great wrestler too - Could you imagine Regal taking on Wade Barret?), Bill Dumot, Trish Stratus, Booker T, Ricky Steamboat are all well known trainers, if they're willing, let them manage too I say.

I would be willing to bet that some guys that are already trainers, would love the chance to be on tv again as a mouthpiece.

 

[Marzyk]

In this day and age where talking is so important and so many people speak for themselves, having a mouth piece talk for you while you stand in the back and look mean would not make you look better. It would actually make you look weaker.

Now maybe they could get a guy in who is such a a-hole that just associating with him would draw you more heat. But it would have to be a co-op on the mic.

 

[Starchild]

Obviously Vickie is the beginning of this trend and may lead to a manger stable which would be great, but I'm sure there are some others we could think of bringing in.
Jimmy Hart was teased with R-Truth at Summerslam, but I have a feeling that was more just for nostalgia and a comedy bit than anything else. One that is there currently that I think would work is Michael Cole. He's clearly one of the most hated guys in the company at this point, so working with heels would be a good way to get them over by association. People complain constantly about how his play-by-play heel announcer is old now and takes away from the broadcast, so what better time to have him go out and become something different than now. In my opinion, he's no longer needed at the commentary booth. We have JR and King, who just last night showed they can still be good together. Then Josh Matthews and Scott Stanford are some other guys who are more than capable of doing play-by-play on the big shows and should be given that chance.

Another idea, would be to bring in some legends that could be managers. I think this would work particularly well for the second and third generation stars that are trying to get over or will be debuting in the coming years. A couple examples would be the Million Dollar Man with Teddy and/or Brett Dibiase or Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat with Richie Steamboat.

So clearly there are a ton of options here. Like tag team wrestling, the role of a manager is all but a lost art in the WWE and is a proven commodity that needs to be brought back.

 

[TheCrusher]

Ricky the Dragon Steamboat has been a face from bell-to-bell in his WWF/E career. I don't think he would want to come in as a manager and ruin that distinction. Besides, his mic work was fine, but always was based on being sincere and straightforward. I just don't think that you could get a guy over as a face manager playing "Dear Old Dad" to his son.

The Million Dollar Man, on the other hand, is extremely capable of drawing heel heat. But, I think they should not put him as manager of Little Teddy. It could actually help facilitate the teased face turn for the younger if his dad came in and the son rejected his help. Then, have his dad turn against him and manage a rival in a feud.

 

[RicoLen]

In this day and age where talking is so important and so many people speak for themselves, having a mouth piece talk for you while you stand in the back and look mean would not make you look better. It would actually make you look weaker.

Now maybe they could get a guy in who is such a a-hole that just associating with him would draw you more heat. But it would have to be a co-op on the mic.

Go watch interviews of The Undertaker from when he first started as compared to now. Back then he was a badass, but didn't talk much at all, and when he did you could tell it wasn't his strong suit. Watch an interview now and he's really comfortable and he's quite competent. You can see how he's grown over the years, and I believe it's because he had Paul Bearer as a mouthpiece while he was still relatively green.

The talking, for a lot of wrestlers is the last thing to come after they've been around and really developed strong opinions and have gotten comfortable with their character.

Did you see Ziggler last night? That's just about the best I've ever heard him on the mic. He sounded comfortable and competent, while his earlier segments from back when he first debuted sounded lame. Time and arguably Vickie are the difference.

And speaking of Vickie, I couldn't believe Swagger went to her and talked about expanding her stable! LOVED IT! I hope she picks up a few singles competitors and a tag team. Swagger didn't sound quite so lispy to me either... was that just me or did anyone else notice?


One other thing about managers, they don't have to be heels and they don't necessarily have to be mouthpieces either. Ms. Elizabeth was the best thing to happen to Randy Savage's career and he was the total package in terms of what a wrestler needs to get by. She took him from great to legendary, and without her his face turn at the end of WM7 would never have been the memorable event it was. Ms. Elizabeth was a part of the Macho Man gimmick. They hated Savage as a heel because she stuck by him and he treated her like crap, and they loved him more than anyone else in the WWF when he learned to appreciate her and treated her with love and respect.

 

[Dude_Love87]

I saw a post that said managers will never be apart of the business again. Why? I believe managers can be a boost for the better of the wrestler that he is managing. For instance, Ted Dibiase was excellent manager in my opinion and made his wrestlers more of an attraction to the audience. Me personally, I loved when he managed the Steiner Brothers, and Steve Austin which eventually helped mold the Stone Cold character.

In the thread "Raw announcers," a poster stated Michael Cole would make a good manager, I agree completely! I see Jimmy Hart all over again IMO, and the WWE would benefit from that.

The only managers I know of in WWE is Vicky and Ricardo Rodriguez, Ricardo is an excellent heel manager. There might be more, but I do not watch smackdown so those 2 are all I could think of.

 

[remyx]

Michael Cole should manage Barrett. Not that Barrett needs Cole, or either way around. But I see Wade as the perfect foil for Daniel Bryan for the time being.. and Cole is the perfect antagonist of DB already. Hell even have Cole manage Ziggler too... maybe a few lower card up on the rise guys.. Tyson Kidd perhaps?

Imagine a group with Barrett & Kidd on Smackdown & Swagger & Ziggler on RAW with Michael Cole on his own or with Vickie Guerrero managing them. I think it would create some pretty interesting shorelines.

 

[b_radici]

Managers would lead to stables, and recently WWE hasn't been doing good in their stables dept. (Nexus, new nexus, corre, appple). If they learned to cap off the managers to 2-3 wrestlers tops, then that could work. Would also be great for the tag team or lack thereof division.

 

[RicoLen]

Matt Striker

I was just watching his match he had on NXT... here's a guy, kind of like Bobby Heenan, that could be a wrestler, is young and fit enough to be a wrestler, but has good mic abilities, and is not really taken seriously AS a wrestler. Matt Striker I really believe could be one of those guys that could become a bigtime wrestling manager. I don't think he's got the kind of wit and talent as Heenan by any means, but I think, like Heenan he really could find his place in the WWE as a manager rather than as a wrestler.

 

[I_Am_Electro_Boy]

I'm also a big fan of managers. I think that they can be great for up and coming stars, if the guy isn't over put him with a manager that is over, if the guy can't talk give him a manager so he doesn't have to. I think Vickie could have a stable, maybe consisting of a few up and comers. Maybe Swagger, Brodus Clay, Tyson Kidd and Drew McIntyre. I didn't put Ziggler in as he doesn't need a manager anymore and I think the four guys I named could have more tv time if they were put with Vickie.

 

[Awesome_Miz]

Yes they should for the reason being the superstars.There some superstars that need elevation to main event status and need to be taken seriously.Also for the superstars that can nort talk really well so I think they should bring some managers.