Whatever Happened To Managers

[NOLUBEZ]

I was wondering the other day how come aside from that translator w/ Khali there is not any real managers/valets.
Sure one of the divas comes down with one of the guys or vice versa (Santino) but they are also billed as wrestlers. At one time there was quite a few Heenan,Fuji,Elizabeth etc. Now you don't see any and that could be the problem for a few guys because they could use one to get them over. Imagine Shelton Benjamin with someone like Heenan he could very well be headlining shows all the time let me know what you think.

 

[tehblogger]

Because the show is all about the GENERAL manager. In the old days you just didn't really have such a thing: you had a bunch of mouthpieces who, theoretically, booked. Now the GM kayfabe books. So managers are redundant. Also the WWE seems to think that middle-aged guys talking is something people won't watch. Well, I beg to differ, and guys like Umaga and Khali are far worse off for having no mouthpieces. But meh. I don't see this part of wrestling culture coming back.

 

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

The problem is, instead of using an experienced mouthpice to help an inexperienced talent/unfamiliar gimmick get over, they use inexperienced talent to help total unknowns to get noticed and it doesn't work because neither of them are able to help the other out. Or they put 2 random people together and they don't do anything.

Lets take a number of talent who in the last 2 years or so, have had managers.

1. MNM - Now originally, Johnny Nitro appeared on TV a couple of times, even in a backstage segment at WM20. Then a few months later he's in this tag team with this smoking hot chick following them around. They win a few tag titles, and then people stop caring. The team split. Melina and Nitro (in a relationship at the time) carry on together, Mercury gets nothing and falls of the map completely. Nitro wins the IC title (big whoop these days) and Melina screams a lot. We have that brief K-Fed bullshit, and then it's over.

Then Mick Foley is fueding with Ric Flair and Melina is suddenly following Foley around. After that ends, we end up with Melina on her own, and suddenly she's the only one that's over and Nitro doesn't get a lick of interest his way until his fued with Punk starts to heat up and is then relegated back to tag teams.

What was the point of this team and their valet? In the end, the most succesful one of the bunch was the valet! The exact same thing can be said for Michelle McCool. She started being a valet for some tag team, and i'm fairly certain they're both released and she's still there. Of course, this also started when Trish debuted and the only reason the people at home watched Test and Albert wrestle as a team was for Trish. She became the most succesful Diva ever, and neither of them (who started before her) were still employed in WWE today.

Duece and Domino - Here's a similar situation, except none of these three made any head way at all. What was the point of Cherry exactly? Did she ever speak at all during their run?

Santino Marella - Why he needs a manager i don't really know. He's comedic gold. Granted i love Glamerrella, and both Beth and Santino have flourished as a result of the pairing, but it's not Beth, nor was it Maria when she was partnered with him, that got him over. HE got THEM over. Despite being an active wrestler, Santino has been one of the best managers since.......

Umaga - UUUUUUUUUUUUUUMAGAAAAAAA!!!!! Armando was awesome (he's also who i was referring to above). Unfortunately they got rid of him, because people enjoyed saying UUUUUUUUUUMAGAAAAAA too much. Pure bullshit. Umaga has suffered a great deal since Armando left his side.

Khali - Well, first he had Davairi and now Rumjin Singh. TBH if he didn't have a manger of some sorts. He'd be worse off than he is. I personally enjoyed Singh translating Khali's threats and watching him crush things with his bare hands. That actually made me forget how terrible he is in the ring. Sadly his health has put a stop to these 2 in terms of wrestling success goes.

Mike Knox - Again, much like MNM, D&D and T&A, the only reason to watch the guy was for the eye candy hanging off of him. They had a little stint of him fighting people who tried to chat her up, but that didn't last long, and now he's got to rely on his beard to distinguish himself from the rest of the crowd. I'm sure that Kelly has had more screen time than Knox has.

William Regal + Layla: Let's see. She was being hounded by Jamie Noble, she told him to get lost and joined Regal and her mouth hasn't opened since. In fact in the 3 or 4 months since then, she's thrown a shoe at Punk and that's literally it.

Mark Henry and Tony Atlas: Again, the guy talks at first, and actually, wait, wait, INTERFERES IN THE MATCHES AS WELL!!!! Atlas and Santino must be the only people i've mentioned so far that actually try and help their counterpart win matches. However, the two have stopped talking since then and people are getting bored of Henry again.

The Burchills - I know they had an angle set up that didn't work out, but that doesn't mean put the pair of ECW so that none of us can check out Katie Lea. These 2 are being buried, plain and simple.

Tyson Kidd and Natalya - IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GIVE US THE 2ND HART FOUNDATION, STOP WASTING NATALYA'S ABILITIES!!!!! I know they're a couple a well, but that doesn't mean she shouldn't still be on SD, trying to make McCool and Maryse look half decent in the ring.

All in all, with the exception of Khali, Umaga and Santino, none of the managers have been any real benefit to the talent (unless they got to sleep with them later). Gone are the days where you could have somebody like Heenan get 4 or 5 separate guys over within the same company withing several years.

Take Paul Bearer for instance. Not only did he help Taker for years, he got Mankind and Kane over and even worked with Vader for a while too. ALL main event talent in WWF. Sure Vader was there already, but the other three sure weren't were they?

I doubt we'll ever see a pair like Taker/Bearer, Lesnar/Heyman etc ever again tbh. We'll just get random talent thrown together in the hopes they help each other out, but never be put in a programme or given a microphone to do it with.

With the exception of Santino and co. WHAT IS THE POINT OF HAVING THESE PEOPLE TOGETHER?

 

[WrestlingHistorian]

I miss when some wrestlers had managers, there isn't as many today as there was back then and the ones that we have today are not nearly as charasmatic or interesting as the ones of yesteryear. Bobby Heenan, Jimmy Hart, Elizabeth, Robert Parket, Slick and others made having a manager "cool" and it helped to elevate some of the wrestlers who may have not had mic skills. I'd say ROH has the best manager in Larry Sweeny.

 

[Razor Blade Dream]

Managers is what made wrestling for me as a kid. I can't tell you how many times I'd watch Jimmy Hart or Bobby Heenan pull off their shenanigans and it would infuriate me to no end! I'd be yelling at the tv for the ref to turn around or whatever. It helped establish guys that needed that extra heel heat. I miss Armando because he definitely made me think of the old type of manager that sometimes dwarfed the guy he was managing with his personality. I see some wrestling schools that offer a manager training program and I'm like, "What's the point? Managers are not in high demand anymore just like tag teams." Which tag teams are for another rant at another time.

 

[itbewilly]

This is an question ive been asking myself for some time now.When did managers become a thing of the past.I mean realistically some of the best managers ever(Heenan,Jimmy Hart,Fuji to name a few) added a different element to the show.Everyone loved to see the big mouth heel manager finally get what he had coming.Managers had an easier time drawing heat from fans also in many cases.

This is not the only thing managers excelled at.The also gave guys who didn't feel comfortable working the mic a chance to still shine in the business based off talent alone which is really what matters mostly to me anyways.I would rather see someone who doesn't speak a word of english(for his character) that is as technical as a Beniot or Malenko or even a Benjamin who is one of the better stars wrestling ability wise today then someone who only does a few moves but is very good on the mic and over with the fans.

For the most part i think wrestlers like Rock,Jericho,Austin and others who were good in the ring and on the mic might have lead up to this.The fact is there are less and less managers used now days.Guys like James Mitchell and Joel Gertner and Paul Bearer even added a whole new element to the show and it also gave smaller less athletic guys a chance to be a part of the business that otherwise they wouldn't have been able to.

Personally i wish they would bring back more manager's.I think if a wrestler is as talented a Shelton Benjamin but they lack the mic skills of someone like Jericho and dont feel comfortable talking on a mic they should be able to have an option to turn to.Some guys like Abyss and Kane to me where a hell of a lot better also before they started talking.The belief that any wrestler should have mic skills really is a stupid one.

Maybe im just old fashion and liked seeing Bill Alfonzo get his ass kicked and preyed someone would shove the whistle some place they couldn't show on national t.v.Maybe im the only who thinks Abyss and Kane had more of a demented monster characteristic when they didn't have a voice and had a sadistic manager leading them.

What do you all think.Do you think some guy are better left without having to ever speak into a mic(Khali) or do you think now days it should be a part of their character to develop mic skills(Kennedy)?

 

[Ezzee]

I always thought that some wrestlers needed managers if for no other reason then having a mouthpiece.

Yeah, Kane (masked) and Abyss are two that come to mind off hand. It just seemed so much as part of their aura. Not ever saying a word and just beating the crap out of people.

Another person I think that benefited greatly from having a manager was Brock Lesnar. The guy is huge, almost a freak of nature. But then when you hear him talk, it's like listening to a school girl. His voice does not match his physique.

I think the biggest problem now is that they just don't have the guys who need the manager. So many of todays wrestlers are only able to advance if they have the total package. The cartoony big than life personallities that dominated the late 80s and early 90s are basically gone. Where there were people like Haku, The Barbarian, and The Berserker who needed the voice piece are replaced by people who are only being brought up because they have the total package.

Unfortunately, I don't see managers ever truly making a comeback either. And that is sad. I agree that they always brought something to the match, if for no other reason than selling their man and giving them that extra dimension.

 

[DhA]

I feel managers work well for heels,and one guy atm who could use someone is SHelton Benjamin, the guy ahs everything else, if they give him a manager I feel he could legitimately occupy the kind of role traditionally held by Jericho (that is, upper midcarder who can main event when called upon).

 

[SquareSix]

I've been playing the Legends of Wrestlemania game, and it got me to thinking about managers and valets. At one time, they played such crucial roles in storylines and the matches themselves. I would really like to see a boom period for managers. We don't need every wrestler to have one, but like it was during the 80s and early 90s with people like Heenan, Cornette, and Sherri. Just have some of the talent utilize a manager. It would add something new (although recycled) to the product.

In trying to think of the most recent manager/valet who was decent in the job and I could only think of one: Lita. Yeah, Umaga had Estrada, but he didn't do much. Mark Henry has Tony Atlas, but really who cares what either of them are doing? And yes, Regal has Layla, but again she doesn't really do much.

Lita was used to great effect. She didn't get involved in every match, but enough to where you wondered what she would do next. And if the person facing Edge was able to get his hands on Lita, the crowd would explode with excitement waiting to see her get her up and comings - wow that's an old phrase.

It would create opportunity for new (and yet again recycled) things like a Heenan type stable. The manager could pick his favorite superstars: a main event level, mid-card, and a tag team. It could then become their mission to get all of the titles from their respective show into their stable; and, at the same time create a potentially huge feud between one Hoganesque type character who vows to stop them. At the most, have them feud with two superstars because a stable vs. stable feud has never been pulled off well.

It just came to me that some people might say that this idea is too similar to the Corporate Ministry. I think that while it does bare some resemblance to that storyline, there are enough differences (and it could be tweaked enough) to where it would work without people constantly comparing the two. Back to the main point though...

There could also be a few managers who are exclusive to one supertar like Mr. Fuji was to Yokozuna who could get invloved in various ways in the matches. Like I said, we don't need a ton of managers, but I think that going back to having a few managers in the business used in various ways would be something fun to watch.

Is it just the nostalgia talking or could these ideas actually work well in today's WWE?

 

[Isaac Kaye]

Bring back Jim Cornette!

 

[Jersey Wannabe]

Managers are a forgotten piece of wrestlings history.

I truly miss the days of Bobby Heenan, Cornette, Paul E., Slick, and Sherri.

At times the managers were able to become as big stars as those they were managing.
Bobby was probably the greatest of all time imo.
It also gave retired guys something to do. Ted Diabiase was excellent as a manager back in the mid 90s