ProPainScott
Dark Match Jobber
I grew up watching WWF in the late 80's and early 90's. The huge difference between the product then, compared to now, is that many wrestlers success was a direct result of the "rub" they got from their managers. In many instances, the managers would draw more heat than the actual wrestler. Today, all you get for the most part is valets. They are good eye candy, but they don't seem to have the same impact as the managers of yesteryear. There aren't any valets that have the same influence on the product as the great Sherri Martel, either.
Also, most managers were heels. I think WWE's heels could benefit greatly from establishing managers that were just as important as the wrestlers themselves. The manager concept could also evolve, and there could be some babyface managers. I'm sure this has come up in the past on the board, but I pretty much joined this forum just so I could bring up this topic. My question is... who on the current WWE roster should become a manager? I think some in ring performers could benefit from becoming managers. I will list my candidates, along with my explanation for why they would make excellent modern day managers, and maybe even go as far to suggest who they should be managing.
Here it goes...
- Michael Cole
- Matt Striker
- William Regal
- Santino Marella
- Jim Ross
Those are the five that jump out at me as potential modern day managers.
1) Michael Cole draws more heat than just about anyone in WWE. While he is certainly a valuable asset at the announcer's booth, I think if he became the #1 heel manager in WWE, his value would be even greater. He played the role of Jack Swagger's manager relatively well for a short while, but imagine if you put him with the likes of Alex Riley or Mark Henry. Or BOTH. Riley is trash on the mic. Cole could become somewhat of an agent, but he would also have the qualities of an old school manager. Between Bobby Heenan and Jimmy Hart, they managed the majority of WWF's heels in the 80's. Many of the guys were only pushed because of the heat that Heenan and Hart were drawing for them. Cole could put together the "Cole Family" similar to the Heenan family, with the likes of Jack Swaggar, Mark Henry, Alex Riley, and maybe Justin Gabriel.
One thing i've observed is that a lot of these young guys seem to have the Nexus stigma, and they can't break free from it. A talent like Justin Gabriel could benefit greatly from being surrounded by some new faces, such as Alex Riley and Mark Henry. Just to show that he is an individual. These guys would not always be together (like a stable). But they would share the connection of the "Cole Family". And just like old school WWF, when these guys need to turn face, all it takes is for them to beat the crap out of Cole. And then Cole can order another memeber of the Cole family to go after them, thus setting up a feud in a very natural way. I'd love to see Alex Riley put together a nice winning streak as a top heel, with Cole in his corner. then a year down the road, Cole does him wrong, he lays out Cole, and you have an instant Alex Riley vs Mark Henry feud that has meaning. It would give the fans a reason to cheer Riley.
2) Matt Striker. I think this guy is the most OBVIOUS choice to be a manager in WWE today. He is excellent on the mic, he has a good look, and people tend to hate him. I specifically think that Striker could manage McGillicutty and Otunga. I am glad WWE was trying to give these guys personality, but if they don't have it, they don't have it. Striker could do the talking for them initially. They would probably learn something from Striker's promos. It would also remove the Nexus stigma that I mentioned before. Striker is very underutilized in WWE. He is a good in ring talent too, so when he got involved, you wouldn't have to worry about him botching any spots. Striker would also be a good match to manage Brodus Clay in my opinion. He would build him as a monster, similar to how Paul Heyman helped build up Brock Lesnar.
3) William Regal. Regal fits as a snobby manager, who could also serve as a trainer for his talent. He came across as such on NXT, but like I said, they need to get the hell away from stigmatizing all these young wrestlers as Nexus & NXT talent. It's like an anchor tied to their ankles. Regal brings credibility to any man that he trains. Regal could be the manager for a monster like Ezekial Jackson, or he could be in the corner of a guy like Ted Dibiase. It could eventually lead to a split where he puts over Ted Dibiase. As if Ted couldn't learn enough from his dad, learning from a guy like Regal would be great too. Another obvious choice for Regal would be Drew McIntyre. I think Drew would benefit greatly from having Regal talk for him in some promos. Drew is a legitimate superstar in the making. He needs someone by his side who can talk, and that the fans will take seriously. The fans love/hate Regal. The guy draws heat, one way or the other. They need to utilize him better.
4) Santino Marella. He is meant to be a manager. It's tough to picture him as a heel as this point, but I think you could bend the rules with him and have him manage both faces and heels, and just kinda experiment with the idea of having a face manager for heel wrestlers. I could see Santino managing the likes of Brodus Clay, Tyler Reks, or even Zack Ryder or Kane. Brodus and Tyler Reks are no brainers, and they will certainly need someone to talk for them. But you could really go outsaide the box, and put Santino with Ryder or Kane. Imagine the pure hilarity that could come from Ryder hiring Santino as his manager. And Kane is kind of in no mans land as far as his charcater goes these days. Repackaging him as a comedy act with Santino would be a great way to wind down his career.
5) Finally, Good Ole JR. Jim Ross might be an odd choice for a manager at first thought, but I think JR has more credibility than any other option. He could have a huge influence on some young baby faces careers. JR could lead a movement against John Lauranitis. Everyone knows that JR was best friends with Stone Cold Steve Austin, so it's easy to believe that he could befriend some other young superstars. He could also take the role of the wrestling purist, who sticks up for these second generation superstars who are being held down. Bring back Harry Smith, and have him join up with Ted Dibiase and Joe Hennig (Michael McGillicutty) JR can talk about how he knew their fathers, and he is going to take it upon himself to represent these young stars and get them title shots and what not. It's a little far fetched, but think about it. If Ted Dibiase and Joe Hennig are being mentored and accompanied to the ring by JR, they would instantly get a bigger pop. And then when the heels get there hands on JR, Dibiase and Hennig would seek revenge for JR, and look like a hero. These guys need a personality, and they need a reason for people to care about them. All the fans care about JR.
Some other wrestlers who could use a manager are John Morrison and Cody Rhodes, but I can't decide where they fit into the equation right now. Any ideas?
A final thought... Alberto Del Rio/Ricardo Rodrigeuz are a perfect match, as well as Vickie/Ziggler. I think Ziggler is ready to move on without a manager soon though.
Another guy who should DEFINITELY be a WWE manager but is currently not under contract is COLT CABANA. He could work as a face or heel, but his mic work and presence and versatile talents translate perfectly into that of a wrestling manager. He could literally manage anyone. I picture him accompanying Air Boom to the ring. Their gimmick of happy go lucky babyfaces is really corny, but if you throw Colt Cabana with them... well they remain corny, but it would be A LOT more entertaining.
Some of you will think i'm crazy, some of you will have your own ideas and I can't wait to hear em.
If they made these 5 talents full time managers, I think it would have a huge impact on the product, and help create stars for many years to come.
Also, most managers were heels. I think WWE's heels could benefit greatly from establishing managers that were just as important as the wrestlers themselves. The manager concept could also evolve, and there could be some babyface managers. I'm sure this has come up in the past on the board, but I pretty much joined this forum just so I could bring up this topic. My question is... who on the current WWE roster should become a manager? I think some in ring performers could benefit from becoming managers. I will list my candidates, along with my explanation for why they would make excellent modern day managers, and maybe even go as far to suggest who they should be managing.
Here it goes...
- Michael Cole
- Matt Striker
- William Regal
- Santino Marella
- Jim Ross
Those are the five that jump out at me as potential modern day managers.
1) Michael Cole draws more heat than just about anyone in WWE. While he is certainly a valuable asset at the announcer's booth, I think if he became the #1 heel manager in WWE, his value would be even greater. He played the role of Jack Swagger's manager relatively well for a short while, but imagine if you put him with the likes of Alex Riley or Mark Henry. Or BOTH. Riley is trash on the mic. Cole could become somewhat of an agent, but he would also have the qualities of an old school manager. Between Bobby Heenan and Jimmy Hart, they managed the majority of WWF's heels in the 80's. Many of the guys were only pushed because of the heat that Heenan and Hart were drawing for them. Cole could put together the "Cole Family" similar to the Heenan family, with the likes of Jack Swaggar, Mark Henry, Alex Riley, and maybe Justin Gabriel.
One thing i've observed is that a lot of these young guys seem to have the Nexus stigma, and they can't break free from it. A talent like Justin Gabriel could benefit greatly from being surrounded by some new faces, such as Alex Riley and Mark Henry. Just to show that he is an individual. These guys would not always be together (like a stable). But they would share the connection of the "Cole Family". And just like old school WWF, when these guys need to turn face, all it takes is for them to beat the crap out of Cole. And then Cole can order another memeber of the Cole family to go after them, thus setting up a feud in a very natural way. I'd love to see Alex Riley put together a nice winning streak as a top heel, with Cole in his corner. then a year down the road, Cole does him wrong, he lays out Cole, and you have an instant Alex Riley vs Mark Henry feud that has meaning. It would give the fans a reason to cheer Riley.
2) Matt Striker. I think this guy is the most OBVIOUS choice to be a manager in WWE today. He is excellent on the mic, he has a good look, and people tend to hate him. I specifically think that Striker could manage McGillicutty and Otunga. I am glad WWE was trying to give these guys personality, but if they don't have it, they don't have it. Striker could do the talking for them initially. They would probably learn something from Striker's promos. It would also remove the Nexus stigma that I mentioned before. Striker is very underutilized in WWE. He is a good in ring talent too, so when he got involved, you wouldn't have to worry about him botching any spots. Striker would also be a good match to manage Brodus Clay in my opinion. He would build him as a monster, similar to how Paul Heyman helped build up Brock Lesnar.
3) William Regal. Regal fits as a snobby manager, who could also serve as a trainer for his talent. He came across as such on NXT, but like I said, they need to get the hell away from stigmatizing all these young wrestlers as Nexus & NXT talent. It's like an anchor tied to their ankles. Regal brings credibility to any man that he trains. Regal could be the manager for a monster like Ezekial Jackson, or he could be in the corner of a guy like Ted Dibiase. It could eventually lead to a split where he puts over Ted Dibiase. As if Ted couldn't learn enough from his dad, learning from a guy like Regal would be great too. Another obvious choice for Regal would be Drew McIntyre. I think Drew would benefit greatly from having Regal talk for him in some promos. Drew is a legitimate superstar in the making. He needs someone by his side who can talk, and that the fans will take seriously. The fans love/hate Regal. The guy draws heat, one way or the other. They need to utilize him better.
4) Santino Marella. He is meant to be a manager. It's tough to picture him as a heel as this point, but I think you could bend the rules with him and have him manage both faces and heels, and just kinda experiment with the idea of having a face manager for heel wrestlers. I could see Santino managing the likes of Brodus Clay, Tyler Reks, or even Zack Ryder or Kane. Brodus and Tyler Reks are no brainers, and they will certainly need someone to talk for them. But you could really go outsaide the box, and put Santino with Ryder or Kane. Imagine the pure hilarity that could come from Ryder hiring Santino as his manager. And Kane is kind of in no mans land as far as his charcater goes these days. Repackaging him as a comedy act with Santino would be a great way to wind down his career.
5) Finally, Good Ole JR. Jim Ross might be an odd choice for a manager at first thought, but I think JR has more credibility than any other option. He could have a huge influence on some young baby faces careers. JR could lead a movement against John Lauranitis. Everyone knows that JR was best friends with Stone Cold Steve Austin, so it's easy to believe that he could befriend some other young superstars. He could also take the role of the wrestling purist, who sticks up for these second generation superstars who are being held down. Bring back Harry Smith, and have him join up with Ted Dibiase and Joe Hennig (Michael McGillicutty) JR can talk about how he knew their fathers, and he is going to take it upon himself to represent these young stars and get them title shots and what not. It's a little far fetched, but think about it. If Ted Dibiase and Joe Hennig are being mentored and accompanied to the ring by JR, they would instantly get a bigger pop. And then when the heels get there hands on JR, Dibiase and Hennig would seek revenge for JR, and look like a hero. These guys need a personality, and they need a reason for people to care about them. All the fans care about JR.
Some other wrestlers who could use a manager are John Morrison and Cody Rhodes, but I can't decide where they fit into the equation right now. Any ideas?
A final thought... Alberto Del Rio/Ricardo Rodrigeuz are a perfect match, as well as Vickie/Ziggler. I think Ziggler is ready to move on without a manager soon though.
Another guy who should DEFINITELY be a WWE manager but is currently not under contract is COLT CABANA. He could work as a face or heel, but his mic work and presence and versatile talents translate perfectly into that of a wrestling manager. He could literally manage anyone. I picture him accompanying Air Boom to the ring. Their gimmick of happy go lucky babyfaces is really corny, but if you throw Colt Cabana with them... well they remain corny, but it would be A LOT more entertaining.
Some of you will think i'm crazy, some of you will have your own ideas and I can't wait to hear em.
If they made these 5 talents full time managers, I think it would have a huge impact on the product, and help create stars for many years to come.
