Greatest Wrestling Manager?

[Dean]

I thought I would try to inspire some discussion. Who do you believe is the greatest wrestling manager? And what does that mean to you?

What do you value in a manager? They're not so commonplace now, but for a while in the 80s and 90s, it seemed like almost every wrestler had a manager of some sort.

Some managers speak on behalf of their talent, others are more of a hype man. Some interfere in marches by tripping an opponent or handing their client a weapon, while others get more physically involved and take bumps.

So yeah. Discuss and such.

 

[Tubby23]

So I think the best I have seen in my actual life time has to be Paul Heyman and that's across his three different runs with CM Punk, Brock Lesnar and now with Roman Reigns.

I've always viewed managers as really important and I think the key things they have to do well is:

• Tell us why their client/who they're managing is so damn good
• Give the opponent their dues to raise them up to the level of their client (making them a credible threat) while also pointing out logical flaws that person has
• Tell a compelling story or creat a great narrative

I think Paul does those all so damn well. He has also been instrumental in improving his clients.

Now I've only seen Heenan many years after the fact and he also seems to be epic from everything I have seen. So is probably the best ever or equal with Heyman.

The one I would also give an honourable mention is Stephanie McMahon, I don't think I have ever been so annoyed at someone as she used to get 10-13 year old me during her run with Triple H. Looking back at it she showed very little ego but would put the match over, take bumps, get made to look silly etc. basically anything that was asked.

Further honourable mention to Miss Elizabeth

 

[Webster]

Who do you believe is the greatest wrestling manager?

Bobby 'the Brain' Heenan, hands down.
The man was gold on a mic and could promo like a boss.

On a short list of managers, it'd be Bobby Heenan, Jim Cornette, Paul Heyman, Paul Bearer and Jimmy Hart and the other three would point to Heenan and say "There's the greatest."

(Edit: forgot Paul Bearer in that list above.)

 

[Dean]

Heenan was the total package for sure. He could actually wrestle in his younger days. He got his clients over and put over the babyface opponents usually. He was golden on commentary, especially with Gorilla. And he had some of the best zingers.

On the topic of underrated managers, I always liked The Sinister Minister/Father James Mitchell. He was able to get heat for Tajiri and Whipwreck, and later was a great mouthpiece for Abyss.

Bill Alfonso got nuclear heat in ECW, and he was a part of a lot of memorable moments when he got his ass kicked.

I guess I have ECW on my mind, but Joel Gertner was phenomenal. His but with the Dudleys where he would talk about D-Von being slim, trim, buff, cut, ripped, chiseled, and jacked is ingrained in my brain, and his dirty limericks were always amusing.

But yeah, Heyman has to be the best currently. Nobody can touch him. Don Callis may be a very distant second.

 

[Mark]

Anytime I think of managers, the old names come rushing back…

Jimmy Hart… as obnoxious as he was, love him or hate him, he was THE hype man for years. Him and that megaphone… one of the best to utilize props in their bit.

Paul Bearer… c’mon… how can you have a list of managers and not have him. Even when he was just standing there with the urn he was a presence. Another one with a prop, but completely unique.

Bobby Heenan… he ain’t the Brain for nothing.

Honorable mention goes to Chyna, Sunny, Sable, and Marlena… Ms. Elizabeth and Sherri walked so they could run, and they paved the way for those that came after them. Obviously, Mae Young came first… but in “our” generation? We saw the ladies take some big jumps from just eye candy to legitimate talent… whether we’re talking character or in-ring ability.

 

[Webster]

Heenan was the total package for sure. He could actually wrestle in his younger days.

Two moments of note: (1) when Jake 'the Snake' Roberts rips the tights off of Rude (which had the face of Jake's wife Cheryl Roberts on them) and (2) when Heenan jumps over the top rope, sticks the landing and takes off like a scalded dog.

 

[Dean]

Paul Bearer… c’mon… how can you have a list of managers and not have him. Even when he was just standing there with the urn he was a presence. Another one with a prop, but completely unique.

OOOOHHHHHHHHHH YEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

 

[Foxy]

I can go back even further. I have some photos taken backstage at MSG of Captain Lou Albano, Classy Freddie Blassie & The Grand Wizard of Wrestling. I'll have to dig them out.

 

[Foxy]

A couple from my collection, top row left to right: Grand Wizard with the Valient Btothers; Grand Wizard with Stan "The Man" Stasiak (Finishing move The Heart Punch)

2nd Row Left to Right: Classy Freddie Blassie; Baron Scicluna, Captain Lou Albano & King Curtis Iaukea

 

[VashTheStampede]

I'm a Heenan Guy. He's the GOAT, IMO.

Guys that are close in my book are Heyman and Cornette.

I loved Paul Bearer because he added that extra mystique to Taker's presence.

I think everyone here has already hit on most of the greats but there's a couple that haven't been mentioned who I really dig:

Paul Ellering, to me, added a whole other layer to the Road Warriors that made them even more intimidating. They were already this force of nature of impervious supermen, and now they have a genius-level intellect helping them strategies? Terrifying.

Gary Hart is up there with the greats but because he was never a WWF or WCW guy it's like he was forgotten to time. During his glory days in World Class in Texas (where he was also the booker during the best run of the company featuring the Von Erichs vs the Freebirds), Georgia, and Mid-Atlantic, he was THE villain. The man just dripped evil. He always reminded me of the types of villains you'd see in movies of the era: the big business man who had all the power and ran things in the small town.

 

[Dean]

I've heard a lot of great things about Gary Hart but didn't get to see much of him. Did he manage Muta in Crockett/WCW at one point?

 

[VashTheStampede]

Yeah, he managed Muta for Jim Crockett. I think that was part of the stable he managed with Terry Funk and Dirty Dick Slater.

 

[Dean]

I remember seeing him in the late 80s or early 90s on some Sting VHS stuff I had and maybe some Halloween Havoc VHS, and probably some other historical stuff. I didn't get to really form a big impression.

 

[Webster]

Guys that are close in my book are Heyman and Cornette.

I might've said this earlier but on a short list of great managers you'd have Bobby Heenan, Jim Cornette, Paul heyman, Paul Bearer and Jimmy Hart and all of the others would've pointed at Heenan and said, "He's the greatest; we're simply in his shadow."

 

[VashTheStampede]

I might've said this earlier but on a short list of great managers you'd have Bobby Heenan, Jim Cornette, Paul heyman, Paul Bearer and Jimmy Hart and all of the others would've pointed at Heenan and said, "He's the greatest; we're simply in his shadow."

I wanna say I've actually seen one of those guys actually say that or something similar. Maybe Heyman or Cornette on the WWE-produced Heenan documentary.

 

[Webster]

I wanna say I've actually seen one of those guys actually say that or something similar. Maybe Heyman or Cornette on the WWE-produced Heenan documentary.

I think Corny's said something to that effect, Vash.

 

[Webster]