The wrestling manager is something that has been phased out in wrestling since the mid 90's, however it is something that i believe is sorely missed. You see back in the old territory days managers were used in several ways. First you had the older wrestler who would mentor a new up and coming star to help get them over. The next example was a new wrestler that wasn't exactly ready for the ring but needed to get precious time in front of live crowds and tv. The last and one example I am going to base this story around is the career manager who would give instant credibility to any wrestler they managed.
Back in the era of the territory systems you would have wrestlers that would more from one territory to an another all the time. The managers for the most part would stay and one territory and help build the new guys coming in. Some great examples of this were Jimmy Hart in the Memphis area, Bobby Heenan in the AWA, and Freddie Blassie in the WWWF. Their job was simple give the new monster a mouthpiece that the fans already hate.
Sometimes the wrestler was someone that was good but just needed that one extra thing to put them over the top, kind of like spaghetti good but much better when you add Parmesan cheese to it. Other times the wrestler was nothing special but needed to be packaged as such to help fill out a card. The master in both situations was Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. Heenan could make even the worse wrestler look like pure gold.
Heenan spent a good part of his career being aligned with the top heels in any promotion he was a part of. One of his main adversaries was Hulk Hogan. While working for the WWF Heenan would have a stable called appropriately the Heenan family and their main goal was to end Hulkamania. Generally this period of time is looked at as one of the most successful in the history of the industry. Just think of some of the main angles of the era in the WWF, Hogan Vs Andre The Giant, King Kong Bundy breaking Hogan's ribs, the real world champion Ric Flair, and the Ultimate Warrior feud with Heenan, who was the one constant? Bobby Heenan.
Heenan was just one example of this formula working. If you are a wrestling fan and have been since before about 1997 you should have fond memories of managers like JJ Dillon, Paul Jones, Lou Albano, Jimmy Hart, and Paul Bearer. Each one had made a mark on the industry and left a lasting image in fans minds.
Now that i have stated the history, let me get to the reason for this post. Managers have disappeared from mainstream wrestling. You have the occasional Armondo Estrada and Umaga but nothing like what we used to have. For every John Cena or Triple H that don't need any help getting over you have wrestlers like Shelton Benjamin and Sheamus that would benefit from being attached to a good manager.
This is something i think could easily be fixed. There are great managers on the indy wrestling circuit like Prince Nana and Larry Sweeney that could be brought in cheaply and would be a great help. Another simple solution is to have some of the guys who are towards the end of their career transition into the role. Someone like William Regal would be a great mouthpiece for other wrestlers. I could easily see Regal as the mouthpiece of Sheamus or Jack Swagger.
Remember when Brock Lesner arrived in the WWE? He was placed with Paul Heyman. Now I think that Lesner would have got over on his own I think the fact that he was aligned with someone the fans already known and understood made him the next big thing alot quicker than he would have on his own. The Undertaker had Brother Love and Paul Bearer both to help him get over. Hulk Hogan, Brett Hart, and Lex Luger were all talents that were helped early in their career by being attached to established managers.
I look at the WWE roster and I see a number of guys that could be helped by being associated to a manager. Off the top of my head i can name Daniel Bryan, Wade Barrett, Kofi Kingston, the Uso's, and Mason Ryan as people that could use the help. Like I have said before you could reassign people within the company for this. Below are some matches I would think would work out well.
William Regal managing Daniel Bryan and Sheamus. He could position Sheamus as his main event wrestler while Bryan goes for the mid card title. Yes I know these two have already been in these role, but I think with Regal behind them it would be more memorable.
Prince Nana managing Kofi Kingston, The Uso's, and Mason Ryan. Bring him in as pretty much the same role as he plays in Ring of Honor. Kingston would be the main eventer, The Uso's would be the tag team contenders, and Ryan as the muscle. I personally would like to see a more vicious Kingston, and this could make that happen.
Zack Ryder managing Tyson Kidd, Alex Riley, and David Otunga. I like Zack Ryder and I love his YouTube channel, but I don't see him becoming that next big wrestling superstar. He could however be a very successful mouthpiece in a mid card group of other "toolish" wrestlers.
What do you think? Who do you think would make a good manager?
No comments:
Post a Comment