SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
Other than Paul Heyman, the role of the manager in WWE is a lost art. Don Callis, Prince Nana, and MVP are among the ones keeping it alive in professional wrestling since the role isn’t overlooked in AEW. It was a sure thing to help give an identity to a new, often green talent. A manager was especially valuable when it was a foreign talent who couldn’t speak English, or didn’t speak it in a way that excited a crowd.
Many backstage who are producers could double as managers. An elder wiseman or woman, helping guide talent on what matches to take and strategies to use. Especially with promos. The amount of talent who is incredible and worth bringing into the US wrestling world is vast, but struggle to get over when the promos can’t match the emotions the performers are trying to convey. Imagine the career Shinsuke Nakamura could have had with someone cutting his promos?
Other times, a strong heel manager ensures that a wrestler doesn’t get cheers. Everyone loved Rob Van Dam. He had flashy babyface moves that no one else was doing and you popped for when you saw the maneuvers. To make sure to balance his character out, he was paired with the annoying (too much so had he been paid with anyone else) Bill Alfonso. The former referee with an over exaggerated scratchy voice and his whistle. That whistle was as bad as the “What?” chant, and was effective at keeping RVD from being a babyface wrestler.
Sometimes talent needed an actual business manager to handle money, dated, and making sure talent showed up where they were supposed to be and sober enough to do what they were supposed to do. Paul Ellering and JJ Dillon both had times where that was what they were known for. If you were to swap eras, Matt Riddle with a manger might still be in a top promotion, and on the flip side, how would Ric Flair manage social media and corporate management today? We could have missed one of the greatest to ever perform.
So many things that worked in the past are timeless ways to tell a story. We can learn from the past and bring it back with modern sensibilities to make it work in a 2026 market. The company that began with the Three Wisemen of the World Wide Wrestling Federation (Freddie Blassie, Lou Albano, and The Grand Wizard) needs to rediscover some roots.
Gary Hart & The Great Kabuki
A staple of World Class, Gary Hart is a manger who isn’t given enough love. Once wrestling was massive in the 80s and 90s, Hart never worked in WWF or WCW, and that is where much of the footage used for wrestling history now. His strength came from finding heels who couldn’t talk. Sometimes they’d be foreign, sometimes they’d be billed as foreign like Kamala. Other wrestlers had gimmicks where they were unable to speak like The Missing Link.
The Great Kabuki was a perfect archetype for who Hart managed. Odd and weird to the point that the term “Kabuki-ish” has been coined backstage. A Japanese wrestler who spat out green, and sometimes other colored, mist into his opponent’s face before other people did. A large and intimidating opponent with strong martial arts character who knew how to throw legitimate looking kicks.
Gary Hart was able to bring instant credibility to a man who was a complete unknown to most of the WCCW audience. He was able to be the mouthpiece that helped the viewer understand what was going on, what Kabuki’s motivations were, and be able to have a verbal back and forth with Kabuki’s opponents.
Jimmy Hart & Andy Kaufman
The constant foil for Jerry “The King” Lawler, another man with the last name of Hart, with no relation to any other Harts who are on this list or from Canadian wrestling royalty, was continually bringing in mean heels to take down Memphis’ hero. Jimmy Hart became known for a variety of pairings. He’s more known for his work in WWF with the likes of The Hart Foundation, Dino Bravo, and The Mountie, as well as time in WCW with Hulk Hogan or the Dungeon of Doom. For me though, he was involved with one of the greatest angles in professional wrestling.
Before Logan Paul was hated on for being a celebrity involved in wrestling and just as hated outside of wrestling, there was Andy Kaufman. Andy was voted off of SNL by the audience. People walked out of his comedy concerts. He would legitimately wrestle women on stage who would volunteer to take him on in a match. Then he brings that last act to Memphis wrestling. One of the hottest territories in professional wrestling had a big star from New York who had been on national television on their local program. When Jerry Lawler stood up for the women and challenged Kaufman to wrestle a man, it was Jerry Hart who took on managing Kaufman to ensure he was prepared for the match. Hart even took part in a handicapped match with Andy against Lawler.
Jimmy was an antagonizer. He knew how to get under people’s skin with his high pitched, over the top promo style. Then he eventually brought that voice to the matches themselves with his megaphone at ringside. I didn’t think there was a more annoying device for a heel manager, then came Bill Alfonso and his whistle.
Jim Cornette & The Midnight Express
The man mostly known for not liking modern wrestling and controversial takes is still one of the most brilliant minds in professional wrestling. If Jim Cornette became a student of getting along with others the way he was a student of professional wrestling, he may have had a hell of a second career. As a manger, he was brilliant.
All of his antagonizing behavior worked well in that role. He knew that by getting under the skin of the opponents and audience, the crowd would want to see him get what he deserved in the end. He would often give of himself to the audience, which slowed down after he blew his knees out falling in a scaffolding match. There’s a gimmick match that can stay dead.
The Midnight Express in any 80s incarnation would always have tremendous wrestlers, but lacked a little bit in an area to make them top singles talent. Bobby Eaton, for instance, never cut a money promo, and by legend, was probably too nice of a guy to do what he would have to do to get to the top. Cornette was there to speak for them and keep the crowd from appreciating the Midnight’s to the point of making them babyface.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
Check out the latest episode of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-show covering the latest episode of Raw: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “wade Keller” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
Bobby Heenan & Nick Bockwinkle
A legendary pairing so renown that it not only predates my fandom, but predates me. I’ve gone back and watched the matches and promos of the pairing of Nick Bockwinkle and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan and they hold up very well. Nick was a truly gifted and talented wrestler who was thought of as legitimate enough to be a true world heavyweight champion, and was cocky about it. There was so much talent to appreciate, yet he gave you very little to love. Then you add with him who was one of professional wrestling’s greatest gifts in Bobby.
Bobby Heenan was a man who could make you laugh while ripping you to shreds. Then he would talk up his champion with the same passion, building him up, taking a complete opposite direction with the same verbal skills. He also didn’t mind taking a shortcut. He would reenforce to Nick that it wasn’t about winning, it was about not loosing. When a tough man takes the easy way out, you’re left disappointed not knowing who the best truly was. You await the time the tactics may not work, and he just might get beaten. And that, dear reader, is how you sell tickets.
Paul Heyman & Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns was part of the Shield
Roman’s solo run couldn’t be healed
All of Vince’s writers and all Vince’s men
Had trouble getting Roman over again
Then he was paired with Paul Heyman.
Articles, podcasts, and documentaries have covered how hard they tried getting Roman Reign over as the top guy. The crowd was on John Cena fatigue and being replaced by another chosen pretty boy wasn’t what the crowd wanted. We wanted a champion who was authentic and stood up for his convictions, not someone who changed their eye color with contacts and toed the company line. We heard him accept whatever was given to him with lines like “suffering succotash” and referring to Sheamus’ testicles as “tater tots.”
He got a bit of a sympathy babyface return after his leukemia relapse, but that’s alone wasn’t going to sustain him. Roman took time away during the Covid pandemic due to his compromised immune system, and when it was time for him to return, he was able to come up with some changes. The first big change? He was returning with Paul Heyman by his side.
Paul has always been a heel. When the best in wrestling are described as themselves turned up to eleven (RIP Rob Reiner), while I’ve never met the man, I do think Paul is one of the the best at what he does, so I have to assume the man has some serious heel tendencies. He’d managed so many prior to Roman. Brock Lesnar, CM Punk, Rick Rude, Steve Austin, and at one time, The Headshrinkers. Paul has been involved with Roman’s bloodline before it was The Bloodline. It made sense for him to see something in Roman Reigns that could be brought out.
Here was the time that Vince McMahon was reminded that your top star doesn’t always have to be a babyface. Fans will buy and wear heel merch, and they had plenty of other stars to fill babyface roles for kids in the audience and fulfill Make-A-Wish obligations. Out of that pairing we have a way more legitimized Roman Reigns, accepted at the top of the card. When it was time to come back to the right side of The Force, it was embraced. We also got two memorable matches with Cody Rhodes, helping his rise, The Usos becoming bigger stars, not only as a team but individually, and Sami Uso feeling Ucey. Many more stars were elevated from this one pairing.
Do you live in Colorado? You’re invited to Nerdstalgia’s Grand Opening Party on Saturday Jan. 24, featuring talent from Battleground Pro Wrestling.
(Griffin is a lifelong fan of wrestling, superheroes, and rebellious music of all forms. He is the owner of Nerdstalgia, and you can shop online, learn about visiting the store in Colorado Springs, or catch him at a comic con in the Rocky Mountain area by going to http://nerdstalgia.shop.)
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.