As time rolls on in wrestling culture, some things will change. Some for the better, at times some for worse. One noticeable difference over previous years is the dwindling use of managers.
The Current Crop
In today’s age, we have Paul Heyman, who is one of the best to ever perform in his role, but we only get him part-time because of Brock Lesnar’s schedule. Outside of that, we don’t have many clear-cut valet’s or managers anymore.
Yes, there’s been very well utilized managers and valets such as Titus O’Neil, Maryse, and Lana who do important things outside the ring to affect an outcome. They, however, valet to someone who can talk for themselves. Maryse, for example, was a wrestler first who turned valet, and Lana has reversed that role. Titus is still wrestling as well, and the Titus Brand could be viewed as a faction and he the leader.
All-Time Managers
Back in the day managers were pivotal characters to a WWE show. Long gone are the days of the greats like Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, Mr. Fuji, and Paul Bearer. These guys changed the landscape of the game and took it to another level, they were just as important as the wrestlers in their ability.
Those Who Can Make A Positive Affect
There are a few managers in NXT who have upgraded the managerial role, one, in particular, is Zelina Vega. Before she came along, Andrade Cien Almas was a middle of the road wrestler. He was known and put on entertaining storylines, but the addition of Vega has put him on another level, so much so that he’s now NXT champion.
Zelina Vega’s addition has helped the Almas character so well, and that same formula could help many wrestlers currently on the main roster. Not every superstar is fantastic at speaking, and that’s okay, but having a mouthpiece could be something to help them propel to higher platforms.
Someone like Shinsuke Nakamura, Dean Ambrose, or Cesaro would be superstars that could really benefit from adding a manager. This doesn’t necessarily mean that these guys don’t have to talk at all but it could just certainly give them another boost. Hopefully, the success of examples like Lesnar and Almas having managers will bring further usage of that critical role back to WWE.