SOW Special: The importance of managers and stables

The current world of professional wrestling is without a staple of the business. Back in the 80’s, there were lots of managers. Who could forget Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, Mr. Fuji, Jimmy Hart, J.J. Dillon or Paul E. Dangerously (aka Paul Heyman)?

What were the point of these people? Why have nonwrestlers in wrestling? Managers had the ability to spark feuds quickly. Managers had the ability to turn heels into faces very easily. All it took was one double cross by the manager or some back talk from the wrestler and there was tremendous character growth. The manager could easily recruit a new wrestler to take on his former wrestler. It was a simple formula that is missing from today’s product.

Managers also played a role in the creation of stables. Things like Bobby Heenan’s “Family” could mask injured wrestlers. Should a wrestler get injured during a feud, just substitute the wrestler with another stable-mate. The managers also tied together odd combos like Haku and Andre the Giant to give direction to the talent.

Stables help write feuds. You don’t have to be a creative genius to figure out the dynamic between a singular babyface versus a heel stable. It also allows for the singular babyface to create new alliances with other faces. This is very simple stuff that makes for good stories. NWA did this style of story numerous times with the legendary Four Horsemen.

Managers and stables shield inexperienced wrestlers from being exposed as poor talkers. Two great examples are Brock Lesnar and Batista. Lesnar was given Paul Heyman as his “agent.” A simple “Shut up, Paul!” and the crowd started getting behind Lesnar. Batista was able to be an enforcer while Ric Flair or Triple H would do most of the talking. These two slowly learned how to do a decent promo. No one will confuse the two for The Rock or Hulk Hogan, but still they did not have to speak and ruin their images. Bobby Lashley while in WWE did not have a mouthpiece. His soft-spoken nature did not match his impressive physique. WWE even put in “soft-spoken” in his entrance video. This did not help create the monster face WWE was hoping for.

Professional wrestling has forgotten to use classic formulas to create a compelling product. There is room for alliances and managers. These two elements help create good storylines and help the talent mature into more complete performers.