Best *babyface* managers of all time

[Joe Neglia]

Only their babyface work can count.

Precious Paul Ellering has to be up there. Until very, VERY late in their run, the Road Warriors never seemed bogged down by being attached to Paul.

Too many of the best heel managers seemed neutered when they did the face role. Humperdink and Jimmy Hart always seemed particularly out of place. Cornette was still his funny, motormouth self during the few times he was a face, but wasn't terribly memorable during those stints. Arnold Skaaland is well-remembered, but did he really do anything to merit it?

[Beav]

I thought Capt. Lou was good near the end of his run, though he was much better as a heel.

[Starshine]

How about Elizabeth? Sure, she was eye candy more than anything else. But she really help add a third dimension to Macho Man's image (face or heel) when around him.

[Futureraven: Beelzebruv]

Paul Bearer was a pretty damn good one when he was a face.

[bones88]

Aug 14, 2013 12:46:11 GMT -5 Futureraven: Beelzebruv said:

Paul Bearer was a pretty damn good one when he was a face.

came here to say the same thing

[The Masked Heel WAS WRONG]

I thought Corny did a great job in the face role. To this day I still think they wasted the Midnights as babyfaces.

[Clash, Never a Meter Maid]

I'd say Elizabeth easily. She was more or less a damsel/love interest, but she never came off as too vapid.

[Hit Girl]

Elizabeth definitely.

It was even more interesting for her to be a face because the wrestler she was managing was either an outright heel, or a face with heelish tendencies.

[The OP]

I'd think Sunny should be getting mentioned if Elizabeth is. While a big part of her success can surely be attributed to doing sexy photo shoots in mainstream publications like WWF magazine in the pre-internet days, I'd say she worked harder than Elizabeth and made a bigger impact on the sport (no disrespect whatsoever intended toward Elizabeth).

[Joe Neglia]

Elizabeth - I've been on the fence about this one. She was, at the end of the day, still a heel for most of her run with Macho. Once they turned face, she got too drawn into 'damsel in distress' moments.

Sunny was almost never a face, and when she was, it always seemed to flop. She was popular, yes, but as a babyface manager, she wasn't really that effective.

[The OP]

You're right, Sunny was so popular that it completely slipped my mind she wasn't actually a babyface.

There don't seem to be a lot of great choices. I think part of the issue is, there's a reason why you rarely see a babyface with a manager. Most of the time they're not needed and don't really serve a purpose. There are a ton of heel manager spots I can think of, but what do you even do with a babyface manager? You mentioned they went to the well too often with the "damsel in distress" angle for Elizabeth, but what else could they really have done with her?

[Deleted]

Ricardo Rodriguez was good in the short time Del Rio was face.

[thegame415]

I think Elizabeth is the winner.

[SEAN CARLESS]

The best was when Paul Bearer went all bad ass in 1993/94 and started kicking heel manager ass. Knocking Harvey Whippleman on his ass at Summer Slam to get the urn back. Using the urn to knock out both Fuji and Cornette at Rumble '94. I marked out huge.

[Glitch]

Was Paul Heyman ever face? I can image he would actually work as one.

[The OP]

Heyman was kind of like a manager to RVD when he wrestled Cena at One Night Stand but not really.

I think the winner is Paul Bearer since he's the only one we've been able to name who really had any specific talent for it(sorry Liz). Unless anybody wants to vote Oscar, the guy who managed Men on a Mission.

[Phil Parent]

Arnold Skaaland? Managed Sammartino and Backlund.

[Joe Neglia]

Aug 17, 2013 10:14:30 GMT -5 Phil Parent said:

Arnold Skaaland? Managed Sammartino and Backlund.

Mentioned him in my original post. What did he actually do, though? He's known basically for one thing - throwing in the towel that cost Backlund his title.

[Phil Parent]

Aug 17, 2013 22:57:52 GMT -5 Joe Neglia said:

Aug 17, 2013 10:14:30 GMT -5 Phil Parent said:

Arnold Skaaland? Managed Sammartino and Backlund.

Mentioned him in my original post. What did he actually do, though? He's known basically for one thing - throwing in the towel that cost Backlund his title.

He would do pretty much what a heel manager would, except interfering in the match. He'd get involved with heel managers like Blassie, Albano, Wizard and Creatchman. He'd also legitimately take care of the business and travel arrangements and so forth of his guys, similar in what a Gary Hart did, the similarity extends to the both of them having a strong voice in the office also so he could go to bat for them, I'm thinking more for Backlund because I'm guessing Sammartino didn't need any additional pull in the company to get his way...

Skaaland was also used as a plot device, because heh, if you want to get to the champ, might as well jump his elderly manager.

[RowdyRobbyPiper]

Aug 16, 2013 22:29:24 GMT -5 The OP said:

I'd think Sunny should be getting mentioned if Elizabeth is. While a big part of her success can surely be attributed to doing sexy photo shoots in mainstream publications like WWF magazine in the pre-internet days, I'd say she worked harder than Elizabeth and made a bigger impact on the sport (no disrespect whatsoever intended toward Elizabeth).

I respectfully disagree. Just the fact that Liz worked with her husband (who then got to work with HULK HOGAN) during wrestling's biggest boom period ensures that she would have made a bigger impact on wrestling than any other female performer. Liz and Randy certainly attained much more mainstream appeal than Sunny.