Retired wrestlers as managers.

[Nr1Humanoid]

Anyone else want to see more of this?

Tully played the part to perfection.

[Mozenrath]

I often enjoy it, but they need to be good at adding a dynamic to who they're managing without making it about them or being dead weight.

Like, by all rights, Ric Flair seems like he'd be a good manager, but I think he tends to just end up hogging spotlight most times he's been used for it. Evolution, he wasn't exactly a manager, but did work as a corner man. In TNA, though, he was definitely a spotlight hog.

Then you have ones that don't do that, but also just don't really add terribly much. Mr. Fuji with Yokozuna was really showing his age and given he couldn't really get very physical anymore, his lack of mic presence really left him mostly useless outside of just contributing as part of Yoko's entourage, which is why WWE wanted Cornette there to take care of that.

I'm trying to think of guys who would be good managers once retired. Maybe Matt Hardy? He's certainly bombastic enough and seems like someone who would have the humility to make it about who he was managing.

[The 1Watcher Experience]

I’d like to see more managers too. I know some promotions feel that everything has to be scripted but some guys just can’t cut a decent promo. Everyone doesn’t have to be perfect. Managers have historically done the job well for wrestlers that can’t do them or aren’t very good at them. A good manager can get some much needed heat too. Maybe even take a bump from time to time. I’m totally cool with bringing back stuff that worked for decades that a lot of people abandoned just because Vince did. We need less promotions that want to be another knockoff version of the WWE.

[bitteroldman]

A manager's job is to get their charge over; former wrestlers know how to get heat on themselves and get themselves over but most can't get someone else over. Flair's already been mentioned as one and even the great Bobby Heenan had issues when he managed Rick Rude; Rude thought Heenan was more interested in getting himself over.

[Deleted]

Ehhh. Depends. Tully played it perfectly. I think Jake Roberts would be perfect for heading up a stable of the meanest, nastiest bastard heels you've ever seen.

That being said, you can't have the manager outshine the talent. That's why "larger than life" retired wrestlers like Hogan and Flair would never work.

[XaviersSS2015hair]

I wondered since the early 2000's why WWE never utilised Arn Anderson as a manager. He seems like the perfect guy to lead a stable of incredible wrestlers that just can't talk or connect with the audience for whatever reason. He checks all the boxes everybody here has mentioned. I always thought guys like Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas would have benefited tremendously from Arn.

[Joe Neglia]

Oct 7, 2019 14:44:24 GMT -5 bitteroldman said:

A manager's job is to get their charge over; former wrestlers know how to get heat on themselves and get themselves over but most can't get someone else over. Flair's already been mentioned as one and even the great Bobby Heenan had issues when he managed Rick Rude; Rude thought Heenan was more interested in getting himself over.

And yet Bobby spent years supporting Bockwinkel without ever taking the spotlight from Nick. I think there's a balance to be found and Bobby and Rick just never found it. Paul Ellering was an extremely loud "look at me!!!" wrestler as one of many doing a Superstar Graham rip-off gimmick, but his transition into a manager kept him as a legit presence without ever dominating his charges. Blassie, Akbar, Race, Albano and Gary Hart all did well in transitioning, though Albano started to do the overshadowing bit as his career wound down. On the other hand, guys like Johnny V, Paul Jones and John Tolos didn't fare so well.

[Brood Lone Wolf Funker]

Harley Race did pretty good

[I'm Team Bayley and Indi]

I think the upcoming Crown Jewel will show you how well Hogan and Flair would have done has managers

[YAKMAN is ICHIBAN]

Oct 8, 2019 6:50:34 GMT -5 I'm Team Bayley and Indi said:

I think the upcoming Crown Jewel will show you how well Hogan and Flair would have done has managers

Flair's sobriety at during the match will be a real X-factor.

[auph10imitated]

Anyone feel like retired wrestlers who become managers seem to shrink in size, they look minuscule next to their charges and you find it hard to believe they were wrestlers themselves at one point.