Wrestling Manager Mount Rushmore

In this edition of The Wrestling Estate roundtable, we each name our wrestling manager Mount Rushmore.

David Gibb

Bobby Heenan – Bobby Heenan might have been the best all-around performer in the business between 1975 and 1995. As a manager, his promos found that balance of heat-seeking heel antics and vaudeville-inspired “entertainment” that would define the WWF style for decades to come.

Jim Cornette – James E. was such a perfect fit for the Midnight Express that he felt like a true third member of the team, not just a mouthpiece for a pair of great wrestlers. His understanding of what to say, how to say it, and what body language to use made him arguably the last manager to get real heat and make a difference for a promotion.

Paul Heyman/Paul E. Dangerously – Like everybody else on this Mount Rushmore, Heyman has worn many hats in the wrestling business, and most of them have fit well. In the early ‘90s, when American televised wrestling looked poised to die, Heyman led his Dangerous Alliance on a campaign of over-achievement that produced the best content of the era. Today, he stands as an important reminder of how effective and powerful a strong manager can be.

Gary Hart – Hart was the smartest guy in just about any room, so when a plane crash took away most of his athleticism, he still found a way to adjust and become one of the most important stars and power brokers of the late territory era. With his wit, his Anton LaVey look, and his urban Chicago rap, Hart could make himself and his charges seem like the most dangerous men on Earth.

Juan Bautista

Bobby Heenan – The Brain had the greatest one-liners in the history of managers. Insults so good that some took them as compliments. He managed a list of superstars that few can compare with.

Jim Cornette – As a loud mouth momma’s boy with a tennis racket in one hand, he led Camp Cornette and guided the Midnight Express to multiple Tag Team Title reigns.

Paul Heyman – Rivaled by Jim Cornette, living dangerously was the way to go. While managing the Dangerous Alliance, he gave “Stunning” Steve Austin one of his first prominent roles and has also managed the most WWE Champions.

Paul Ellering – While managing the Authors of Pain, it was the first time that the modern audience saw him, but it wasn’t the first time he struck gold. He guided the Road Warriors to international stardom and multiple Tag Team Title reigns.

Steven Jackson

Bobby Heenan – When it comes to old-school WWF, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan was the quintessential manager. A fiery tongue mixed with fantastic charisma and classic psychological knowledge, Heenan was a standard bearer for all pro wrestling managers to follow.

Jim Cornette – The role of a pro wrestling manager is to generate heat, and no one knows how to generate heat more than Jim Cornette. With a quick mind and a faster mouth, Cornette knows just how to touch people’s buttons and tactically get the victory for his associates.

Gary Hart – While he wasn’t over-the-top or brash, Gary Hart had a seriousness to him that is lacking in a lot of pro wrestling managers. Cold and calculating, Gary Hart was the great antagonist of WCCW and highly underappreciated alongside his WWF and NWA peers.

Larry Sweeney – For those who had the privilege to see him perform, “Sweet and Sour” Larry Sweeney was the greatest manager of the post-2000 independent circuit. Motivated by greed with a wicked cruel streak, Larry was the perfect hybrid of the past and the present. Sadly taken from us too soon, Larry’s body of work will continue to inspire future generations.

Jenna Leigh

Jim Cornette – Classic heel heat, instinctively knew how to get his clients over.

Paul Heyman – Another manager with otherworldly accurate instincts. Heyman can get you completely invested in a feud or match after one single promo.

Bobby Heenan – Was there any doubt? Calling people the “GOAT” is commonplace now, but make no mistake: Bobby “The Brain” Heenan stands alone; a class unto himself. Sharp tongued and not afraid to take a bump, he is the inspiration for nearly every good talker in the biz today.

Francine – Yea! Francine! The “Queen of Extreme” is criminally underrated in the annals of wrestling history. Francine was the first woman to have an “in your face” sexuality coupled with fierce independence and the ability to back up her own talk. She was incredibly sexy, but made it clear she never needed the man, yet still got her clients over like Rover!

Chad Gelfand

Bobby Heenan – He is one of the most entertaining characters in wrestling history and you can’t talk about wrestling mangers without talking about Bobby Heenan. He is one of the most gifted mic workers in the history of wrestling with insanely quick wit.

Paul Heyman – While Paul Heyman might dispute the fact that he’s a manager and claim that he’s merely an advocate, Heyman seems to occupy all other roles that mangers in wrestling would traditionally have. And he’s a damn good manager at that, being tasked with almost single-handily hyping up every Brock Lesnar match for the past 10 years.

Jim Cornette – Cornette may have one of the quickest wits in wrestling history, seemingly having a memorable quip for each and every topic. Before he became a shoot interview legend, Cornette was one of the top managers in the business, guiding the Midnight Express to becoming one of the best tag teams of all-time.

Jimmy Hart – Hart is another name that immediately comes to mind when the topic of mangers comes up. The “Mouth of the South” and his iconic megaphone are fondly remembered in wrestling history.

Anthony Mahalis

Paul Heyman and Bobby Heenan are the top two without a doubt. They were/are incredibly entertaining. Heyman’s promos are the only reason I don’t turn off the Lesnar segments. Heenan was just a brilliant performer. He could make you hate him so easily, but could make you laugh just as easily.

I’m going to go with Sensational Sherri in the third spot. She managed both Macho Man and HBK, two of the best in-ring performers of all time, which is quite the resume booster. She just played the heel role perfectly. She actually scared me a little, too.

Although I found him to be somewhat annoying, I’ll go with Jimmy Hart as the last face on the mountain. The “Mouth of the South” spent a lot of time managing the Hulkster and that goes a long way, brother.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRwckPuU1Zc

Devonte Grant

Paul Heyman – Paul Heyman is masterful at garnering reactions to the point you could argue it’s manipulative. He’s a mastermind at what he does. He represents whoever he’s managing to the fullest. One of the best managers I’ve ever seen, quite extreme, too.

Jim Cornette – His raw passion alone! Cornette’s conviction is second to none, he’s so knowledgeable as well. One of the most experienced and passionate people I’ve ever seen.

Bobby Heenan – Does he need an explanation? It’s all in his nickname: “The Brain.” I swear Heenan doesn’t get enough credit. Arguably the sharpest, smartest, and all around best manager ever. I miss him, too.

Paul Bearer – One of the first managers I saw when I started watching wrestling. He really made me believe in The Undertaker, and he was a character himself. I miss Paul Bearer.

Calvin Gibbon

Jim Cornette – One of the greatest wrestling minds and a passionate fan, Cornette has affected the wrestling industry in numerous positive ways. But arguably his most memorable came as an on-screen heel manager where he led, among other wrestling greats, the Midnight Express to great success.

Bobby Heenan – What can I say about Bobby that hasn’t been said by many of professional wrestling’s finest? The Brain was one of wrestling’s greatest characters, talkers, commentators and managers. He can make you burst with laughter, and scream with anger often in the same promo. Truly phenomenal.

Paul Heyman – One of the best promo men in professional wrestling, he’s a master on the microphone. Also a tremendous coach and mentor to young talent, and his greatest success story is the current Universal Champion, Brock Lesnar! Paul Heyman is also one of the greatest bookers of all time.

Armando Estrada – Sorely underrated, but an excellent heel manager and mouth piece for Umaga. He could have done so much more in the WWE as a manager, but sadly he never got the chance. I could see him with the Authors of Pain right now.

John Corrigan

(Let me just preface that Goodwillie sent his picks in first.)

Bobby Heenan – G.O.A.T.

Paul Heyman – Ladies and gentlemen, Paul Heyman is living, breathing, booming proof that managers are a timeless element of pro wrestling, and that there should be more of them given positions in WWE today.

Jim Cornette – If The Brain never existed, then James E. Cornette would be considered the greatest manager ever. With his motor mouth, obnoxiously vibrant appearance and incredible bumps, Dairy Queens’ worst nightmare was the personification of “pro wrestling manager,” motherfucker.

Grand Wizard – In my quest to watch everything on WWE Network, I’ve recently binged WWF All-Star Wrestling from the 1970s. After years of reading and hearing about the Three Wisemen of the company, I was finally able to form my own opinion of Freddie Blassie, Lou Albano and Grand Wizard. Despite receiving less recognition than the other two, The Wiz was far superior in delivering promos that put his talent over. Even when paired with clients that didn’t need a mouthpiece, most notably “Superstar” Billy Graham, Wiz still managed to enhance the overall attraction rather than take away from it.

Jack Goodwillie

Bobby Heenan – Perhaps the wittiest man to ever come through the wrestling business, I’d be surprised if Heenan doesn’t graze everyone’s shortlist of greatest managers because he had it all. The weasel look. The superb mic skills. The wit. The ability to draw nuclear heat. But where “The Brain” differs from the rest of the managers on my shortlist is his ability to regularly bump for his babyface opponents. What’s not as well known on the surface is that Heenan was a superb worker in Dick the Bruiser’s World Wrestling Association, even though he was never formally trained. Throughout his time in the AWA and WWF, Heenan’s ability to work fans into the building to see the payoff of him taking a beating from a rising babyface talent gave him some excellent longevity and made him one of the WWF’s greatest assets, particularly when it comes to the creation of Hulkamania. People (and Sheiky Baby himself) will always point to the Iron Sheik as being the big catalyst to set Hulkamania on course, but remember that Heenan was the vehicle used to turn Andre the Giant heel for the first time in his career and thus give us WrestleMania III. That alone, along with thousands of stories inside and outside the ring, makes Bobby Heenan a shoo-in on my list.

Paul Heyman – You won’t find a manager with the same longevity in wrestling as Paul Heyman. He’s had a presence over four different decades and will have a chance to make it five in a couple years, although he has only been a manager for part of that time, wearing a variety of different hats over the years including booker, owner, color commentator and creative writer. The most memorable hat, however, might have been the Yankees hat he wore while managing, then later feuding with Brock Lesnar in the early 2000’s. Today, he’s still managing Lesnar, the biggest box office attraction in two professions, and there’s good reason for that. I’ve always thought Brock to be an underrated talker, but he owes much of his career to Heyman, who really elevated and marketed him in a way that only Heyman could. His other great managerial achievement, as I referenced last week, came in the Midnight Express vs. Midnight Express angle between the Cornette-led Eaton and Lane tandem and the Heyman-led Condrey and Rose team. Today, he’s sort of the “Last of the Mohicans” as far as managers go, and whether you love or hate managers in wrestling, watch Heyman talk for 30 seconds and you’ll quickly see why WWE is still making use of him in 2018.

Jim Cornette – Goddayyyyyyum. One of, if not my favorite personality in wrestling even today, Jim Cornette, like Paul Heyman, has held several different job titles in wrestling. In fact, Bruce Prichard thinks Cornette is the southern, less sophisticated version of Heyman and vice versa. Heyman himself even once referred to Cornette as the “greatest manager in the history of wrestling,” if his opinion means anything to you. But unlike Heyman, while Cornette did hold down a multitude of responsibility, his greatest achievement came managing the Midnight Express. As Corny himself puts it, when he’d go in a gas station or hotel the fans would say, “Jim Cornette, Midnight Express!” Not, “Jim Cornette, Yokozuna.” He had his persona down pat: colorful, yet not overly tacky suits (that’s Jimmy Hart’s gimmick), big, thick glasses, a tennis racquet and a wit matched only by Bobby Heenan. “Rick Steiner is so stupid he once stayed up all night to study for a urine test” and so on and so forth. Cornette later breathed new life into his managerial career in the WWF as James E. Cornette, forming a memorable stable with Owen Hart, Davey Boy Smith and Yokozuna and later becoming Vader’s manager for a memorable program with Shawn Michaels. Cornette’s biggest strength was drawing nuclear heat with the fans in the southern territories, which is why he started carrying the loaded racquet in the first place. Today he’s extremely outspoken about the wrestling business on The Jim Cornette Experience, but it’s key to remember that his comments, while snarky and at times ornery, only come from a good place of love and passion for what wrestling used to be.

The Grand Wizard – Ernie Roth, The Grand Wizard of Wrestling came wayyyyy before my time and I was extremely tempted to put Sensational Sherri on this list, especially since this is a “Mount Rushmore” roundtable. But Roth had such a unique managerial look, wearing colorful suits, wraparound shades and a fez working in Detroit before trading the fez for a turban in the WWF. The Wizard’s look just sort of screamed, used car salesman meets Batman villain. On top of that, he was golden on the microphone, and Heyman even cites The Wizard as one of his three biggest influences along with Blassie and Albano. In spite of this, his greatest contributions came in the form of his in-match behavior, managing The Sheik in Detroit before taking on “Superstar” Billy Graham in New York, guiding Superstar to a memorable eight-month reign out of the shadow of Bruno Sammartino, then the indisputable greatest champion of all-time. Outside the ring, Roth was a gay, Jewish man and really the polar antithesis of his wrestling persona. That’s how good he was with his character.