The Real Deal: I Miss Managers
Written By WrestlingTruth.com Columnist Roxanne Springer: ravenbrooks_2000@yahoo.com
The Real Deal
I Miss Managers
Back in the pro wrestling heyday of the ‘80’s there were almost as many flamboyant wrestling managers as there were wrestlers. Slick, Jimmy Hart, Mr. Fuji, Bobby Heenan, Capt. Lou, and Fred Blassie were all wildly successful and fans loved every minute of their over the top antics. Every week they could be counted on to cheat and help their wrestlers win victories that should not have been theirs. As fans we loved it and ate it up.
Managers were always a fabulous part of the show! The crowds loved to hate them and sometimes at live events overly zealous audience members would charge up to the ring and challenge them face to face. The managers were masters of the mic and we hung on their every word. Very often storylines were built around them, and in many ways they made feuds between the wrestlers all the more exciting.
Bobby “The Brain” Heenan was the greatest of them all. When he and Gorilla Monsoon hosted a wrestling show together the between match bits were nearly as good as the matches themselves. They were magic together, Gorilla being the face and Heenan being the heel. They played off each other superbly, and their banter was always pure comic delight.
Heenan and Andre.
What would the lead up to the classic Hogan vs. Andre match have been without Bobby Heenan? We all wanted so badly to believe there was no way our beloved Andre would have turned heel without the diabolical dealings of Mr. Heenan. No really good heel turn back in the day happened without some scheming manager seemingly having a hand in it. It made us all so much more willing to forgive and forget when our favorite stars “came back to their senses” and returned to being a face. It wasn’t the poor wrestler’s fault; they had been swayed by the silver tongue of a devious manager.
Scantily dressed divas or some sort of scowling bodyguards are not even close to what the managers used to provide for the storylines. Fans long to once again see the colorful characters that made us cheer for the bad guys. Once again let us anticipate the inevitable altering of a character when a manager gets them in their dastardly grip. I implore WWE to bring back the real managers!
Sep 26th, 2008 at 9:51 am
I was thinking about the old wwf managers just the other day. It would be great if wwe went back to the old manager ways in some way. Managers with a few stars (Creating new stables, and pushing much needed new talent)together again would be great tv just like back in the day.
Sep 26th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Wrestling is not how it use to be. I’m trying to enjoy wrestling shows now days. Well I enjoy watching TNA but not so much of the WWE. Mangers should be brought back to the WWE and they just need to do something different with there product. It’s just the samething week after week.
Sep 27th, 2008 at 4:22 am
Bobby “The Brain” Hennan was pure gold when it came to managers
Sep 29th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
“What do you think i’m going to go out with the rest of you Ham and Eggers” That was Bobby Hennan at his best. I had the good fourtune of watching Bobby here in Chicago. He was working with Bob Luce. The Crusher used to call him the Weasel. His quit wit is something that the fans had never seen. In the early 70’s he slapped Pepper Gomez acrossed the face and called him a dumb Mexican….I was on the on the floor in stiches!!! It was a interview before there upcomming match at the Chicago Amplitheater. With that stunt they sold out the Arena. Gomez won the Mexican Strap Match. But Booby put on a great show. Booby, Ric Flair, Roddy Pipper, Randy Savage, Hulkster, and Jesse Ventura all benifited big payday’s with Booby in the picture. I miss him.
Oct 30th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
Amen, Brother. As an old school fan myself, I grew up watching greats like Scandar Akbar, Percy Pringle, Paul Jones, and one of the funniest of all time, Jim Coronett (hope I spelled that right). In those days, people took wrestling deadly serious. And on more than one occasion, came across the police barracade to inflict justice on the corrupt manager when he cheated. I miss that kind of passion.