theidealstranger

How do you see a manager contributing to a good match up? Am not talking Promos, mic talk and stuff. Am talking about how much contribution from a manager is there between the start and end of the match to make a match classic and interesting? Would appreciate examples from veteran fans here.

I feel that the manager's role has been eroded with times say when I see a Bobby Heenan's match in youtube where he is more akin to a boxing coach/corner man tipping him to act more than merely interfere in the match to divert the referee to when I see a Vickie Guerrero in Smackdown.

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DBizzle

Mr Perfect as a "manager" was awesome - see Flair v Hogan 1991 ...

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RyanPelley

Managers giving certain wrestlers the edge in a match is always interesting. Kayfabe, wrestlers aligning with managers is always great for their career. Or well, was at one point. Certainly helps a wrestlers credibility. Look at Camp Cornette. Owen, Bulldog, Yokozuna, and eventually Vader with Jim Cornette behind them. He was always that wild card that could help put them over the top for a win.

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Greenlawler

Interesting question.

It really depends on what you grew up with. Fact is the WWF did not effectivley use managers as anything but mouth pieces until Jimmy Hart came along and decided he wanted to stay ringside during the match. Before that with few exceptions the WWF managers would leave ringside before the match

Anyways to me the manager is best used as a tool to give the heel the advantage without the face losing heat. In "1950-1995-ish", managers played a vital part in the "play". Back then it was straight heel vs face. For the most part the promoters did not like letting the top faces lose clean, and allowing them to lose "heat" so the manager served as a means to an end. They would interfere all through the match with major distraction/cheating to give their guy the edge and the win.

It played within the "American Mythos" of good vs evil during that era. The fans wanted to believe that good would always triumph, so a manager could interfere and fans could blame their favorite faces loss on the cheating manager. Much like a football fan always blaming the refs for their team's loss. Remember for much of the managerial era wrestling was still trying to be "real". Then in the subsequent re-match promoters could run an angle where the manager was banned from ringside or hancuffed or whatever, or the face could triumph in spite of the manager in the fued apex.

It really is a story-telling method that was used by most territories. While today the WWE has settled into a more traditional face vs heel model the current generation is much more receptive with evil actually winning without the manager, therefore the manager is not needed these days to give heels the extra push. However I think it would help if they re-introduced the manager of old on some levels.

Best managers I remember at becoming part of the storyline...

Pre WWF Jimmy Hart
Eddie Cretchman
Jim Cornette
Oliver Humperdink
Bobby Hennan