Mr. Fuji: Wrestling's Most Underrated Manager

Mr. Fuji: Wrestling Most Underrated Manager
September 29, 2016
By Ryan Porzl

On August 28, 2016, the wrestling world lost one of it's all time greats in Mr. Fuji. During a 30 year career, Fuji enjoyed big success as a pro wrestler and later, a manager. However, to the hardcore wrestling fans, Fuji has been considered a bad manager and was voted "Worst Manager of the Year" eleven times by readers of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. While Fuji was never a great talker, there is more to being a great manager than having a silver tougue. In this article, I will honor a wrestling legend by explaining why he is wrestling's most underrated manager and what he did bring to the table.



One of the great qualities of a great manager is someone who can elevate a wrestler. A great manager can elevate a wrestler or help them gain more credibility. Bobby Heenan being paired with Nick Bockwinkel & Andre The Giant or Jimmy Hart with The Honky Tonk Man are great examples. Fuji succeeded here many times especially with Don Muraco, Demolition, and Yokozuna. Prior to his pairing with Fuji, Muraco was usually put with a manager first with The Grand Wizard of Wrestling & then with "Captain" Lou Albano. Fuji was a great choice to be put with Muraco after Muraco & Albano went their separate ways. Fuji was also the perfect choice for Demolition as well. Prior to being put with Fuji, Demolition went through a lot of growing pains with their early make up designs and having to replace Randy Colley with Barry Darsow as Smash due to WWF fans recognizing Colley as Moondog Rex but the worst thing was them being put with "Luscious" Johnny Valiant. To say the very least, Demolition didn't have any chemistry with Valiant and it was one of the oddest pairings in WWE history. Fuji proved to be an important ingredient as it made Demolition even more dangerous as you had a bad ass tag team under the guidance of a devious and nasty manager. Fuji was also a perfect fit for Yokozuna especially since the WWF was hoping to elevate Yokozuna to the point where he main event Wrestlemania IX but his debut was in October 1992 and Wrestlemania IX was in April 1993. Even though Fuji hadn't had a hot act in years, putting him with Yokozuna was the best option. Other managers like Jimmy Hart, "The Genius" Lanny Poffo, and Dr. Harvey Wippleman would not have worked. Fuji and Yoko had great chemistry and Fuji was the perfect addition especially given they wanted Yokozuna to be this dangerous monster and from a storyline standpoint, nobody would bring that out better than Fuji. When Bobby Heenan said on commentary that Fuji was trying to make Yokozuna mean, meaner than before you believed he would be the right guy to pull it off.

Fuji was also a great manager because he did what managers are supposed to do which is add to the match and never take away from it. While managers like Jimmy Hart, Jim Cornette, and Paul Heyman are praised, they had on several occasions to take away from matches with their scene chewing. While all three are legends, how many times did they overact or scream or run around ringside to the point where you weren't paying attention to the match? Jimmy Hart was known to distract wrestlers to the point where the match stops as his client's opponent had to chase him around ring side and under the ring as well. He's also done spots where wrestler's play tug-o-war with him. Cornette and Heyman were at their absolute worst during their feud as their teams would go out and the fans would be distracted by their antics as Cornette would interfere then strut around and jump on the apron while Heyman would scream his lungs out. act like a maniac, and occasionally ring the timekeeper's bell. Cornette also was known for his spots where he picks a fight with the referee and then gets scared off by the ref. Meanwhile, the match had to literally stop as the wrestlers stood back while this is happening. Heyman is also known for being distracting at ring side whether it be yuking it up to the camera man or giving his phone to his clients so they can talk. Fuji was never like that. You never saw him scream or run around the ring (to be fair, his knees were shot so he couldn't run if he wanted to). Fuji was what a manager should be which is mainly invisible until you interfere and don't chew the scenery. A great example was the "Macho Man" Randy Savage/Crush falls count anywhere match at Wrestlemania X. There, Fuji did his bits but was subtle. He hit Savage with the flag pole as Savage was coming back into the ring and left it at that. He didn't overact or anything. When Crush got pinned on the outside and needed sixty seconds to get back into the ring or lose, Fuji didn't overreact or scream like a psycho. Instead, he slapped him on the chest a few times, walked to the time keeper's table, and poured a pitcher of water over Crush to wake him up. He didn't cause a scene or make the match about him.

A big factor that should establish him as a great manager is he was believable. Most managers are usually fast talkers who are in it for money and championships. They should be like real sports managers in that they should want the money, fame, and fortune but don't want to see their clients put someone out of the game permanently. In the past, you had feuds like Hulk Hogan vs. King Kong Bundy and Hulk Hogan vs. Earthquake where they had one problem despite being classic feuds. In both cases, Bundy and Quake tried to end Hogan's career. Fortunately, both were monstrous big men so you believed it but it was still bizarre to see guys Bobby Heenan and Jimmy Hart going along with it. Yes, both were supposed to be selfish, egotistical, and money hungry but they weren't sadistic. Fuji was different. When something bad happened, you believed he had something to do with it. When Demolition put Rick Martel out for months, you believe that Fuji told them to do it and convinced them to do it. When Yokozuna gave six bonzai drops on "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan and gave four to Crush, you believe that Fuji wanted it. Fuji is the kind of guy who would convince his clients to go all the way and potentially end a career. Not only that, but Fuji would have them do it not to help them but just for his own sick amusement. He would likely get a kick out of seeing his men injure someone to the point where they couldn't feed their families or their families would beg them not to come back. Fuji being devious also could perfectly explain some of the overbooking regarding Yokozuna. You can believe that Fuji would come up with concealing a fireball into a flash camera like the one we saw at King of the Ring 1993 or recruiting nine wrestlers to help Yokozuna win a casket match against The Undertaker at Royal Rumble 1994. Even Ted Dibiase specifically praised Fuji and said it was his game plan while never given any credit to Yokozuna or Jim Cornette. He also said you can't give Fuji that kind of freedom like no disqualification matches.

Fuji was also very adaptable as a manager. You could put him with just about any kind of wrestler and he'll somehow fit. It doesn't matter if it's world class wrestlers like Don Muraco, Yokozuna, and Owen Hart or bad asses like Demolition and The Powers of Pain or foreigners like The Orient Express and The Bezerker or savages like Kamala and Sika. Not all managers were like that as great as they may have been as they likely were only at their best when put with a certain kind of wrestler. Bobby "The Brain" Heenan may be wrestling's greatest manager but there were times where he didn't fit with the wrestler paired up with him like The Missing Link and Adrian Adonis (this was before the androgynous Adorable gimmick). Jimmy Hart also didn't fit with Link either. Paul Heyman was paired with The Samoan Swat Team which was unusual. Jim Cornette was put with Mantaur and The Dynamic Dudes. Then there was "Luscious" Johnny Valiant managing Demolition which I already covered. Fuji, for the most part, seemed more flexible as he could be put with more varieties of wrestlers with all sorts of gimmicks.

Fuji was also a different kind of manager. Most managers especially in WWF in the 1980s and 1990s when Fuji was around, were usually the fast talking movers and shakers. Bobby Heenan was the smart but weasely used car salesman type, Jimmy Hart was the loud & hyperactive motormouth, Sensational Sherri was a witch & the woman you didn't mess with, and Slick was the smooth talking, street smart con man. Fuji was the kind of manager who let actions speak louder than words. While he talked, he was more of the type that talked soft while carrying a big stick. He was more the quiet but sinister and wise old guy.

Fuji also had believability as a manager. Remember, in the 80s and 90s a lot of fans still thought wrestling was real and Fuji was a very successful wrestler before becoming a manager. In fact, he was one of the few the WWF had. Fuji was a manager from 1984-1996 and in that time, only "Classy" Freddie Blassie, Sensational Sherri, "Luscious" Johnny Valiant, "Coach" John Tolos, Afa, and "Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase were successful wrestlers turned managers. However, Blassie retired in 1986, Valiant left in 1987, Tolos was only around for a few months in 1991 while his previous wrestling career wasn't brought up, Afa didn't come in until 1992, and Dibiase didn't come until 1994. So for most of his managerial career, Fuji usually was either the only successful wrestler turned manager or there were two others while most were either former wrestlers who weren't successful in the ring or managers who never were wrestlers. As a result, Fuji had a creditablity about him that Bobby Heenan, Jimmy Hart, Slick, Harvey Wippleman or Jim Cornette didn't have. He was a wrestler, a former champion, and from a storyline standpoint, knew how to mold champions since he had been one.

Overall, Fuji may go down as a manager who wasn't a great talker but he showed that he had more to offer even without the gift of gab. He was believable, could elevate a wrestler's profile, and brought something different to the table. What he lacked in one area, he more than made up with other areas. Because of all this, Mr. Fuji should go down as not only a wrestling legend but one of, if not, the most underrated manager in wrestling history.