WWE Managers That Didn't Work Out

WWE Managers That Didn't Work Out

October 7, 2024

By Ryan Porzl

Professional Wrestling is known for their share of colorful and larger than life characters. However, not all these characters are wrestlers. Rather, some are managers. For decades, professional wrestling managers have played important parts in getting certain talent over whether it be cutting promos for them or getting involved in matches to get more heat from the crowd. The WWE has had their share of managers going back decades from "Wild" Red Berry in the 1960s to the Three Wise Men of the East ("Classy" Freddie Blassie, The Grand Wizard of Wrestling and "Captain" Lou Albano) of the 1970s to early 1980s to Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart in the 1980s to early 1990s to Paul Heyman in present day. However, for all the legendary managers that have come through the WWE, there are those that for whatever reason or another, it didn't work out with some even being long forgotten. In this article, we'll look at managers that appeared for the WWF/WWE but for some reason, would fizzle out with some fading into obscurity.

Note: I don't own any pictures. I found them on Google. Credit to WWE or whomever owns.

The Wizard- The late 1980s featured their share of managers from the top names like Bobby Heenan and Jimmy Hart to other reliable names like Mr. Fuji and Slick. It also featured some who came and went with one of the most forgettable being The Wizard. The Wizard was wrestling legend King Curtis Iaukea who originally wrestled from the 1950s to the early 1980s where he found success in a variety of NWA territories including Championship Wrestling from Florida, Pacific Northwest Wrestling, and 50th State Big Time Wrestling as well as the Australian World Championship Wrestling (not to be confused with the American WCW promotion owned by Ted Turner). Iaukea was no stranger to the WWE as he previously had several tenures there including in the 1960s and early 1970s where he held the WWE World Tag Team Championship with Baron Mikel Scicluna in 1972 and was a challenger for the WWE Championship against both Bruno Sammartino and Pedro Morales. In late 1986, Iaukea returned to the WWF as The Wizard who would serve as a manager for savage like wrestlers such as Kamala the Ugandan Giant and Sika of the Wild Samoans and would claim to be able to communicate with the spirit of former WWE manager The Grand Wizard of Wrestling (who passed away in 1983). Wizard was a solid fit and talker for Kamala and Sika and unlike some here, probably could've worked as a manager on the same level as a Fuji or Slick. Unfortunately, Wizard's WWE time only lasted about six months. Like every wrestler, Wizard accumulated many injuries including shot knees and the road schedule was supposedly too much. By April 1987, Wizard would be written off and left the WWE after selling Kamala and Sika to Mr. Fuji.

Frenchy Martin- Again, the 1980s had their share of memorable and colorful managers in the WWF but one who was neither and perhaps the least important manager of the time was Frenchy Martin. A French-Canadian wrestler, Martin debuted in the 1970s where he achieved success in his native Canada for promotions such as Stampede Wrestling, Lutte Internationale, and Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling while finding his biggest success in Puerto Rico for the World Wrestling Council winning many titles. Martin came to the WWF in 1986 where he first started as an enhancement talent before being paired up with Dino Bravo in early 1988 just as Bravo's tag team The New Dream Team with Greg Valentine broke up and he began his "World's Strongest Man" gimmick. Despite lasting a little over a year, Martin didn't really add anything to Bravo as he wasn't over with the fans, he wasn't a great talker, nor charismatic. His main gimmick was doing an anti-USA gimmick where he memorably carried a "USA Is Not OK" sign which was a lame attempt at getting heat. Martin would manage Bravo until Wrestlemania V in April 1989 where Bravo beat Ronnie Garvin before Garvin nailed his garvin stomp on Martin. Following this, the WWF likely realized Martin wasn't working and broke the pair up with Bravo being put with Jimmy Hart. Unlike most on this list, Martin wouldn't immediately leave and stuck around as a prelim wrestler before retiring in 1990.

Shinja (right) with Hakushi (left)

Shinja- Shinja is an interesting case as he was more used for an interpreter than as an actual manager. Shinja was Akio Sato who originally turned pro in 1970 in his native Japan for the Japan Wrestling Alliance and later had success in All Japan, Central States Wrestling, Continental Wrestling Association, and Western States Sports. He probably achieved his biggest fame in the WWF in 1990 as part of the original Orient Express tag team with Pat Tanaka with their highlight being a count out win over The Rockers at Wrestlemania VI. After the Orient run, Sato would do here and there stuff with the WWF. In 1994, the WWF would sign Japanese wrestler Jinsei Shinzaki, who was renamed Hakushi, and the WWF would bring Sato back under the name "Shinja". As Shinja, he wore white face paint and a white suit while managing Hakushi during his heel run of late 1994 to mid 1995. Overall, Shinja was a forgettable manager who again didn't add much to Hakushi. It only feels like he was brought in to be an interpreter both on and off camera for Hakushi since he wasn't familiar with English. Shinja wouldn't last long as he went about seven months before disappearing in July 1995, right before Hakushi's face turn and would retire from wrestling shortly after. 

A.W.- A.W. is one of the more recent managers to burn out on this list. A.W. first signed with the WWE in 2008 and spent most of his run in their old Florida Championship Wrestling developmental and then briefly on the ECW brand where he hosted a talk show which featured Hall of Famer Tony Atlas as both his announcer and sidekick. Originally, A.W. was named "Abraham Washington" and given a presidential gimmick, likely due to his resemblance to Barack Obama. In 2012, he would go to the main roster as a manager first for Primo, Epico, and Rosa Mendes before betraying them in favor of the Prime Time Players. A.W. would be an interesting case as he only lasted four months on the job as he would be fired in August 2012 reportedly due to a comment he made regarding NBA player Kobe Bryant's then sexual assault case. It's unknown if A.W. would've worked if given time but in the end, he was another who fizzled just for a different reason than the others.

Graham (right) with Don Muraco (left)

"Superstar" Billy Graham- "Superstar" Billy Graham is rightfully remembered as one of the most groundbreaking and colorful figures in wrestling. He oozed charisma and had a gift for gab. He seemed like someone who would find a lot of options after his in-ring career was over but it just didn't work. Graham trained under Stu Hart and turned pro in 1970. Quickly into his career, he would adapt the "Superstar" Billy Graham character becoming a member of the fictional Graham wrestling family which including Dr. Jerry Graham, Eddie Graham, "Crazy" Luke Graham, and Eddie's legit son Mike. A solid wrestler, Graham mostly became known for his larger than life tye dye wearing suntan superman character which later inspired the likes of Hulk Hogan, Jesse Ventura, and Scott Steiner. Like many of his era, Graham was a traveling journeyman competing in many territories like Jim Crockett Promotions, American Wrestling Association, Championship Wrestling from Florida, and various Japanese promotions. Graham also became known for his various tenures with the WWE, specifically, his second run from 1977-1978 where he not only held the WWE Championship but he ended Bruno Sammartino's final run as champion and had a nine month run which was quite impressive for a heel champion at the time. Fast forward to 1986, Graham would have a fourth run in the WWE but by this point, Graham was 43 and years of bumps and steroid abuse began to take it's toll. One match back, Graham would be sidelined with hip replacement surgery until the summer of 1987 where he tried a comeback before his ankles began giving out which further hindered his mobility. By the end of 1987, Graham would retire with the story being he was put out by Butch Reed and The One Man Gang. Wanting to salvage the Graham deal, the WWE would try Graham as manager and paired him with Don Muraco who came to Graham's aid in the Reed/Gang attack. Graham would manage Muraco during the end of 1987 till the first half of 1988 where Muraco adapted Graham's tye dye shirts and the Superstar instrumental from Jesus Christ Superstar as his theme. Overall, Graham seemed to have what it took to be a manager but after a few months, it became clear Graham just didn't have it to be a manager and he couldn't make the transition. Not to mention, the WWE wasn't high on Graham's presentation as he was walking with a cane. Because of these factors, Graham was dropped as Muraco's manager by the summer of 1988 and would be tried as an announcer but that wouldn't last either. Overall, Graham is one of wrestling's greatest legends but he just couldn't make the transition to non wrestling roles.

Coach- Coach was a case of someone almost doomed to fail as he had to replace arguably the greatest manager of all time and one of the greatest wrestler/manager pairings of all time all the while being given a lame gimmick and suffering bad luck. Coach was "Golden Greek" John Tolos who originally turned pro in the 1950s and whose career peaked in the 1960s as a singles wrestler and as part of the tag team The Canadian Wrecking Crew with brother Chris. He mostly become known for the western part of North America for promotions such as NWA Hollywood in Los Angeles and All Star Wrestling in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Tolos was actually no stranger to the WWE as he competed there in the 1960s and won the United States Tag Team Championships with Chris. In 1991, the WWE would bring Tolos back as a manager. Midway through the year, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan decided to step away from managing due to years of working with a broken neck he suffered in 1983. Tolos would be introduced as "Coach", where he dressed like a stereotypical coach wearing sweats, sneakers, sunglasses, a baseball cap, and a whistle he would blow. Coach would replace Heenan as the manager of Intercontinental Champion Mr. Perfect while also being paired up with new team The Beverly Brothers (Beau and Blake Beverly). Right from the start, it felt like Coach was doomed. Replacing Bobby Heenan was going to be massive shoes to fill but to replace Heenan as Perfect's manager would be even harder giving Heenan and Perfect's incredible chemistry. On top of that, he had to do it with a lackluster gimmick. Safe to say, Coach just didn't work in the role of either Perfect or the Beverly's manager as the gimmick was lousy and again didn't add anything to their acts. Things would get worse as Perfect suffered a serious back injury in late June 1991 shortly into Coach's tenure and would forced out of the ring until Summerslam 1991 where he dropped the IC title to Bret Hart and proceeded to take fifteen months away from the ring. With Perfect out, the WWE gave up on Coach as the WWE would replace him with The Genius as the Beverly's new manager and he would be gone in September 1991.

The Baron- The Baron is one of those managers that was there for such a short period of time, anyone that remembers him probably thinks they dreamt him up. Baron was Baron Von Raschke who originally turned pro in the 1960s and enjoyed success for over 25 years competing in the AWA and various NWA territories. Like Wizard and Coach, Baron previously wrestled for the WWE, competing there from 1976-1977 where he had his share of title shots and made history becoming the final challenger for Bruno Sammartino during his second WWE Championship reign before he lost it days later to "Superstar" Billy Graham. In the summer of 1988, the WWE brought Baron back to the promotion, this time, as a manager for the recently arrived tag team the Powers of Pain (Barbarian and Warlord). For this, Von Raschke shorten his name to "The Baron", wore face paint, and a cloak which best described by Raven made him look like The Emperor in Star Wars. It's hard to tell if Baron would've worked but his run was over in the blink of an eye lasting only a month with his highlight being managing the Powers to a win over the Bolsheviks at Summerslam 1988. By September, he would be dropped and would be gone as fast as he came.

Humperdink (bottom) with Bam Bam Bigelow (top)

Sir Oliver Humperdink- Humperdink is the first on this list who actually was a legendary manager before he got to the WWE that wouldn't work out. Humperdink turned pro in 1973 and achieved success in Montreal's Grand Prix Wrestling before working for Jim Crockett Promotions and Championship Wrestling from Florida managing the likes of Ivan Koloff, Greg Valentine, Paul Jones, Nikolai Volkoff, and the One Man Gang all the while feuding with Dusty Rhodes. In 1987, Humperdink was brought in to the WWE as the manager of newcomer Bam Bam Bigelow who was highly in demand by all the managers in the promotion. Shortly after arriving, he would also manage "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff as well. The problems with Humperdink include his alignment as he mostly spent his career as a heel manager but was a babyface in the WWE, which he reportedly wasn't a fan of. Another issue was Orndorff would leave after a few months in early 1988 due to issues with a biceps tear leaving Humperdink with only Bigelow who couldn't get beyond the midcard. Humperdink would last less than a year in the WWE as he and Bigelow would leave by the summer of 1988.

Backlund (right) with Darren Young (left)

Bob Backlund- To me at least, Bob Backlund doesn't strike me as someone who would work as a manager but that didn't stop WWE from not only trying but trying multiple times. Like many Minnesota wrestlers, Backlund trained under Eddie Sharkey and turned pro in 1973. Despite enjoying success in promotions like New Japan, the St. Louis Wrestling Club, Championship Wrestling from Florida, and Georgia Championship Wrestling, he obviously became known for his various stints in the WWWF/WWF/WWE. Specifically, his career peak during his first run from 1976-1984 where he held the WWE Championship for over 5 1/2 years between February 20, 1978 to December 26, 1983. By 1992, Backlund tried a second run which did earn him a small WWE Championship reign in 1994. By 1995, the WWE decided to use the aging Backlund less as a wrestler and tried him as a manager. The first attempt was September 1995 at In Your House III when Backlund was paired with newcomer Shane Douglas (under the Dean Douglas gimmick) for his match with Razor Ramon which Douglas won but the union didn't last probably cause WWE didn't think they had chemistry. 

A year later, WWE tried again as they put Backlund and old rival The Iron Sheik with The Sultan (Rikishi). This was doomed to fail as the Sultan gimmick just didn't pan out and Backlund brought nothing to the table as far as getting heat or cutting good promos. Backlund would last about six months before leaving around April 1997 and the Sultan with Sheik would limp along for the rest of the year until the act was dropped in December. 

Backlund then returned in February 2000 to serve as a manager and mentor to newcomer Kurt Angle who held both the IC and European Championship (the self-proclaimed Euro-Continental Champion). Unlike other attempts, Backlund and Angle had a possibility of working giving their backgrounds. However, it only lasted till April 2000 when Angle fired Backlund after it was revealed Backlund signed for Angle to defend his titles in back to back three ways against Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania 2000 in an attempt to test Angle.

Backlund's final attempt at managing came in 2016 when he was paired with former WWE Tag Team Champion Darren Young (New Japan's Fred Rosser) with the story being he was Young's "life coach" who wanted to "Make Darren Young Great Again". After doing many goofy vignettes, he eventually would manage Young for most of 2016 making it one of Backlund's longest tenures as a manager. The pairing lasted until early 2017 when Young suffered an injury which saw Backlund dropped and Young eventually released later in the year. All in all, this run also was lacking as again, Backlund was too silly and just didn't add anything to Young or get fans to care. To be fair, it wasn't just Backlund as Young was a lackluster talent that didn't have anything special. Like Superstar Billy Graham, Backlund will rightfully be remembered as one of the most famous WWE Champions of all time and a Hall of Famer but managing just wasn't for him.

The Commandant- Commandant is unique case as unlike others on this list, he had no history in wrestling. The Commandant is Robin B. Smith who did not come from wrestling but rather was an actor from South Africa who started acting in the 1970s. He came to the WWE in late 1996 after meeting with Bret Hart who was filming something in South Africa and recommended him to the WWE. Smith would be signed and became The Commandant, the leader of a stable called The Truth Commission, a South African militant group. Commandant would first appear for the Memphis based USWA with the group during the spring of 1997 before making it to the main roster in June. The Commandant proved to be a mixed bag as he wasn't bad as a manager and could talk while looking the part. The problem was he wasn't trained to wrestle or even take bumps which quickly became an issue to Vince McMahon who wanted a manager who could get physical if need be. As a result, the Commandant wouldn't last long, only about three months before he was released in September 1997 and replaced by The Jackyl (more on him in a bit). After his release, he returned to South Africa and retired from wrestling.

Paul Ellering- Like Oliver Humperdink, Paul Ellering is another legendary manager who achieved success outside the WWE but in it, it just never clicked. Ellering originally entered the business as a wrestler with good potential in 1977 and competed in several territories for five years before several knee injuries ended his full time in-ring career. By 1983, Ellering found his true calling as a manager when he joined Georgia Championship Wrestling as a manager for the Legion of Doom which consisted of legends such as The Road Warriors, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, "The Spoiler" Don Jardine, and King Kong Bundy. After the group broke up, Ellering continued with the Road Warriors becoming their manager on and off screen until 1990 with the trio enjoying runs in Jim Crockett Promotions/National Wrestling Alliance, AWA, and All Japan. After not going to the WWE with the Warriors initially in 1990, Ellering would reunite with the team in 1992 debuting in Wrestlemania VIII. Ellering was likely brought in to ignite a spark in his old team and possibly watch over Hawk who was coming off a failed drug test. A reunited Ellering and Road Warriors had huge potential but the WWE would torpedo the whole thing when they decided to include a ventriloquist dunny named "Rocco" with the claim he was a childhood toy of the Warriors and Ellering would be it's puppeteer. The Rocco dummy was one of the worse ideas in WWE history and a true lowlight to a team many consider the greatest of all time and did the act no favors. To no surprise, the Warriors hated the idea. Ellering's run lasted about six months before everything fell apart first with Hawk abruptly quitting following Summerslam 1992 due to drug issues and the Rocco angle then Animal suffered a serious back injury in October which forced him out for three and a half years.

In 1997, the Warriors returned to the WWE, once again, without Ellering. In July 1998, following the release of the Warrior's manager Sunny, Ellering would be brought back to the promotion but in an interesting twist. Originally, he was reintroduced to WWE audiences by the Warriors who hoped he would be their manager again only for Ellering to turn heel and announce he was actually managing the Disciples of Apocalypse (8-Ball and Skull) who proceeded to attack the Warriors. The idea was interesting but once again, Ellering wouldn't work out. The first issue was the Warriors were largely shell of themselves by 1998 due to Hawk's ongoing drug problems and Animal's back issues. Second issue was DOA weren't a great tag team and largely were lackluster in the ring. Third issue, according to Animal, was Ellering was uncomfortable in the role and struggled to cut promos picking the Warriors apart. Finally, a fourth issue was Ellering and the Road Warrior's history was mostly outside the WWE and most Attitude Era fans probably either didn't know or care in 1998. The angle lasted only a few months during which time the Warriors would be taken off TV in November following the Hawk attempted suicide angle and Ellering would be dropped by DOA after accidentally costing them matches. Ellering would briefly reunite with the Warriors in early 1999 but all three left after a few matches.

From 2016-2018, Ellering reappeared for WWE's developmental promotion NXT and found solid success managing a new team called The Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar) who he led to the NXT Tag Team Championship and the 2016 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. However, Ellering would be dropped upon the team's move to the main roster in 2018. Fast forward to December 2023, Ellering would return and reunite with AOP as part of the stable The Final Testament alongside Karrion Kross and Scarlett. While Ellering is still with WWE as of writing and things could change, so far, the group has largely floundered and not advanced very far. Time will tell if third time's the charm but right now, it's looking like another dud of a run.

The Jackyl- The Jackyl is one of those talents who has the skills to be an all time great manager showing great mic skills and playing various good heel roles from weasel like heel to cult leader heel. However, despite success post WWE, Jackyl just couldn't put it together in the WWE. The Jackyl is, of course, Don Callis who turned pro in 1989 and spent the first seven years of his career as a wrestler in the Canadian indie circuit. Callis would eventually get noticed by the WWE and signed in late 1996. Oddly enough, the original plan for Callis was to be a wrestler paired with long time vet Rick Martel in a team called "The Supermodels" which would eventually lead to a break up and feud with Martel becoming a babyface for the first time since 1989. However, nothing came of it as Martel decided to go to WCW. Eventually, Callis made his debut in September 1997 as "The Jackyl", a cult like leader who replaced The Commandant as the manager and leader of The Truth Commission (Kurgan the Interrogator, Sniper, and Recon). As mentioned above, Vince McMahon wanted a manager who could take bumps and occasionally wrestled. Callis reportedly wanted to be a wrestler but went along with it. The Truth Commission would peak with a win over DOA (Crush, Chainz, Skull, and 8-Ball) at Survivor Series 1997 but never gained much traction and eventually imploded by March 1998. Shortly afterwards, Jackyl would then lead a new group of freakshow wrestlers called The Parade of Human Oddities or The Oddities for short in May 1998 which featured Kurgan, Golga (a masked John "Earthquake" Tenta), Giant Silva, and Luna Vachon. Originally, the group were fearsome heels under Jackyl but the union would fizzle as Jackyl would be dropped as their manager by August and the group were repackaged as fun loving babyfaces with Sable. In the fall, Jackyl then would recruit Faarooq and Bradshaw, who were both down on their luck, and put them together as a new team called The Acolytes. Despite the potential pairing, reportedly neither the Acolytes or Callis were high on the union and it would last about a month before Jackyl was released in December 1998 and the Acolytes would be put with The Undertaker's Ministry of Darkness. Unlike everyone on this list, Callis is still active in wrestling and has enjoyed more success as a manager, color commentator, and executive for ECW, TNA/Impact, New Japan, and AEW. In the case of The Jackyl, it feels like he just couldn't get a winning act or stability in the WWE to make it work.