The art of a wrestling manager is to both show their own skills and more importantly to elevate a wrestler they are managing. Names like Jim Cornette, Bobby Heenan, Paul Heyman and others proved that managers could become legends if understanding their role. However, not everyone will have the same level of success in that position.
Quite a few managers have jumped the shark and became more annoying than helpful to the wrestler they are paired with. A bad fit or generally weak managing skills can cause failure for an act with potential. WWE and every other promotion have seen some level of this. The following names represent managers that became a hindrance over help to their wrestler.
10 Bob Backlund
WWE tried to make Bob Backlund as a manager in two different eras of the promotion. Kurt Angle was a top prospect from his debut, and WWE hoped that having Backlund as his manager would help. However, the annoying element of Backlund losing his mind took away from Angle.
More success headed Angle’s way when he was on his own to become a legend. WWE tried to go back to that road again when having Darren Young managed by Backlund with a new push. Backlund once again distracted from the wrestler for a disappointing run.
9 The Coach
Curt Hennig found his ideal gimmick when playing the Mr. Perfect to great success in WWE. The vignettes hyping up Perfect featured him appearing perfect in just about every sport possible. WWE felt the sports element needed to be further expanded.
The Coach was the character created to manage Perfect and essentially playing his coaching figure. Unfortunately, it felt utterly pointless to have a manager for a great talker. Perfect was a lot better before and after The Coach became an annoying addition.
8 Abraham Washington
WWE believed that the Abraham Washington manager could have been a huge hit. Washington was not afraid to speak on the microphone, and it helped hm become the manager of the Prime Time Players of Darren Young and Titus O’Neil.
A terrible offensive joke referencing Kobe Bryant’s lawsuit got him fired to end the run, but he was struggling long before then. The Prime Time Players were suffering from Washington doing all the talking with ineffective promos.
7 Harvey Wippleman
The idea of a smaller manager representing large wrestlers became a trend when Vince McMahon started using Harvey Wippleman in that role. Names like Sid Justice, The Warlord and Kamala were some of the names managed with hopes to get over.
WWE witnessed none of the dynamics working as expected since wrestlers getting revenge on Wippleman became what fans wanted more of. Wippleman played his heel character well at times, but it took away from his role as manager. Other wrestlers like Adam Bomb and Bertha Faye flopped with him at their side.
6 Matt Striker
WWE tried to use Matt Striker in just about every role, from wrestling to managing to broadcasting. Striker flopped as a wrestler starting off on the ECW brand and moved into the managing role due to his smaller size and promo comfort.
The monster duo of Big Daddy V and Mark Henry were represented by Striker as their manager on the ECW brand. Neither man benefited from the scenario since Striker’s promos worked more to make fans annoyed at him than caring about the wrestlers.
5 The Honky Tonk Man
The ego of the Honky Tonk Man is often joked about when he comes up in shoot interviews. WWE tried to find a more selfless role for Honky Tonk Man when making him a manager in the New Generation Era for Billy Gunn.
The end of the Smoking Gunns tag team saw Billy branching out on his own with the new Rockabilly gimmick. Honky Tonk Man didn’t help as much as expected with his promos feeling more for his character than for Billy to make them both fail in the role.
4 Rico
WWE calling up Rico from developmental to play a manager felt odd since he was training as a wrestler. Rico was athletic and talented enough to wrestle, but he broke out as a manager for Billy and Chuck before betraying them to join 3-Minute Warning.
The antics of Rico made him an effective heel, but he was the only one getting heat in 3-Minute Warning by the end. WWE realized this wasn’t working any longer and moved Rico into the wrestling role. Unfortunately, Rico’s career never took as he struggled to show the same personality on his own.
3 Mama Benjamin
One of the dumbest ideas in WWE history came when Vince McMahon hired an actress to play Shelton Benjamin’s mother. WWE pushing Benjamin as a rising star face character didn’t work out due to the lack of promo skills and charisma.
The established actress to get the role led to a heel run for Shelton being a mama’s boy, and his mother inspiring him to victories. Fans hated the angle since it led to bad comedy segments and hurt the overall credibility of Benjamin in the ring.
2 Tiger Ali Singh
WWE came up with the oddest trio when Tiger Ali Singh started managing the makeshift tag team of D’Lo Brown and Chaz aka Headbanger Mosh. Both Brown and Chaz were in desperate need of a new role to save their respective careers.
Lo Down was the tag name used with WWE trying to get more heel heat from Singh as their manager. Singh tried to mimic the Ted DiBiase gimmick of paying fans to do humiliating tasks as a wrestler to failure. Unfortunately, the shift to managing continued the same trend of disappointment.
1 Brother Love
Longtime WWE employee Bruce Prichard was tasked with playing the absurd Brother Love character for the on-screen side of things. Brother Love hosted a talk show segment that featured his over the top promos leading to interactions with the other wrestlers.
WWE tried to take it a step further when Brother Love started managing The Undertaker. This was a terrible fit that saw Undertaker’s character suffering until ditching them. Brother Love was good at annoying the audience, but Prichard wasn’t able to elevate new talents in this role.