Managers – What We Need In Pro Wrestling Today By Eric Darsie

With the news of the Freebird Michael P.S. Hayes is managing Tyson Kidd, I started to think about managers and what they meant to the business of professional wrestling. With the couple of free and subscription wrestling podcasts I listen to, Freebird Hayes has been a popular topic with the hosts and the fans who listen to them. Being an old-school fan, I love seeing P.S. back on screen. But getting past seeing Hayes and listening to other people’s opinions on the subject matter, here’s my thoughts and opinions of managers, what we need in pro wrestling today.

I believe managers helped out stars in the ‘80’s and ‘90’s wrestling. How? Some of the wrestlers aren’t the best talkers, so put them with someone who can talk (which happens to be a very important tool for a manager). If a wrestler is having troubles getting heat from the crowd, putting them with someone who could help get heat from the crowd and transfer it to another person, the manager would be the one to help them out.

Okay, so why bring back Michael Hayes? He knows how to talk, interact with the crowd, and knows the working of the business. Going back and watching old school wrestling of territories and times I haven’t experienced before, the “Fabulous Freebirds,” Hayes being a part of the group, always captures my attention, draws a smile upon my face, and giving me memories that I’ve held onto, wishing that I could of lived during that timeframe and wishing I could have been a fan of that territory.

There’s also rumors that the IV Horsemen “Enforcer” himself Arn Anderson might be brought in as well to be an manager. I would love to see AA on my television screen as well. Why? Just like Hayes, he’s a great talker and was one of the best technical wrestlers who never won the Heavyweight Championship of the World. AA has such an impact on the current set of “entertainers” that Triple H even uses AA’s spine buster.

So, managers, they’re a must-have in the business of professional wrestling. If not to help talk to their wrestlers and help them get heat, but to mentor them and keep them away from social media that could get them into trouble. We all know the story of Matt Hardy and his Tweeting problems at the end of his WWE run and into his days with Impact Wrestling. I have a feeling that if wrestlers would have managers, they could ride up-and-down the road with them and have them mentor the younger wrestlers.

Why would the business benefit from managers mentoring the wrestlers? Pretty much can be summed up this way: Passing on the torch. It would be passing on the knowledge and experience of one wrestling generation onto the next. The managers could tell road stories of what worked and what didn’t work in their time and help the stars of today figure out what would work today and what wouldn’t. So in the end, I feel like the stars of today would benefit first before we would, but it’s a right step into a direction we, as fans, would fall in love with.