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Here's the ringside fixtures that were the cunning behind the brawn.

Three weeks ago on August 28th, Harry Fujiwara, better known to the rest of the world as Mr. Fuji, passed away at the age of 82.

An accomplished pro wrestler whose career spanned two decades, Fuji is best remembered for being one of the greatest managers in pro wrestling. Taking inspiration from the James Bond villain Oddjob — decked out in a tuxedo and bowler hat — Mr. Fuji was the quintessential heel manager. Under his guidance, talents like Yokozuna, Demolition and “The Magnificent” Don Muraco found success and championships. The Hall of Famer’s passing serves as a sad reminder of how barren the manager landscape is when it comes to pro wrestling today.

What was once a much-needed and revered position in the world of sports entertainment has become a trivia question, or worse, not even a thought within WWE creative. Lost are the outrageous, entertaining and devious ringside generals like Mr. Fuji. In this era, where promos are overly scripted and wrestlers with personality are hard to come by, the art form of being a manager is screaming for a return. Want to know the power of a manager? Just take a look at The Miz. He was basically background noise on WWE TV until his wife Maryse became his manager, taking a defibrillator to his career and sparking it back to life.

While we wait for wrestling to wake up and utilize this position more, we put our spotlight on the talented men and women who flourished and became legends as mouthpieces and leaders.

 

Bobby “The Brain” Heenan

Look up "manager" in the wrestling books and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan’s picture is sure to appear alongside the description. Triple H calls himself “The Cerebral Assassin,” but that moniker is better suited for Bobby — the undisputed king of managers. Heenan was a master of ring psychology, gifted with a sharp tongue and wit that enabled him to enhance talent and build feuds.

The man was a star — a true entertainer who made you care about whatever he was doing or talking about on TV.  He was able to transfer some of that shine to the wrestlers he guided. Legends like “Ravishing” Rick Rude, Mr. Perfect, “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair and Andre the Giant all benefited from their partnership with Heenan. A natural comedian with a knack for banter, Bobby worked the fans like no one could. He could annoy and piss you off one moment and make you laugh out loud the next. Fans today should be so lucky as to be called “ham-and-eggers” or “humanoids” by The Brain.

 

Paul Heyman

Over the past 20 years, Heyman has been the top manager in the game. The former head and mastermind of ECW and current advocate for Brock Lesnar started out as a manager in WCW in the late ‘80s. Formerly known as Paul E. Dangerously, the loud mouthed and brash advisor — with his trademark brick cell phone — put together his own stable of talent called The Dangerous Alliance. His group of heels consisted of talent like Rick Rude, Arn Anderson and a young Steve Austin.

One of the most talented minds in the business, it’s no wonder that many wrestlers clamor to be a “Paul Heyman Guy,” hoping to be led under his tutelage. Heyman’s partnership with Lesnar led to one of his greatest feats as he orchestrated the end to The Undertaker’s WrestleMania win streak.

 

“The Million Dollar Man” Ted Dibiase

Little did we know then that this maniacal, millionaire character with a habit of buying people and ridiculing the less fortunate, would be a template for today’s Donald Trump! Don’t worry Ted, it’s not your fault.

Remembered more for his Hall of Fame career as a wrestler and his cool looking million-dollar championship, Dibiase was also a great heel manager. In the ‘90s, his Million Dollar Corporation was front and center as an evil faction hell bent on getting their hands on the championship. My favorite moment of Dibiase’s manager run was when he created his own fake Undertaker, after trying and failing to buy the real deal.

 

Mr. Fuji

We’ve already covered some of the greatness that Mr. Fuji brought to the ring. One trick up his sleeve (or in his pocket) was throwing salt into the eyes of opponents. Every time Fuji walked his wrestler(s) down the aisle and lingered around the ring, fans knew to expect cheating from him. That use of salt helped and hurt his cause at WrestleMania IX, when his client Yokozuna won the championship with Fuji’s help, only to lose it minutes later against Hulk Hogan due to an errant throw of said salt. 

 

Jimmy Hart

The closest thing to a Quentin Tarantino character on this list is “The Mouth of the South.” Loud, flashy, over the top and with his trademark megaphone to boot, Jimmy Hart could have easily been a villain in Tarantino’s True Romance.

One of the most colorful characters to ever step inside the ring, Hart has guided the careers of an eclectic mix of superstars including The Hart Foundation, King Kong Bundy, The Honky Tonk Man and Hulk Hogan. Perfecting the art of being annoying and distracting at ringside, Jimmy’s true hidden talent was that of musician and songwriter. In the ‘80s and ‘90s, he composed classic wrestlers theme songs including The Legion of Doom and Shawn Michaels’ “Sexy Boy.”

 

“Sensational” Sherri Martel

Speaking of Shawn Michaels’ theme song, the woman who is heard screaming out “sexy boy” on the original track is his former manager Sherri Martel. A true pioneer in women’s wrestling and women sports in general, the late Sherri created her own unique path in a boy’s club. Captivating and terrifying at the same time, Sherri brought the same viciousness and intensity that made her a wrestling champion into her role as a top tier manager.

Known as “The Sensational One,” “Queen Sherri” and “Scary Sherri.” she commanded the respect of everyone she worked with. She gave legends like Randy Savage, Ted Dibiase and Shawn Michaels some dark edge. To this day, no other woman has been able to take her crown of cutting the best promos. 

 

Miss Elizabeth

In a tossup spot in which Sunny could have taken, Randy Savage’s main squeeze will forever be seen as a managing icon. While most managers are loud, outspoken and in your face, the late Miss Elizabeth’s style was the exact opposite. She said little but when she did, the soft-spoken “First Lady of Wrestling” added emotion to the storyline. The rise and fall of The Mega Powers revolved around the lovely Liz, as Savage and Hulk Hogan battled it out with Elizabeth being the prize. Jealous eyes be damned!

 

Jim Cornette

Looking at Cornette, you would have never guessed that he made a living as a manager in pro wrestling. A car salesman or a member of Lambda Lambda Lambda, sure I’ll buy that. But a manager? That’s exactly what this good old boy was, with his fast talking ways and cowardly tendencies that would piss off fans.

Cornette had the talent of talking a big game, then quickly scurrying away behind his wrestlers when things went bad. His most noted partnership was with The Midnight Express in the NWA, but he also managed talent like Vader, The British Bulldog and Yokozuna once he got to WWE.

 

Paul Bearer

It can be argued that there’s no better pairing of wrestler and manager than what we had with The Undertaker and Paul Bearer. The character of The Undertaker would have never reached the heights he did without the assistance of Paul in the first half of his career. He’s the Colonel Tom Parker to Taker’s Elvis. The Sonny to Taker’s Cher. Based on his success with “The Phenom,” the late Paul Bearer also guided the twisted and scary souls of Kane and Mankind, launching them both to Hall of Fame careers as he crafted a niche with talent from the darkside.

 

J.J. Dillon

He was the manager to The Four Horsemen. What else do you need to know? To be the mouthpiece and representative to a group of men, who quite frankly, didn’t need a manager but chose to have Dillon as their guy, says a lot. J.J. was more cold and calculated and less loud and flamboyant, in terms of managing style. Every rock and roll traveling show needs a tour manager, and Dillon handled those duties perfectly, as Ric Flair and the boys partied and took care of business all over the world.

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