Ryan Dilbert's 10-Count: Paul Heyman Has Surpassed Bobby Heenan as Best Manager

1. Paul Heyman Talking His Way to the Top

To watch Bobby "The Brain" Heenan in his prime was to watch a master at his craft, a talent unparalleled, the Michael Jordan of pro wrestling managers. 

He remains the funniest and wittiest man in wrestling's history books, but the title of the best manager of all time no longer belongs to him. A loudmouth, master irritant and snake oil salesman inside a squared circle has taken it away.

In the Beyond the Ring special on Heenan, Greg Gagne calls him the greatest manager ever "bar none." Vince McMahon offers a similar opinion, crowning The Brain the best the business has seen.

Credit: WWE.com

That was once true, but Heyman has been busy rearranging the list of wrestling's best mouthpieces.

Heyman has long been a highly touted member of the manager fraternity. As the grating, slimy leader of The Dangerous Alliance, as the man in Sabu's corner as he climbed the ECW ladder, Heyman was fantastic. He was a compelling character, brash, stuck-up, a motor-mouth with an oversized cellphone.

It's his work in recent years that has pushed him past The Grand Wizard, past Capt. Lou Albano and, as sacrilegious as it may seem to say out loud, past Heenan.

Heenan was the better overall entertainer. It's that skill that inspired WWE to have him sit at the commentary desk and host Prime Time Wrestling alongside Gorilla Monsoon. 

One could also argue that Heenan's managerial power extended to a larger group of wrestlers. Heyman, on the other hand, has catapulted a shorter list of talent.

Still, the New York state native claims the crown thanks to being the all-time best at two elements of the craft: selling a match and reacting to a bout at ringside.

That first skill is something that Heyman has reached a new height with in the last few years. Whether it's Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins or John Cena set to face his client, he makes it feel like the biggest, most must-watch match of the decade.

He injects passion into the storyline that makes it feel like more of a spectacle, more significant, a mere wrestling match suddenly morphing into a contest of life and death.

Heyman did that once again on Monday's Raw. In talking up the SummerSlam collision between Brock Lesnar and Undertaker, he painted a picture of desperate hero stepping into a battle that may well destroy him. 

Like he has been again and again, Heyman was a preacher delivering a sermon, the second coming of Don King and a carnival barker all in one.

This is where Heyman trumps Heenan, even with The Brain's quick wit and verbal acumen. Line up Heenan's 10 best interviews and place them next to Heyman's greatest hits. It's not a fair contest.

Consider also how much Heyman betters a match with his reactions to the action and the argument of him over Heenan is easier to make.

As his client locks horns in the ring, Heyman uses a mastery of facial expressions and body language outside of it to amplify the drama in the ring. He cringes at the pain suffered on the canvas. He gloats at the slightest success. He succumbs to shock when the unexpected unfolds.

And he does that better than anyone else.

Were WWE to ever offer a master class in working ringside, it could just show clips of Heyman at work. Show his utter disbelief when CM Punk earned a chance to fight him back in 2013. Show his rat-faced smirk as he lifts Punk's WWE title. Show how much he added to the moment when Lesnar knocked off Undertaker at WrestleMania 30.

Credit: WWE.com

That's storytelling at its finest.

Heenan has been forced to second place as a result of efforts like those. Heyman, who is still in the process of adding highlights and cutting, memorable lines to his resume, has done what once seemed impossible—outdo The Brain.

2. The Intercontinental Championship Can't Get Off the Ground

WWE's vision was clear. Have John Cena win the United States Championship and Daniel Bryan take home the IC belt at WrestleMania. Assigning these top-level stars to the midcard belts would boost their prestige.

It has certainly worked for the U.S. title, but injuries have halted that plan for the IC strap.

A staph infection and a resulting mammoth swollen knee is keeping current champ Ryback from doing anything with the belt. WWE must be considering vacating it once more, but that won't help add to the title's already depleted momentum.

The numbers show just how little the championship has been showcased thanks to its titleholders being hurt.

Credit: WWE.com

Bryan had just one title defense during his month-plus reign. Ryback won on the vacant title on May 31. And he's since just had one defense of his own, a battle against Big Show in June.

There has now been over a month and a half with no title match. There have been just three IC title matches since WrestleMania and only seven in all of 2015. Cena's reign alone has seen him put the belt on the line twice that amount.

The Intercontinental Championship was not defended at Battleground, Payback, Extreme Rules or the Royal Rumble. That's half of WWE's special events this year. And it's no safe bet that The Big Guy makes it back in time for SummerSlam.

Just as was the case pre-WrestleMania, the IC title is need of serious rejuvenation.

3. Throwback Video of the Week: Roddy Piper

The wrestling family lost another member. Piper passed away on July 31. That's the second legend of the industry fans had to say goodbye to in the past two months.

Piper's death has memories rushing back. His days working for Portland Wrestling, against and alongside Ric Flair and his battles with Bret Hart are all suddenly fresh again. Some of his best work came during his feud with Jimmy Snuka.

This clip from 1984 sums up the intensity of that rivalry and showcases just how special Piper was on the mic:

With a leather belt in hand and a bandage on his brow, Piper spat at the mention of Lou Thesz, insulted the Fijian people and made us want to see him mix it up with Snuka in the worst way. That was the kind of performance he delivered so many times during his career.

Rest in peace to a true one-of-a-kind talent.

4. Challenging Trump

With as much press as Donald Trump has garnered lately thanks to a variety of controversial comments, it's surprising that WWE hasn't tried to capitalize on all that buzz somehow. One would think that some heel would try to siphon a bit of heat off of him by throwing his name into a promo.

And while Vince McMahon's relationship with the presidential hopeful may be the blockade to working him into the show, TNA doesn't have to worry about that.

X-Division champ Tigre Uno called out Trump by name, cutting a promo on him:

It's a smart, easy move to have folks pull for Uno. He comes out looking like an honorable warrior, no bump-taking needed.

5. The ZZ Smear Campaign 

Patrick, Chelsea and Mada are all gone, but ZZ is still in the running to win Tough Enough. Viewers keep voting to have the gator wrestler stay on despite being in the bottom three on a regular basis. That's reportedly not making the folks behind the scenes happy.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Wrestle Zone), company insiders and producers want him gone from the show.

It sure looks like that's the case. WWE has released a number of clips that paint ZZ in a poor light. In addition to a video of Billy Gunn yelling at him going up on the WWE YouTube page, Gunn, Booker T and Lita are seen trashing him in a backstage discussion:

You have to wonder how close WWE is to just rigging the votes at this point. ZZ winning Tough Enough would be a gut punch to the show's credibility.

6. Not Heath Slater's Year

Slater might have thought that being one-third of 3MB, the jobber stable in leather pants was the lowest rung on the WWE ladder, but he has since found out there are lower levels to occupy. At this point, it's easy to forget he even works for the company.

Adding to his CageMatch.net profile this year hasn't required much work.

His only pay-per-view appearance came at WrestleMania in the Battle Royal. In 2015, Slater has zero matches on Raw, just two bouts on SmackDown (both losses) and has compiled a 1-19 record.

Making his current 10-match losing streak into a storyline would be fun, as would finding him another tag team partner. But it doesn't look like WWE is interested in much of anything with him. When Zack Ryder has seven more wins than you on the year, you know you're a half-step away from getting wished well on your future endeavors.

7. Before She was Paige 

During her interview with Steve Austin on the WWE Network on Monday night, Paige allowed fans a glimpse of her pre-WWE life, of how she grew up in the business.

Paige and her wrestling family have been the subject of several documentaries. One of those, Britain's Worst Knightmare, focuses more on her father and brothers, but helps one understand the kind of toughness she developed grinding out her early career in Norwich, England.

WWE needs to weave her backstory more into her on-screen persona. Her real-life origin is the kind of thing a wrestling writer dreams of coming up with.

8. WWE Title Bouts on Raw

Neville's near victory over Seth Rollins on Monday's Raw was the rare treat of a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match on TV rather than pay-per-view.

Over the years, Raw has been home to some of the best bouts in that title's history. To see how a great championship match can electrify Raw, check out these battles:

• Bret Hart vs. 1-2-3 Kid: July 11, 1994
• The Rock vs. Mankind: Jan. 4, 1999
• Chris Jericho vs. Triple H: April 17, 2000
• Jeff Hardy vs. Undertaker: July 1, 2002 (Ladder)
• Edge vs. Ric Flair: Jan. 16, 2006 (TLC)

While Hart vs. the 1-2-3 Kid is the better technical showing, Mankind defeating The Rock is a must-watch moment that is a significant part of company history. Mick Foley discussed that bout's impact on the Monday Night Wars in a clip for Raw 1000:

And in addition to being a game-changer, it was simply fun to watch. Foley getting his moment and Michael Cole's best call to date is the kind of thing worth seeing several times over.

9. Cesaro's Evolution

The King of Swing is growing as a talker. He keeps growing more comfortable on the microphone. He keeps showing more charisma, bit by bit.

He's always been a wizard in the ring. He's powerful like a horse, smooth, proficient at mat wrestling and a hell of brawler when need be. 

And now, WWE has to be gleeful that he's emerging on the verbal side of things. That has been his biggest weakness, and as we saw in his interview with Michael Cole and his appearance on Miz TV this past Monday, he's beginning to improve upon that weakness.

The more he progresses like this, the more likely it is we see him get a chance at a main event level.

10. The Miz on Roddy Piper

On Monday's Raw, The Miz stopped playing heel for a moment. He saluted Roddy Piper and spoke the truth about one of the ways Piper has impacted WWE.

He said, "There would be no Cutting Edge. There would be no Highlight Reel. There would be no Body Shop, no Barbershop, no Snake Pit. There would be no Heartbreak Hotel and there would certainly be no Miz TV if it wasn't for the originator of them all—Piper's Pit."

He's absolutely right. Piper made the interview segment a staple on WWE TV, largely because he was so damn good at it. He has spawned a great number of folks following in his footsteps, Miz, Edge and Jake Roberts all paying homage to Hot Rod.

Match statistics courtesy of CageMatch.net.