Excuse Me! 5 Superstars That Prove Managers Should Be A Part of The WWE Again

A common curse that holds back even the best of wrestlers from propelling right to the main event and even gaining pushes in general is being weak on the mic. Since the beginning of time, mic skills have always been important when it comes to deciding who should be on top and who shouldn't. Unfortunately for many guys that have come and passed through the WWE especially, a lack of these skills stops the higher ups from truly believing in them and pushing them to the top. An exception to this, possibly the most notable, is Bret Hart, one of the greatest ever who has never been anything to write home about on the mic.

Look at the Main Eventers of today, how many of them can you say cannot work the mic? Exactly. A lot of the time, mic skills are even put above wrestling ability. A shining example of this is the Nexus. Justin Gabriel is the best wrestler of the bunch, but David Otunga is the one truly being pushed and given a real personality and screen time. 

Up until a few years ago, the solution for this was simple: give the great in ring workers without mic skills a manager to help get them over. And it worked! Paul Bearer, Jimmy Hart, Bobby 'The Brain' Heenan, Paul Heyman, Sunny and Teddy Long just to name a few are responsible for many of the most popular wrestlers in WWE's history reaching the Main Event or even just becoming noticeable.

Fast forward to today, and the beautiful art of managerial services is dying. Only Vickie Guerrero, Rajin Singh and sort of Natalya and Tamina remain, but it's simply not the same. Can anyone honestly say Rajin is helping The Great Khali get over? Does anyone disagree that Dolph Ziggler can hold his own anyway in the WWE? 

Because of this, many of the WWE's best workers right now are suffering. Vince wants guys that will sell, and to sell, you need to be able to work the hell out of a mic. So just being a top notch wrestler a lot of the time does not guarantee you a spot at the top. Just ask Evan Bourne.

This slideshow will take a look at some of the men in the WWE right now that could really use the help of a manager and how good it would be if they were re-introduced.

Justin Gabriel

Come on, this is me. As a huge Justin Gabriel mark, this is definitely the first person I thought of when compiling this list. Out of all of the new guys that have come up to the main roster recently, the South African high flyer Justin Gabriel is one of the best. He's a great mat wrestler, amazing high flyer and extremely charismatic and in love with the sport. 

Fortunately, the WWE has noticed as well, and have put the FCW Heavyweight Title belt on him, pushed him as the great wrestler he is as part of Nexus and even put him on the Smackdown vs RAW 2011 video game, stating that he was one of the stand outs of NXT season 1. So they ARE taking notice.

But my fear is, once Nexus disbands, what is going to happen to him? This question is debated constantly, and while most say behind Wade Barrett, he will go the furthest, the other half of the spectrum believe that his lack of mic skills will hold him back.

It is very common for WWE Superstars who do not speak English as a first language/that have heavy accents tend to not be the greatest on the mic, and Gabriel fits into both of these categories. As a South African native, he speaks Afrikaans as a first language and also has a thick accent. The few things we've heard him say as part of Nexus shows this weakness fully and he also has a tendency to come across nervous too.

It's a huge shame for Gabriel, as he is an amazing wrestler, and I would be hugely disappointed with the WWE if they let David Otunga, who is an AWFUL wrestler surpass him.

A manager would be great for Justin Gabriel as they could first of all do most of the speaking for him and also create a new gimmick for him. Just imagine, an exuberant, charismatic guy with a megaphone (okay... so maybe I'm channelling Jimmy Hart here) presenting us Justin Gabriel, the South African high flyer every week and helping the audience connect with him. That way, we could let his ring skills do the talking and maybe even get him to the main event!

For all of the Nexus guys, the few months following the disbanding will be crucial- totally make or break. Justin Gabriel will probably find it hard to break out on his own, as his mic skills still need a lot of polishing. What better way to break him out of the Nexus mold and re-invent him as a 5 star Superstar than with a manager?

John Morrison

If it wasn't for John Morrison being wooden on the mic as a face, he would almost certainly be in the main event or upper mid card by now. 

The Shaman of Sexy can wrestle, without a doubt. His parkour and martial arts training give him a certain edge above many others right now, and the WWE have got to take this and run with it. If it's someone marketable they want, it's right here!

As a heel partnered up with The Miz (one of the best mic workers in the game right now), Morrison's mic work was arguably a lot better. So maybe the problem doesn't lie in him, maybe it's Creative giving him the wrong role.

Even so, right now, John Morrison is a face, and the fact of the matter is, his mic work is not as good as it should be. He is one of the guys who would DEFINITELY benefit from a manager, and the popular choice between the IWC and this writer herself is his former manager and real life girlfriend, Melina.

Back in the days of MNM, Melina was the glue that held the whole group together. Out of her, Morrison and Joey Mercury, Melina was the best heel and best mic worker. Can you imagine MNM without her? Nope, you can't.

Even when MNM split, Morrison and Melina stuck together, and during this time, she did most of the talking. Without her, I don't think MNM or Morrison would've got over.

The timing right now for a Morrison/Melina reunion is perfect- both are on the same roster, are both faces and neither are being given much to do. Reuniting them, even as a face couple this time, would be great for the both of them. It'd also be nice to see them feud with Ted Dibase Jr and Maryse. Even a heel turn for the both of them as a couple would do wonders for their careers, as the two of them shone the most as heels. Who knows, with Melina by his side, JoMo could get further up the card, and hold the WWE Championship, like he should.

Come on Creative... It's all there set up for you, so do it! 

Jack Swagger

Once upon a time, the WWE held a ball with Jack Swagger's name on it and ran with it for a good few months...

...But then for no apparent reason dropped it suddenly.

Almost as soon as he arrived on ECW, it looked as if the All American American was destined for great things, and was pushed to the high heavens, becoming the ECW Champion and then the World Heavyweight Champion. For some reason, the WWE were reluctant to have him seen as real main event material, and quickly took the WHC away from him before delegating him to the mid card away to fade away. 

Seriously, this guy is one of the best technical wrestlers on the roster right now. He wrestled in high school and college (the University of Oklahoma) and was noticed by JIM ROSS in his junior year! Swagger has that advantage over many of his fellow locker room mates, as it's not as common for WWE's wrestlers to have an amateur wrestling background. It is for this reason that Swagger is often compared to Kurt Angle, and to be quite honest, it is rightly so.

I find him to be very underrated, in more ways than one. As well as being overlooked as the amazing wrestler he is, he is also undeniably charismatic. He plays his 'All American American American American...' character very well and I do not find him at all bad on the mic. In fact, I think he's just above average on it. So that is not the problem this man has.

Jack Swagger's gimmick is practically BEGGING for a manager. He's young, extremely athletic, aggressive and wears a singlet for god's sake. Whenever I watch him on Smackdown, I cannot help but think a manager would enhance his gimmick further and help lead him back to the main event. Something about him reminds me of Brock Lesnar when he first started out, and it's because of this that I believe a Paul Heyman like character would be perfect for him.

It's not like Swagger is weak on the mic, even with his heavy lisp (which I think is perfect for his gimmick- a tough 'All American' wrestler with a lisp, it's like fate). A manager would work so well for him and help him to get over even more. It could even gain him more heel heat, which would most likely make the top guys in the WWE take more notice.

Ezekiel Jackson

A massive guy, great in the ring, slightly lacking in the mic department. Sound familiar?

Now this is a common case in the WWE. Guys like D'Lo Brown had it lucky. He had Theodore Long by his side to do the talking for him and get him over. In my opinion, Teddy Long made Brown 10x more intimidating. 

Big Zeke, quite frankly, needs a manager.

It is very easy to get lost in the mid card, especially at a time like this where the Nexus and John Cena are the biggest deals on RAW. When Jackson first returned from his injury before Bragging Rights, it looked like he was going to get his push, especially since he was put on RAW's team. A few weeks later, he's on Superstars and not appearing on RAW at all.

I think the problem is- and it's the same problem many of the former WWECW Superstars has- that the people who did NOT watch ECW much (myself included) are finding it hard to understand this guy and where he's coming from. Yes, he was the last ECW champion, but the WWE never once did anything to make the ECW Championship relevant, so it just does not do much for him.

A manager similar to how Teddy Long was for D'Lo Brown would do absolute wonders for him. Usually, the most intimidating wrestlers are the silent ones, so why not do it for Zeke? Push him as a monster heel, with a business man manager, there to insult the crowd whilst promoting his man. 

I don't see Jackson as a main eventer, at least not yet. For the moment, I could definitely see him ruling the mid card on RAW as the United States Champion maybe. A manager could give him that edge he needs to get further.

Gail Kim

Yes, there is a woman on this list.

Gail Kim is one of the most under-utilized people on the roster right now. Gail and Natalya are the best women wrestlers out there right now and are two of the best workers, male or female, in the WWE. 

When Gail first arrived in 2003, women's wrestling in the WWE was at its peak. In her debut, she won a battle royal for the Women's Championship, beating Trish Stratus, Victoria, Ivory, Jacqueline, Jazz and Molly Holly. She made an impact on her first night, displaying a heavy arsenal of high flying moves, rarely seen in the Divas division.

Nowadays, she appears in 4 minute matches on RAW or 6 minute ones on Superstars, and has not received the push she truly deserves since returning to the WWE in 2009.

Now, why would a manager be good for Gail?

Let's look back to Gail's first run with the WWE, and her alliance with fellow diva Molly Holly. Molly took Gail under her wing and was a very big factor in Gail Kim's getting over with the fans. I think if that was to happen again, a slightly older, more "experienced" Diva properly working as a manager for Gail, it would be tremendous for her career.

Gail has never been strong on the mic, but she isn't awful. Like the men I've already mentioned, a manager could do the talking for her and place more emphasis on her incredible in ring ability. Say someone like Lita or Trish Stratus, two of the most popular Divas ever, were to return to manage her, it would put her so over and make the viewer pay more attention. 

However, there is a problem with this. Gail Kim happens to be one of the most experienced women on the roster, so an angle like this would probably not be that believable. Unless you go further back and choose a long since retired female wrestler to manage her, in a Triple H/Ric Flair way, which I would love to see. Imagine tuning in to Monday Night RAW to see someone like Chyna or Bull Nakano hyping Gail Kim!

Or, what if a veteran high flying male was to manage her? Someone like Shawn Michaels? Jimmy Snuka? Billy Kidman? The possibilities are endless.

Otherwise, I'd like to see Gail as a fierce heel, which would be a good role for her. A manager would be even better in this case, they would insult the opponent and then Gail would burst into her speedy offense straight off the bat. 

She desperately needs a push, and I fear that once again, Gail will be released by the company because she does not fit into this 'vision' they have. She deserves to be on top, even if the top at the moment DOES mean holding a purple piece of plastic.

Conclusion

Justin Gabriel, John Morrison, Jack Swagger, Ezekiel Jackson and Gail Kim. All talented wrestlers being held back by a lack of mic skills or missing personalities or just a lack of opportunities. It's a damn shame that like many things, WWE has managed to almost completely bury the art of managers on their shows, especially since there are so many Superstars right now that need them or could simply do very well with them.

What would Lesnar be without Heyman? Andre The Giant without The Brain? Volkoff and The Iron Sheik without Blassie? The Hart Foundation without Jimmy? Shawn Michaels without Sherri? The Undertaker without Bearer?!

I could go on and on forever, but to put it simply, the point I am trying to make is managers were a huge part of the WWF/E. They built up new stars, helped out older ones, added some personality and flair to our viewings. So why scrap them? Especially at a point where the WWE has more young guys almost ready for the Main Event than ever? Come on WWE!

Thoughts? Disagree with any of my choices? Any other people you think need managers too?

-Leva Lies