Managers have always been my favorite aspect of professional wrestling—the colorful, witty, motormouthes who whether they succeed or receive their comeuppance, make wrasslin’ fun.
While wrestler vs. wrestler, and even manager vs. manager feuds, are often discussed, no one ever debates the great wrestler vs. manager feuds that fueled promotions and territories for decades.
So, without further ado, here are the Top 7 Wrestler/Manager Rivalries:
7. Skandor Akbar vs. Von Erichs
Old school fans may gripe about Gary Hart not making this list, and I encourage those gripes via e-mail or social media, but I maintain that Skandor Akbar proved a better foil for the Von Erich brothers. The Arabian chain-cigar smoker retired from active competition in 1977, offering his experience to the rising stars of World Class Championship Wrestling. Assembling a coalition of monsters such as Kamala, Killer Khan, and the Missing Link, Akbar created Devastation Inc., a group whose mission was to terrorize Dallas, and most importantly, destroy the hometown heroes, the Von Erichs. Akbar’s henchmen battled Kerry, David, Kevin, Mike, and even their father Fritz throughout the mid-80s heyday of WCCW.
6. Grand Wizard vs. Bob Backlund
Of the heel manager triumvirate that dominated WWE during the 70’s and early 80’s, the Grand Wizard is the least remembered. Whereas “Classy” Freddie Blassie and Captain Lou Albano are enshrined in pop culture thanks to their high-profile status during the Rock N’ Wrestling Era, the technicolor, turban-wearing, perpetually shaded Grand Wizard has fallen into black-and-white obscurity. Perhaps that’s due to his way too early passing in 1983, but still, Wiz should be treated with the same reverence as his Three Wisemen compadres. After all, he managed “Superstar” Billy Graham during his illustrious WWE Championship reign, the first lengthy heel reign in company history.
That lasted about 11 months until Bob Backlund dethroned Graham in the winter of 1978. Incensed, the Wizard embarked upon a four-year campaign to wrest the championship back from the “All-American Boy,” enlisting the help of Ken Patera, Don Muraco, Greg Valentine, Sgt. Slaughter, and “Cowboy” Bob Orton.
5. Lou Albano vs. Bruno Sammartino
Although Wiz failed to conquer his rival, Capt. Lou Albano stunned the world when his nemesis, Bruno Sammartino, was pinned by Ivan Koloff at Madison Square Garden. The Russian Bear ended Sammartino’s nearly 8-year WWE Title reign, the longest of any world champion in history. The victory was even sweeter for Albano, who switched from in-ring competition to managing just one year earlier, hoping his charge, Crusher Verdu, would take the gold from Bruno.
4. J.J. Dillon vs. Dusty Rhodes
They were great friends off-screen, but inside the squared circle, Dusty and J.J. clashed up and down the East Coast for a decade. Starting in Championship Wrestling from Florida, the wealthy, sniveling mastermind set out to eradicate the lovable cowboy from wrasslin.’ Dillon sent Ron Bass after Rhodes, and when that backfired, he ended up in Dusty’s specialty: a Texas Bullrope match. Their grudge continued into the Carolinas as Dillon managed Tully Blanchard, and later, the Four Horsemen against the “American Dream.” To read about their rivalry in Dillon’s own words, click here.
3. Jimmy Hart vs. Jerry Lawler
It’s rare for a territorial storyline or match to receive national attention, but that’s what happened when Andy Kaufman stepped into the ring with the “King of Memphis.” After challenging women to wrestling matches and proclaiming himself the “World Intergender Champion,” the comedic actor had the roles reversed as Lawler challenged Kaufman to fight a man for a change. Well, King piledrived Kaufman, breaking his neck and launching a seemingly real-life rivalry with the Hollywood superstar, which carried onto Late Night with David Letterman.
Salivating at the chance for revenge, Kaufman aligned with Jimmy Hart, Lawler’s former manager turned arch nemesis. “The Mouth of the South” had recruited King Kong Bundy, Rick Rude, Randy Savage, Kamala, Eddie Gilbert, and many others in the past, so adding Kaufman to his family was a natural fit. Best friends outside the ring, Lawler and Hart drew big box-office for the Memphis territory, rekindling their feud in later years at reunion shows and independent events.
2. Paul Heyman vs. Undertaker
When the Undertaker’s eyes roll back for the final time, history may show that his greatest opponent was neither Kane nor Mankind nor Michaels nor Triple H. Hell, it might not even be Brock Lesnar. Here’s a hot take for ya; the Deadman’s greatest foe is Paul Heyman.
The advocate for the Beast Incarnate has run afoul of Taker for nearly 15 years. Heyman led Brock into battle with the Phenom over the WWE Championship in the fall of 2002, and then the fall of 2003. A biker chain match, an all-out brawl, even a Hell in a Cell couldn’t settle the bad blood between the two mastodons.
In the summer of 2004, Heyman, then Smackdown GM, ordered the Dudleyz to kidnap Paul Bearer; thus, controlling the Undertaker. Obviously, you can’t control the Grim Reaper, so Undertaker retaliated with soup bones and chokeslams. This all resulted in a pretty weird angle where Heyman vowed to bury Bearer alive in a cement case if Taker didn’t allow the Dudz to pin him at Great American Bash. But Taker doesn’t do jobs, so he destroyed the Dudleyz, shot a lightning bolt at the cement truck, and then, nonsensically, poured the cement lever himself, suffocating his father.
Fast forward a decade: Heyman now advocates for CM Punk, the self-proclaimed “Best in the World.” Well, a Deadman with a 20-0 WrestleMania Streak begged to differ. So the two MMA-based competitors went balls out in a WrestleMania 29 showstealer, in which UT defeated Punk in his last Mania match for the foreseeable future.
One year later, Heyman was back again, pissing in the Big Dog’s yard. After conquering UFC, WWE, and Jimmy John’s, Brock Lesnar had nothing left to prove…aside from ending The Streak. So Undertaker emerged from the darkness to finally gain a victory over the Next Big Thing. Of course, you know The Streak died on that fateful night in New Orleans.
And now, 15 months later, Lesnar vs. Undertaker is set to happen again at SummerSlam.
1. Bobby Heenan vs. Hulk Hogan
“Yeah, but whose side is he on?”
Only Bobby “the Brain” Heenan would dare question whether wrestling’s No. 1 hero would betray his fans and join the NWO as the third man.
Of course, Heenan was right. (He’s the Brain, after all.) But it was just another case of Heenan never trusting Hulk Hogan. From the AWA to WWE to WCW and even the short-lived XFW, Heenan was always at war against Hulkamania. If only he’d filmed Hogan dropping his “third leg” onto Miss Betty!
In the AWA, the “Immortal One” unsuccessfully chased Heenan’s prized fighter Nick Bockwinkel for the World Heavyweight Championship for nearly two years. So it makes sense that when both jumped to WWE, and the Hulkster finally won gold, The Brain would do whatever it took to snatch that title away. Thus, the Heenan Family was born: Big John Studd and King Kong Bundy broke Hulk’s ribs, Paul Orndorff turned on him with a closeline and a piledriver, Harley Race cracked him with his crown. Barbarian, Mr. Perfect, they all sought out the Hulkster.
The most famous challenger being Andre the Giant, who aligned with Heenan heading into WrestleMania III. The irresistible force met the immovable object, and by God, time stood still. After nine minutes of Andre beating down the champion, those 24-inch pythons rattled and Hogan hulked up, slamming the giant and scoring the victory. Heenan failed again.
When The Brain jumped to the commentary booth at WCW, he still spewed shit about Hogan, even though he was the villainous leader of the New World Order. That consistency blurred the lines of storylines and only added to the veracity of their rivalry. Their last encounter took place during an XFW taping in 2001 as Heenan managed his old buddy Curt Hennig in yet another unsuccessful effort against Hogan.
Wrestledelphia.com editor John Corrigan can be reached at . Follow him on Twitter at .
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