Paul Heyman: The Goat of Wrestling Managers

 

Paul Heyman will take his rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame this week for his various contributions to the world of wrestling. Not only for his time leading a Powerhouse stable in WCW as The Dangerous Alliance, or for revolutionizing the industry with the little engine that could ECW, or his creative acumen. While all those accomplishments count, he has earned this honor for keeping a dying role in pro wrestling afloat and mastering it.

Managers in pro wrestling have been a dying breed for the past 30 years, phased out for beautiful valets starting in the mid-90's other than Paul Bearer and Mr. Heyman himself. There haven't been too many pure managers that have made an impact, actually I take that back James Mitchell in TNA. AEW has tried to bring the role back, but with the exception of Don Callis it has mostly faltered.

Which is why Paul Heyman is the greatest manager ever in my opinion. He is a heat magnet when he gets on a microphone. He plays the swarmy manager who his clients respect while he's scared of them. He not only adds to a talents act, he helps that talent grow and helps aid their storyline.

The talent he assembled for his Dangerous Alliance definitely planted seeds in a young Steve Austin on what he needed to do to become one of the goats in pro wrestling. He helped build the mythology of Brock Lesnar with his facial reactions to carnage he would cause and his freak of nature abilities.

He saved CM Punk during his OVW days and advocated for him to be apart of the rebranded ECW. His diabolical actions alongside Punk during their early 2010's run, made Punk one of the most hated heels ever during that time. His partnership alongside Roman Reigns in late summer 2020, allowed Roman to find that missing link to become Thee guy he was anointed to be. 

In his role as the Wiseman he has greatly contributed not only to Roman's dominance but The overall Bloodline storyline keeping that engine running for going on four years.

Without his guidance behind the scenes and on camera, whether it being a man of reason or a instigator. The Bloodline story may have crashed a long time ago. He's had some management missteps in the past (Nathan Jones, Ryback, Curtis Axel). However, over the course of his nearly year career in wrestling he has demonstrated how much of a Ace in the hole he is for any talent he is partnered with.

When it comes to managers in pro wrestling, there is no other like Paul Heyman. While there may never be a manager like Paul Heyman in wrestling, I hope he is currently inspiring a new generation of pro wrestling managers. 

When the topic of managers in pro wrestling come up, there is no need for much discussion while guys like Jimmy Hart, Captain Lou Albano, J.J. Dillon, Jim Cornette, and Bobby 'The Brain' Heenan were great. Paul Heyman is the Undisputed greatest pro wrestling manager ever.