WCW always had a good thing for managers. They boasted some great ones like Jim Cornette, Paul Heyman (as Paul E. Dangerously), Missy Hyatt and more. A good manager could elevate their charge, connecting well and helping them stand out nicely. A bad manager could hold someone back and sadly hurt their careers more than help.
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Then there are cases when the manager was just so much better than the wrestlers that they overshadowed them too much. Having a manager good on the mic is nice, but not one who dominates the talking and the fans more focused on them than the worker. Some managers were just so charismatic that having them around did more harm than help to a wrestler and these ten WCW workers were always in the shadow of a much better manager.
10 Bunkhouse Buck And Dick Slater (Robert Parker)
After years as a wrestler, Robert Fuller transformed into Colonel Robert Parker, a good manager. He stood out dressed like an old-styled Southern gentleman and his Studd Stable did have some good stuff like Arn Anderson and Terry Funk. However, Bunkhouse Buck and Dick Slater weren't as notable even if they did hold the tag team titles.
Parker would always do their promos and their feud with Harlem Heat was more about Parker romancing Sherri Martel. Slater later teamed with Wayne Bloom as Rough 'n' Ready, which had limited success as Parker was more fun than these two.
9 The York Foundation (Alexandra York)
Before her fame in WWE, Terri Runnels started in WCW as Alexandra York, a supposed top businesswoman. Her York Foundation was supposed to use her talents to make her men winners and notable for coming out in business skirts and glasses.
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The problem was, the Foundation was made up of guys like Richard Morton, Terry Taylor and Tommy Rich, not exactly a squad to strike fear into people. They had the six-man tag titles but York was always the focus more than any of her charges as the Foundation was always about her.
8 Mean Mark Callous (Paul E. Dangerously)
It takes a lot to overshadow someone standing over a foot taller than you, but Paul Heyman could do it. Then known as Paul E. Dangerously, the manager with the huge cell phone had a few charges in his early days in WCW, which included Mean Mark Callous.
While the guy was imposing, he never spoke, letting Dangerously do the wild talking and the focus more on him. It looked like Callous was just another interchangeable big guy in WCW and not much flash. He left to head to WWE where he became someone just slightly more famous as...The Undertaker. It's remarkable how the future icon was in the shadow of his manager once.
7 Psicosis (Sonny Onoo)
Sonny Onoo was a fun presence in WCW with his wild act and showing off running a pack of both Japanese wrestlers and various cruiserweights. That included Psicosis, a good worker, but he and La Parka lacked real presence as a tag team. La Parka at least had a cool look, while Psicosis seemed lost as Onoo would act up a lot during his matches.
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Notably, after being dumped by Onoo, Psicoss became Cruiserweight Champion so this was another case of a guy being better out from a manager's influence.
6 The Renegade (Jimmy Hart)
Whatever else about the Ultimate Warrior, he had enough charisma to captivate fans and dominate on the mic. As with so much else, the Renegade was a pale imitation there, so he needed Jimmy Hart as his manager. Given how bad Renegade was, it was no shock Hart got more attention from promos to cheering him on in the ring.
Despite everything Hart did, fans couldn't care about the Renegade and as soon as he lost the TV title and Hart turned on him, the poor guy's career fell apart as Hart had his limits giving someone the rub.
5 Doom (Woman)
The Steiner Brothers rose to fame in 1989 with a storyline where Rick fell for a seemingly kind-hearted lady who transformed into a selfish vixen named Woman. After Rick spurned her, Woman got a pair of masked men called Doom to go after the Steiners in various matches.
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With Woman doing the promos and the pair just standing silent, it was little wonder not many cared when they were finally unmasked as Ron Simmons and Butch Reed. Amazingly, once they dumped both Woman and the masks, and got Teddy Long on their side, Doom became dominant tag team champions to show how Woman had been holding them back.
4 Vinnie Vegas (Diamond Dallas Page)
Before coming to fame in WWE as Diesel, Kevin Nash had to put up with bad gimmicks in WCW like Oz. He later changed to Vinnie Vegas, a "high roller" with Diamond Dallas Page as his manager. The fact that DDP wasn't that much shorter than Vegas undermined how imposing Nash was supposed to be.
Also, Nash wasn't as good on the mic then, letting DDP take the lead there so soon, Page was showing his flash. As it happened, Page would move to become a full-time wrestler while Nash jumped to WWE to show a tricky pairing.
3 Alex Wright (Debra McMichael)
A very skilled wrestler, Alex Wright was overshadowed a bit by his goofy dancing. He still had some promise in 1997 as he was paired with Debra McMichael, wife of Four Horsemen member Steve McMichael.
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Debra was a great presence, coming out in evening gowns and crowd to present Wright, whose dancing looked nuttier than ever. They could be a good pair, but the focus was on Debra going against her husband more than helping Wright win. While Wright won the feud, Debra came off a bigger winner for the fans.
2 The Barbarian (Cactus Jack)
When Ron Simmons won the WCW World title in 1992, he needed some good challengers to make him look better. For some bizarre reasons, WCW thought the Barbarian could be built up as a challenger for Halloween Havoc. The lifelong midcarder needed someone to speak for him and was given Cactus Jack.
Given Mick Foley is a great mic guy, he soon dominated the promos and a fire that had folks wondering why he wasn't the one challenging Simmons instead. Simmons easily won the poor match, with Barbarian falling down the ranks and one of the worst parts of a rough year for WCW.
1 Ice Train (Teddy Long)
With the notable exception of Doom, almost anyone managed by Teddy Long had Long overshadowing them. The man was just bursting with so much charisma and great on the mic, it's little wonder he dominated over any of his charges. Ice Train did need someone to help direct him as he wasn't bad in the ring but just lacked polish on the mic.
Yet Long was soon dominating over the guy with his loud promos and more focus on him than Ice Train. When they split, Ice Train was exposed further for his lack of skills for a rough WCW career. As with so many others, having Long dominate so much as a manager was a bad thing for Ice Train.
