Called a "heater" within the industry, the henchman of a wrestler can be a great addition or can ruin credibility. They could be a manager, a cronie, compadre, associate, business partner, whatever the title, they are a "sidekick" to someone who is a star or rising star.
A current example is in AEW with Wardlow to MJF which has branched into the story of the sidekick getting revenge. More of a throwback, before Evolution, "Deacon Batista" was a sidekick to Reverend D-Von. WWE has resurfaced the early days for Batista, but other sidekicks have been forgotten.
10 Rosey & Stacy Keibler (The Hurricane)
"Holy sidekick, Hurricane!" In the early 2000s The Hurricane's trusty sidekick was Mighty Molly, until she hit him in the back of the head with a frying pan at WrestleMania 18. A year and a half later, Hurricane found a new sidekick with superhero potential, Rosey. Hurricane even dubbed him a Super Hero In Training.
The two would win the World Tag Team Championship in 2005 and would be joined by another superhero, "Super Stacy (Keibler)." Keibler would not stay in the group long as she would be traded to SmackDown and by year's end, Hurricane turned heel and split from Rosey, beginning his positively-received "Gregory Helms" character.
9 Crash Holly (Matt Hardy & Shannon Moore)
He could slap a tornado, he could dry up a sea. When he lived for the moment, there ain't no one greater than he. Old theme songs and metaphors aside, Matt Hardy had a unique character creation after branching off from The Hardy Boys in 2002.
The fondly remembered "Matt Hardy Version 1" persona could not be contained to one person as he began to have "MF'ers" (Mattitude Followers) starting with Shannon Moore. Shannon with Matt is not entirely forgotten, but Crash Holly being with the group certainly has. The involvement was short-lived, but Matt gave Crash to Shannon to be his apprentice, dubbing him a "Moore-on."
8 The Blue Meanie (Goldust)
Acting out well-received parodies while in ECW, The Blue Meanie became a popular act as part of the bWo stable. The trio was a hit with their parodies of entities such as the nWo in WCW, WWE's Goldust, and the rock band KISS. It was not all just fun and games for Meanie as he was involved in some violent matches.
Meanie took some time away from "the land of extreme" and debuted in WWE in late 1998. He did join the J.O.B. Squad but would also become a sidekick to Goldust in early 1999 with his "Bluedust" persona, a revived Goldust parody done years earlier in ECW. Meanie made an appearance at WrestleMania 15, accompanying Goldust for his Intercontinental Championship match.
7 Stevie Richards (Victoria)
Along with The Blue Meanie in the bWo was Nova and Stevie Richards. The latter has an incredibly impressive resume, having worked in the NWA, WCW, ECW, and WWE all in the 1990s. Richards joined WWE in 1999 and would continue to do parody acts for a few months until he changed his look and demeanor to form the Right To Censor stable.
Richards regressed from the serious persona role and in 2002 formed a team with Victoria as a "mentally unbalanced" duo. Richards would accompany Victoria and help her win matches and keep her intact as the Women's Champion. Richards accompanied Victoria for her title defense at WrestleMania 19 and would get involved in the match but would be thwarted by Trish Stratus and himself.
6 Tyson Tomko (Christian & Trish Stratus)
Introduced as "The Problem Solver," Tyson Tomko was brought in by Christian to be an enforcer. "Captain Charisma" was in a feud with Chris Jericho in 2004 and hired some back-up. At the time, Christian and Trish Stratus were an on-screen couple and Tomko would also be an enforcer for Stratus as well.
He did not wrestle much, he primarily would interfere to make sure Christian and/or Trish won their match. Christian would be drafted to SmackDown in mid-2005 and the team would disband. Tomko also unofficially took part in the inaugural Money In The Bank Ladder match at WrestleMania 21 where he tried to help Christian win unsuccessfully and would take some attacks in the process.
5 Bam Neely (Chavo Guerrero & La Familia)
Brought in at first as a bodyguard to help win back the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, Chavo Guerrero introduced Bam Neely to the WWE Universe; Bam Neely, not NHL legend Cam Neely. Bam primarily served as an enforcer for Chavo but he also 'divied' up his services amongst his then-stablemates.
At the time, Chavo was part of the La Familia stable along with Edge, Zack Ryder, Curt Hawkins, and Vickie Guerrero. Bam would also get involved in matches involving Edge, Zack, and Curt, Notably, Bam did get involved in Edge's feud with The Undertaker in 2008, interfering in their World Heavyweight Championship TLC match at One Night Stand.
4 Matt Morgan (Carlito)
Seen as a missed opportunity for WWE, Matt Morgan had a very solid career in TNA Wrestling in the late 2000s and early 2010s as "The Blueprint." Morgan was first noticed nationally when he took part in WWE's Tough Enough 2 contest and show. Morgan left early due to injury but still impressed WWE enough to earn a developmental contract in 2002.
Morgan debuted on SmackDown in late 2003 in a story with Brock Lesnar and for a few months would be a henchman to General Manager Paul Heyman. Morgan was taken off TV in 2004 and re-debuted in 2005 as a stuttering character and would become the enforcer for Carlito during his feud with The Big Show. Morgan began to use the F5 as a finisher and would deliver it to Big Show to gain attention.
3 Manu (Randy Orton)
When fans think of The Legacy stable, they think Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, and Ted DiBiase Jr. Those were the final members of the group but not the first. The original incarnation of Legacy that formed in 2008 was Orton, Rhodes, and Manu. Manu is the son of Afa of the legendary Wild Samoans tag team.
Despite being part of the Anoa'i family, Manu was not as successful as some of his relatives though he did have a significant debut. Manu first appeared at Unforgiven 2008 to help Randy Orton attack the World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk backstage, rendering Punk unable to defend his title which would cost him his championship.
2 Doudrop (Eva Marie)
Not to say fans have a super short memory, but it was only a few months ago that Doudrop debuted in WWE as a sidekick for Eva Marie. It did not take long for Doudrop to begin to turn on Eva and in almost a rushed storyline, Doudrop squashed Eva and began to breakout as a singles star challenging for the Raw Women's Championship.
The story between Eva and Doudrop was a big flop as Eva was released from WWE months after re-signing, all within the 2021 calendar year. With Doudrop having competed in the 2021 Queen's Crown tournament, the WrestleMania 38 #1 contender's Elimination Chamber match in February 2022, as well as challenging Becky Lynch for the Raw Women's Championship at the 2022 Royal Rumble, Doudrop has been booked exceptionally well to move on from being Eva's sidekick. Eva Marie's return seemingly did more for Doudrop than for Eva.
1 Big Vito (Nunzio)
James Maritato was quite a popular fixture in ECW in the 1990s as "Little Guido" as part of the Full Blooded Italians stable. Guido signed with WWE in 2002 where he became "Nunzio" and reformed The FBI with Johnny "The Bull" Stamboli and Chuck Palumbo. Stamboli and Palumbo were released from WWE in late 2004 leaving Nunzio without any "muscle."
In summer of 2005, Nunzio found a new sidekick in former ECW and WCW wrestler Vito LoGrasso who would become known as "Big Vito." Vito helped Nunzio capture the Cruiserweight Championship but would become less inclined to get involved in Nunzio's "dirty work." The alliance came to an end in 2006 with Vito's character becoming a cross-dresser, which infuriated and embarrassed Nunzio on-screen.