Wrestling managers are an integral part of the business and bring value to the product. An effective manager can take a wrestler to the top of the business; case in point: Paul Heyman. Managers are the invisible cord that tie wrestlers to the audience. Think of all the popular wrestlers and stables that had managers. Now, remove them from the equation and see if you can resonate with that particular wrestler or group.
Without managers, pro wrestling would have never found the success it did in the first place. Managers hype crowds, they take the heat, they wrestle even though it’s not a part of their kayfabe job description. WCW was known to put managers in compromising positions, i.e., in the ring. For these managers, wrestling wasn’t just about taking a punch, it was about returning it as well.
10 Sherri Martel
Sherri Martel is considered to be one of the greatest valets of all time. Her ability to work the crowd was second to none. Sherri was never afraid to take bumps inside the squared circle, and she took a lot during her illustrious career.
After a successful career with Vince McMahon’s WWE, Sherri joined WCW in 1994 and debuted on Nitro under the ring name Sensuous Sherri. She wrestled her first singles match for the promotion on January 29, 1996, defeating Madusa in under two minutes.
9 Jimmy Hart
Jimmy Hart is one of the most accomplished wrestling managers of all time and there’s no arguing that. Hart managed who’s who of the wrestling business during a career that spanned a well over four decades. The “Mouth of the South” joined Hulk Hogan when he defected to WCW in 1994.
Hart spent his initial years recreating The First Family and managing Kevin Sullivan’s the Dungeon of Doom in WCW. The promotion booked him to wrestle numerous matches between 1998 and 2000 on WCW’s weekly shows and PPV events.
8 Sharmell
Sharmell entered the business in 1999 as part of WCW’s Nitro Girls dance troop. She later aligned herself with The Artist under the ring name Paisley. The duo feuded with Torrie Wilson and Billy Kidman, partaking in intergender matches on WCW TV and live events.
Her first singles match came on the April 25, 2000, episode of WCW Thunder, when she took on Tammy (formerly known as Sunny). In her last singles match for the promotion, Paisley defeated her archrival Torrie Wilson.
7 Dutch Mantel
Few fans might recall Dutch Mantel as one-third of The Desperadoes, a heel stable whose kayfabe purpose was to bring Stan Hansen to WCW and form a dominant faction. In addition to serving as the mouthpiece for his group, Mantel wrestled for the promotion on multiple occasions.
Mantel spent 1990 and 1991 wrestling singles and tag team matches on WCW house shows. His final match for the promotion came during the final leg of The Great American Bash Tour in which The Desperadoes lost to Badstreet and The Fabulous Freebirds.
6 Sunny
Sunny has been getting bad press of late. The former wrestling valet was involved in a car accident that resulted in the death of 75-year-old Julian Lasseter Jr. in March 2022. Sunny, whose real name is Tammy Sytch, had a brief stint with WCW in 2000.
Sunny joined WCW with her then-boyfriend Chris Candido during the later years of the Monday Night Wars. The duo immediately began a feud with Paisley (aka Sharmell) and The Artist. Sunny lost to Paisley on an episode of WCW Thunder in April 2000. This was her last singles match on WCW TV.
5 Paul Heyman
Many fans argue that Paul Heyman is the greatest manager of all time. His accomplishments, let alone the number of champions he’s managed, are enough to put him in the debate for the greatest wrestling managers of all time. Heyman is also no stranger to getting physical in the ring, and used to spring into action during his WCW days.
Heyman, then known as Paul E. Dangerously, created and managed The Dangerous Alliance in WCW, exchanging fists with the likes of Jim Cornette, Missy Hyatt, Ron Simmons, The Steiner Brothers, and Madusa to name a few.
4 Jim Cornette
Speaking of Jim Cornette, wrestling's most outspoken manager had a taste of in-ring action during his talent exchange program with WCW. Cornette and his Smoky Mountain Wresting stars occasionally butted heads with WCW’s Paul Heyman and The Dangerous Alliance during the early 1990s.
Cornette famously won the Manager Bunkhouse Battle Royal on the NWA’s New Year TV tapings in 1989. He outlasted Gary Hart, JJ Dillon, Paul E. Dangerously, Paul Jones, and Sir Oliver Humperdink. He also defeated Paul E. in a Tuxedo Street Fight on an NWA house show later that year.
3 Teddy Long
“Hold on a minute, playa!” Fans who grew up during the Ruthless Aggression Era might remember these words that spelled doom for heels on SmackDown. Years before he joined WWE as a referee, Teddy Long managed Ron Simmons of Doom, “Mean” Mark Callous (aka The Undertaker) and others in WCW.
Doom routinely feuded with The Road Warrior, which led to Long squaring off against Paul Ellering in singles competition. After WCW became an entity of its own, Long briefly managed Diamond Dallas Page and The Diamond Studd (aka Scott Hall).
2 Miss Elizabeth
The gorgeous Miss Elizabeth rarely got physical in WWE, but showed great tenacity in WCW. The promotion booked her to wrestle matches towards the end of WCW. Elizabeth squared off against Madusa, Rhonda Singh, and Daffney between 1999 and 2000.
1 Kevin Sullivan
Kevin Sullivan used to work as a singles' competitor, tag team specialist, road agent, booker, and manager during his days in the business. Sullivan began as a singles' competitor but later established himself as an effective heel manager.
Sullivan managed many stables throughout his four-decade-plus career. He famously feuded with Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage and Sting as a member of the Three Faces of Fear in WCW. His kayfabe retirement came at WCW Bash at the Beach in 1997.