The addition of a manager can often be the missing piece to put a wrestler over the top. Most promotions will place a manager with a wrestler to make up for their weaknesses. Some performers that lack charisma or promo ability can thrive with a manager doing the talking for them, while others just need to have another element to their character to get the audience interested.
Unfortunately, not all wrestlers to get a manager will see the situation work out positively. We will look at the pairings that just couldn’t get on the same page. The stories range from a lack of chemistry to one side having a big weakness to both sides failing together. Find out just combinations failed to make an impact together. These are the ten worst wrestler and manager pairings in wrestling history.
10 Cesaro and Paul Heyman
The potential of Cesaro has always seen fans wondering why WWE never did more with him. Cesaro’s strongest run in WWE came in early 2014 when winning the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 30 in the first of the annual match.
WWE paired Paul Heyman with Cesaro the following night to a huge ovation. Brock Lesnar ending Undertaker’s streak as a part-time wrestler hurt Cesaro more than most expected. Heyman was forced to reference Brock in promos despite Cesaro being the wrestler in the ring leading to failure together.
9 Deuce 'N' Domino and Cherry
The tag team concept of Deuce 'N' Domino was to present them as old school characters out of movies like Grease or Saturday Night Fever. Cherry was added as their manager wearing an old school outfit while coming to the ring on roller skates.
The act was a huge disappointment with viewers not understanding what to make out of it. Deuce 'N' Domino eventually ditched Cherry for Maryse as their manager, but they still couldn’t find success. Cherry didn’t do much better as she never had a consistent run.
8 Darren Young and Bob Backlund
Darren Young had a huge character change when becoming a singles star with Bob Backlund as his manager. The gimmick would see Backlund training Young to finally tap into his potential as a star without his former tag team partner Titus O’Neil.
Backlund is a wild card, and his absurd persona didn’t necessarily help Young. A surprising battle royal win for an Intercontinental Championship title shot before losing was the peak of the run. WWE eventually gave up on the act as they didn’t view it as one that could draw money.
7 Legion of Doom and Sunny
WWE revamped the act of the Legion of Doom in 1998. Animal and Hawk were arguably the best duo in wrestling history, but they were struggling to find success in WWE during the Attitude Era. Sunny was paired with the duo while wearing little clothing to add another element to the act.
The issue is that Sunny had a history of being the star over any wrestler she managed. WWE could not find any chemistry between LOD 2000 and Sunny. The act ended faster than expected as Sunny left WWE and LOD had a disappointing final angle before leaving as well.
6 Kurt Angle and Daivari
The pairing of Kurt Angle and Daivari made little sense in the WWE bubble. Angle was already established as a main eventer and a tremendous promo. Daivari had little name value after a short run with Muhammad Hassan and had lesser microphone skills when compared to Angle.
The hope was that Angle would become more hated with a heel personality as his manager. Nothing changed as Angle still received some cheers from the diehard fans. Angle leaving Daivari started one of the hottest runs of his career when turning face.
5 The Dudley Boyz and Stacy Keibler
The Invasion storyline would see the Dudley Boyz join the Alliance due to their ECW ties. Stacy Keibler was the top female performer from WCW as a talented manager. The pairing of them together would lead to mixed results for the rest of the year.
Stacy added some charm to the act, but Bubba Ray and D-Von lost a lot of momentum. Fans were more interested in Keibler prancing around in the Dudley themed outfit than the wrestling of the brothers. Bubba Ray admitted on his Busted Open radio show that he had to tell Stacy to tone it down since she was losing their heel heat with the cheers.
4 Meat and Terri Runnels
Shawn Stasiak was surprisingly once viewed as a top prospect in the wrestling industry. The son of former WWE Champion Stan Stasiak received short runs in both WWE and WCW. WWE changed his name to Meat in 1998 with a strange gimmick.
Terri Runnels was the love interest and manager of Meat. The story was that Terri would wear out Meat before his matches causing him to get destroyed with ease. Runnels and the rest of her Pretty Mean Sisters faction tormented Meat for months before the run ended.
3 The Hardy Boyz and Michael Hayes
Michael Hayes always had a preference for Matt and Jeff Hardy as rising stars in the 90s. WWE would pair them together with Hayes becoming a manager for the Hardy Boyz to combat the trio of Edge, Christian, and Gangrel in The Brood.
The older Hayes failed to fit in with the Hardys and often looked silly trying to dress like them. Matt and Jeff didn’t have major success until WWE realized they were better off without Hayes. Lita eventually becoming their manager took the Hardy Boyz to another level as Team Xtreme.
2 Shelton Benjamin and Mama Benjamin
Shelton Benjamin is the classic instance of a wrestler that could have benefited from having a manager. The career of Benjamin would have found more success if someone like Paul Heyman or Jim Cornette was his full-time manager.
WWE instead hired an actress to play an embarrassing portrayal of his mother. Mama Benjamin would harass Shelton backstage trying to prepare him for his matches along with appearing ringside. The angle doomed Benjamin, as he was never able to build main event momentum.
1 Dolph Ziggler and Lana
The love story between Dolph Ziggler and Lana in 2015 led to both careers suffering a great deal. Lana and Rusev breaking up led to Lana receiving a huge face turn as the love interest and manager of Ziggler. Rusev moved into a new relationship with fellow heel Summer Rae.
Ziggler and Lana had zero chemistry with their segments often being viewed as the worst thing on Raw every week. The end of the run would see Lana return to the heel role with Rusev while Ziggler moved lower down the card. This showed how a bad manager/wrestler pairing can hurt both performers.