The captain and the brain: here they are folks, the 10 greatest managers in the history of wrestling

Wrestling Digest, August, 2003 by Mike Stokes

IT'S A CRYING SHAME THAT THE manager has become an endangered species in professional wrestling. Once as common as turnbuckles, managers were experts in the art of cheating. To gain any advantage, the best managers would distract the referee, slip their wrestler a foreign object, or dole out added punishment to a dazed and confused opponent.

Managers could draw as much venom from a crowd as any wrestler and often made boring matches fun to watch. The following list of the 10 greatest wrestling managers of all time honors the true masters of this lost art.

1. Bobby "the Brain" Heenan

Truly a legend of wrestling's old school and an inspiration to the new school, Heenan has managed a rogue's gallery of hall of fame heels from Superstar Billy Graham to Baron von Raschke. A master of the one-liner, Heenan drew as much heat as any of his wrestlers, routinely insulting the "humanoid" fans and feuding with popular wrestlers like Hulk Hogan and Dick the Bruiser. Nicknamed "the Weasel" for his propensity to wriggle out of sticky situations like contracts, debts, and promises, Heenan would lie, cheat, and steal to save his own skin. "The Brain," however, did take some bumps in his day, occasionally getting caught in the wrong corner. Though he eventually went on to become one of wrestling's most entertaining commentators, Heenan was in a class by himself as a manager. In the AWA Heenan's wrestlers--heavyweight champion Nick Bockwinkel and tag-team champions Jack Lanza and Bobby Dunkum--controlled the gold. At Wrestlemania III, Heenan accompanied Andre the Giant to the ring to battle Hogan. The Brain's only cramp came in his bid to turn the Brooklyn Brawler into a star. Even Albert Einstein couldn't figure out how to accomplish that.

2. Jimmy Hart

Possessing the least menacing physique in professional wrestling, the Mouth of the South's greatest weapon is the bullhorn that amplifies his annoying cackle. In fact, this pipsqueak seems to take his own life in his hands whenever he jumps on the apron, but the man knows talent. After a successful legitimate singing career with the Gentrys ("Keep on Dancing"), Hart began his ring tenure in Memphis as the manager of Jerry "the King" Lawler. He then took bizarre comedian and self-appointed inter-gender champion Andy Kaufman under his wing for a notorious feud with Lawler. He also guided the careers of legends like King Kong Bundy, Rick Rude, and the Honky Tonk Man, as well as forming alliances like the Dungeon of Doom and the First Family. Hart's greatest success, however, came as manager of the Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart), who won numerous tag-team belts in WWE.

3. Classy Fred Blassie

This dapper grappler had a reputation for being vicious and arrogant in the ring. As a manager, Blassie instilled those same values in the wrestlers he guided. The self-proclaimed "King of Men" tutored some of the game's greatest heels, including Jesse "the Body" Ventura, Adrian Adonis, and George "the Animal" Steele. He also seemed to specialize in foreign menaces, counting Killer Khan and Mr. Saito among his stable before leading Nikolai Volkoff and the Iron Sheik to tag-team titles. Blassie even turned a young pencil-neck geek named Terry Bollea into a promising young rule-breaker before Hulkamania ran wild. Now over 80 years old, Blassie remains a Hollywood fashion plate and venerable WWE legend.

4. Captain Lou Albano

Known as one of the most ruthless managers of the 1970s, the rubber-banded and rotund Albano assembled some of the most potent tag teams in WWE history. His greatest success came as manager of the Wild Samoans in the early '80s, before literally and figuratively becoming a cartoon during the heyday of rock & wrestling. But long before Cyndi Lauper robbed him of his status as a world class heel, motor-mouthed Captain Lou had already solidified his rightful place as one of the most colorful characters the sport has even seen.

5. Skandor Akbar

The snarling kingpin of Devastation Inc., Akbar presided over the wildest stable of talent ever assembled. He's managed the unmanageable, guiding misfits like Kamala, the Missing Link, Cactus Jack, One Man Gang, and Hercules Hernandez, to name a few. One of the most despised heels in the Mid-South region, Akbar was a Middle Eastern madman who thrived on seeing his wrestlers bloody opponents long after the bell, threw fire in the face of anyone who opposed him, and threatened American crowds with higher oil prices during the gas crunch of the '70s.

6. Missy Hyatt

Love her or hate her, Hyatt is impossible to ignore. Debuting as a valet for Hollywood John Tatum in the mid-'80s, it didn't take long for Gucci-loving Hyatt to shed her arm-candy designation and emerge as a bratty-but-ruthless manager who wasn't afraid to drill a spiked heel into the neck of one of her wrestlers' opponents. Showing both buns and balls of steel, the well-traveled Hyatt has left her mark on WCW, UWF, ECW, and WWE as one of the most-hated women in wrestling. Over the years, she has managed many top stars--including Sting, the Sandman, the Steiners, and former-husband "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert--balancing beauty, brains, and foreign objects better than anyone.