The missing mouthpiece in the ring
Modern wrestling has a glaring vacancy that nobody seems to want to fill. We have somehow traded in the iconic, sleazy, high-dollar manager for guys who just stand around holding a belt and pointing at things. Maria Kanellis-Bennett recently touched on this shift, and frankly, she is spot on.
We used to have Bobby Heenan or Paul Heyman, personalities who could carry an entire segment without ever throwing a punch. Now, the industry acts like the manager is a relic, an unnecessary line item on the budget. It has turned once-distinct characters into generic blank slates.
The math behind the disappearance
Managers did the heavy lifting before the bell even rang. They sold the stakes, handled the promos, and allowed the actual wrestlers to keep their mystique for the main event collision. When you strip that away, you force every worker to be a world-class talker, which just isn't how biology works.
There is a lazy logic circulating that managers clutter up the ring. In reality, they provide the necessary heat that allows a match to mean something more than just a choreographed sequence of moves. It is like trying to listen to a heavy metal band without a lead singer; you have the technical skill, but the story is totally lost.
Reframing the future of the gimmick
Kanellis-Bennett notes exactly how this evolution has hit the locker room. As Wrestling Inc reported, the role has been gutted to the point where the distinction between a valet, an agent, and a manager has almost vanished. We are seeing a 30 percent decline in dedicated manager screen time compared to the late nineties era.
The current product feels like a series of athletic tutorials rather than a blood feud. Without the outside interference or the verbal jabs, the psychology drops off a cliff. If the companies want to maintain interest, they need to stop booking guys to carry their own water.
A missed opportunity for storytelling
Booking committees seem afraid that a manager will outshine the talent. That is cowardice. A great manager makes a mid-card act look like a world champion through sheer force of rhetoric. We are starving for someone with the charisma of Maria Kanellis-Bennett or her contemporaries to actually sell a rivalry with words.
The reliance on social media to build feuds is exactly why current segments feel hollow. You cannot replace the physical presence of someone standing at ringside, screaming insults, and taking bumps. Wrestling is supposed to be theatrical, not a series of social media clips designed to appease algorithms. Bring back the sleaze, bring back the suits, and for heaven's sake, put a microphone in the hands of someone who knows how to use it.
