Today's pro wrestling landscape is lacking something that made the '80s and early '90s truly special: managers. In previous eras of pro wrestling, managers were a hot commodity. Many times, a great athlete who was a terrible talker could be salvaged by being paired with a manager.

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Pro wrestling's Golden Era saw some of the best wrestler-manager pairings in the sport's history. Guys like Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, Jimmy Hart, and Mr. Fuji often had a stable of wrestlers they managed. Managers would even trade wrestlers on occasion back then. Considering all the moving parts, it's understandable that some fans might've forgotten these random wrestler-manager pairings from WWE's Golden Era.

10 Dino Bravo & Frenchy Martin

In 2021, Dark Side of the Ring aired an episode centered around the interesting career and unsolved murder of Dino Bravo. The episode garnered a lot of attention and reinserted Bravo into the echo chamber of pro wrestling chatter. It's fair to say that after watching the episode, many fans went back and watched some of Bravo's work in WWE.

Fans focusing on his early days in WWE might be surprised to see him being managed not by Jimmy Hart but by Frenchy Martin. Martin was a former wrestler who WWE stuck with a French gimmick to get heat. Bravo was Frenchy Martin's most high-profile client ever and their run together didn't last long.

9 The Beverly Brothers & The Genius

Unfortunately, throughout pro wrestling history, there have been more than a few instances of blatant nepotism in various promotions including Mid South Wrestling, Jim Crockett Promotions, and even WWE. Oddly enough though, Lanny Poffo aka The Genius never really got much of a rub from being "Macho Man" Randy Savage's younger brother.

For most of his WWE career, The Genius was a lower mid-card performer and a manager. During his time in the company, The Genius managed Mr. Perfect for a while and even The Beverly Brothers. The latter is often forgotten by fans since The Beverly Brothers weren't exactly a high-profile team.

8 Bam Bam Bigelow & Oliver Humperdink

At times, pro wrestling fans can surprise bookers and promoters. Sometimes, there's no real logical explanation as to why some things get over with fans and why some others don't. At times, the audience can get totally behind something surprising. The head-scratching pairing of Bam Bam Bigelow and Sir Oliver Humperdink was definitely not one of those scenarios.

From the start, fans seemed to be confused by Bam Bam's association with the flamboyant Humperdink. At first glance, Bam Bam looked like a nasty heel. The fact that he wasn't was confusing enough without having to wonder what in the world he was doing with a character like Humperdink. When Bam Bam and Humperdink eventually parted ways, it only helped Bam Bam.

7 The Powers Of Pain & The Baron

Baron Von Raschke is a name that many modern-day pro wrestling fans aren't too familiar with. Particularly, fans that grew up watching mostly WWE programming during the '80s and '90s. Von Raschke was more of a familiar face in the AWA, NWA, and the old WWWF territory that was run by Vincent J. McMahon. He was a former amateur wrestler who eventually took on a German persona.

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In 1988, Von Raschke had a very brief stint in WWE as "The Baron." Von Raschke would wear a robe with a hood that covered part of his face similar to Darth Sidious from Star Wars. He would briefly manage The Powers of Pain before leaving the company and returning to the AWA.

6 The Bolsheviks & Slick

The '80s, and to a lesser extent the early '90s, were the golden age of managers, especially in WWE. One managerial name that is often forgotten and overlooked by fans is "The Doctor of Style" Slick. "The Slickster" arrived in WWE in 1986 and eventually inherited "Classy" Freddie Blassie's heel stable.

Slick would go on to manage some big names during his time in WWE including, Big Boss Man, Akeem, Rick Martel, and surprisingly, even The Bolsheviks. On paper, the pairing of an urban manager with the presumably Russian team doesn't make sense, but luckily the paring didn't last terribly long. Either way, Slick remains grossly underrated for his work during WWE's Golden Era.

5 Dusty Rhodes & Sapphire

Over the years, Vince McMahon has developed a reputation for being rather petty. McMahon's biggest detractors point to Dusty Rhodes as the best evidence to support their claims. In Jim Crockett Promotions, Rhodes was arguably the top babyface and the driving creative force behind the company.

When Rhodes made the jump to WWE in 1990, many fans wondered exactly how McMahon would treat one of the competition's biggest stars. Unfortunately for Rhodes, McMahon did everything in his power to discredit him as a main event star. Aside from the silly ring attire, McMahon paired one of the best talkers in wrestling history with a forgettable manager like Sapphire who served very little purpose in getting Rhodes over.

4 Kamala & Slick

In the '80s, big nasty heels were at a premium in WWE. In other promotions, big nasty heels were still coveted but not like in WWE. With the NWA having a heel World Champion in Ric Flair, they were more in need of sympathetic babyfaces. In WWE though, Hulk Hogan needed new monster heels to continually conquer. Kamala fit that bill to a tee.

Hogan and Kamala did great business working together during the '80s. After some time away from WWE, Kamala returned in the early '90s, right at the tail end of the Golden Era. Upon returning, Kamala was turned babyface, breaking away from Harvey Wippleman and Kim Chee. Kamala would be paired with Slick, who was also newly a babyface after becoming a reverend in real life. Their pairing was brief but had some fun high points.

3 The Brooklyn Brawler & Bobby "The Brain" Heenan

Some topics in pro wrestling are open for debate. After all, not everyone is going to always have the same opinion. However, there's one fact in pro wrestling that is pretty universally accepted. It's that Bobby "The Brain" Heenan is the greatest manager of all time. There have been other great managers throughout the years like Paul Heyman and Jim Cornette. However, nobody can argue against Heenan.

RELATED: 10 Best Wrestlers Managed By Bobby Heenan Ranked

What some fans might forget about Heenan's illustrious managing career though is that he briefly managed The Brooklyn Brawler. On the road to WrestleMania 5, Heenan would introduce The Red Rooster as his client. When he and Rooster had a falling out, Heenan recruited The Brooklyn Brawler to help, making The Brooklyn Brawler a member of The Heenan Family, if only for a quick second.

2 Mr. Perfect & The Coach

In the late '80s, Curt Hennig hit the scene in WWE as Mr. Perfect and never looked back. Hennig was a former AWA World Champion but was enjoying his greatest career success and exposure in WWE. For most of his WWE career, Hennig was managed by the legendary Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. However, that wouldn't always be the case.

In 1991, Perfect began being accompanied to the ring by a P.E. teacher look-alike simply called "The Coach." The Coach was even in Hennig's corner for his epic encounter with Bret "The Hitman" Hart at SummerSlam 1991. It's fair to say that fans preferred Mr. Perfect as part of The Heenan Family.

1 Demolition & "Luscious" Johnny V

Demolition is one of the greatest tag teams ever and arguably the greatest WWE tag team of all time. What many casual wrestling fans don't realize though is that only one-third of the original Demolition equation survived the cutting room floor, Ax. The original trio featured Moondog Rex playing the role of Smash.

Perhaps even more shocking though was the man who originally managed the team, "Luscious" Johnny V. Many fans have the image of Demolition and Mr. Fuji burned into their memories, but it was actually Johnny V who originally introduced the wrestling world to the team. It's interesting to wonder how well Demolition would've done with Johnny V at the helm instead of Fuji.