10 Criminally Underrated Wrestler/Manager Combos

10. AOP/Paul Ellering

authors of pain paul ellering
WWE.com

No, Drake Maverick hasn't aged suddenly due to excessive taunting about the fact he pee'd his wee panties. That's managerial guru Paul Ellering; as in the guy who coached The Road Warriors and tried to use that credibility to boost Akam and Rezar on NXT before Mav hit the scene.

He was doing pretty well at it too, only for Raw's writers to decide that Paul's experience edge was no longer needed when AOP were promoted to the main roster earlier this year.

Ellering's part in the tag-team's development should never be sniffed at. Before that little tyke Drake was being written to further Vince McMahon's obsession with toilet humour, the legendary ringsider gave AOP some presence. He was the manager of LOD before AOP, for crying out loud.

Maverick must surely appreciate Ellering's stint in charge of his (erm) charges. Look back to some of their earliest showings on NXT and it's clear to see that Paul was more than a superficial guiding light and that his troops might've been lost without him.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.