9 WWE Stars Who Just Needed The Right Manager To Get Over Huge

8. Dean Malenko

The general perception of Dean Malenko is that he was a technically-proficient but ultimately bland wrestler. He could exchange hammerlocks and suplexes with the best of them but, when it came to projecting himself as a superstar in promos and segments, he never could quite do it well enough. He had his moments, sure, most of them in WCW. The most over Dean Malenko ever was during his entire career was when he unmasked(he was masquerading as Ciclope) at WCW Slamboree 1998 and took on Chris Jericho in a long-awaited grudge match. The roof just about came off the damn building for 'The Man of 1,000 Holds'. Malenko never really reached those heights in WWE, spending most of his time chasing the low-priority Light Heavyweight and European titles and making up the numbers in multi-man Radicalz tag matches. WWE tried to make his character a little more interesting with the whole ladies man/007 angle, but it just never really got over. Malenko quietly retired soon after. It's odd that Malenko was such a bore as an on-screen personality, since he was reportedly one of the funniest guys in the locker room. The Iceman was renowned for his quick-wit and for always having a one-liner or a light-hearted putdown ready, but his backstage charisma was never replicated in front of the camera. Perhaps if Malenko had a manager, someone he could trade quips and barbs with, he might have gotten over more and had a better run in the company. And no, Terri Runnels does not count...