5 former WWE in-ring stars who should return as a manager in 2021
In a recent interview, former WWE in-ring talent and current on-air personality Booker T was asked if he would be interested in returning as a manager shortly. The WWE legend claimed that he felt as though his in-ring (and ringside) career was over, and is now more interested in training the next generation of WWE Superstars and passing on his wrestling knowledge.
In WWE, there are multiple stars who were once in-ring talent could transition to a role as a manager in 2021. Adding an established WWE star as a manager to an up-and-coming star would be a great way to cement them as a big deal on either the RAW or SmackDown roster. Or it would be a means of changing up the character of an already well-known performer.
Here are five former in-ring WWE stars who could become managers in 2021.
#5 Shane McMahon
Shane McMahon has been on WWE programming since 1988, starting as a referee aged eighteen. He became more prominent in WWE ten years later in 1998, as a part of The Corporation, and later became an in-ring talent.
In 2016, Shane McMahon became the commissioner of SmackDown Live and appointed Daniel Bryan as the General Manager of the brand. Shortly after this, McMahon also began competing in the ring again and faced AJ Styles at WrestleMania 33.
Following this, the star feuded with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn for quite a while, before partnering with The Miz to win The WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championships at the 2019 Royal Rumble. They later lost these titles at Elimination Chamber the same year, and McMahon turned on The Miz at Fastlane, setting up a WrestleMania match between the pair.
Shane McMahon managed to defeat The Miz in a Falls Count Anywhere Match at WrestleMania 35, and after this, he moved on to a brief rivalry with Roman Reigns, and then Kevin Owens.
By the time of SmackDown's 20th Anniversary, McMahon was "fired" after Kevin Owens defeated him in a ladder match.
Most recently, Shane McMahon appeared on RAW as the host of the short-lived RAW Underground. It would be great to see McMahon appear on either RAW or SmackDown in 2021 as a manager. The star has been an integral on-screen personality of WWE TV for most of his life and has the charisma and ability to build a new WWE star or boost the profile of an existing one.