PWI Weekly for June 16, 2025
Managerial Madness: Paul Heyman, Pollo Del Mar, Personal Concierge
BEHIND EVERY GOOD grappler, there stands a great manager.
At least, that’s what managers would have you believe. And, truth be told, we can’t say we disagree.
For that reason, in this edition of the PWI Weekly, we are saluting those managerial superstars. If you ever looked at a tennis racquet and thought you could be the next Jim Cornette instead of the next Roger Federer, then this PWI Weekly is for you.
MANAGER OF THE WEEK
Manager of The Dangerous Alliance. Advocate for Brock Lesnar. Special Counsel to Roman Reigns. Any of these roles alone would be enough to earn plaudits as a manager extraordinaire. The fact that one man has been all of them … well, that’s pretty special.
Now, Paul Heyman is doing it again. Never content to rest on reputation, the Machiavellian mastermind has assembled a group of top talents in what may be his most formidable alliance since that dangerous one of the early-1990s. With Seth Rollins, Bron Breakker, and Bronson Reed, Heyman has a super-stable of clients capable of controlling WWE for years to come.
Of course, putting together such a formidable group has not come without cost. In the process, Heyman has sacrificed friendships and business pairings with the likes of CM Punk and Roman Reigns. Shocking as it was to see those bonds torn apart, it really shouldn’t surprise us. Heyman has made a career out of self-preservation, and it’s hard to say this is anything but that.
A kinder analysis, however, would be that Heyman has always had an eye for talent. Especially emerging talent. Since 1991—when he first saw promise in a young “Stunning” Steve Austin—Paul E. has had his finger on the pulse of the business. Given his almost clairvoyant ability to predict who will be the next major players in the industry, don’t be surprised to see Heyman’s current trio of charges do just that. Instead, be sure that Heyman will play a major role in their rise to power.
HOTSEAT INTERVIEW
PWI: So, Pollo Del Mar, what have you been up to recently?
DEL MAR: As much as I love being ringside, my attention of late has been directed to the broadcast booth. I recently joined the commentary teams for NWA New Mexico: Duke City Championship Wrestling, Northern California’s Underground Wrestling Alliance, and GCW’s EFFY’s Big Gay Brunch X. It’s not only a tremendous use of unique insight, it’s also an outstanding vantage point to scout my next breakthrough client!
PWI: The theme of last week’s edition of the PWI Weekly was wrestling villains. You write a PWI column called “On Heels” celebrating those very people. What is it about being bad that’s so good?
DEL MAR: It’s so freeing! It takes most competitors far too long to realize they owe fans nothing. Audience expectations are a constantly moving finish line many never reach. Constant pandering for acceptance from fickle audiences who discard favorites on a whim—and the desire to be liked by largely undeserving people who don’t even like themselves—is a waste of precious time and energy that a competitor can better use to advance their careers and become champion. A specialty of mine is helping clients realize this much more quickly!
PWI: Is there a particular moment or person in wrestling that drew you to “the dark side?”
DEL MAR: While I am a lifelong fan of Jim Cornette and The Midnight Express, the moment which “changed me” happened in Mid-South Wrestling. During one altercation between Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Television Champion Dick Slater, Slater’s legendary valet Dark Journey sprayed Jake in the face with a substance. A blinded Jake “accidentally” DDT’d her. Though he allegedly thought it was Slater, many questioned how the crowd favorite didn’t realize the difference. I had a very different reaction. What if, in that moment, Jake simply didn’t care what fans would think? What if he did what was best for himself, no matter how others might react? It opened my mind to the realization that those fans were there to cheer and judge, but not a single one was going to help. So, he did what he had to do to survive and get ahead. I’ve never seen wrestling the same since.
PWI: Who’s your favorite wrestling villain right now?
DEL MAR: Though we parted on less-than-stellar terms, people are sleeping on “The Thrillbilly” Silas Mason in the National Wrestling Alliance. His growth and maturation as a competitor—and the unrepentant violence which allowed him to recently break Bryan Idol’s collarbone during a match—make Silas a bona fide threat to the NWA World’s heavyweight title. I love seeing a competitor I have always believed in finally start to come into his own.
PWI: What’s coming up for Pollo Del Mar for the rest of the year?
DEL MAR: My schedule is always changing and evolving, with tour dates across the country being added all the time. I’m particularly excited to make my wrestling debut in Alaska in mid-July, and, of course, continue my relationships with Duke City Championship Wrestling in Albuquerque and San Francisco Bay Area Underground Wrestling Alliance. And I am very definitely looking to rebuild a stable of clients to lead to championship glory anywhere across the country and around the world.
PWI: Where can PWI Weekly readers keep up with you?
DEL MAR: Naturally, I can be found on all social media platforms—with X/Twitter (@TheGlamazonPDM) being my most active wrestling platform. I go live several nights a week on TikTok (@PolloDelMarFans). And every Saturday, I cohost Pope’s Point of View, a wrestling podcast with former WWE and TNA star Elijah Burke, which is available on all your favorite podcasting platforms.
SPOTLIGHT ON …
The Personal Concierge is accused of being a lot of things in TNA: annoying, smarmy, and unbearable, to name just a few. What can’t be denied, however, is that he is also one of modern wrestling’s best managers. With his gaudy jackets and overbearing attitude, he is a throwback to great seconds of the 1980s, but also modern in his approach. Recently, he has led Ash & Heather By Elegance to Knockouts tag team gold—and played a large part in them being able to hold onto said gold. During that time, he has also grown and expanded the Elegance stable. All of this has, of course, done wonders for his own resume.
While it’s true that the job of a pro wrestling manager isn’t as in-demand as it once was, as long as people like The Personal Concierge are around, the role will live on.
TERRITORIAL DISSINGS
We mentioned a certain tennis racquet-wielding manager earlier. And here he is at his fiery best. In this classic interview from Smoky Mountain Wrestling, Jim Cornette gives an impassioned diatribe about the danger that awaits The Rock ’n’ Roll Express at the hands of The Heavenly Bodies.
Cornette’s promos were always top notch…the barbed wire inside the steel cage however, to pull a line from the man himself, was like putting a hat on top of a hat 😉