For many acts in pro wrestling — singles wrestlers, tag teams, and stables alike — a great manager can bring it all together, serving as a mouth-piece, a counterpoint, or simply a convenient way to put an end to a match. Alongside legends like “Classy” Freddie Blassie, J.J. Dillon and Jimmy Hart is “Precious” Paul Ellering, who was a pretty consistent presence at ringside for various wrestlers in WWE, WCW, and beyond from the early 1980s to about the year 2000.
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Well-dressed and often carrying a newspaper to keep track of his investments, Ellering offered a cerebral, shark-like vibe to the wrestlers he managed. Modern fans might be less aware of Paul Ellering’s accomplishments, so let’s take a look at his life and career, from time as an in-ring performer to more recent appearances, as well as the surprising sport he got involved in.
10 Trained By Verne Gagne
Born in Melrose, Minnesota, Paul Ellering’s major athletic undertaking was in powerlifting, where he actually set a record with a 745-pound deadlift. In the mid-1970s, Ellering decided to enter the pro wrestling game, and trained under Verne Gagne and Eddie Sharkey. Gagne, as many old-school fans may know, was the founder of the Minnesota-based American Wrestling Association, so it was only natural that Ellering made his debut there. But AWA wouldn’t be his only stomping grounds — Ellering would also perform for Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association and for Mid-South Wrestling.
9 Feuded With Jesse Ventura
Arguably the biggest feud of Paul Ellering’s career would be with Jesse Ventura, a fellow Minnesotan, albeit one that was billed as a Californian in kayfabe. Both men had impressive physiques, so in one iconic moment the rivals had a weightlifting contest that ended in violence as Ventura attacked Ellering moments before the latter was about to win, causing Ellering to be taken away on a stretcher. Their feud would last five months from May to October of 1979.
8 An Injury Forced A Career Change
Paul Ellering’s in-ring career only lasted five years thanks to a knee injury. The first major injury to it happened during a match with The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express’ Robert Gibson in 1982, but following injuries to it forced him to retire as a full-timer. However, Ellering was also a gifted talker, and Ole Anderson — who was booking Georgia Championship Wrestling at the time — decided to move him to a manager role.
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Paul Ellering formed an entire stable in The Legion of Doom, which featured Jake Roberts, King Kong Bundy, Matt Borne, and eventually The Road Warriors, Animal and Hawk.
7 Managed The Road Warriors
Before long, The Legion of Doom dissipated, but Paul Ellering continued to manage the Road Warriors in a partnership that would define Ellering’s career. “Precious Paul” would represent Hawk and Animal in the myriad promotions they showed up in, including the National Wrestling Alliance/WCW, the American Wrestling Association, and overseas in promotions like New Japan and All Japan, capturing titles pretty much everywhere they went. On top of that, Ellering managed the duo behind the scenes, booking flights and hotels as well as managing their finances.
6 Joined The Road Warriors In WWE
In 1990, The Road Warriors signed to WWE, where they were rechristened The Legion of Doom and proved to be a popular, dominant force in WWE. However, they spent their first couple of years without a manager, as Ellering was still under contract to WCW. Paul Ellering finally reunited with LOD in 1992 around WrestleMania 8, after which they took part in a regrettable angle where Hawk and Animal added a ventriloquist’s dummy named Rocco to their act, which was operated by Ellering.
5 Stepped Into The Ring After Retiring
While Paul Ellering retired as a full-time wrestler in 1982, the manager still stepped into the ring on occasion, usually in six-man tags alongside his clients, but also fought in the odd singles bout, including a Hair vs. Hair match against Teddy Long at WCW’s 1990 pay-per-view Capital Combat.
In 1987, Ellering competed in the very first War Games match, joining The Road Warriors, Dusty Rhodes, and Lex Luger against The Four Horsemen and their manager, J.J. Dillon. His final televised match would be at WWE’s In Your House 25: Judgment Day, in a six-man tag match against Animal and Hawk.
4 Managed The Disciples Of Apocalypse
In 1998 Paul Ellering returned to WWE, where he managed The Legion of Doom yet again — though at this point they were in their unsuccessful LOD 2000 incarnation. It wasn’t long before Ellering turned on his old clients in favor of the biker gang Disciples of Apocalypse, launching a feud between the two groups.
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However, Paul Ellering had difficulty playing heel against Hawk and Animal, and eventually reunited with LOD the following year. This run would come to an end in 1999 with the group’s departure from WWE.
3 Managed The Authors Of Pain
Paul Ellering largely stepped away from wrestling in 1999, but he enjoyed a brief career resurgence in the mid to late 2010s. In 2016, Ellering debuted in WWE’s developmental promotion NXT, managing a new group of dominant monsters, the Authors of Pain. Under Ellering, Akam and Rezar beat #DIY to capture the NXT Tag Team Title in early 2017, holding it for 203 days before losing them to SAnitY. Ellering would follow AOP to the main roster, but his clients would abruptly abandon him in their first first appearance on Raw.
2 Became A Dogsledder
Starting in the early 1990s, Paul Ellering began to venture into the sport of dog sledding, not only competing as a dog musher but also by raising huskies of his own. In the year 2000, he achieved a major milestone for mushers by taking part in the Iditarod, a 1,000-mile race across Alaska. He took part in the 2000 and 2006 races as a competitor, and in 2005 as a “visual interpreter” for legally blind competitor Rachel Scdoris. Ellering even wrote about his experiences in the book Wrestling the Iditarod.
1 Ellering’s Daughter Is A Wrestler
Paul Ellering may not be as active in the wrestling world as he used to be, but his daughter is carrying on the family business. Trained by Lance Storm and with a powerlifting background herself, Rachael Ellering made her in-ring debut in 2015, and went on to compete in the 2017 and 2018 Mae Young Classic tournaments for WWE under the ring name Rachael Evers. After a brief stint signed to WWE, the younger Ellering moved on to Impact Wrestling, where she captured the Knockouts Tag Team Championship with Jordynne Grace.
