Valet

Valet and varlet are terms for male servants who serve as personal attendants to their employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, valet de chambre was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "valet" by itself most often refers to a normal servant responsible for the clothes and personal belongings of an employer, and making minor arrangements.

In the United States, the term most often refers to a parking valet.

Word origins

In English, valet as "personal man-servant" is recorded since 1567, though use of the term in the French-speaking English medieval court is older, and the variant form varlet is cited from 1456 (OED). Both are French importations of valet (the "t" being silent in modern French) or varlet, Old French variants of vaslet "man's servant", originally "squire, young man", assumed to be from Gallo-Romance Vulgar Latin *vassellittus "young nobleman, squire, page", diminutive of Medieval Latin vassallus, from vassus "servant", possibly cognate to an Old Celtic root wasso- "young man, squire" (source of Welsh gwas "youth, servant", Breton goaz "servant, vassal, man", Irish foss "servant"). See yeoman, possibly derived from yonge man, a related term.

Manager (professional wrestling)

A manager, in professional wrestling, is a secondary character paired with a wrestler (or wrestlers) for a variety of reasons; a female manager is usually called a valet. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the business (or a specific company) and needs the experience in front of the crowds. The wrestler that a manager manages is called his or her charge. A wrestler's manager has nothing to do with their real-world agent.

Role

A manager is somewhat like a storyline agent for an actor or an athlete; he helps his client to book matches and appearances, and otherwise works to further and guide their career. Within the context of storylines, the manager positions the charge for title opportunities, decides whom to trust as an ally, and generally acts as a mouthpiece on their wrestlers' behalf. Outside of storylines, a manager's job is to help the wrestler they're paired with get over. For this reason, managers are usually paired with wrestlers who the writers feel have great potential, but need a little help to the top. For example, if a wrestler can perform well in the ring, but lacks the gift of gab, a manager will cut promos for him. Often the very act of aligning with a manager, or conversely breaking away from a manager they've worked with, can change a wrestler's alignment, making them a sudden fan favorite or villain.