They had a different level of commitment for the business and approached life in very different ways. Tony Shiavonne and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan talk about the very first ever Best Of The Best pay per view set for Super Saturday the weekend of Super Bowl XXX. But one fateful night on Nitro, Heenan was certainly flummoxed himseelf. Heenan finally managed his first champion in the WWF when "Ravishing" Rick Rude upset The Ultimate Warrior for the WWF Intercontinental Championship, a match Heenan ensured Rude would win by holding Warrior's leg down so he could not break the pin. Daniel Bryan (@WWEDanielBryan) September 17, 2017. There are many things fans might not know about Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. During a time when idealistic hero worship was the norm, Heenan viewed things in a way that would shape the industry decades later. Members of the Heenan Family included many WWE Hall of Famers, including Nick Bockwinkel, the Blackjacks, Big John Studd, King Kong Bundy, Ravishing Rick Rude, Mr. We got to know each other and love each other. From there, Heenan managed some of wrestlings biggest stars and appeared on the TV screen with legends such as Andre the Giant. [14], In late 1979, Heenan returned to AWA and resumed managing Nick Bockwinkel to renewed championship success, including against Hogan in 1983. Perfect played well off Heenan, even if he was just laughing at Heenan's jokes. It was here that Heenan first met Hulk Hogan, who he recommended to Gagne, and his long-running feud with the Hulkster began after Heenan returned to the AWA. At WrestleMania 20, Heenan made a return to the commentators table with Okerlund. Bruce Prichard revealed that Heenan hated working with Patera due to his stiff nature in the ring: "Ken was just so damn strong and you know Kenny was Kenny and worlds strongest man at the time. Related: Mandy Rose & 9 Other Ladies Who Got Better With A Heel Turn. Leave it to Bobby Heenan to take a silly joke like telling kids that Santa Claus isn't real and turn it into a face-reddening spectacle. Perfect, The Red Rooster, and The Brooklyn Brawler. While he was always treated with great respect and reverence WWE, Bobby Heenan was looking to not only get off the road, but get insurance, and perhaps a pension plan. Heenan wouldnt have to do house shows and was able to be closer to his daughter, who was in college at the time. He popped off joke after joke, having almost as much fun as the fans. Best Brain line: "When a man gets on the plane at seven in the morning and he's 7'5'' and he weighs 550 and he's tanked, don't give him tools.". Not only does Heenan smear humor over every. ", or a sarcastic, "Please! [13], Heenan made appearances as a guest on various television shows, including: Family Feud, Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon, Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, The Arsenio Hall Show, and The Dennis Miller Show. [3] Shortly thereafter, he led the Brain Busters to win the WWF World Tag Team Championship. He also replaced Ventura to team up with Monsoon on the syndicated All-Star Wrestling, which was replaced in the fall of 1986 with Wrestling Challenge. He was known for having many comedic moments on TV broadcasts and pay-per-views alongside Gorilla Monsson and Okerlund. Bobby "The Brain" Heenan was one of the best to ever do it. The low class of Warrior featured him making statements about Heenan deserving cancer later in his life. "[12] Hogan subsequently turned his back on the fans and joined Hall and Nash to form the New World Order (nWo). Perfect Curt Hennig, the Brain Busters (Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard), Harley Race, and Andre the Giant. Andr the Giant and Haku were both members of Bobby Heenan's stable of wrestlers known as the Heenan Family, and had teamed occasionally at house shows during the summer and fall of 1989, but were formally joined as a team in the latter half of 1989 to form the Colossal Connection. [3], On January 25, 1975, an angry fan fired a gun at Heenan in Chicago's International Amphitheatre after Heenan interfered in one of Bockwinkel's matches. Heenan thrilled pro wrestling audiences for four decades before retiring in 2001 and his life took a drastic turn soon after as he was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2002 and battled a number of health issues for the next 15 years before passing away in 2017. Throughout his entire career, Bobby Heenan was quick-witted, as he acted flummoxed in the face of his enemies. For a time, Heenan was unable to speak and had to communicate with his eyes. Multiple wrestling commentators have described him as the greatest professional wrestling manager of all time. In a funny Prime Time Wrestling segment, Bobby Heenan tries to buy a horse from a shady character at the Kentucky Derby Museum. Im just happy the last words I said to him were, "I love you Bobby. [20] At WrestleMania IV, he teamed with The Islanders to defeat The British Bulldogs and Koko B. Riding in backwards on a camel doesn't sound all that funny on paper, but Heenan turns it into a masterful performance. Heenan plied his trade as their mischievous manager by running his mouth on their behalf with a sarcastic wit considered among the best in the business. Heenan felt that they took liberties with him and tried to hurt him. It had been reported that Heenan had been battling A decent Shawn Michaels and Tito Santana match, a blas Rick Martel and Tatanka match as well as Bret Hart and Roddy Piper battling it out for the Intercontinental title wouldn't have been the same without the Brain. The legacy of Bobby Heenan sees him as arguably the greatest manager and color commentator in wrestling history. [39] Despite declining health in his final years, Heenan continued to make appearances at fan conventions. Just got word that Bobby had a successful surgery and all is good. Billy Jack Haynes fought Hercules (w/ Bobby Heenan) to a double count-out at 7:52 when both men fell through the ropes and Haynes applied the full nelson on his opponent on the floor . However, he was back in the hospital once again in December 2009 after an exam showed that his reconstructed jaw had an infection. [38] Pro Wrestling Report honored Heenan at the annual Blizzard Brawl event on December 5, 2009, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as he was given their Lifetime Achievement Award. [12], Heenan reformed the Heenan Family,[3] which over the years in the WWF would include Studd, "Olympic Strong Man" Ken Patera, "Playboy" Buddy Rose, "Mr. While he was certainly one of the most well-known stars of the AWA, once he came to the WWE, he was thrust into absolute Superstardom. Eventually, he got his start as a pro in Dick the Bruiser's . [28] For instance, Heenan claimed that Marty Jannetty was trying to escape Shawn Michaels' attack on the Barber Shop after Michaels threw him through a glass window. Despite all the health concerns, Heenan still efforts to attend scheduled independent wrestling shows, autograph sessions and conventions. He seems like it might either have a seizure or fall out of his chair from laughing. [7] This impressed promoter Sam Muchnick, who typically hated wrestling managers, and Heenan is believed to be the only heel manager to work in Muchnick's St. Louis Wrestling Club. She was the Brain's comedic muse, inspiring some of his best one-liners. The 2004 WWE Hall of Fame induction wasnt put out there in the same way as future classes, but it featured an all-time great speech. Heenan criticized WCW on multiple occasions for doing things that harmed Goldbergs magic as the most unstoppable wrestler. 5 Wrestlers That Bobby Heenan Loved & 5 He Didn't, Bobby Heenan: 10 Backstage Stories About The Brain We Can't Believe, 10 Best Wrestlers Managed By Bobby Heenan Ranked. In 1986, Heenan managed King Kong Bundy in his main event bout at WrestleMania 2. He started his professional wrestling career at the World Wrestling Association in Indianapolis in 1967. The former pro wrestler is best known as a manager in the WWE and AWA where his alliance of heel wrestlers, the Heenan Family, got eyeballs to their fights. Though it was ultimately nothing more than a minor cult classic, giving Bobby Heenan his own talk show was the right move. Two years later, he was hospitalized when his rebuilt jaw became infected. [6], After being derided by announcers for his first five years in the WWF (mostly by Gorilla Monsoon) for never managing a champion, WrestleMania V was promoted (mostly by Jesse Ventura and later Gorilla Monsoon) as Heenan's quest, and best chance since WrestleMania III to manage a champion. He is known by his nickname Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and spent time in the American Wrestling Association, World Wrestling Federation . But on this instance, he kept asking the couple to back up, until they backed up right into the fountain, and thats when Bobby took the picture. Heenan was so good on Prime Time, in fact, that the WWF decided to experiment in 1989 by taking the last half hour of the two-hour show and turning it into The Bobby Heenan Show, a talk show where . Heenan viewed Warrior as one of the most unprofessional and disrespectful people he ever encountered in the wrestling business. [33], On April 1, 2001, Heenan returned to the WWF and provided commentary to the Gimmick Battle Royal match at WrestleMania X-Seven alongside "Mean" Gene Okerlund. [12], Heenan was married to the former Cynthia Jean Perrett (known as Cindy) from June 21, 1978, until his death. His last WWE appearance ever was on the June 11, 2007 episode of Monday Night RAW on McMahon Appreciation Night., Kurt Angle & Jason Jordan: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, "I don't look at myself as a hero or smart person. In his younger days, he dropped out of eight grade to support his mother and grandmother. [40] WWE Hall of Fame commentator Jim Ross selected Heenan as the greatest talent in the history of the wrestling business. While most of the AWA talent left for the WWF during this time without giving proper notice (the AWA required departing talent to work a six-week notice for booking and syndication-based reasons, with most talent claiming that WWF promoter Vince McMahon paid them extra not to work out their notices with the AWA), only Heenan worked out his notice in good faith to the Gagne family. [17] Demolition would win the titles back at WrestleMania VI. Powered by. Right out there and back.". Throat cancer has tried to take away one of wrestling's great voices, but it can never touch these clips and these memories. On a recent episode of What Happened When Mondays, Tony Schiavone spoke about why Bobby Heenan held such resentment toward him for so long. 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