[19] Heenan had a parody talk show known as The Bobby Heenan Show, which was broadcast in four segments during the second half of WWF's regular weekly program Prime Time Wrestling. Everyone is talking about the "Champions Rumble" match signed for January 27th in the Astrodome in Houston Texas on Pay Per View. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff, King Kong Bundy, Andr the Giant, High Chief Sivi Afi, the Brain Busters (former Four Horsemen members Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard), "Ravishing" Rick Rude, "King" Harley Race, the Islanders (Haku and Tama), Hercules, The Barbarian, Mr. During his time with WWA, Heenan also appeared in a number of other promotions in the Midwest, one of them being Verne Gagnes American Wrestling Association (AWA) in Minnesota, which is where he first used The Brain nickname in 1969. Like many WWE stars of the '80s, Bobby Heenan started out in Verne Gagne's AWA. 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. When WCW Monday Nitro premiered in September 1995, Heenan left Saturday Night to work on the new show full-time and joined former Chicago Bears defensive lineman Steve McMichael as an analyst alongside play-by-play man Eric Bischoff. 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. While Bockwinkel was AWA Champion in 1976, Lanza and Duncum captured the AWA World Tag Team Championship, making Heenan the first manager in history to simultaneously manage both a major promotion's singles and tag team champions. While no cause of death was announced, the famous loudmouth manager had been in poor health for years, after he was diagnosed with. Charlotte Flair: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know. Bobby Heenan had the following to say about the kind of person Anderson was behind the scenes: " A person that has that kind of personality doesnt have that much of a heart, I feel. Hearing Heenan berate McGuirk makes me curious to the material he could have come up with for Lilian Garcia or Justin Roberts. Few people can make getting hurt look so funny. Bobby "The Brain" Heenan Vs. The original plan for Bobby Heenan in WWE was for him to manage Jesse The Body Ventura. 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. Unique lists featuring pop culture, entertainment and crazy facts. Heenan's speech at the 2004 WWE Hall of Fame was perfect Bobby. Heenan's head just about explodes when Luger starts to make his thighs quiver. Anderson admitted to releasing him but denied promising him indefinite employment. Raymond Louis Heenan (November 1, 1944 September 17, 2017) was an American professional wrestling manager, color commentator, wrestler, and comedian. Together they had a daughter, Jessica. 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. Bobby Heenan was born on 1 November 1944 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. More ACTION on WWE NETWORK : bit.ly/MobQRl Subscribe to WWE on YouTube: bit.ly/1i64OdT Visit the all-new WWE.com: bit.ly/visitwwe. He spent several years as a wrestler before heading down the path that made him the greatest manager and color commentator of all time. He ended up going to WCW, mostly because they offered a lighter schedule and better insurance. With a career spanning more than four decades, Bobby Heenan was the The Brain behind some of the most prolific Superstars in sports-entertainment history. [12], In early 1979, Heenan left the AWA (suspended one year, in storyline) to work in Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW). Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. [3] Shortly thereafter, he led the Brain Busters to win the WWF World Tag Team Championship. [3][12] Heenan said he was uninspired in WCW due to the negative work environment and due to conflicts with Schiavone. [7] In May 2016, he fell again and broke a hip. [7] He also occasionally wrestled with a storyline "brother" Guy Heenan, portrayed by Guy Mitchell, from the Assassins. Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, legendary professional wrestling manager and commentator, has died at the age of 73, according to multiple news sources. Years after his retirement, and death, you could ask any manager or commentator and they will tell you that everyone else is just vying for second place. All the heat he'd drawn over the years makes the moment that much better as fans were eager to watch him make a fool of himself, if not fall completely off the animal. Bobby Heenan managed Andre the Giant in WWE, but that wasnt the only time they spent working together. He's had tons of funnier moments, but few times has he so effortlessly shown off his ad lib skills. He expertly played a character, a snide weasel of a man we hated and loved just the same. [12] In the second half of January 2008, he had come out of his medically induced coma. Simply put, the man was an absolute genius, not only as a manager but as a wrestler and color commentator as well. [4][5][1] His father Robert Heenan was a railroad worker, and his mother Mildred Bernadette Kambrz was a hotel manager. The banter between the two was incredible as Heenan, as per usual, was the perfect heel to Monsoons babyface persona. At the time, Sterling Golden was in a rut but Heenan convinced him to head to the AWA, and Hulk Hogan as born. Heenan's lengthy line about Mooney's family tree is hard to appreciate on live television, but luckily for us, we can rewatch the video and catch all of it. Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum, Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame, "Bobby Heenan, Professional Wrestling Personality, Dies at 72", "Looking back at the illustrious career of Bobby 'The Brain' Heenan", "Bobby Heenan Passes Away At 72 Years Old", "Column: Remembering the time a fan shot at Bobby 'The Brain' Heenan", "Bobby Heenan: The wrestling manager Chicago loved to hate", "Former wrestling manager Bobby 'The Brain' Heenan dead at 73", "Bobby Heenan, greatest pro wrestling manager of all-time, dead at age 72 after long battle with throat cancer", "RIP: A life look at WWE Hall of Famer Bobby 'The Brain' Heenan", "WWE: History of the World Tag Team Championship", "Powell's WrestleMania 6 review: Hulk Hogan vs. WWE is saddened to learn that WWE Hall of Famer Bobby Heenan, regarded by many as the greatest manager in sports-entertainment history . [12] He was later frequently paired with Tony Schiavone. Heenan was instrumental in convincing McMichael to turn on his partner, which enabled Flair and Anderson to win the match, and fill the open spot in The Four Horsemen that Brian Pillman left behind when he departed from the company earlier in the year. [17] Demolition would win the titles back at WrestleMania VI. He passed away in 2017 following an extended battle with throat cancer. Bobby Heenan was born Raymond Louis Heenan in Chicago, IL. He was an actor, known for WrestleMania X-Seven (2001), Saturday Night's Main Event (1985) and WCW Bash at the Beach (1996). Evidently, McMahon instructed Heenan to create said havoc. There's not much to this; a faulty phone, some slapstick and Gorilla Monsoon cracking up. When Heenan left the company, the friends spent the night shedding tears in a hotel room because it was truly the end of an era. I think Ole Anderson is a piece of sh**. Fans couldn't know at the time that they wouldn't see "The Brain" back in the WWE for nearly a decade or know that they when he finally did return, throat cancer would have started to eat away at him. Bobby "The Brain" Heenan is widely considered the best manager in the history of professional wrestling. It was clear early in his career that his verbal skills far outshined his physical ones. WCW went out of business less than a year after his release. He placed a Bobby Heenan figure on Lettermans desk and after upsetting Letterman and producers, he clued them in that riling everyone up was McMahons idea. But when one fan met Heenan, he wound up with the experience and memory of a lifetime. Nonetheless, Heenan crossed the line to managing sporadically. I wish Monsoon were here, he tearfully said. Perfect to Intercontinental Championship success. Bobby Heenan is the type of guy you could listen to tell stories long into the night. A dark cloud hovers over the professional wrestling world today, as one of the most beloved characters in history has checked out way too soon. I never understood why Heenan had to share the spotlight at these roundtable segments with Hillbilly Jim and Hacksaw Jim Duggan. In the 1980s, Vince McMahon started poaching just about every single promotions top stars to bring to WWE and Bobby Heenan made the jump in 1984. However, he was back in the hospital once again in December 2009 after an exam showed that his reconstructed jaw had an infection. [6] He was written out of AWA television when Wally Karbo announced on the September 28 AWA broadcast that Heenan had been suspended indefinitely by AWA President Stanley Blackburn for initiating a brawl with The Fabulous Ones. Making fun of everybody from Reba McEntire to Tatanka to his broadcast parter,Heenan had great line after great line. Best Brain line: "Rolling around in grapes is very therapeutic.". Smith was specifically an enemy of Heenan since his strength was more powerful than Dynamite and it led to the manager feeling real pain after their spots together. He died on September 17, 2017. [9] In 1974, he left the WWA. The latest in the sports world, emailed daily. During Heenan's Hall of Fame speech, that brought the house down, his one lament was that Monsoon wasnt there. ", RIP Bobby Heenan pic.twitter.com/ofqi6IJguD, Bubba Ray Dudley (@bullyray5150) September 17, 2017, Bobby Heenan was great at all that he didManagerWrestlerAnnouncerHostThe BrainWeaselCelebrate his life on @WWENetwork1 of a kind pic.twitter.com/RdcVzUCmK4, Tommy Dreamer (@THETOMMYDREAMER) September 17, 2017. TIL Bobby Heenan used to smoke pot to calm down after seeing some of Vince's creative decisions back in the day As told on the new JR podcast with Conrad, Bobby would get so irate at having to put over characters like Repo Man on commentary, he and JR used to smoke the weeds after or during TV tapings. He somehow manages to sell the paper while trashing it. He referred to the fans as "humanoids", and fan favorites, especially enhancement talent, as "ham-and-eggers." Heenan, who'd lived in the Tampa area for more than 30 years prior to his death, was diagnosed in 2002. [12] In December 2009, Heenan was hospitalized after an examination of his rebuilt jaw found an infection that needed to be treated. The cause of death was multiple organ failure from complications of throat cancer. Bobby "The Brains" Heenan. Had he done it years later during the Attitude Era, it would have gone unnoticed. Managing so many of the superstars and being a fixture as a commentator, Heenan had forged many friendships with his co-workers. "The Brain," passed away at age 73. Peter Rosenberg recounts a few of Heenan's most memorable contributions, what Heenan meant . During his short tenure in GCW, Heenan managed a stable of wrestlers that included the likes of Killer Karl Kox, Masked Superstar, Ernie Ladd and Blackjack Lanza. Two guys walking around a museum and looking at horses, how's that entertainment? Heenan had one of the most prolific careers in wrestling history, bouncing between various wrestling promotions but always keeping his same character and putting in the same work ethic. Bobby "The Brain" Heenan -- a former wrestler, manager, announcer and WWE Hall of Famer -- has died . Perfect. 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.". The Undertakers Return: When Will the WWE Legend Return to TV? Bobby Heenan reminded everyone how entertaining he was by sharing details of his career, including thanking Harley Race for their time working together. As time went on, Heenan also began managing King Kong Bundy, who challenged Hulk Hogan for the WWE Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 2. And we loved smokin' weed. The legacy of Bobby Heenan sees him as arguably the greatest manager and color commentator in wrestling history. For a time, Heenan was unable to speak and had to communicate with his eyes. Seeing him post-managing and post-commentary on TV was a treat. [32], Starting in late January 2000, WCW replaced Heenan on Monday Nitro and pay-per-view events with Mark Madden. In addition to memorializing Monsoon, Heenan cracked jokes and told numerous stories about those superstars he managed and worked with over they years. Race was praised for being one of the toughest men in wrestling by Heenan. The Weasel tore up the paper and spat on the kid. He is legendary in the business for his skill in drawing heel heat for himself and his wrestlers, and for his masterful on-screen repartee with Gorilla Monsoonas a color commentator.
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