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Bobby "The Brain" Heenan (born Raymond Louis Heenan November 1, 1944 in Chicago, Illinois), is an American professional wrestling manager and commentator. 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 Monsoon as a color commentator.

Career

Early career

Always a fan of wrestling, Heenan started in the wrestling profession early on, carrying bags and jackets for the wrestlers, and selling refreshments at the events. Heenan entered the wrestling business as a wrestler in 1965 as "Pretty Boy" Bobby Heenan, a cowardly heel. Self-taught, he was a gifted wrestler but did not have the drive to stay in "wrestling shape", however his talent for giving promos led to some early success. He quickly found that his talent was not as a wrestler, but as a manager. At the time, heels were often given managers to speak for them in interviews, rile up the crowd during matches, and cheat on their behalf. Heenan, dumping the "Pretty Boy" moniker for Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, went on to manage some of the most successful wrestlers in the world, creating The Heenan Family, a stable that would exist (in several different reincarnations and wrestling promotions) for over 20 years.

The American Wrestling Association

Heenan started in the American Wrestling Association (AWA) as a manager for Nick Bockwinkel and Ray "The Crippler" Stevens, a duo which became several-time AWA Tag Team Champions under Heenan's leadership. The AWA was the starting point for Heenan's first Heenan Family, which consisted of Bockwinkel, Stevens, Bobby Duncum Sr., and Blackjack Lanza. In 1975, with Heenan in his corner, Bockwinkel captured his first of several AWA Championships, ending the 7-year reign of perennial champion Verne Gagne. While Bockwinkel was AWA champion, in 1976, Lanza and Duncum captured the AWA Tag Team Championship, making Heenan the first manager in history to simultaneously manage both a major promotion's singles and tag team World Champions.

In early 1979, Heenan left the AWA to work in the National Wrestling Alliance's Georgia Championship Wrestling group. He returned in late 1979 and resumed managing Nick Bockwinkel to renewed championship success, including against a young up-and-coming challenger named Hulk Hogan in 1983.

The World Wrestling Federation

In 1984, Vince McMahon, Jr. lured Heenan away from the AWA to manage Jesse "The Body" Ventura; however, after Ventura contracted blood clots in his lungs, he was forced to end his active wrestling career. Heenan instead became Big John Studd's manager for his feud with André the Giant, and he soon reformed the Heenan Family. Over Heenan's WWF career, the Heenan Family included Studd, Ken Patera, "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff, King Kong Bundy, André the Giant, The Brain Busters (former Horsemen members Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard), "Ravishing" Rick Rude, Harley Race, The Islanders (Haku and Tama), Hercules, The Barbarian, Mr. Perfect, Terry Taylor, and The Brooklyn Brawler. As a manager, he was always one of the most hated men, often the most hated man, in the promotion.

Heenan and the Heenan Family had a monumental feud with wrestling icon Hulk Hogan in the 80's, and Heenan managed two WrestleMania challengers to Hogan's title, "King Kong" Bundy in 1986, and André the Giant in 1987. The 1987 edition of WrestleMania, WrestleMania III, set a record for the largest indoor attendance of a sporting event in the world. André did not win the title at that time, but later bested Hogan for the championship in 1988 in a controversial win after he aligned himself with "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase.

Heenan eventually managed several WWF Tag Team Champions, including The Colossal Connection (Andre and Haku), and The Brain Busters. He also managed Rick Rude and later Mr. Perfect to the Intercontinental Championship, and introduced the "Real World Heavyweight Champion" (then-NWA World Champion) Ric Flair to the WWF in 1991. He acted as an advisor and sometime manager to Flair during his first WWF run (and coined the phrase, "That's not fair to Flair").

In 1986, Heenan became a color commentator in addition to his managing duties. He replaced Jesse Ventura on Prime Time Wrestling, aired on the USA Network, teaming up with Gorilla Monsoon. He also replaced Ventura to team up with Monsoon on the syndicated All Star Wrestling.

That show was replaced in the fall of '86 with "Wrestling Challenge." Heenan and Monsoon's usually-unscripted banter, with Heenan as the instigator and Monsoon as the voice of reason was very entertaining, and inspired many classic moments. Heenan, calling himself a "broadcast journalist" despite his obvious slant toward heel wrestlers, referred to his audience as "humanoids."

Heenan left the WWF towards the end of 1993, both to lighten his travel schedule and because Vince McMahon asked him to take a 50% pay cut. He was given an on-air farewell by Gorilla Monsoon who, pretending to be fed up by Heenan's insults, threw him and his belongings out of the arena.

He soon signed on with World Championship Wrestling.

World Championship Wrestling

In WCW, Heenan ended his managing career to focus on commentary full-time. He served as color commentator on WCW flagship shows Monday Nitro and Thunder, as well as the Clash of the Champions specials and many pay-per-views. Heenan was largely uninspired in WCW due to the negative work environment, which he would later describe as night and day compared to the WWF. However, Heenan was still engaging in his Brain persona. At one notable Clash of the Champions event broadcast live on TBS in 1996, Heenan screamed, "What the fuck are you doing?" when Brian Pillman grabbed him by his injured neck during Pillman's "loose cannon" gimmick. Heenan would return to the air later on and apologize for his audible cursing on air. The language was edited out of all WCW tapes, and can only be heard if one taped the actual event that aired. Heenan made one brief return to ringside at the 1996 edition of the Great American Bash, leading Ric Flair and Arn Anderson to victory over Steve McMichael and Kevin Greene.

Toward the end of 1999, WCW began replacing Heenan on its weekly telecasts, as well as on pay-per-views. WCW management then declared Heenan was working too infrequently for his salary, and he was released by WCW in November 2000.

Post-WCW career

Heenan kept busy after being let go by WCW, providing commentary to the Gimmick Battle Royal match at WrestleMania X-Seven and lending his talents to smaller promotions. In January 2002, Heenan announced on his website that he was battling throat cancer:

Heenan has since largely recovered from throat cancer, but lost a great deal of weight, dramatically changing his appearance, and suffered a drastically changed voice.

He has written two career memoirs, 2002's Bobby The Brain: Wrestling's Bad Boy Tells All, which includes an introduction by Hulk Hogan and 2003's Chair Shots & Other Obstacles: Winning Life's Wrestling Matches. Both books were co-written by Steve Anderson.

In 2004, Heenan was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame shortly before WrestleMania XX. In his acceptance speech, he paid tribute to his late broadcast partner, saying "I wish Monsoon were here."

Heenan is still involved in wrestling on a limited basis, giving interviews and making sporadic appearances. In 2004 he returned to the spotlight, feuding with fellow managerial legend Jim Cornette in Ring of Honor. He is widely believed to be one of the greatest wrestling managers ever, and one of wrestling's unique personalities.

On April 2, 2005 Heenan inducted his former protege Paul Orndorff into the WWE Hall of Fame and on April 1, 2006 Heenan inducted Blackjack Mulligan and Blackjack Lanza into the WWE Hall of Fame. On the same night he also pulled an April Fool's Day joke on the live audience by claiming that there was a backstage pass for the following nights Wrestlemania 22 beneath one of the seats.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

Bobby Heenan appeared for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) in November 2005 on TNA iMPACT! in part of a segment where Chicago White Sox catcher AJ Pierzynski and coach Dale Torborg presented TNA wrestlers A.J. Styles, Chris Sabin, and Sonjay Dutt with autographed gifts from the team. They were interrupted by Simon Diamond, Elix Skipper, and David Young (collectively known as the Diamonds in the Rough), which led to a second appearance.

Personal Information

Bobby is married and has one daughter, Jess. Bobby is a survivor of throat cancer.

Wrestlers managed

Trivia

  • Heenan's most prolific nickname was "weasel," a term first used to describe him by Dick the Bruiser, who also gave him the stage name "Bobby" after "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers' manager, Bobby Davis. It is a nickname crowds across the world chanted incessantly at the loathed Heenan. Face commentator Roddy Piper referred to him as "boobs" or "boobsy."

  • Heenan has stated that he stole the idea for the Heenan Family name from Charles Manson, who referred to his followers as "The Family". He also does not like fans referring to the heenan Family as a stable, stating, "A stable is a place where you keep horses. I don't manage horses. I manage men."

  • Heenan revealed that he and Hulk Hogan are actually friends in real life despite being sworn adversaries on-camera. Throughout most of his career in the WWF and WCW, Heenan would stay "in character" and lead people to believe that he and Hogan never got along and he hated him. Heenan said that it was all "good acting."

  • Throughout his career, Heenan kept up the guise that he was a rich snob from Hollywood, California, despite never having lived in the city or state. When a fan who was from Hollywood came up to him and asked him where in the city he lived, he shrugged and said, "Uhh...behind the big sign?"

  • Heenan coined the term "humanoids", when referring to the wrestling audience. "Humanoids" was one of Heenan's distinct trademarks.

Championships/Accomplishments

  • Heenan won four Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) Manager of the Year Awards during his career. He won in 1972, 1976, 1989 and 1991.

External links

1944 births | American professional wrestlers | AWA alumni | Chicagoans | American color commentators | Professional wrestling announcers | Professional wrestling managers and valets | Living people

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Bobby Heenan".

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