Best Brain Line: "The entrance exam, you have to be able to write your name in three different colors of crayon.". For what it's worth, Heenan still makes occasional appearances at wrestling conventions. Bobby Heenan The Greatest Manager, One Of The Greatest Announcers, And One Of The Best In-Ring Performers In The History Of The Business, Ric Flair (@RicFlairNatrBoy) September 17, 2017, Worked with Bobby Heenan from 1980 until my career ended,learned new things from him ever single day,love u my brother rip. A fan was trying to protect the beloved Gagne. He has to hold back laughter several times. The World's Most Entertaining Car Website. Heenan went under the surgical knife once again in 2015 for an undisclosed issue, his longtime friend and colleague Mean Gene Okerlund tweeted. 5th December 2020 by Scott Keith. One of Heenans staple achievements in his over four decades in the industry was forming the Heenan Family, a group whose name was derived from their strength of alliance. Multiple wrestling commentators have described him as the greatest professional wrestling manager of all time. The Tragic Death of WWE Hall of Famer Sensational Sherri Martel. Not only does Heenan smear humor over every word that comes out of his mouth, but he has a wealth of experience and inside information. [6] In 2004, he feuded with fellow manager Jim Cornette in Ring of Honor. Two years later, he was hospitalized when his rebuilt jaw became infected. Several times during his career, Heenan ended up nearly giving fans blood. WWE.com. Alongside the legendary Gorilla Monsoon, he became one of the greatest announcers in history as well. [43] In December 2007, Heenan had reconstructive surgery on his jaw, after the first surgery was unsuccessful. It'd be easy to fill this entire list with Gorilla Monsoon and Heenan moments. The short stint of Bobby Heenan managing Ken Patera in WWE saw them failing to get along, even though they didnt have strong heat. Others had closer bonds with him and loved the time working together. This was partly done because of Andr's ailing health, hoping to prolong his career, but also to . [12], Heenan was signed by the WWF in 1984 with the intention of him managing Jesse Ventura, however Ventura's retirement due to blood clots in his lungs prevented this from happening. Our thoughts go out to the family of Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. His comedic ability was praised by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, who wrote that Heenan could have been a successful television actor. Heenan left WWE in 1993 with thoughts of retirement. Other wrestlers felt that Ole was a bully and showed little respect to his peers in real life. He was paired with numerous wrestlers, including Nick Bockwinkel, whom he led to win the AWA World Heavyweight Championship, and he became an integral figure in the 1980s professional wrestling boom by managing King Kong Bundy and Andr the Giant in WWF main event matches with Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 2 and WrestleMania III respectively. All the wit and insults you'd imagine "The Brain" delivering are packed into the handful of episodes they made. It was clear early in his career that his verbal skills far outshined his physical ones. The wrestling manager has historically . Von Brandenburg, to Prime Time Wrestling. It made him calm. When Monday Nitro debuted in 1995, Heenan was the lead color commentator there as well, initially alongside Steve McMichael and Eric Bischoff before later being paired up with another former WWE announcer, Tony Schiavone. He instantly became the top interviewer for the promotion and in a lot of . But with just that, Heenanfound a way to minecomic gold. Heenan also cited the short driving distance between WCW's home base of Atlanta and his daughter's school in Alabama. But Heenan's ignorance and stinginess along with, of course, his comic timing make this a fun watch. His cause of death was organ failure due to complications from the throat cancer that had been in remission since 2004. Bruce Prichard on Bobby Heenan: "He was the perfect talent." Bobby Heenan was quick to inform viewers of his . WWE WWE Hall of Famer Bobby "The Brain" Heenan died on Sunday, the WWE confirmed, at the age of 73. [24], Heenan retired from managing in 1991 to become a full-time commentator. Once his weasel character was well established, Heenan periodically stepped in the ring to appease fans' desires to see him get the whippings he deserved. [3] Shortly thereafter, he led the Brain Busters to win the WWF World Tag Team Championship. Heenan showed off at the WrestleMania IX opening ceremonies that he is also quite proficient at slapstick. [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. Bobby "The Brain" Heenan with Andre the Giant in 1987. The professional wrestling community is once again grieving the loss of one of its icons. On SpikeTV", "Pro wrestling icon Bobby Heenan dies at 72", "GameSpy: Showdown: Legends of Wrestling", "Pro wrestling commentator Bobby 'The Brain' Heenan dead at 73", "Bobby Heenan, legendary pro wrestling manager, dead at 73", "Bobby Heenan breaks hip and shoulder, fractures pelvis", "WWE Hall of Famer Bobby 'The Brain' Heenan reportedly hospitalized", "Bobby Heenan: Remembering the greatest and explaining why he is widely regarded as the greatest at what he did", "Mooneyham: Gone but not forgotten, professional wrestling lost memorable names in 2017", "Triple H: Bobby Heenan Wasn't Just a Manager, One of the Greatest Wrestlers Ever", "Jim Ross on Bobby Heenan, Gorilla Monsoon", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bobby_Heenan&oldid=1127575056, Professional wrestling managers and valets, The Four Horsemen (professional wrestling) members, Pages containing links to subscription-only content, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 15 December 2022, at 13:57. Patera was one of the few wrestlers who didnt make a big leap when having Heenan as his manager. "Let me tell you exactly what happened when Bobby . [Photo: June 25th, 1988] Bobby Heenan and Ultimate Warrior had a disdain for one another. The night ultimately belonged to Heenan, whose induction speech stole the show. Raymond Louis Heenan (November 1, 1944 September 17, 2017) was an American professional wrestling manager, color commentator, wrestler, and comedian. Mini Bio (1) Bobby Heenan was born on November 1, 1944 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. While neither Bundy nor Andr won the title at that time, Andr later bested Hogan for the championship on The Main Event I on February 5, 1988, in a controversial win after he aligned himself with "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase. The disease took away his ability to speak, but what he'd . Would love your thoughts, please comment. On September 17, 2017, Bobby Heenan passed away at the age of 72 due to organ failure which his daughter said was brought on by complications of his throat cancer, as reported by the Tampa Bay Times. One year later, in what many still consider the biggest and most important storyline and match in WWE history, Heenan helped Andre the Giant turn heel to face Hogan at WrestleMania 3, an event attended by more than 93,000 people. [19] For his work in promoting Andr the Giant's match with Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania III, often cited as the most famous American professional wrestling match,[7] Heenan received a six-figure payoffarguably the largest pay day in any managerial career. Bobby Heenan was born on November 1, 1944 in Chicago, Illinois, USA as Raymond Louis Heenan. To have cancer is already horrible enough. [32], Starting in late January 2000, WCW replaced Heenan on Monday Nitro and pay-per-view events with Mark Madden. When the WWF signed Ric Flair, Heenan spent several weeks talking Flair up as "The Real World's Heavyweight Champion", appearing onscreen with Flair's Big Gold Belt. After losing a match to Greg Gagne, Heenan was forced to wear the weasel suit and he made the most of the incident with some zealous slapstick. Another simple gag had Heenan allude to it being his last night on Nitro early in the show and then begin to shake his colleagues' hands in farewell. Nobody else had us simultaneously rooting against them and loving them like "The Brain.". Luke and Brutus also signed. Over the next 13 years, he battled a number of health issues and heartbreakingly became nearly unrecognizable. Perfect Curt Hennig, Mr. Pro wrestling historian George Schire praised his in-ring ability, commenting: "Bobby was a good athlete flipping over the ropes, he could do it all. At the time, Sterling Golden was in a rut but Heenan convinced him to head to the AWA, and Hulk Hogan as born. I just want to let all the wonderful humanoids out there know how grateful I am for the good wishes. He left for 18 months or so, then came back in 1969 as the. During Heenan's Hall of Fame speech, that brought the house down, his one lament was that Monsoon wasnt there. As an adult, you look back and appreciate just how much of a comedic genius he was. Heenans career was remembered during his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004. That.. after forty nine years of smoking cigarettes I Celebrated 5 weeks smoke free as of yesterday. Pro wrestling is his strongest passion with a lifetime fandom and countless live shows attended. ", pp.4851. [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. But the memories of Bobby "The Brain" Heenan still live on, proving that even the darkest clouds have silver linings. [13], On the January 23, 1996 episode of Clash of the Champions XXXII, during a match between Eddie Guerrero and Brian Pillman, Pillman left the ring and grabbed Heenan, (who had a history of neck problems,) by the collar, causing him to blurt out: "What the fuck are you doing?" HH, Hulk Hogan (@HulkHogan) September 17, 2017, one of a kind. No one ever did it better than the Wease. From there, Heenan managed some of wrestlings biggest stars and appeared on the TV screen with legends such as Andre the Giant. He somehow manages to sell the paper while trashing it. The Weasel tore up the paper and spat on the kid. Wrestling legend Bobby "The Brain" Heenan died at the age of 72 on Sunday. Most wrestlers voiced support of Heenan over Warrior who had more than enough reasons to dislike the controversial figure. Weasel!" [6] Broadcaster Peter Rosenberg considers Heenan a personal hero and describes him as the best commentator, manager and bad guy in WWE history. 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.". [3][12] Heenan said he was uninspired in WCW due to the negative work environment and due to conflicts with Schiavone. In December 2007, he underwent reconstructive jaw surgery and had to be placed in a medically induced coma. Heenan's head just about explodes when Luger starts to make his thighs quiver. GO, Gene Okerlund (@TheGeneOkerlund) April 14, 2015. Videos by OutKick. [7] In May 2016, he fell again and broke a hip. 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. ", or a sarcastic, "Please! During a big showdown between Verne Gagne and Nick Bockwinkel, Heenan hopped onto the apron to interfere on Bockwinkels behalf. Also in 2001, Heenan worked briefly as a "sports agent" in the Xcitement Wrestling Federation with Curt Hennig under his tutelage. And this was the kind of influence Bobby Heenan had on people. Numerous wrestling. He and Gorilla Monsoon welcomed Heenan's personal doctor, Dr. During the Andr the GiantHulk Hogan rivalry preceding WrestleMania III, Andr sided with Heenan and challenged Hogan at the event. 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. Over the years in WWE, Heenan would manage some of the all-time greats, including Ravishing Rick Rude, Harley Race, Mr. The perfect end to a . 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