In addition to his prized protégé, former AWA World Heavyweight & Tag Team champion Nick Bockwinkel, Heenan added his wit, humor, and interview ability (as well as plenty of outside interference) to villains like The Blackjacks, Ray “The Crippler” Stevens, “Superstar” Billy Graham, Angelo Poffo, Ernie “The Big Cat” Ladd, The Valiant Brothers, Bobby Duncum, Ken Patera, Baron Von Raschke and many more. During his run as a manager in the AWA, Heenan (who eventually dropped the “Pretty Boy” moniker in favor of “The Brain”) was paired with the cream of the crop when it came AWA rulebreakers.
#Bobby thebrain heenen pro#
It didn’t take long for “The Brain” to figure out that managing was a lot less painful than wrestling and, consequently, right about the time he really came into his own as a pro wrestler, Heenan began to focus solely on his managerial duties.Īfter a falling out with William Afflis over pay, Heenan left the W.W.A for Verne Gagne’s American Wrestling Association, a move that turned out to be one of the most fortuitist of his career. Meanwhile, his interview ability was obvious from the start and that gift of gab helped him greatly in his role as a manager. But, after working hard on his technique while competing in the W.W.A and Central States promotions, the talented young Heenan developed himself into a fairly tough, devious, and, often, very cowardly wrestler. In the beginning, Heenan struggled to be taken seriously inside the ring because, while technically gifted, he was not particularly physically intimidating. A natural in the ring who never received any formal training, he originally competed, both as a wrestler and a manager, using the name “Pretty Boy” Bobby Heenan.
Eventually, he got his start as a pro in Dick the Bruiser’s Indianapolis territory, wrestling his first match in 1961 at the age of just 17. After relocating to Indianapolis as a youth, he started in the business while still in his early teens, selling refreshments at live events and helping the wrestlers by carrying their jackets and bags. Later, once he had retired from managing and moved into the role of a color commentator, Heenan entertained millions of fans by calling the action while cheering on the “bad guys” and delivering his classic one-liners in both WWE and WCWīobby Heenan was born Raymond Louis Heenan in Chicago, IL. Whether managing his various World champions, World Tag Team champions or any number of regional and secondary champions, Heenan was always at the top of whatever promotion he worked for, constantly at the center of controversy, stirring up trouble.
His unique ability to simultaneously infuriate and thoroughly entertain the audience made him one of the most controversial men in the history of the AWA, the NWA and WWE and, at the same time, also one of the most successful wrestling personalities ever.
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Still, while Heenan drew boos for underhanded tactics during matches, he also used humor to get under the skin of his on-screen enemies.When one thinks of wrestling managers, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan has to be among the first names that come to mind and many consider him to be the greatest manager of all time. "But put Andre with Bobby Heenan and he was hated. "Andre the Giant was the most popular wrestler of the century," said retired grappler and Indian Rocks resident Lanny Poffo, whose father, Angelo Poffo, was one of the first wrestlers managed by Heenan. Heenan's best-known insult was calling fans "ham and eggers," his term for a meaningless person. "Hulk Hogan got over because of my dad," Solt said. While the monstrous bad guys provided the physical intimidation, it was Heenan as their mouthpiece who inspired hatred toward those he managed. It was Heenan, for example, who managed King Kong Bundy against Hogan at WrestleMania II and then Andre the Giant in his match against Hogan at WrestleMania III. In the 1980s, when WWE - then known as the World Wrestling Federation - rose from a niche form of entertainment to pop culture phenomenon, Heenan was a driving force, often acting as manager for the top foes of star Hulk Hogan.
"Shoot, I miss him already," said Heenan's former wrestling colleague and former Hillsborough County Commissioner Brian Blair of Tampa. A Chicago native, Heenan had been living in Largo and called the Tampa Bay area home for over 30 years.
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