Raymond Louis Heenan (November 1, 1944 – September 17, 2017) was an American professional wrestling manager, color commentator, and wrestler. He performed with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under the ring name Bobby "The Brain" Heenan.
Heenan was known for his skill in elevating villainous on-screen talent by drawing negative reactions for himself and his wrestlers from the crowd. 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 André the Giant in WWF main event matches with Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 2 and WrestleMania III respectively. The wrestlers under his tutelage were collectively known as "The Heenan Family" at various times throughout his career.
Known for his quick wit and comedic ability, Heenan also served as a color commentator and is remembered for his on-screen repartee with Gorilla Monsoon. Outside of wrestling, Heenan authored two books, appeared on numerous television shows, and briefly hosted a parody talk show titled The Bobby Heenan Show on WWF Prime Time Wrestling. Heenan retired in 2001 at WrestleMania X-Seven after a seventeen-year stint as a commentator in professional wrestling but he continued to make sporadic appearances in several promotions. In 2002, he was diagnosed with throat cancer, which limited his appearances in later years, and died from complications of the disease in 2017. Among other honors, he has been inducted into the Professional Wrestling, WWE, and Wrestling Observer halls of fame. Multiple wrestling commentators have described him as the greatest professional wrestling manager of all time.
Early life Heenan was born in Chicago, Illinois, on November 1, 1944. His father Robert Heenan was a railroad worker, and his mother Mildred Bernadette Kambrz was a hotel manager. Heenan dropped out of school in the eighth grade to support his mother and grandmother. He grew up a fan of pro wrestling and baseball. As a fan of wrestling growing up in Chicago and Indianapolis, he started in the wrestling profession early on, carrying bags and jackets for the wrestlers, and selling refreshments at events.
Professional wrestling career
World Wrestling Association (1965–1974)
In 1965, Heenan became a regular in William Afflis' (known by his in-ring persona Dick the Bruiser) Indianapolis-based WWA promotion under the moniker "Pretty Boy" Bobby Heenan. In 1966, he wrestled his first match against Calvin "Prince" Pullins. Heenan said he was never trained as a wrestler and it came naturally. He was booked – both as a manager and wrestler – after the promoters saw how well he handled the physical aspects of his managerial duties. During his time in WWA, he managed Angelo Poffo and Chris Markoff, the Assassins (Guy Mitchell and Joe Tomasso), The Valiant Brothers and The Blackjacks. In particular, Heenan was credited with making Blackjack Lanza one of the top wrestling villains in the country. 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. He also occasionally wrestled with a storyline "brother" Guy Heenan, portrayed by Guy Mitchell, from the Assassins. In 1974, he left the WWA. He attributed his departure to a dispute with Afflis over pay for his participation in the first-ever wrestling event held at Market Square Arena, emphatically stating that he never returned to the promotion as a result.
American Wrestling Association (1969–1979)
After leaving WWA, Heenan announced he was now to be known as "The Brain" at his AWA debut in 1969. He took up managing the team of Nick Bockwinkel and Ray "The Crippler" Stevens, a duo which won a third AWA World Tag Team Championship under his leadership. While Bockwinkel and Stevens feuded with The Crusher and Dick the Bruiser, Bruiser famously called Heenan "Weasel"; this led to his rivals calling him "Weasel" throughout the rest of his wrestling career. The AWA was the starting point for the first incarnation of his eponymous heel stable, The Heenan Family, which initially consisted of Bockwinkel, Stevens, Bobby Duncum Sr., and Blackjack Lanza.
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 against Verne Gagne. Heenan was unharmed, but five people sitting ringside were injured, one of them critically. Later in 1975, Bockwinkel captured his first of several AWA World Heavyweight Championships, ending the seven-year reign of perennial champion and AWA promoter Verne Gagne. 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.
Georgia Championship Wrestling (1979) In early 1979, Heenan left the AWA (suspended one year, in storyline) to work in Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW). 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. Heenan met a young Hulk Hogan while in Georgia and later told AWA promoter Verne Gagne that he should hire him. According to Heenan, he moved his family to Atlanta after being told by GCW promoter Ole Anderson that he could work for the promotion as long as he wanted, only to release him less than a year later. Anderson admitted to releasing him but denied promising him indefinite employment.
Return to AWA (1979–1984)
In late 1979, Heenan returned to AWA and resumed managing Nick Bockwinkel to renewed championship success, including against Hogan in 1983. During AWA's tour of Japan in 1984, Heenan suffered a neck injury in a tag-team match teaming with Harley Race with Atsushi Onita & Haku that would limit his in-ring ability going forward.
In 1984, Heenan left AWA to join the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). 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. He was written out of AWA television when Wally Karbo announced on the September 28 broadcast of AWA All-Star Wrestling that Heenan had been suspended indefinitely by AWA President Stanley Blackburn for initiating an attack on The Fabulous Ones by Heenan Family members Nick Bockwinkel and Mr. Saito.
World Wrestling Federation (1984–1993)
Manager (1984–1993) Heenan was signed by the WWF in November 1984 with the intention of him managing Jesse Ventura, however Ventura's retirement due to blood clots in his lungs prevented this from happening. Instead, Heenan managed Big John Studd (whom Heenan was best friends with in the AWA) in his feud against André the Giant. Studd challenged André to a US$15,000 bodyslam match at the first WrestleMania, with the stipulation being that André would have to retire had he lost. André won the match and then took the bag with the $15,000 and started throwing it out to the crowd before Heenan snatched the bag.
Heenan reformed the Heenan Family, which over the years in the WWF would include Studd, "Olympic Strong Man" Ken Patera, "Playboy" Buddy Rose, "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff, King Kong Bundy, André 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. Perfect, The Red Rooster, and The Brooklyn Brawler. Heenan and the Heenan Family had a feud with Hulk Hogan in the 1980s, and Heenan managed two WrestleMania challengers to Hogan's title. In 1986, Heenan managed King Kong Bundy in his main event bout at WrestleMania 2. During the André the Giant–Hulk Hogan rivalry preceding WrestleMania III, André sided with Heenan and challenged Hogan at the event. While neither Bundy nor André won the title at that time, André 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.
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. Heenan finally managed his first champion in the WWF when "Ravishing" Rick Rude upset 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. Shortly thereafter, he led the Brain Busters to win the WWF World Tag Team Championship. After the Busters had lost the titles back to Demolition a few months later, he led the Colossal Connection (André and Haku) to win the Tag Team Championship when they defeated Demolition. Demolition would win the titles back at WrestleMania VI. Immediately after the loss, Heenan began blaming the loss on André the Giant going as far as slapping him. A few months after that, he led Mr. Perfect to Intercontinental Championship success.
Heenan also wrestled sporadically in his WWF run. In his in-ring debut at Madison Square Garden in November 1984, he cleanly pinned Salvatore Bellomo. Most of the matches he was in were tag team matches. At WrestleMania IV, he teamed with The Islanders to defeat The British Bulldogs and Koko B. Ware. The following year, he was defeated in 30 seconds by former client The Red Rooster at WrestleMania V. Heenan also wrestled a series of "Weasel Suit matches" against Ultimate Warrior, who defeated Heenan by forcing him into a weasel costume. His final in ring match came on August 2, 1991, at a house show in Long Island, New York, where he defeated Mr. Fuji.
Heenan retired from managing in 1991 to become a full-time commentator. Nonetheless, Heenan crossed the line to managing sporadically. 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. He continued to act as an adviser to Flair during his WWF run from 1991 to 1993. Though he nominally managed Flair, Heenan's former protégé Mr. Perfect, who temporarily retired due to injury, would regularly accompany Flair to ringside as his "Executive Consultant". At the 1993 Royal Rumble, he introduced "The Narcissist" Lex Luger to the WWF to exact revenge on his former protégé, Mr. Perfect.Wrestling 93: Rulebreaker, Spring 1993 Issue, Article "Bobby Heenan and Lex Luger: The Total Package of Brain and Brawn!", pp.48–51.
Commentator (1984–1993)
In 1984, WWF owner Vince McMahon took full advantage of his microphone and comedic skills and Heenan became a color commentator in addition to his managing duties. He replaced Jesse Ventura on Prime Time Wrestling and All American 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, which was replaced in the fall of 1986 with Wrestling Challenge. Although the purpose of these shows were to summarize weekly WWF events, viewers tuned in to see Heenan and Monsoon's interactions.