Bobby Heenan
Real Name: Raymond Heenan
Stats: 6' 0" 245 lbs.
Born: 1950

Some performers don't know when to leave the sport, wrestling well beyond their prime and tarnishing their career achievements. Other, however, find that their career after retiring from active participation is more successful and more lucrative than before. Such is the case with Bobby Heenan.

Bobby Heenan began his career in 1966, wrestling under the name "Pretty Boy" Bobby Heenan. Teaming with Jimmy Valiant, they won the WWA Canadian Tag Team titles in 1973. His name of "Pretty Boy" seemed to enrage his opponents as they often beat him into a bloody pulp. Heenan bled as much as anyone in the professional wrestling industry and his blood seemed to drive crowds into a frenzy. Rather than using his wrestling skills as a focal point, he instead used his vocal skills, cutting promos where he insulted the crown and infuriated his opponents. After suffering a number of injuries, Heenan realized that he could parlay his vocal talents into a new career as a manager.

Heenan found early success working with AWA champion Nick Bockwinkel for much of the 1970's. He also managed Bockwinkel and Ray Stevens to the AWA Tag Team championships as well as representing Killer Karl Kox and Blackjack Lanza. With his ability to get under the opposition's skin and his willingness to often put his own body on the line, Heenan found no shortage of wrestlers clamoring for his services. Wrestlers such as Angelo Poffo, Jimmy Valiant, Ivan Koloff, Ernie Ladd and Lord Alfred Hayes are just a few of the legends he has represented... and these were all before he entered the World Wrestling Federation.

Heenan worked as the eternal irritant, angering fans, referees and opponents through his stinging criticism, numerous distractions and blatant interference, Heenan earned the tag "the Weasel." After entering the WW, Heenan continued his managerial success. Referring to himself as "Bobby the Brain", he realized his crowning achievement in his ability to turn the great Andre the Giant into a wrestling heel, and signing him for a shot against WWF champion Hulk Hogan. In front of an estimated 92,000 screaming fans, Heenan saw his 500 lbs. star bodyslammed and pinned by Hogan and the Brain covered his head in disgrace.

At this point, Heenan began shying away from his physical role as a manager and became more active behind the microphone, firing off one-liners that could make the most intense listener double over in laughter. Heenan quickly became the promotion's top heel commentator, often verbally sparring with broadcast partner Gorilla Monsoon. Surprisingly, his sense of humor caused him to quietly become fan favorite. This continued until 1993 when he was shamefully and literally thrown out of the WWF and joined World Championship Wrestling as part of their broadcast team. After seven years with the promotion, Heenan was released from his contract as WCW found itself in deep financial problems.

Bobby Heenan was known by several nicknames. His decision to move from the ring to the sidelines, however, made him a legend in professional wrestling history and proved him to be a "Brain" after all.

More info on Bobby "the Brain" Heenan

Bobby Heenan The Brain

Book Description
Bobby "The Brain" Heenan has become the latest professional wrestler to set his life on the mat to the page. While the book certainly won't challenge for any literary prizes, Heenan-a funny, cocky guy with an intelligence that goes well beyond his 8th grade education-is surprisingly charming. A pro wrestler since the 1960s, Heenan recounts the early days spent wrestling bears in Canada, getting cheated by promoters and bleeding in smoky gyms and halls across the northeast, all for as little as $10 a night. A devoted family man, Heenan finally made a comfortable living off the sport he loves in the 1980s and 1990s and has spent a lifetime reveling in the attention (and venom) his supporters and detractors have thrown his way.

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