Bobby Heenan - The WWF's Top Heel in the 1980s?

[The Crock]

Bobby Heenan​

Bobby "The Brain" Heenan is a wrestling legend. He may be the greatest manager of all time, a great color commentator; was a superb talker on the mic, and could draw heat like nobody else. The question is, was "The Brain" the top heel in the 80s? He was undoubtedly one of Hulk Hogan's top nemeses, if not THE top nemesis, and he was his foil. If Hogan was considered the top face, wouldn't it logically make sense that Heenan would be the top heel?

I say yes. Heenan was the manager to many of Hogan's greatest opponents during the 80s. Andre The Giant, Rick Rude, Paul Orndorff, Big John Studd, King Kong Bundy, the Brainbusters, Haku: They were all managed by Bobby Heenan, and they all went on to face Hulk Hogan. Nearly all of Hogan's best feuds were with one of these guys, and it was because Heenan was "gunning for him." He was the reason a lot of those guys got over, he was a colossal help to Hogan, and he was the biggest heat magnet out there. He did his job consistently, and was the top heel in my eyes. Who else could be the top heel? Magnificent Muraco? No, aside from some memorable things he did for the fans, he was never a great heel. Orndorff? Can't be, he was a Heenan "protege," just as the rest of those guys I named were. Heenan had memorable feuds with others aside from Hogan as well, Ultimate Warrior springs to mind right away. Every top face was met with Heenan. He was the "evil manager," who aligned himself with other top talent. He made guys superstars, which cannot be said of many other people. No doubt in my mind, Heenan was the top heel.

Thoughts?

Also, thank you to KB. My discussion with him gave me some ideas and inspired this thread.

 

[kronikfish666]

I for one agree with you 100%. This man is what a heel should be. Micheal fucking Cole needs to take a lesson from this brilliant man!!!!!!

His weasel suit matches were just fantastic to watch and the crowd really got into chanting "WEASEL" anytime he appeared. To this day still my favorite heel manager and commentator. I highly recommended watching his DVD for all of you humanoids who don't know the genius that is THE BRAIN

 

[MMK]

ABSOULETLY! In fact, I'd go so far as to say Heenan's the greatest heel of any era, not just the 80's. No one could aggrevate a crowd more than The Brain. Although I preferred him even more as a commentator.

At the very least, The Brain is responsible for the single greatest quote in the history of wrestling. "Did you see that?! Jannetty tried to dive through the window to escape! What an act of cowardism!" ~Bobby Heenan, during The Rockers breakup on The Barbershop.

The best part of that quote is that "cowardism" isn't even a word. Bobby played the High Status Idiot" role to perfection.

 

[OlderFan]

Bobby had the ability to combine the heel persona with the goofball persona, all at the same time, and make both entertaining and a riot to watch. Even after he got out of active managing, his commentaries with Gorilla Monsoon were as much fun - sometimes moreso- than the wrestling itself.

 

[byrnside]

The Brain is the reason why managers should be brought back into a more active role in the WWE today! Put a good mouth piece with any wrestler who struggles on the mic and you've got something. The Brain managed almost every top heel in the 80s and early 90s, and very few of them were very good on the mic, and they all wanted a piece of Hulkamania. In fact, the only two that I can think of off hand that were any good was Rick Rude and Mr. Perfect.

Kronikfish also had a tremendous point, Michael Cole could learn a few things from The Brain. He also and had an amazing role as a commentator along side Gorilla Monsoon and Vince McMahon amongst a few others. His commentary is still relevant and funny to this day.

 

[hardcore4life_is-KoOl]

from what ive seen on youtube i agree but because im only 13 ive only seen glimpses of the 80,s in WWE ive seen lots of 90s & wish i knew about wrestling before pg era but unfortinatly i know very little about heenen WOW i got off topic to much i need to work on my forom skills

 

[Quinn30Colo]

Gorilla and the Brain were the best. Brain had so many funny quotes. You have to be fair to Flair and of course my favorite was "From Wrestling to Checkers..Savage is the most Dangerous Man in any Sport"...I do agree it might be time to bring back some Manager's to lead some Stables and maybe Michael Cole would move perfectly over to a manager as Josh Matthews has improved greatly as an announcer. I don't like the idea of a heel commentator as the lead man. It works so much better as a heel analyst to tag with a supposed to be Bias play by play man.

 

[doorag]

Yes he was! Many wrestlers had major heat, but it was only for a few programs at a time. Bobby was at the top of the heel mountain the entire time! Can't agree more...

 

[RickRockwell]

Yes Heenan was the greatest heel in the WWF during the 80's.. Followed by Piper, Iron Sheik, Rick Rude, Randy Savage

As for all-time, Freddie Blassie as a wrestler was the greatest heel of all-time... Heenan was masterful but he was never on the same "heel" level as guys like Blassie, Abdullah the Butcher, The Original Sheik, Harley Race, Killer Kowalski and Gorgeous George, or even Larry Zbysko when he turned on Bruno...

 

[The Eighties]

For an all round heel that could also produce great heel work in the ring I'd have to go with Randy Savage, but the consistency of Bobby's work makes him the overall #1.

The Brain's greatest attribute was his attention to the details, he knew how to do the little things that accentuated his guys strengths and hid their flaws.

 

[Ghost 99]

Rivalries came and went. The constant in most of those rivals was Heenan. Great talker, the best at drawing heat, he was the 80s villain not just in the WWE but in wrestling period. To this day, weasel chants have no equal.

The only person who could have a modest argument in this debate is for Freddie Blassie but even then it's not close. Heenan was just that good.

 

[The Brain]

Finally I can get around to this thread. You may have been able to guess I am a fan of Bobby Heenan. I think it’s fair to say he was the greatest heel in the 80s. You can point to guys like Big John Studd and King Kong Bundy and say it was Heenan’s guys that were always going after Hogan, but it was much more than just that. Let’s take a look at the famous match with Andre The Giant at WrestleMania III. We all know this was the biggest match in wrestling history as it drew 93,000 fans to the Pontiac Silverdome. The beloved Andre had broken his fans’ hearts by turning heel and challenging the Hulkster. Bobby Heenan doesn’t get nearly the credit he deserves for his role in this match. Had Andre simply challenged Hogan for the title, even doing so aggressively, I’m sure many fans would have seen Andre’s point of view and sided with him. Even those who remained loyal to Hogan would have a hard time hating Andre. Joining Bobby Heenan is what made the program work and was probably the only thing that Andre could have done to make the fans hate him. It’s also worth mentioning that while Andre’s popularity was rivaling Hogan’s Heenan was his number one nemesis as well.

WrestleMania III may have been Heenan’s shining moment but there was much more that made him the top heel. Heenan was so over as a heel just being associated with him made a guy instantly hated. For as talented as Rick Rude was it was Heenan that got him over immediately. Hercules seemed kind of bland on his own but Heenan always kept him relevant. Mr. Perfect was already having a nice run in the WWF but he really turned a corner when he took Heenan on as a manager.

Heenan was involved in some pretty dastardly acts. He used to manage Ken Patera in the early 80s. Patera had some legal problems and spent two years in jail which was actually acknowledged on WWF television. When Patera returned he insisted he was a changed man and Heenan was relentless about bringing up his criminal past. One day he had the entire Heenan Family attack Patera and they took turns whipping him with a belt as he lay helpless in the ring. It was a brutal scene, especially in 1987. A few months later Heenan and The Islanders kidnapped the British Bulldog’s mascot Matilda. He held that dog for months and would constantly taunt the fans and the Bulldogs about it. Let’s not forget the time he literally sold Hercules to Ted Dibiase to be his slave. Seriously, a slave in 1988. Right around that time Heenan took on a “rookie” named Terry Taylor. He said he could take a man with limited skill, intelligence, and ability and make him a star. He stuck him with the ridiculous Red Rooster gimmick and humiliated him every week. So now Heenan was not only tormenting his wrestler’s opponents but he was attacking one of his own. Heenan was responsible for ending the IC title reign of The Ultimate Warrior and the record long tag title reign of Demolition. Both of those title wins ended in controversy thanks to Heenan.

There was nothing the fans loved more than seeing Heenan get what he deserved. He was more hated than the wrestlers he managed. Hogan and Warrior got a better reaction by beating up Heenan than they did for winning their match. The feud with The Big Bossman was against Heenan rather than any wrestlers. Haku, The Barbarian, and Mr. Perfect were secondary. For as much as he antagonized Hogan, Warrior, and Bossman, among many others he had just as much trouble with some of his own guys. Orndorff, Patera, Hercules, Studd, Rooster, and Andre were all Heenan Family members that were mistreated and eventually left Heenan. Much like being associated with Heenan made someone instantly hated, leaving Heenan made them instantly popular. Heenan was able to remain hated because someone was always able to get the best of him in the end. The fans loved to hate Heenan because they knew eventually they would get a good payoff when he got his comeuppance.

As if all this wasn’t enough, Heenan had another outlet to allow the fans’ hatred for him to grow. As a color commentator Heenan would constantly run down all the popular stars whether he had an issue with them or not. He was always insulting everybody, the wrestlers, the fans, the ring announcer, his broadcast partner; no one was safe from Heenan’s wit. He was always up to some sort of scam and trying to con someone.

All the things I mentioned only scratch the surface when it comes to Heenan. He was truly one of a kind. He was so hated because he was so versatile. Heenan was everywhere you looked. He managed low card guys, mid card guys, tag team guys, and main event guys. He did commentary for matches and hosted Prime Time Wrestling. It was nearly impossible to watch a WWF show in the 80s and not see Bobby Heenan.

I know I’ve rambled on for too long and I may be a tad biased, but I agree that Bobby The Brain Heenan was the top heel of the 80s.