Which Wrestler Do You Most Associate With Bobby Heenan?

[Pedigree1]

Bobby Heenan without a doubt is the greatest manager of all time end of discussion!! NOw as far as who i associate him with the most one of them is King Kong Bundy and Big John Studd!!! Remember old timers out there im talking to you that body slam match at WM1? Andre then a face slammed big john studd for 15000! Andre was throwing money to the fans and Bobby came out and snatched the bag from andres hand.

The Original Heenan stable Andre,King Kong Bundy,The mighty Hercules,Ravishing Rick Rude. ahhh the memories Its not Fair to Flair!! Great no other manager out there could generate the amount of heat that he could. But the original stable thats who i associate him with im sure in my old age im leaving someone out if so please help me.

 

[jgregist]

For me it has to be Hulk Hogan.

Bobby Heenan made his disdain of Hulk Hogan known to everyone for years and just about every person he managed, including the most iconic match of all time, Hogan/Andre, had a feud with Hogan.

I have watched wrestling since the late 70's and had a chance to see almost every great manager through the years, and I always remember who their main nemesis was as much as their stable of wrestlers.

For Heenan, Hulk Hogan was always his primary nemesis.

 

[Davi323]

If we are strictly limiting it to former members of the Heenan family, I would probably associate Bobby the Brain Heenan the most with Mr. Perfect. I totally understand why the majority would choose Andre the Giant, but I am going purely on gut reaction, and when I read the question, Curt Hennig was the first image that came into my mind.

However, the person I associate with Bobby Heenan was never a member of the Heenan family, and in fact, acted as his on-screen foil for years. I can't NOT think of Gorilla Monsoon when I think of Heenan. Their on screen dialogue with each other gave the wrestling world some of the best one-liners ever. Heenan and Monsoon are yin and yang...complete opposites, but a perfect fit with each other.

"WILL YOU STOP!"

 

[machokingmooney]

Well the first name that came to mind for me was actually Nick Bockwinkel but since we're just talking WWF I'd have to go with Rick Rude manager wise. I associate Hennig more so with the Genius for some reason and he didn't really activley mangae Flair much as he was transitioning into commentary. So WWF manger wise Rude. Overall WWF wise Flair. And overall Bockwinkel.

 

[harrythem]

I was going to say Andre but, when I thought of Heenan, I straight away thought of his commentary during the 92 Rumble and Ric Flair has to be my choice!

Flair's performance in that match was phenomenal but Heenan's near apoplectic commentary really added to the whole thing, hell, I'd even say that's one of the main things I remember frmo that match!

If you'd said the "person" I most associate with Bobby then I'd have said Gorilla Monsoon but, heel-wise, it has to be Flair for me.

 

[HenryOGodwin]

My pick is Andre just because of all the greatness that lead up to WrestleMania III. The real answer should be Hulk Hogan. Obviously, Hogan was never part of the Heenan family but he was the guy The Brain and his family were always gunning for. Without super good guy Hulk Hogan would Heenan have been the greatest heel personality ever? Perhaps, but I think not.

 

[SinCityBlitz]

Andre. Every time I think of Andre I see Heenan with him. Like someone else said I can see them in that cart together at Wrestlemania III.

 

[oldmanfan]

Without a doubt Nick Bockwinkle was his meal ticket in AWA for years upon years. Nick held the title for how many year's? Any way,any how by hook or crook Nick would hold onto the title via DQ, interferance,foreign object's, distraction's the brain kept him AWA champ. Also tag team partnern's Nick and Ray the crippler Stevens had epic feud's with the Crusher and Dick the Bruiser. But overall, It was Nick Bockwinkle that made Bobby Heenan.

 

[Huey]

When I think of the brain I think of Hogan. Much of his career that I remember involved a rivalry between his group and Hogan. After the initial Hogan turn for the NWO I remember Heenan saying he tried to tell people Hogan was this way for years. It was a small thing but to me it really stood out, he had been going against Hogan for years.

 

[Tattooed Jesus]

My first thought was actually Hulk Hogan, because Heenan to me basically made his career and the career of many wrestlers by managing them in matches against Hulk Hogan. It seemed like for the longest time that was all Heenan was about, was taking down Hogan and ending Hulkamania. So the next guy that popped in my head was Andre the Giant because he was the one guy that Heenan managed that actually had the best chance of taking out Hogan IMHO.

 

[justin71]

The Brain and Hening had the same type of chemistry that Bobby had with Nick Bockwinkle(someone that should have been on that list, but to be fair it's only WWF guys).

 

[Stockwell38]

I honestly was thinking gorilla monsoon. Thats the first wrestler/annoucer that comes to mind. Hosting primetime and wrestling challenge together, they seemed in seperatable.

 

[rage72]

It's gotta be Hulk Hogan. Heenan throughout the Hogan WWF and WCW era hated Hogan and would always send one of his wrestlers to try and beat him. You could say without Heenan Hogan wouldn't had seem like the hero he was because there wouldn't have been this great heel who would always try to end Hogan.

Alot of the wrestlers we think of when we think of Heenan really made a name for themselves because they would be going after the most popular wrestler of that time.

My first thought was actually Hulk Hogan, because Heenan to me basically made his career and the career of many wrestlers by managing them in matches against Hulk Hogan. It seemed like for the longest time that was all Heenan was about, was taking down Hogan and ending Hulkamania. So the next guy that popped in my head was Andre the Giant because he was the one guy that Heenan managed that actually had the best chance of taking out Hogan IMHO.

Damn I thought I was going to be the 1st to mention Hogan.

 

[Philly88]

Close between Andre and Mr. perfect. But I always remember the match with Ultimate Warrior vs Andre the Giant where Heenan had a rabbit suit or whatever it was on after because Warrior won.

 

[crippler]

I think of Big John Studd Can't forget Andre beating studd at the 1st Wrestlemania is a body slam match Andre with Heenan's and Studd's bag of money tossing it to the fans until Heenan snatched the bag and ran with it to the back

 

[Big Sexy]

The one that immediately came to my mind when I saw the thread title was Andre. After thinking for a few seconds three more names came to mind. Two of those names are popular choices in this thread, Mr Perfect and Rick Rude. The third name, however, is one that I don't think has been mentioned but I associate strongly with Heenan. That third name is Haku.

Haku came into the WWE as one half of the Islanders along with Tama and they were managed by Heenan. They had a very memorable feud with the British Buldogs and Heenan was heavily involved in that feud. Then when Haku branched out on his own and became King Haku, Heenan was still with him. Then Haku formed the Colossal Connection with Andre where Heenan was again the manager. Basically Haku was under Heenan in three different gimmicks over the course of 4-5 years. In fact I don't think anyone was under Heenan's tutelage in the WWE longer then Haku was.

 

[JJohns]

The wrestler that I most associate with Heenan isn't even a wrestler that he managed. That wrestler being Hulk Hogan. You look at the one goal that the Heenan family had, and that was to take the title off of Hogan. Even years later, when Heenan was announcing for WCW, when Hogan turned heel, Heenan was the one that went, "You see, I've said it all these years, he was no good."

 

[The Eighties]

Rick Rude for me, he had such a great chemistry with Heenan both during matches and on mic segments, plus I always see Heenan's face with that smug laugh every time Rude did his pre-match robe removal promo.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Andre, biggest match, biggest event, and Andre's heel turn in 1987 was the biggest ever in the decade, as huge as Hogan's NWO turn 9yrs later. Heenan was a big part of the success of Curt Henning, Rick Rude, The Brainbusters, and his performance as color man during the 92 Royal Rumble was awesome (my all time fav Heenan moment) but for me the first wrestler and moment that comes to mind when I hear his name is walking down that aisle at WrestleMania 3 leading Andre into the main event vs Hogan

 

[Theo Mays]

A little late to the threads, but better late than never. First off, this is a nice series of threads you got going here Brain, kudos.

Onto the topic at hand. The first wrestler that pops into my head when I think of Bobby Heenan is Mr. Perfect. I was born in 1989 and I was watching wrestling for as long as I can remember. I got a bunch of old tapes from PPVs in the late 80s and early 90s and Mr. Perfect always drew me in as a kid for someone reason and I'm sure Bobby Heenan played a part in that. Heenan and Perfect go hand in hand with me. Andre is obviously the popular choice as that was Heenan's man to dethrone Hulkamania. Other than Perfect and Andre the next name that came to me was Big John Studd. You really can't go wrong with a handful of these guys as Heenan managed a slew of great superstars.

 

[Henry Hill]

"it's not fair to Flair!" whenever i think of Bobby, i think of this phrase. it was so annoying to hear it every ten seconds at the 92 Rumble, but it was perfect. Flair didn't need Bobby, but they fit well together.

it was so ridiculous and is a perfect example of why Bobby was "the Brain". freaking brilliant commentary and post-win promo.

I agree whole heartedly here. The Its not fair to flair line could have been a one off, but Heenan's repetition make an indelible part of wrestling folklore. When Heenan Brought in flair it was magic. They were tailor made for each other. I can only imagine Heenan being the manager of the four horsemen as opposed to JJ dillon, but then again why pair the best mouthpiece in the biz with the best mic guy?

In a wildly different swing i also most associate Heenan with none other than Hulk Hogan. His constant verbal beration on commentary and constantly trying to dethrone Hogan was a HUGE part of the WWF's success in the 80's i link Heenan to hogan much the same way we'd link rock and austin or HBK and bret hart. they helped make one another and the business.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

For me it has to be Ric Flair.

Heenan brought Flair into the WWF in the early 1990s as "The Real World's Champion", when Flair was still in possesion of the WCW Heavyweight Title (which he technically owned at the time) and made him out to be the best wrestler in the world, claiming that he was better than the current WWF Champion, Hulk Hogan.

I didn't watch wrestling at the time, but I think that whole storyline was awesome.

I know people will go with other choices such as Andre The Giant or Mr Perfect, but that was the first thing that I thought of when I saw the title of this thread.

 

[Peoples_Champ]

I think Rick Rude primarily because I was a Warrior fanatic growing up and I'll never forget how Bobby Heenan cost Warrior the title. That one moment stood out for me and that's why I can never shake the image of Heenan + Rude.

Alternatively, I would have picked Giant, Flair and Perfect, in that order. Heenan appearing on Piper's Pit with Andre was literally the catalyst that changed the wrestling world. That's a pretty good way to create an association with another wrestler!