WWE History Vol. 9: Wrestling's greatest stables
You might ask the question, what is a wrestling stable? Simply put, it's a group of sports entertainers bound together by a common cause. This could be Black Supremacy (Nation of Domination) or just general tomfoolery and rebellion (Degeneration X.) Other times, the main thing that seems to bind a group of wrestlers together is that they share a common manager, such as the Heenan Family.
Wrestling Stables were conceived for one reason and one reason only - marketability. Much like the Avengers, the idea is that if you put a group of wrestlers together they will be more marketable than the individual parts.
This theory is met with varying degrees of success. While you might see highly successful stables like the NWO, you also have stables like the Disciples of the Apocalypse, who almost no one can remember.
Without further ado, here are some of the most memorable stables from WWE history.
The Heenan Family
Our first stable on the list is also one of the most venerable. The Heenan Family was right there at the beginning of the WWE's classic era, and featured men who would main event Wrestlemanias.
Pretty Boy Bobby Heenan was a babyface wrestler in the WWA promotion, which was run by Dick the Bruiser. Although he was accomplished enough as a wrestler, his gift of gab and small size made him a natural manager.
Heenan would change monikers from Pretty Boy to The Brain, and often rubbed the fans noses in how much smarter he was than them. He joined the WWE in 1984 for the express purpose of managing Jesse Ventura, but when the Body had to retire due to medical issues Heenan became the manager for Big John Studd.
Heenan served double duty, acting as both an announcer and as a manager. He was often paired with Gorilla Monsoon at the announce table. During his tenure with WWE he would manage many of the top superstars of the era.
Ravishing Rick Rude, Andre the Giant, The Brain Busters (Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson, former Horsemen) King Kong Bundy, Harley Race, and Haku are just some of the names Heenan managed during his tenure with WWE.
While there wasn't any overriding theme to connect the Heenan family members, they were individually some of the best wrestlers of the classic era.
Heenan eventually tired of taking bumps as a manager, and joined WCW exclusively as a broadcast journalist. During his tenure wrestlers he managed reached the main event of Wrestlemania twice, with King Kong Bundy at WM II and Andre the Giant at WM III.