Sportskeeda Remembers: WWE Hall of Famer Bobby "The Brain" Heenan
As we reported earlier, pro wrestling legend Bobby "The Brain" Heenan passed away today at age 73. Heenan had been battling throat cancer since 2002.
While Heenan was a big wrestling fan in his younger years, he actually took a job in the wrestling business (after leaving school in the 7th grade) to support his family in Indianapolis. Heenan once said of his career:
"I don't look at myself as a hero or smart person. I have a seventh-grade education, but I've had a lot of fun."
While Heenan's work as a manager and a broadcaster made him a legend, let's not forget that he was also a passable wrestler, as well. It might not have been his eventually calling, but Heenan's skill to take a bump and sell a move made the work he did as the heel manager getting him comeuppance even more satisfying for fans.
Since we're sure that The Brain wouldn't want us "humanoids" and "ham and egg'ers" to feel sorry for him, let's look back and enjoy the great moments Bobby left us as wrestling fans as we Sportskeeda writers remember the Greatest Manager of All Time.
#1- Heenan brings the NWA World Heavyweight Championship to WWE
Imagine being a 13-14 year old wrestling fan in 1991. You not only watch the then-WWF regularly, but the NWA on TBS and whatever else you can find. You also subscribe to all the wrestling magazines and maybe you even are able to indulge in some wrestling talk on what little internet services there are at the time?
And then, one day, Bobby Heenan ends an episode of WWF Superstars revealing... wait... is that the NWA belt?! You had heard rumors that Flair might finally be coming to the WWF but.... he's bringing his belt? How is this possible?!
Now, this moment, of course, is an major moment in pro wrestling history. It blurs that wall that had always been there between the WWF and the rest of the wrestling world and it began one of Ric Flair's greatest runs in any wrestling company, ever. But, to me, this to me was also the moment that led to The Brain's greatest moment in his broadcast career (and one we'll talk about later) - the 1992 Royal Rumble.
- Kevin C. Sullivan