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R.I.P., Bobby Heenan


Gonzo

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48 minutes ago, hammerva said:

Another memorable thing about Heenan in wrestling is the he had some of the bloodiest 1970's wrestling magazine covers/pictures.  Hard to imagine looking and seeing Heenan through most of his career

Fuckin A right. My personal favorite of a destroyed Heenan is this one:

 

0c954ce55d8bdfc7893e82834bb7813b--bobby-

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I haven't been hit this hard by a wrestling death since Owen Hart. Eddie's hit me hard, and Benoit...was something different altogether. I think part of it is another piece of childhood innocence dying as well. I never knew either of my grandfathers, as they both passed before I was born, so for some reason, Bobby Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon both seemed to me as what a grandfather would be. I don't know if that will make sense to anybody that reads it other than me. My mind feels like it's in a fog and I have a knot in my stomach. I'm going to be a mess once the tribute starts on Raw and I see the signs in the crowd for him.

For Johnny Sorrow, from one Jersey guy to another, my guess is that Bobby would have checked to see if he still had his wallet or make sure his watch wasn't gone.

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6 hours ago, (BP) said:

It's been said quite a few times on here over the years, his call on Royal Rumble 92 is one of the greatest commentary performances ever. Such a genius. 

This right here. I watched it two nights ago waiting for my wife to come home from work. I thought he was going to have at least six different heart attacks but when Flair finally won...fuck gonna miss him best rumble match ever in my opinion.

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Just heard the news on BBC 5 Live, normally wrestlers passing don't get mentioned, Bobby Heenan rightly does.

Best manager and colour commentator. Bought a new DVD player and the first thing I'll ever play on it is the 1992 Royal Rumble match today.

R.I.P. Bobby the Brain Heenan. Thank you.

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I wish I could remember the jokes he was telling to the meet and greet and but autographs line when I met him. He constantly had everyone in earshot laughing. He had something quick and funny for everyone who spoke to him. 

(Unrelated and strangely, A1 was the other guy everyone in the line was greatly entertained by. He was just so damn happy that people enjoyed the Team Canada funeral for the Dudleys.)

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Bought the 2004 Hall of Fame DVD primarily to hear the Brain's speech, and it didn't disappoint. No matter how many times I watch it, I never fail to well up at "I wish Monsoon was here". The greatest manager of all time. No idea who is booking the wrestling in heaven, but he's just inherited the one man who could do it all

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The post-match promo at Rumble with Flair, Bobby and Perfect is the most wonderful. Flair is so fucking amped and Heenan and Hennig just have the biggest smiles on their faces and can't stop laughing. It's three of the greatest performers in history at a career highlight and now of the are gone and the other one is on a long road to recovery.

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Not much to add to what everyone else has said. I think one thing for me is that The Brain is the guy I think of when as I aged and went from "like the faces, hate the heels" to more of an appreciation for how good the performance of a role is. I always marveled at how quick witted he was, too. And sorry Hogan marks---Bobby spells it out right here-

1-2-3.

 

 

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I slept along time last night because I'm sick. I get a vague Facebook message from Matt just saying "Heenan". I figured he had found some video. Then I get a message from someone with a link with Andre and Heenan together, i knew something had happened. 

The thing about Heenan is he could be both a buffoon you like and a genuinely evil menace convincingly. Even now I can hate him as a manager and want someone to hurt him. 

If you watch the debut of the Brooklyn Brawler and Gorilla Monsoon gets knocked out by Brawler. Returning from commercial he seems genuinely sorry Monsoon was hurt. He says he was caught in the crossfire. He then does a promo that makes you think Brawler ( A guy who was a known job guy) could crush Hogan and Warrior simultaneously.

The Andre turn was done so well because of Heenan. From him subtly praising Andre to post turn making sure no one supports Andre. At one point claiming Hogan called Andre a freak. 

He could be broad or subtle, depending on the situation. 

I'm sad but take some comfort in him not suffering,

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One of my favorite Heenan moments came on one of the MSG shows in 1986 or so. Dave Righetti and (I think) Dave Winfield were backstage being interviewed by Gorilla, heeling it up on the Mets... Winfield got in a great line about how you don't see Daryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden at WWF shows "in their 3-piece suits" (don't forget, this was when the Mets were hot shit in town and the Yankees were back on their heels). Then Heenan "crashed the interview" with Bundy and Studd and you had 5 of the biggest heels in NYC having a grand old time with each other... seriously, Bundy and Studd with these giant smiles and looking happy as clams to get the rub off the Yankee superstars. 

In the middle of this, Heenan ripped off one of the greatest lines I'd ever heard at the time- he looked at Righetti and said something about how "You're the greatest reliever in the history of the Yankees, Sparky!" Righetti was in tears for that. I was a giant mark at the time but that was one of the first little epiphanies for me... "hey, Heenan may be evil but he's REALLY fucking funny."

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