Just saw this. Definitely a name and face from my childhood.

He just had to give it away when Hulk Hogan turned heel. Not that it made him a scumbag.

I was a back wrestling mark back in the day. I can envision the Brain in heaven now doing Prime Time with the late Gorilla Monsoon.

Bobby the Brain Heenan was the first celebrity I ever met. I saw him at a 19th hole with a woman on each side of him. He wanted nothing to do with me when I asked for his autograph.

The Brain was ahead of his time.

He was an entertainer and a showman back when "wrasslin" was still considered "real" and the fans wanted to see blood.

The wrestling world lost an Icon.

(09-18-2017 02:40 AM)_C2_ Wrote:  He just had to give it away when Hulk Hogan turned heel. Not that it made him a scumbag.

This seems to follow the guy around, because he said "yeah, but which side is he on?" when he was coming down the aisle?

I was a total smart mark back in the day; knew it was Hogan. There was nobody else it could have been (the others were already laying out flat in the ring). Hogan wasn't running down the aisle to make the save...THAT was the giveaway, imo.

And Heenan ALWAYS took shots at Hogan. His on-air persona never liked him. It was nothing out of the ordinary from him, really.

(09-18-2017 09:15 AM)The Cutter of Bish Wrote:  

(09-18-2017 02:40 AM)_C2_ Wrote:  He just had to give it away when Hulk Hogan turned heel. Not that it made him a scumbag.

This seems to follow the guy around, because he said "yeah, but which side is he on?" when he was coming down the aisle?

I was a total smart mark back in the day; knew it was Hogan. There was nobody else it could have been (the others were already laying out flat in the ring). Hogan wasn't running down the aisle to make the save...THAT was the giveaway, imo.

And Heenan ALWAYS took shots at Hogan. His on-air persona never liked him. It was nothing out of the ordinary from him, really.

I think all of that was more about Heenan's issues with WCW than his relationship with Hogan. Heenan and Hogan actually were pretty tight-- Hogan was the one who suggested to Vince McMahon to bring Heenan (and several other guys) to the WWF from the AWA.

Heenan was unhappy in the WCW. He saw it as a Mickey Mouse Operation. He constantly clashed backstage with Eric Bishoff, Tony Schiavone and several others. He allegedly showed up intoxicated a few times, including once on a PPV.

I loved Heenan in WCW when Goldberg was around. I especially remember when Goldberg beat Hogan for the title(in the Georgia Dome) and when he had Hogan in the jackhammer. Heenan was screaming do it do it do it over and over. 19 years ago.

I remember he managed Andre The Giant. One thing was the fans always cheered for Andre and boo Bobby. They tried to turn Andre into a heel that nobody wanted since he was beloved by many as a giant Teddy Bear. That was one thing Vince failed, and since he turned Andre back into a face. Andre, Gorilla and The Brain will surely be missed.

(09-18-2017 09:43 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  I think all of that was more about Heenan's issues with WCW than his relationship with Hogan. Heenan and Hogan actually were pretty tight-- Hogan was the one who suggested to Vince McMahon to bring Heenan (and several other guys) to the WWF from the AWA.

Oh, the two were great friends in real life. It speaks to just how darn good Heenan was as a character. You'd swear the guy just despised the man in real life based off of TV. I remember "watching" that PPV (scramble-vision is more like it), and nothing Heenan said was out of character for him given his target was Hogan.

If looking back, could it look like a leak? Sure. If that came out of Schiavone or Bischoff, yeah. Heenan, however, could say that stuff. "Weasel." Just another kick in the ribs to baby-face Hulk...only, this time, he wasn't wrong.

It's shocking WCW even survived as long as it did, even to get to a point where it surpassed WWF/E. But, as poorly as it was run (and it was, to hear it everywhere), it wasn't like WWF/E was that great, either.

(09-18-2017 10:04 AM)The Cutter of Bish Wrote:  

(09-18-2017 09:43 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  I think all of that was more about Heenan's issues with WCW than his relationship with Hogan. Heenan and Hogan actually were pretty tight-- Hogan was the one who suggested to Vince McMahon to bring Heenan (and several other guys) to the WWF from the AWA.

Oh, the two were great friends in real life. It speaks to just how darn good Heenan was as a character. You'd swear the guy just despised the man in real life based off of TV. I remember "watching" that PPV (scramble-vision is more like it), and nothing Heenan said was out of character for him given his target was Hogan.

If looking back, could it look like a leak? Sure. If that came out of Schiavone or Bischoff, yeah. Heenan, however, could say that stuff. "Weasel." Just another kick in the ribs to baby-face Hulk...only, this time, he wasn't wrong.

It's shocking WCW even survived as long as it did, even to get to a point where it surpassed WWF/E. But, as poorly as it was run (and it was, to hear it everywhere), it wasn't like WWF/E was that great, either.

How long was TBS on the air? That is how long the WCW talent been on tv. Longer than WWE at the time until WCW folded. I stopped following WWE after they made a major change to a point in making it more of an adult show with their women talent. Most of their talent left for WCW because they did not like the way Vince changed the company. If you have fans cheering for heels like Stone Cold Steve Austin and John Cena? WWE lost their way. It was the NWO angle that killed WCW. Ted Turner had no say so over what his wrestling program turned into. Ted have said that he wants his TBS, TNT, HLN, Court TV and CNN back from Time Warner and make some changes back to where they belong. That includes reviving his wrestling project that he started a long time ago when he launched TBS. Ted made stars like Sting, Doc aka Michael P.S. Hayes, Stunning Steve Austin, Diamond Dallas Page, The Bushwackers, Dustin Rhodes aka Goldust, and many others that WWE took.

(09-18-2017 11:22 AM)DavidSt Wrote:  

(09-18-2017 10:04 AM)The Cutter of Bish Wrote:  

(09-18-2017 09:43 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  I think all of that was more about Heenan's issues with WCW than his relationship with Hogan. Heenan and Hogan actually were pretty tight-- Hogan was the one who suggested to Vince McMahon to bring Heenan (and several other guys) to the WWF from the AWA.

Oh, the two were great friends in real life. It speaks to just how darn good Heenan was as a character. You'd swear the guy just despised the man in real life based off of TV. I remember "watching" that PPV (scramble-vision is more like it), and nothing Heenan said was out of character for him given his target was Hogan.

If looking back, could it look like a leak? Sure. If that came out of Schiavone or Bischoff, yeah. Heenan, however, could say that stuff. "Weasel." Just another kick in the ribs to baby-face Hulk...only, this time, he wasn't wrong.

It's shocking WCW even survived as long as it did, even to get to a point where it surpassed WWF/E. But, as poorly as it was run (and it was, to hear it everywhere), it wasn't like WWF/E was that great, either.

How long was TBS on the air? That is how long the WCW talent been on tv. Longer than WWE at the time until WCW folded. I stopped following WWE after they made a major change to a point in making it more of an adult show with their women talent. Most of their talent left for WCW because they did not like the way Vince changed the company. If you have fans cheering for heels like Stone Cold Steve Austin and John Cena? WWE lost their way. It was the NWO angle that killed WCW. Ted Turner had no say so over what his wrestling program turned into. Ted have said that he wants his TBS, TNT, HLN, Court TV and CNN back from Time Warner and make some changes back to where they belong. That includes reviving his wrestling project that he started a long time ago when he launched TBS. Ted made stars like Sting, Doc aka Michael P.S. Hayes, Stunning Steve Austin, Diamond Dallas Page, The Bushwackers, Dustin Rhodes aka Goldust, and many others that WWE took.

The WCW derived out of the old Jim Crockett Promotions out of North Carolina and Georgia Championship Wrestling. Those two regional territories were part of the NWA which dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. Those programs were on TBS going back into the late 70s. It should be noted that WCW was not part of the NWA. The NWA was basically dead by the start of WCW, as all the old promoters who were officers in the NWA had either died off, retired or went belly-up. WCW was basically a startup company.

As for Ted Turner, the demise of WCW began and ended when Turner merged with AOL. AOL did not want to be in the wrestling business. They saw it as low brow. The NWO did not cause the death of the company, in fact it helped keep it around a few years than it otherwise would.

The WWF has been around since the 60s, started by Vince McMahon, Sr. At the time it was just a regional territory (northeast part of the country). When Vince Jr. took over in 1983 he decided to take the company national.

Yeah, you had WWWF becoming WWF, buying talent out of all of those regional areas, and then WCW started doing the same, and then onto WWF. Vince started it, but Bischoff had more money.

It was never going to be sustainable for WCW, but, I'd say it was about as good as it could have gotten for top-level talent in the wrestling business. They didn't really tour or travel as rigorously as WWF/E did, and top guys didn't have to do much outside of the television schedule. Mid-card and enhancement didn't have it great, but it could still make money.

It's a shame "the life" took its toll on those from Heenan's era. If WWF took the same operating style, maybe the constant wear and tear doesn't happen to guys? It would have ended house shows...guys wouldn't be working these obnoxious schedules, though.