Legendary Wrestling Manager/Commentator Bobby "The Brain" Heenan Passes Away

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Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Sun, 09/17/2017 - 18:20

It's been widely reported today that Bobby "The Brain" Heenan has passed away at the age of 72. Bobby Heenan spent his entire life in professional wrestling, working for the World Wrestling Association, American Wrestling Association, WWF, and WCW. He is probably the greatest heel manager of all time, having managed everyone from Angelo Poffo and Nick Bockwinkel to Andre the Giant, Ric Flair and Arn Anderson. He is also one of the best heel commentators of all time, especially when he was partnered up with Gorilla Monsoon, and later having a run on commentary in WCW. On the July 31 episode of his Podcast, "What Happened When," Tony Schiavone did a whole episode on Bobby Heenan, and I would really reccomend checking that out.

For the last several years, Bobby Heenan had been suffering from a wide variety of horrible health conditions. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004.

So often celebrity deaths end up being a hoax, so I am real reluctant to post them, but I give the story credibility since it seemed to have been confirmed by Jim Ross on Twitter:

The news of Bobby "The Brain" Heenan's passing today gutted me. I loved our time together. No one ever did it better than the Wease.

As for me, I started watching wrestling basically just before Wrestlemania III. One of the most important wrestling storylines of all time for me was the feud between Bobby "the Brain" Heenan and Hulk Hogan. So many of my favorite wrestling moments involves Heenan, but the one I think about the most is from the Royal Rumble...He was on commentary, and Ric Flair was in the ring getting beat up by Jake "The Snake" Robert. Rowdy Roddy Piper made the save and Heenan yelled, "I never thought I'd say this, but thank you Piper. It's a kilt. It's not a skirt, it's a kilt."

Seconds later, Piper hits Flair himself, and Heenan quickly swaps sides, "You no good creep! You skirt-wearing freak! It's not a kilt, it's a skirt."

Rest in Peace, Bobby Heenan. You were a true legend and icon in the business.