10 Dirtiest Players In WWE History

2. Bobby Heenan

Ric Flair Lita
WWE Network

'Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat.'

Bobby Heenan would typically enrage broadcast colleague (and real-life best friend) Gorilla Monsoon with the sneaky phrase, but he applied it to every aspect of his performance as a manager during his WWE run.

'The Brain' unapologetically took every shortcut to ensure his performers were successful. Though hilarious in retrospect, Bobby performed during a time where heels were universally reviled, or at least approached their role with that as the intention.

Subsequently, Heenan was a relentless antagonist, hassling referees and babyfaces one minute then bargaining and begging for mercy the next. It was an exquisite act, with various members of his 'Family' achieving enough success over the years to justify his nefarious behaviour.

An ardent supporter of Ric Flair following his jaw-dropping WWE arrival in 1991, the Nature Boy's victorious stint in the 1992 Royal Rumble was literally Bobby's finest hour.

Extolling all his philosophies from the broadcast booth whilst cheerleading for Flair, Heenan expertly navigated through the match like a devil on Ric's shoulder. Cosying up to babyfaces that would save or team up with Flair, Heenan would then callously turn on a dime the second they dared to attack his man. Screaming shortcuts down the microphone as if to help, Bobby was majestic as a desperate evildoer, perfectly soundtracking Flair's unlikely triumph.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett