Many feel that Bobby Heenan is not only the greatest wrestling manager of all-time, but the greatest wrestling color commentator, as well. His sharp sense of humor and comedic timing were great, period, not just for someone in wrestling. His arrival in WCW was to bring legitimacy to their commentary, which had been lacking for multiple reasons before him. On-air, Heenan was as sharp as ever. While not on the same level as his work with Gorilla Monsoon, or even "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, his chemistry with the likes of Tony Schiavone and Mike Tenay was high, and it made for some entertaining commentary. It's what everyone expected, and it leads you to believe that Heenan could have made anything worthwhile, as many people had issues with Schiavone and Tenay on their own. Off-air, Heenan, too, was miserable in WCW. Like many that signed with the company during that time, he was lured with a ridiculously large sum of money. Like many that signed with the company during that time, he realized that, other than money, the grass wasn't exactly greener on the other side. Many of us have been in a similar situation before. You're at one job that makes you happy, but doesn't pay as much as another job that comes along, so you take it for the money, only to realize that you hate the new place you work at. Do you feel that you've "sold out" by being unhappy every day, but collecting a bigger pay check? In an interview not that long after WCW went out of business, Heenan would literally flush a toilet live on the air at the mere mention of the name "Tony Schiavone". He would then refer to WCW as "wrestling's version of Hee-Haw". He then ripped Steve "Mongo" McMichael, both as an announcer and as a wrestler, saying Mongo was a nice guy, but simply wasn't cut out for the business. He then went on rants about how poorly managed WCW was (there's that theme again), specifically pointing Eric Bischoff out, before referring to WCW as "the minor leagues". All in all, it sounds like it was money be damned, and he was as happy as could be that he was no longer having to work for the company.
Columnist/Podcaster/Director at LordsOfPain.net for nearly seven years, with nearly 2000 total columns written. Interviewed and/or involved in interviewing the likes of Tyler Black/Seth Rollins (twice), Diamond Dallas Page, Jimmy Jacobs, Christopher Daniels, Uhaa Nation and more.
