10 Reasons Why Bobby Heenan Was The Best All-Rounder In WWE History

1. The Commentator

Bobby Heenan
WWE.com

That's 'Broadcast Journalist', you ham-n-egger.

A sensational voice atop squashes and competitive battles alike throughout the late 1980s, Heenan made a full transition to the broadcast booth in 1991 when he relinquished all his outstanding management duties save for a short stint accompanying Ric Flair to the ring as his 'Financial Advisor' alongside Mr. Perfect as 'The Nature Boy's 'Executive Consultant'.

For virtually any fan that discovered the product during WWE's national expansion between 1984-90 and international explosion between 1990-93, Bobby Heenan's voice came to represent warmth and assurance on commentary, even if he did make endless excuses for the fiendish heels and so rarely showed support, compassion or respect for all of your favourites.

His shining moment on the headset will exist forever in the 'best of' selection of another prolific performer. Ric Flair's 1992 Royal Rumble victory is only half a story when watched on mute. Soundtracked by an increasingly desperate Heenan, the unlikely victory of the 'Nature Boy' (and numerous teases of his potential elimination) is a story told through the voice of a man with deep financial and emotional investment in it.

An inspired decision to have Heenan on the call (and put so much character work into it), his quips are the stuff of legend, with Bobby not so much throwing every punch with Ric, but certainly cowering and bargaining with opponents, God, and Flair himself just so 'they' can all win the big one.

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Bobby Heenan
 
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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 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. 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