10 Wrestling Heels Who Generated The Most Heat
2. Bobby Heenan
Bobby Heenan is beloved in the wake of his death.
He was beloved decades prior to it; Heenan, as the only sometime but most iconic voice of the WWF Golden Era, wasn't so much quick-witted as a genuine comedic genius that just so happened to lend that genius to the professional wrestling arena. His utter no-selling of the events that actually transpired, versus his gymnastic rearrangement, was as seminal a contest as Hulk Vs. André or Savage Vs. Warrior.
The man was the most cherished love-to-hate figure in the entire industry. The love variable wasn't always part of the 'Brain's' brilliant formula. Where he sought laughs in the WWF announce booth, the 'Weasel' sought pure, old-fashioned heat in the American Wrestling Association.
Several wrestlers, throughout wrestling's wild west history, incited riots; some, like the aforementioned Freddie Blassie, were stabbed. A man aimed a godd*mn gun at Bobby Heenan at the Chicago International Amphitheatre when he interfered on behalf of his charge, honourable mention and prime technician Nick Bockwinke, in 1975. The unnamed assailant missed Heenan - he was always oozing away from danger, that was the heat - and instead hit several members of the audience, one of whom was critically injured.
Heenan wasn't one to revel in the myth - he was happier making more money in a less dangerous environment - which, what a worker, only adds to it.