20 WWE Superstars And Their 80s Counterparts

5. Paul Heyman/Bobby Heenan

Luke Harper and Bruiser Brody
WWe.com/WWE

When the argument of the greatest ever wrestling manager comes up, the two vying for the top position often ultimately end up as Bobby “The Brain” Heenan and Paul Heyman.

In the ‘80s, Heenan spent time managing some of the biggest names in the AWA and the WWF, looking after stars such as Andre the Giant, Nick Bockwinkel, “Ravishing” Rick Rude, Mr. Perfect, The Brain Busters, and “Mr Wonderful” Paul Orndorff.

He would be used as the perfect heat magnet to establish these talents as instantly hated heels, with Heenan’s verbiage and mic work also doing wonders in solidifying his Heenan Family as a legitimate threat to whomever was in their sights.

When looking at Paul Heyman, it’s easy to pull comparisons with the legendary Brain, with the former ECW owner similarly a true master of the microphone and somebody who has used his skills to assists superstars such as Brock Lesnar, CM Punk, Rob Van Dam, Kurt Angle, The Big Show and even did his very best to get Curtis Axel over (hey, even Heyman at his very best couldn’t save that sinking ship).

But again, it comes back to who really is the best between these two. It’s an argument that is impossible to give a sincere and concrete answer to, such is the brilliance of these two icons.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.