Being the annoying jackass of a toadie who seconded Nick Bockwinkel to the ring in the American Wrestling Association could've easily put Heenan on this list without ever having set foot in Stamford, Connecticut. However, it's in going above and beyond the call of duty in the name of entertainment in his seven years at ringside during the World Wrestling Federation era that makes Bobby Heenan the WWE's greatest manager of all time. There are five moments in particular (of the thousands of memorable moments) wherein Heenan truly may have set himself apart. Managing career-long babyface Andre the Giant when he turned heel on Hulk Hogan in 1987 and faced Hogan in the main event of Wrestlemania III Managing Ultimate Warrior opponents Hercules, "Ravishing" Rick Rude and Andre the GIant, thus spanning 1987-1991 working in feuds with the Warrior, and in many ways assisting in the acceleration of his growth as an in-ring competitor at a crucial time in his development. Being the man responsible for holding aloft the National Wrestling Alliance's World Heavyweight Championship on WWF TV to hearken the arrival of Ric Flair to the WWF in 1991 as the "Real World's Champion Almost single-handedly getting over the Big Bossman in 1990 as a babyface after a top-tier run as a heel in the WWF for three years, largely by insulting the Bossman's mother on commentary. For Heenan as a faceless voice to be able to have the heat in his persona to be able to speak an in-ring feud to life with TV commentary is impressive. For that feud to last eight months without Heenan being the one taking any of the significant bumps is impressive, too. A heel whose greatest heat comes in being able to live another day is a rare trait in pro wrestling aspired to by many, but reached by few. Color-commentating Ric Flair's epic run in the 1992 Royal Rumble. Not since Paul Heyman's current run of making Brock Lesnar a big deal on TV has an on-screen persona been allowed to be so absurdly one-sided, arrogant and overbearing on the company's TV shows without fear of reprisal or comeuppance. Screaming "That's not fair to Flair" and "You got to be fair to Flair," and then grinning like the cat that swallowed the canary while doing his trademark "Brain" point-to-skull, it may have been Heenan's most impressive moment in the company, as he had ascended from anti-Hogan conspiracy theorist to manager of Tag Team and Intercontinental champions, to now literally having watched a "real" world's champion best 29 of the most legendary names of WWF's then most cash-rich era, it was arguably the pinnacle of his career.
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
