7 Amazing Backstage Stories From Wrestling Announcers

4. Brian Pillman Infuriates Bobby Heenan

Brian Pillman's 'Loose Cannon' character has become infamous over time. There are still rumours that the wrestler pulled the wool over Eric Bischoff's eyes, convincing the WCW boss to release him from his contract in 1996. Shortly afterwards, Pillman worked briefly in ECW and then jumped to the WWF for the last major run of his career. If Bischoff was left flummoxed, it was nothing compared to how Bobby 'The Brain' Heenan reacted during one particular show in January, 1996. During a Clash Of The Champions special, Pillman completely flustered the announcer. A lot of wrestling commentators are told to keep their focus on the monitor, instead of looking up from their table at the action in front of them. The idea behind this is that the announce team will then be able to more accurately relay information to fans, because they're seeing what the viewer is seeing. Sneaking up behind Heenan and playing his madcap role to perfection, Pillman attempted to remove Bobby's jacket. Thinking he was being attacked by a fan who had jumped the barrier, Heenan audibly swore with his head set on. This caused problems for WCW, who were a very corporate, clean company. Pillman later apologised, because Heenan had asked management to tell wrestlers not to lay their hands on him. Brian wasn't aware of this, and thought it'd be funny to interact with the famous manager.