Bobby Heenan interview (May 9th, 2001)

Live on eYada radio w/ Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez

[@excelsciors]

This was of course before Bobby had cancer. Bobby sounded so great! If I had 3 wishes, one of them would have been to have Bobby and Gorilla commentate until the age of 105! May both of those men's soul be blessed by God!

[@nix420stuntd7]

Yup. Like Madden and Summerall GOD BLESS

[@jeffreyschatz164]

I miss em both

[@scottmoore1614]

Man, I used to love their Monday night show! What a great team. They must’ve had a blast.

[@jeffreylewis3926]

Only add on would be gorilla and Bobby also booking too.

[@insidethegrills5181]

Amen

[@motownredux]

It's just a shame today's wrestling audience has missed out on listening to the Brain each and every week. There will never be another Bobby Heenan.

[@georgeelmerdenbrough6906]

I liked him better before he went to WWF because he was less cartoonish .He was best in AWA and I first saw him in Georgia managing Lanza and Killer Karl Kox .

[@joaquindelossantos7140]

lmk p ppp😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅i😊😊😅😅😅😅

[@gregthehutch]

Me & my friend met him recently at WrestleCon in New Orleans. Without a doubt, he's one of the nicest, funniest, quick witted people I've ever met. Was an absolute pleasure.

[@Briguy75]

Greatest manager of all time !

[@Papawill13]

Bobby Heenan is the only person I would pay to listen to.

[@user-qj6ht1rx7i]

Simply the best. In every way. If you combined all the wrestling talent on earth today, it wouldn't touch this man. The greatest gift to every true wrestling fan of the past. RIP to the GOAT.....

[@jihmns]

hands down, greatest manager of all time.

[@patrickwilliams6143]

Well Jim Cornette, JJ Dillon, Paul Heyman and Paul Bearer all agree with you, so yeah I think we can call this race for Bobby!

[@josemontano7767]

Great interview in miss Bobby Heenan RIP.

[@erickaravas2804]

my favorite Bobby the brain saying,, win if you can lose if you must but always cheat!!.. classic Bobby the brain heenan.

[@excelsciors]

@@petef9042 Jesse said that to Gorilla while commentating.

[@nealbfinn]

I heard Ray Stevens use that phrase in the 60's. Since he and Bobby worked together a lot back then I figure they both came up with it.

[@Jayce_Alexander]

"Wild" Red Berry said it several decades before Jesse Ventura ever did, way back in the early 50s. I like Jesse Ventura, but he didn't really come up with anything new. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's better to steal something good than come up with something awful.

[@brendandonovan1590]

The Beverley California hills gimmick was one for the ages just tremendous 👌 Untouchable......Thanks Bobby....Dec14,22.

[@therehastobeme]

2 of the best shoot interviews , Bobby Heenan and Jim Cornette

[@bobbyheenan4061]

Best bad guy EVER! My all-time favorite. Love how he tells the stories, he remembered every detail. Rest easy, Brain!

[@Josh_J91]

Bad guy ahahhahahahah omg how old are u it's fake hahahahahaha

[@Messiah717]

One of the last times you can hear Bobby before he got sick.

[@DevoJetBoy8680]

He was already dealing with throat issues by this time. He knew way before he made it public.

[@robertpusateri7106]

How truly Bobby Heenan is a nice man. I'm praying for him everyday. I lost my mom earlier in the year of Alzheimer's Disease.

[@reepacheirpfirewalker8629]

He is and will always be a class act

[@johndoe-bw8wx]

“Don’t yell at me shiavone I’m not blind”

[@robertdiotalevi285]

As Chris Jericho would say, "Ski-ah-vone!"

[@selfiekroos1777]

And to think a year later his voice was already changing... Glad he did the gig at mania 17.

[@mettinmehmed]

OMG, "it was fun to work for a Professional organisation one time"

[@mettinmehmed]

Hearing this from Bobby Heenan shows what he really thought of WCW & how high he regarded the WWF/E, and it was more than emphasized with him saying "well its been a while since I left the Majors & went to T-Ball"

[@robertdiotalevi285]

Often imitated, never duplicated. R.I.P. Brain.

[@hbkgreatestever]

Such a genuine great guy. Makes me proud to be a wrestling fan. Sad to see what has happened to him.

[@crazyirish5804]

What's happened? His health?

[@cerealboy3763]

i know its scary seeing what he looks like now

[@MichaelSimmons.]

"Take a year off. Work out real hard. And come back as a tag rope." Classic Bobby Heenan!

[@shiftacula_music_3646]

Bobby was the best! Rip 🙏🏾

[@dmun8508]

Man bobby was quick witted and hilarious could easily be a stand up comedian if he wanted to be, wish he was healthy we could’ve seen more of him in 2000’s wwe imagine him and jr teaming up in commentary.

[@battlestarmarc]

Heenan was great in the 80s in the wwf.

[@joespitler3929]

Better in the AWA in the 70s

[@Euro-H.E.V.]

This is sad to hear now. :(

[@jeffreyschatz164]

It's still good to hear his voice again. The Brain was great

[@d-mo733]

God, I miss this man so much! Miss Pillman, Piper and Owen so much too! All of em tbh!

[@europeanamerican1360]

Vince should be paying Bobby Heenan a million bucks a year til he dies.

[@015Froggy]

I love Bobby..I really wish that Bobby could stay around forever..once Bobby goes a major part of wrestling will die with him..he is just a consummate professional and embodies wrestling

[@THEBODYPRACTICE]

Probably his best interview ever! RIP to the greatest wrestling manager of all time Bobby “the Brain” Heenan🙏🏻.

[@nickbryant91]

rip bobby

[@stndrds79]

for a guy who never watched tv..he must of read the paper alot because bobby knew a lot about pop culture...

[@ihateflatbunz]

Bobby made it proud for me to be a humanoid

[@grawakendream8980]

you can wear your brown sock and white sock with pride

[@ferox965]

Or a ham n egger haha

[@robertdiotalevi285]

Are you related to the Rosati sisters?

[@joaquindelossantos7140]

CHICAGO’S OWN, BOBBY “THE BRAIN” HEENAN 🧠👑👏🏽

[@ipresnell]

the best announcer of all time alongside Jesse Ventura. I pray for the Brain to be healthy and happy! They could improve the current WWE prodecut 83 by getting a competent announcer in there HALF as good as those two. The new guy on Smackdown is an improvement but they could do even better.

[@georgeelmerdenbrough6906]

I thought Ventura was a little better because heeled harder than Bobby would . Bobby was too funny

[@stephanelauzon15]

Bobby Heenan was no word can come but terrific and woah I and millions more was very entertaining, every time my brother and I would Bobby Heenan was on funny ,comedy and loved it when Him and Gorilla Mosoon Prime Time it was a show Heenan and his antics lmao the Christmas one when he d say I ll give cash and 2 - 3 bux in his wallet LOve You Bobby And THANK YOU ! still watching you you make fe laugh and feel good

[@diluted8]

BOBBY'S ALWAYS SMART, AND ON HIS FEET!

[@MrStcarroll29]

I Love the Brain! I met him recently. I continue to pray that his health will improve

[@stndrds79]

nice! great post. never heard this interview before

[@markbruschi6391]

Bobby The Brain Heenan definitely on my Mount Rushmore.

[@MrBigcityal]

Bobby is one of the funniest people ever, remember him back from in the AWA days.

[@MystikWizard]

As much as I enjoy listening to Heenan, not everything he says needs to be LOL'ed at like Meltzer who is kissing his ass. That is one of the things I notice about Heenan interviews. The man is funny, and I have enjoyed watching wrestling's greatest manager since I began watching in 1990, but there are some things that don't need to be LOL'ed at and it's clear some interviewers kiss the man's ass because they feel obligated to laugh.

[@stndrds79]

i actually agree..I dislike dave and he is an awful interview listen to steve austins podcase where he is interviewed, "uuuh..uhh.." but i agree. what it is is that people feel compelled to laugh at every thing bobby says. bobvby is funny as hell, but people over do it and as much as i love bobby, sometimes actually it gets annoying that bobby tries to hit a home run with a joke every second

[@terencej72]

I always remember his legendary comment/advice "A friend in need is a pest"

[@Jffeeney3rd]

Wow…I’d never heard that future of wrestling story before, that’s crazy!

[@drizzyfest6285]

RIP BOBBY “THE BRAIN” HENNAN

[@Scorch1028]

Bobby mentioned Rick Rude not getting to work with Hulk Hogan, but what Bobby didn't know was that Hulk Hogan specifically told Vince McMahon that he wasn't willing to work with Rick Rude. Barry Darsow (Demolition Smash) said that Hulk Hogan was uncomfortable being around Rick Rude because he was a "legitimate bad-ass (boxer)" who "beat up guys" who made mistakes in their matches with him. Hogan feared that if he ever rubbed Rude the wrong way, that Rude would knock him out -- and he probably would have. The only Hogan/Rude match up I ever saw was at Survivor Series '87 during their 10-man tag match. Those two were probably in the ring together for less than 2 minutes during that entire match, and Hogan managed to avoid pissing off Rude.

[@BenTIStudios]

This a wrestling lore. Hogan never confirmed this. People who are jealous of Hogan have confirmed this. Others have outright denied this legendary tale. So it depends on who you believe. There's an old KZbin video that can't find anymore do guess it was removed either by the uploaded or copyrighted. In it was a a sit down interview with Heenan in front a small crowd. He was asked about these negative stories that we've heard over the years. He said that there's a lot of jealous people out there in the world and the wrestling business is no different. He said plenty of guys complained about Hogan would've never saw the paydays they got without Hogan. His name on the card meant every on that card was making substantially more that night than a night without Hogan. The Hogan hate over the years has just gotten out of hand.

[@paulpatane2439]

There's a match on KZbin where Hogan and Rude have a bout in Boston. Before the match they have a arm wrestling match on the mat. Rude was wearing black/orange tights. It was at the Boston Garden,the Garden always had a yellow platform near the ring.

[@Gullyman23]

At the time I had no idea Hogan, Savage, Heenan or Mean Gene were still in wrestling before the Billionaire Ted sketches.

[@rubiconentertainment]

How do you love a guy who played such a devious weasel for so many years? Heenan was just one of those guys that while you hated the things he did, you got such a kick from the things that came out of his mouth. He was such a gifted talker. It just rolled out with such ease. Better than anyone who ever was a part of the business. Best Manager of all time.

[@michaelallanrubin2376]

Bockwinkle said that was really heenans real.petsonality

[@Josh_J91]

God your stupid ITS FAKE HAHAHAHA

[@jonrife8226]

Bobby Heenan is a true genius of wrestling 👏

[@richardgerischer7353]

Bobby was a king

[@insidewrestlingtruth]

heenan class act

[@allclevernamesgone]

Bobby is the best.

[@SmilingSynic]

I could listen to Heenan all day, but Meltzer is just plain annoying.

[@epcotman32]

And to think this was before he was diagnosed with throat cancer.

[@frankcabanski9409]

And is such an important word, the interviewer started the interview with it.

[@leevinn1977]

The BEST of all TIME at what he did. So FUNNY & quick witted. FLAIR said that BOBBY ,AA & RODDY PIPER were the 3 guys who you just didnt want to get in to it with because they were so QUICK on there feet that they would make you look a FOOL. The WEAZLE was pure MAGIC when ever he was on TV.

[@ihateflatbunz]

The bossman's mom disliked this

[@big_dro1713]

no she gave a like

[@georgeelmerdenbrough6906]

Golberg was over . He was WCW's Bruno Sammartino . No one should have beaten Goldberg for years . He was hotter than Hogan , hotter than the Outsiders and hotter than Bret Hart , which at that time said a lot . WCW was a mad house of rampant egos .

[@rongravy]

I was originally just going to skim through this interview, but after a few minutes I was hooked for the whole ride. The Brain is exactly that,an interesting brain, and funny as shit to boot. I always loved to hate him back in the day, but always secretly liked him. He was, and still is apparently, one suave MF. I'd love to meet him.

[@MrCarl220]

He said the funniest thing I remember on the old Prime Time with the live audience, he asked a guy how long he was married for, the guy said 20 years, then Bobby said "Do you realize if you had killed her, you would be out by now?" LOL!! He was gold!!

[@amys1885]

+rongravy i think he recently passed away........ :(

[@fieldguy316]

+Amy S He is still alive but i think he's in bad shape sadly

[@fieldguy316]

yeah i read that

[@GameTime-yj6qv]

Same. Bobby was the best

[@jamesesslinger1976]

I love the Brain!

[@timothyl8237]

The Brain was the greatest thing to happen in wrestling, PERIOD

[@cwBGee]

Legend

[@chuckcookus]

The is the first time I heard Bobby shoot but he still exhibits his natural wit.

[@tracym1208]

I really liked MR. HEENAN... HE was a Tuff ACT to FOLLOW... = Hes never Lost his Cleverness... = He went thru 30 years of my life and never missed a beat... If there kudos to go to a guy in This Sports Entertainment Business He should have a shrine... This man started at The BOTTOM of this Job and worked his way up and up to the One of the Top positions... = He did so many in Jobs in the business = NoOne gave him ANYTHING... Hard work Ethics...

[@georgeelmerdenbrough6906]

Jim Cornette comes close . His run in Midsouth was epic !

[@MrBrownstone8881]

fantastic interview!

[@abandonedcinema]

Rip legend! Thanks for all the memories! Here during corona. What a quick wit. Would have loved to see a “21st century heenan stable”

[@nicoloco6569]

Ah yes, Mean Gene pickin up them 16 year old farm girls 😅😅😅

[@cerealboy3763]

they cut the guy off asking about mean gean being a pedophile picking up farm girls LOL

[@williamstrother6027]

Bobby heanon wasBobby Bobby the brain Heenan was a great man a man a manager😂 and Bobby heanon was a great manager

[@stndrds79]

bobby was very cynical around this time..just before he starting getting cancer..

[@stndrds79]

***** no i have heard other interviews. he was negative here

[@ArkonBlade]

+stndrds79 I think he was really missing the business. You really felt it in his HOF speech . I think depression set in and just brought him down.

[@stndrds79]

+ArkonBlade dude again..the skcness....thats what i think

[@mr-bradstar3786]

The best of the best

[@chubbylilloser]

I would LOVE to hear an interview of Bobby that wasn't done by an interviewer who found it hard to speak/sturggle to string two words together "uh..i..huh ha..I guess.. well so..so.. were there guys back in that era and everything umm... eh.. you know..that you wouldn't go out with because you were..ya know not afraid ..but..you know.. like..you know."

[@markmenning1804]

He would have been perfect in AEW

[@josephmiller9424]

Was the Brain ever xalled beautiful bobby early in his career

[@travismcdonald6576]

Heenan puts McMahon over yet McMahon wouldn't bring Heenan back around this time.

[@SupaStah01]

+Travis McDonald a lot of people were kissing ass at this point. After WcW, even Savage was trying to get back in WWF in the early 2000's by trying to get vinces attention. They later went back to "sticking" it to vince lol

[@SupaStah01]

***** nah bro. He did some stuff in Japan and said in a shoot interview in 2001 he would love to go back to WWF. It's on KZbin, check it out

[@CBright7831]

Honestly, I think Heenan knew his career was almost over at this point and din't have any aspirations of being brought back. He got to do a memorable HOF speech in 2004 and that was his swan song.

[@georgeelmerdenbrough6906]

I found the Bob Orton Junior is the most criminally under rated in ring performer of all time . If you get the chance to see him in pre -Wrestlemania WWF videos you should check him out . I never thought much of him because he was in my area when it was down and he was not involved at the top . But once I sa him in a hot angle ( see also vs Terry Funk @ San Antonio Tournament ) I was in awe . The guy was an ACE .

[@williamstrother6027]

Bill 😂Bobby heanon was a great manager

[@stndrds79]

such a shame!! if bobby was in much better health today and was able to speak, I am sure he woudl be doing a lot more interviews today and would be very active on the internet engaging with his fans. at least he does go out to public events

[@mettinmehmed]

No buddy, If Bobby Heenan was in much better health the WWE would have had him on the WWE Network 24/7. Imagine how much of an asset he would have been to the WWE Network, the uses for Bobby Heenan would be endless. Had Heenan been in much better health i should imagine he would have a WWE contract akin to Gene Okerlund's, one whereby he is signed to a Lifetime deal. Bobby Heenan would be a spokesperson for the WWE now. Its such a Damned shame that he is in such ill health, Cancer has ravaged that man.

[@stndrds79]

Mettin Mehmed i dont agree. as much as I love bobby I also know how wwe operates today. tell me, the kids of today, can they relate to bobby? do they even know who he ist? JIM ross is educated to the business,,where is he? the sad fact is he would NOT be used in the WWE...i disagree..but he would be more engaged on the internet, podcasts, etc...that I do believe.

[@mettinmehmed]

stndrds79 to a degree you have point, But, its not just Children who are the focal point of the WWE Universe, a Major portion of the "WWE Universe" is adults - like a large portion of adults who do debate the WWE on KZbin, also, the reason why Jim Ross is not on the Network is because he has been fired - he made a total ass of himself when he was at the WWE 2K15 Symposium, and for that the WWE fired him for his behaviour that evening. And why would an ex competitor, commentator, or manager, want to work for free on a Podcast when he can have paid work with the WWE when he can do shows like Legends House?, he would have constant work filming that, just as the rest of the cast of Legends House & show's based on the past do. Don't get me wrong though, Podcast's are a good thing, but only a few of competitors from the past get paid for being hosts of them, & those jobs have proven to be few & far between, and to be honest, any long term WWE/ US Wrestling fan would want to see Bobby Heenan on screen even today doing his thing rather than anything else.

[@stndrds79]

Mettin Mehmed i dont agree completely. Legends house? I doubt it. I think I know bobby's personality, listened to as much interviews, read his books..that would not happen. I can also say that bobby himeslf once said he would like to do a show, or a radio show of some short. further, i can tell you bobby doe snot like to work for someone else anymore being told when to travel and where to go. which is why while he would be a wwe legend, his involvement would be minimal. im basing this off of stuff he has said in the past and not just purely speculation on my part. in fact i wouldnt be suprised if he had little involvement at all with the business, when he left WWE he really intended to do commercials, shows, and get into the entertainment business where I am sure he would have excelled. and i know about jim ross being fired and that story, but im just saying I also think they want commentators that fans of today can relate to..and im sure there was more to the decision then just him being a drunk on stage..

[@mettinmehmed]

stndrds79 what are you on about?, we are on about HYPOTHETICAL SITUATIONS, Bobby Heenan is no position to work at all now. If you knew about JR all along then you would have known not to have bought him into this discussion in the first place.

[@frankcabanski9409]

What makes these interviewers think people want to hear them instead of hearing Bobby?

[@stndrds79]

Dude I agree! Dave is so annoying and inarticulate

[@donmajestic5258]

Nice sneezing

[@TheSteffen1223]

studd did not even take a bump during the royal rumble he won

[@XxgraveXxrobber13]

You humanoids,

[@jamest927]

meltzer is a bad interviewer; so many pregnant pauses and interruptions

[@stndrds79]

agreed

[@donmajestic5258]

Stop stepping over your interviewees lines and when they leave a question open-ended, follow up

[@MisterObjectivity]

Typical Meltzer for you. Bad interviewer: a GOOD interviewer realises it's about the subject, not about the interviewer. Meltzer always cuts people off, whether they're callers or interview subjects. There's a clip online where Meltzer interviews Ole Anderson and Meltzer blabbers on for two minutes at least (no exaggeration--check for yourself) without letting Ole get a single word in. After Meltzer's tirade, Ole asks "is there a question in there?". That's what you're meant to do: ask questions. Meltzer doesn't know how to do that. He just has guests on his show so that Meltzer can (a) talk to his idols, and (b) show off to everybody how much he knows about wrestling history. I think it's time Meltzer got another hobby.

[@bdr113080]

MisterObjectivity I don't give Meltzer the respect other fans do. I think he's full of himself and he thinks his opinion is the only right opinion. I lost all respect for him when he said he wouldn't put Sting in his Hall of Fame. Sting was the main guy in WCW for years before the Nitro era, then Sting was still a main guy when he started the crow gimmick. Sting is an icon and a true legend (and im not counting anything he did in TNA) and Meltzer is so full of himself that he believes if he says it then its true.

[@MisterObjectivity]

Dave Meltzer simply went to a lot of wrestling shows as a youngster, then decided that it might be a neat idea to make a cheap newsletter dishing the dirt behind the scenes of wrestling. That's all. But Meltzer needs to realise there are folks who watch comparable amounts of wrestling, and in some cases have been watching it even longer than Meltzer. Fin Martin, another wrestling scribe who is full of himself, probably has more knowledge of the sport than Meltzer--my basis for this contention being that not only does Martin watch practically every major thing that comes from the United States, Canada, Mexico and Japan, but he also grew up watching the golden age of British wrestling (a massive deal back in the day), so he would've seen the likes of Dynamite Kid and Davey Boy Smith years before Meltzer. But even Fin Martin, for all his knowledge, comes up with some ridiculous contentions (and is reputed to have a personality type roughly on par with Meltzer). That said, Martin absolutely believes that Sting belong in the Hall of Fame. I would say that Meltzer doesn't see Sting as Hall of Fame material because Sting always refused to go to the WWF back in the day. Meltzer always favoured the WWF over WCW as much as possible without TOTALLY vanquishing his credibility in the eyes of most of his readers. When WCW was still around, Meltzer's pro-WWF bias was ludicrous. Granted, the WWF had Austin on top and drew bigger ratings throughout most of 1998, but the shows were abysmal elsewhere--90 percent of the matches on RAW were sub five-minute clusterfucks that ended with a run-in and DQ/no-contest decision. At least WCW Nitro would have some top-notch PPV quality matches on their weekly undercards. But whenever WCW Nitro put on a great match, idiots like Meltzer would point the finger and ridicule WCW for "giving away matches for free". But if the WWF gave away The Rock vs Austin or Shamrock vs Foley on RAW for free, Meltzer would get all excited and say "wow, what a great episode of RAW, it had all the big stars on it in marquee match-ups!". Meltzer is so good with mental gymanstics, apparently Nadia Comeneci rents a room inside his head.

[@stndrds79]

The guy is annoying and annoying to listen to. Listen to steve Austin interview "like" uh etc

[@1980Triumph]

44:03

[@o.d.flores1219]

have heard better Heenan interviews...

[@rosario508]

I think Dave Meltzer is selling on Bobby's jokes a little to much.

[@travismcdonald6576]

+Ross Cicero You know