Bobby Heenan is considered by his peers and his bosses to be the greatest professional wrestling manager, one of the funniest personalities to ever wrestle in the squared circle, and a brilliant colour commentator. Almost getting shot by a fan did not stop Heenan from being his ‘weasel-like’ character.
The last World Wrestling Entertainment DVD release of 2010, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, is a fun look back for WWE fans of the 80's growing up hating Heenan and his wealth of talented wrestlers in his stable known as ‘The Heenan Family.’ Disc one contains a standard WWE documentary on Heenan’s career, memorable moments from his days managing, hilarious segments with Gorilla Monsoon, and the display of his sharp wit while commentating in WWE and World Championship Wrestling. Disc two features a couple of Heenan’s matches, commentary along with Gorilla Monsoon for the Royal Rumble ’92, and the commentary work he did at WrestleMania 17 for the Gimmick Battle Royal.
WWE did not put a lot of time into Heenan’s biography as 50 minutes is far too short for such an amazing talent. However, Heenan has lived an amazing life where he influenced a lot of wrestlers to become champions and is considered by Vincent Kennedy McMahon Jr. to be the best ever. The bio explains how he made his difficult route into pro wrestling and how he only went to WWE with the blessing of former World Heavyweight Champion Nick Bockwinkel.
Throughout every organization Heenan showed that he put the business over his own image, as every evil deed he started ended up with him losing in the end. The clips of The Bobby Heenan Show are neat to see, but it’s disappointing there are no highlights from his show in the extras. His entire wCw run is considered a miserable time, although many fans of the 90's best remember Heenan from wCw. His commentary there was comedy gold, but WWE almost completely ignores it.
Heenan is not interviewed for the biography, although he does have some comments in the extras. Heenan’s jokes about women can easily be taken the wrong way, especially by women who are sensitive about their weight. Heenan’s wife and sobbing daughter show how he is far from a sexist person in real life. Heenan’s partnership with Monsoon is showcased as arguably the greatest commentating duo ever in WWE, even Jerry Lawler admits Heenan and Monsoon are better than Jim Ross and Lawler.
The Heenan DVD set is one that will leaving you wanting more and hopefully this is only one of many Heenan DVDs to be released. If you’re a fan of WWE’s The World’s Greatest Wrestling Managers or preferred wrestling when there was no Monday Night RAW, Heenan was one of the best reasons to watch wrestling in that era.
WWE: Bobby “The Brain” Heenan
Rated: PG
Entertainment One
Released on Dec. 28, 2010
Disc 1 Documentary Chapters:
Chicago Root
Manage like a Wrestler
Orange Fire
Weasel Suit
Remembering AWA
Bright Lights, Big City
Heenan Family
WrestleMania
I Am Not a Weasel
Manager of Champions
Primetime
The Bobby Heenan Show
Commentating with Gorilla
Leaving WWE
WCW
Health Issues
Hall of Fame
Disc 1 Extras:
The Executioners
AWA Manager of the Year 1976
AWA All-Star Wrestling – 25th December, 1976
The Wrestling Bear
Centerfold
“Honey, I’m Home!”
The Other Weasel Suit
“I Am Not A Weasel”
Tuesday Night Titans – 2nd October, 1984
Bobby Heenan & Gorilla Monsoon go to Busch Gardens
Prime Time Wrestling – 12th December, 1988
Get Your Popcorn Ready
Golfing Tips with Bobby Heenan & “Mean” Gene Okerlund
Sterling Farms Golf Course – October 1991
Bobby’s Big Entrance
WrestleMania IX – 4th April, 1993
Gorilla Monsoon Fires Bobby Heenan
RAW – 6th December, 1993
The Humor of Bobby Heenan
A Farewell to Gorilla
Nitro – 11th October, 1999
The Wedding Eulogy
“Freakish Noises”
WrestleMania XX – 14th March, 2004
Bobby Heenan’s Induction into the WWE Hall of Fame
WWE Hall of Fame – 13th March, 2004
Disc 2:
Battle of the Managers
Bobby Heenan vs. Lord Alfred Hayes
AWA St. Paul, MN – 13th January, 1980
Weasel Suit Match
Bobby Heenan vs. Greg Gagne
AWA St. Paul, MN – 17th August, 1980
Handicap Match
Hulk Hogan vs. Nick Bockwinkel & Bobby Heenan
AWA – St. Paul, MN – 2nd May, 1981
Bobby Heenan vs. Salvatore Bellomo
Madison Square Garden – 26th November, 1984
Weasel Suit Match
Bobby Heenan vs. Ultimate Warrior
WrestleFest `88 – 31st July, 1988
The Royal Rumble Match
Royal Rumble – 19th January, 1992
Commentary By: Bobby Heenan & Gorilla Monsoon
Gimmick Battle Royal
WrestleMania X7 – 1st April, 2001
Commentary By: Bobby Heenan & Gene Okerlund