Ray Heenan

Raymond Louis Heenan was an American professional wrestling manager color commentator wrestler and comedian He performed with the American Wrestling Association AWA WWE and World Championship Wrestling WCW under the ring name Bobby The Brain Heenan Heenan was known for his skill in elevating villainous onscreen talent by drawing negative reactions for himself and his wrestlers from the crowd He was paired with numerous wrestlers including Nick Bockwinkel whom he led to win the AWA World Heavyweight Championship and he became an integral figure in the 1980s professional wrestling boom by managing King Kong Bundy and André the Giant in WWE main event matches with Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 2 and WrestleMania III respectively The wrestlers under his tutelage were collectively known as The Heenan Family at various times throughout his career Known for his quick wit and comedic ability Heenan also served as a color commentator and is remembered for his onscreen repartee with Gorilla Monsoon Outside of wrestling Heenan authored two books appeared on numerous television shows and briefly hosted a parody talk show titled The Bobby Heenan Show on WWE Prime Time Wrestling Heenan retired in 2001 at WrestleMania XSeven after a seventeenyear stint as a commentator in professional wrestling but he continued to make sporadic appearances in several promotions In 2002 he was diagnosed with throat cancer which limited his appearances in later years and died from complications of the disease in 2017 Among other honors he has been inducted into the Professional Wrestling WWE and Wrestling Observer halls of fame After his death multiple wrestling commentators described his manager persona as the greatest professional wrestling manager of all time