Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Raymond Louis Heenan (November 1, 1944 – September 17, 2017) was an American professional wrestling manager, color commentator, and wrestler.

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 WWF main event matches with Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 2 and WrestleMania III respectively.

Known for his quick wit and comedic ability, Heenan also served as a color commentator and is remembered for his on-screen repartee with Gorilla Monsoon.

Heenan retired in 2001 at WrestleMania X-Seven after a seventeen-year stint as a commentator in professional wrestling but he continued to make sporadic appearances in several promotions.

[8] During his time in WWA, he managed Angelo Poffo and Chris Markoff, the Assassins (Guy Mitchell and Joe Tomasso), The Valiant Brothers and The Blackjacks.

He attributed his departure to a dispute with Afflis over pay for his participation in the first-ever wrestling event held at Market Square Arena, emphatically stating that he never returned to the promotion as a result.

[6] The AWA was the starting point for the first incarnation of his eponymous heel stable, The Heenan Family, which initially consisted of Bockwinkel, Stevens, Bobby Duncum Sr., and Blackjack Lanza.

During his short tenure in GCW, Heenan managed a stable of wrestlers that included the likes of Killer Karl Kox, Masked Superstar, Ernie Ladd and Blackjack Lanza.

[14] In late 1979, Heenan returned to AWA and resumed managing Nick Bockwinkel to renewed championship success, including against Hogan in 1983.

[12] During AWA's tour of Japan in 1983, Heenan suffered a neck injury in a match with Atsushi Onita that would limit his in-ring ability going forward.

[26] In 1984, WWF owner Vince McMahon took full advantage of his microphone and comedic skills and Heenan became a color commentator in addition to his managing duties.

"[6][29] Heenan, still suffering from the broken neck he received ten years earlier and unable to cope with the long working hours, decided to leave the WWF at the end of 1993.

He was given an on-air farewell by Gorilla Monsoon on the December 6, 1993 edition of Monday Night Raw, broadcast from the Westchester County Center in White Plains, New York.

When WCW Monday Nitro premiered in September 1995, Heenan left Saturday Night to work on the new show full-time and joined former Chicago Bears defensive lineman Steve McMichael as an analyst alongside play-by-play man Eric Bischoff.

Five months later that year in June 1996, Heenan made a one-off return to ringside at The Great American Bash as the manager of two of his former clients, Ric Flair and Arn Anderson, in a tag team match against his broadcast colleague Steve McMichael and then Carolina Panthers linebacker Kevin Greene.

Heenan was instrumental in convincing McMichael to turn on his partner, which enabled Flair and Anderson to win the match, and fill the open spot in The Four Horsemen that Brian Pillman left behind when he departed from the company earlier in the year.

[31] At the following pay-per-view, Bash at the Beach, Heenan reacted incredulously when his old rival Hulk Hogan walked out during the main event match between The Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall) and Sting, Lex Luger and Randy Savage by shouting "Whose side is he on?

[33] On April 1, 2001, Heenan returned to the WWF and provided commentary to the Gimmick Battle Royal match at WrestleMania X-Seven alongside "Mean" Gene Okerlund.

[36] Heenan made a series of appearances for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) in December 2005, culminating at the Turning Point pay-per-view, where he provided commentary for the Six Man Tag Team Basebrawl match between The Diamonds in the Rough and Chris Sabin, Dale Torborg and Sonjay Dutt.

[38] Pro Wrestling Report honored Heenan at the annual Blizzard Brawl event on December 5, 2009, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as he was given their Lifetime Achievement Award.

[6] His first memoir, Bobby The Brain: Wrestling's Bad Boy Tells All, was released by Triumph Books on September 1, 2002, with a foreword from Hulk Hogan.

[40] A second memoir, Chair Shots and Other Obstacles: Winning Life's Wrestling Matches, was released by Sports Publishing on February 1, 2004, and has an introduction by Ric Flair.

[3] In 2004, he joined former WCW commentators Tony Schiavone and Larry Zbyszko in providing commentary for the video game Showdown: Legends of Wrestling.

[27] Various other people involved with the wrestling business, including Jim Ross, on-screen adversary Hulk Hogan and Ted DiBiase, noted their close friendships with Heenan on their Twitter accounts after he died.

[6] Broadcaster Peter Rosenberg considers Heenan a personal hero and describes him as the best commentator, manager and bad guy in WWE history.

"[29] Longtime on-screen rival Hulk Hogan wrote in the foreword to Heenan's Bad Boy Tells All: "Bobby was a legendary wrestler ...

Pro wrestling historian George Schire praised his in-ring ability, commenting: "Bobby was a good athlete – flipping over the ropes, he could do it all.

"[13] His comedic ability was praised by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, who wrote that Heenan could have been a successful television actor.

[40] WWE Hall of Fame commentator Jim Ross selected Heenan as the greatest talent in the history of the wrestling business.

Ross praised Heenan's ability as a color commentator, stating: He was naturally funny ... and enhanced every single talent, including the heroes, even though Bobby did not support the fan favorites as the bad guy announcer.