by Brandon Truitt

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***This article was originally posted on August 19, 2002***

Next week I'll return with a review of the Justin Credible shoot.

As always, you can feel free to Drop me an e-mail, read the archives, buy me stuff, or buy yourself stuff at Highspots.com.




Last week's shows were good for the most part. They set up a lot of matches for Summerslam including Test vs. Undertaker, Goldust and Booker T. vs. the UnAmericans (Lance Storm and Christian), and Chris Jericho vs. Ric Flair. They also had great matches like Rock vs. Benoit. In fact, all of it was so good that it paid off with about a 4.0 rating on RAW and a 3.7 rating on Smackdown.

This week's shows will have to try hard to live up to the ones from last week. The announced segments so far are a Fozzy performance, Stacy vs. Trish in a bra and panties mudwrestling match, Taker and Bookerdust vs. the UnAmericans, Spike and Bubba vs. Regal and Harvard, and a Rock vs. HHH match.

That Rock-HHH match will be the final test to see if anyone but Jericho or Angle is capable of carrying HHH to a good match anymore. Considering that HHH actually had heat last week after attacking Rock, it will be interesting to see if he acually has any of it left when he opens the show with a 20-minute interview.

Next week's shoot interview will most likely be the Al Snow shoot where he rips certain members of the WWF management apart (this was in 1998). If not that one, then possibly it will be the Road Warriors shoot or the Jake Roberts shoot.


Oh, and for those of you interested in suggestions of shows to watch, my recommendation for this week is AAA: When Worlds Collide. This 1994 PPV showcased many rising talents such as Rey Mysterio Jr., Psicosis, the late Louie Spicoli (then known as Madonna's Boyfriend), and Los Gringos Locos (Eddy Guererro and the late "Love Machine" Art Barr), who take on Octagon and Hijo del Santo in a Double Masks Vs. Hair match in a co-main event match.

It's only a five-match show, but three of those matches are VERY good, with the Gringos Locos vs. Octagon and Santo match being the best on the card.



Bobby “the Brain” Heenan Shoot Interview-

Pre-interview sequences: Heenan does an AWA interview about the AWA magazine and how his article wasn’t published. This is followed by a match between Heenan and Cowboy Bob Ellis, with the Blackjacks (Blackjack Lanza, a WWE road agent, and Blackjack Mulligan, the father of Barry Windham and Kendall Windham) at ringside. Heenan comes down to the ring with a brace on his leg and crutches, trying to get out of the match. Jerry Lawler used this routine at Summerslam 93. This match is available in the 5-volume Wrestling Gold series in MUCH better condition.

Interview starts

Got started in the business working at the coliseum in Indianapolis setting up the ring, carrying jackets, etc. Wanted to wrestle but started as a manager because he was only 180 pounds. His philosophy on managing- “You manage as a wrestler and wrestle as a manager.” Doesn’t see a place for managers anymore “because everyone wants the T+A and you can’t blow it off in a cage match.” Transition from managing to wrestling was easy because it was more money. Worked in Indianapolis, St. Louis, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Detroit, Ontario, WWF, WCW, Georgia, Houston, NWA, among other territories. Puts over Paul Boesch as the best payoff guy in the business.

Georgia- Hated working for Ole Anderson. “No respect for humans.” “The kind of guy who has a size 10 foot and a size 9 shoe.” Among others, he managed Blackjack Lanza and Pepper Gomez. Talked about how stupid he and everyone else were back in the days for not demanding more money.

People who took him under their wings- Ray Stevens. He mostly learned by looking at why over guys were over and why under guys weren’t. Says that being a worker means putting asses in seats and says that means that Hulk Hogan’s still a worker.

The Crusher was very easy to work with in the ring, and went home to his family instead of hanging out with the guys. Said that a lot of people did that in those days.

Ray Stevens- Fun, more fun outside the ring. Always made him laugh.

Verne Gagne- Fun to work with. Strict, though. Made you do things no one else wanted you to do like being on time and work. Paid well. Pushed himself about as hard as he could, though.

Nick Bockwinkle- Fun, but you’d ask him what time it was and he told you how to build a watch. Cared about the business and himself, always wanted to look good. Professional.

Hogan in the AWA- Verne wanted him to be a heel, so he put him with Johnny Valiant who Heenan called a “horrible human being.” Said that Hogan immediately took off when he went face and the rest was history. Met Hogan in 1979 in Georgia and immediately saw that he had “it”

Greg Gagne- “Was he pushed too hard by Verne?” “He should have pushed him harder. Should have pushed him off a cliff.”

AWA- Why did it die? Verne didn’t know how to fight Vince and couldn’t keep up. By the time he left, he thought that AWA should stand for “All Wrules Awful”

Eddie Graham- Disciplinarian.

Stu Hart- Never worked for him, thinks it would have been Hell. “You ever been to Canada? When you land they tell you to set your watch back to 1965.”

WWF- Hogan brought him into the WWF. Didn’t like working every day since he had a wife and a kid, but Vince offered him three times what he was making in the AWA.

Vince McMahon- First met him at the buildup to the Inoki vs. Muhammed Ali fight. Vince didn’t even give him the time of day then, but was a great guy when he worked for him. Says it’s harder to judge Vince while you work for him than after you’ve left. Always got along with him.

Big John Studd- Very nice guy, too nice to be a heel. “Too nice for this business”

Was Hogan different to work with in the WWF? No, he never changed. Said that a lot of guys that hate Hogan didn’t get a chance to work with him, and said that they didn’t work with him because they couldn’t draw against him.

Other managers’ pay- Didn’t want to know because if he made less he’d be upset, and if he made more they’d whine to Vince and get part of his pay.

Jimmy Snuka- Hell of an athlete.

Roddy Piper- Very talented. Remembered him coming out of Winnapeg weighing about 190 pounds. He’d wrestle anybody just for the experience. Said that Piper was always a good talker and that can help you more than being a good wrestler.

Learned how to do promos while shaving. Said that seeing yourself in the mirror when you talk helps you immensely because you see what the fans see. Says that all promos today are interchangeable. Says that wrestlers should have their own look and not have long hair and wear jeans like the fans.

Advice to people trying to enter the business today- “Put a .38 in your mouth and pull the trigger.” Wrestling is over because the fans know how to do all the tricks now. Said if Houdini or Blackstone showed everyone how to do tricks, they’d never have drawn again.

Wrestlemania 3- It was great just to see so many people there. Said Andre the Giant knew it was his last run and wanted to make all he could with Hogan.

Did he see the WWF getting as big as it did? Kind of, because he saw Vince doing all kinds of things that had never been done before. Said that the WWF should have smartened up all the production people but, instead, smartened up all the fans.

Paul Orndorff- Very intense guy. He was overly concerned about his image and very professional.

Andre the Giant- Hated people because they’d hassle him about his height and size.

Kayfabe in the day vs. now- There is no kayfabe anymore. Ironclad kayfabe in the 60’s, in that people didn’t drink together, eat together, ride together, etc. Compares the destruction of kayfabe to stuntmen showing people how the stunts are done. Said that there was no reaction in the locker room when Jim Duggan and the Iron Sheik got busted in a car together. It only got press because the WWF was on the rise at the time.

Other guys he managed-

Missing Link- “RF- I remember that…” “Heenan- I’m trying not to.” Didn’t like him because Link expected him to be his mouthpiece in public to sell his gimmick. Compares being a real manager to running a daycare center for adults.

Talked about how he, George Seal, and Blackjack Lanza would produce the interviews in the WWF. Most guys were easy to work with, but not guys like Ultimate Warrior. Says Warrior was “too good for the business… too smart” with a lot of obvious sarcasm. Asks where Warrior is now to prove his point. Says that Captain Lou Albano wasn’t easy to produce, that Piper wanted to do his own thing (which he didn’t have a problem with), etc.

Announcing- Jesse Ventura went to film Predator, so Vince asked him if he wanted to fill in as an announcer on Prime Time Wrestling. It just snowballed from there. Talked about how Ventura wanted to be Superstar Billy Graham and that he never liked Hogan because Hogan was a bigger star than him. He was a great talker, interesting look, could draw people, etc., but was a bad in-ring worker.

Gorilla Monsoon- One of his best friends ever as he was honest and very decent. Talked about how working with him was fun instead of work. Tells a story about how they did the Halloween show once where Gorilla was wearing a Gorilla outfit and how, during the last commercial break, they noticed that the cameraman was the same size as Gorilla. They put the cameraman in the outfit then had Gorilla walk in as if he hadn’t been there all night.

Rosati Sisters- Three women from upstate New York who Vince knew that were big fans.

Terry Taylor and Brooklyn Brawler- Barely remembers the whole situation. Terry Taylor “was never going to draw you money”, so they made him a jobber chicken (Red Rooster). Brawler would have been a star if he’d been smarter about his image. “Difference between a limo driver and a cab driver… the limo driver has a suit.” Doesn’t like Taylor much because he isn’t truthful, as he lied to him several times in WCW over trivial stuff.

Says that he and Monsoon worked together great because they both loved comedy and that they didn’t have to take wrestling dead seriously.

Loved managing better than wrestling because “you didn’t get touched.”

Payoffs for managers- They’re based on who your guys are facing. If John Studd was wrestling Hogan, he got a big payoff. He says that TV time was the only reason he managed Terry Taylor.

Cutting of Andre’s hair- That was fun because John Studd kept Andre’s hair in the bag so long that it actually went grey.

Andre’s drinking- Andre was drunk and on a plane once trying to remove his armrest (which you could do in first class). When the stewardess came up while he was playing with it, she asked what he wanted and he said “Screwdriver”. 10 minutes later, she came back with a real screwdriver, not the drink. His response- “What would you bring me if I’d said Bloody Mary?” Heenan pulled the stewardess aside and said “He’s 7’5”, 500 pounds, and smashed… don’t bring him tools.”

Didn’t have a lot of bloopers working with Monsoon because they’d let them go and work them into the act.

The Bobby Heenan Show- It was Vince’s idea. They ran into a problem with the USA network because they wanted 2 hours of wrestling, not 30 minutes of comedy and 90 minutes of wrestling. Jameson was an actor that Vince had hired. Doesn’t think that the porn actress that was on the show was attractive.

Rick Rude- Rude was hard to manage because he didn’t want to work with him. Heenan didn’t have a problem with it. Vince wanted them together, but Rude was paranoid that he would steal his heat.

Weasel suit matches and working with Ultimate Warrior- It was easier to work with Greg Gagne when he did that series of matches in the AWA. Warrior didn’t know how to work, so it was a lot harder to work an angle with him. Talked about how Andre liked a particular spot where he’d get clotheslined into the ropes and would get tied up. Warrior would come at him 200 miles an hour. Andre let it go the first few nights he did it. On the third night, Andre put his hand up and stops Warrior, which rattles his brain. On the fourth night, Warrior was VERY slow when he did that spot, which got Andre to look at Heenan and say “He’s learning”. Says that if Andre didn’t want you to have a good match, you were screwed. Andre didn’t like the Iron Sheik because he’d take advantage of guys in the ring.

Heenan then goes into a story about how there were guys who wrestled on weekends. Said that beating them up wasn’t good because they also worked during the week. The proper way to work with guys like that was to get them on the mat and outwrestle them while getting over with the crowd since they couldn’t handle spots.

Working with Ric Flair- Vince put him with Flair because Flair’s contract wouldn’t let him on TV. Instead, Vince sent Heenan out with the NWA championship to cut the promos.

His neck- He broke his neck in 1983 during a match involving Onita and Haku. He never got it operated on until he had insurance, while working for Turner in WCW, and it just gradually got worse so he quit managing.

Curt Hennig- Great athlete, great guy, good talent. Says he’s very misunderstood.

Favorite guys to work with in the ring- Pepper Gomez, Red Basteen, High Fliers (Jim Brunzell and Greg Gagne), and Mad Dog Vachon. Hated working with the Warrior because he was horrible in the ring.

Favorite angle to work in the WWF- Andre vs. Hogan because it was BIG money. Says that Andre asked for him to be his manager.

Working in Japan- Full of Japs.

Sex scandal in the WWF- No one cared because everyone just wanted their money and to go home. Talked about how Jim Neidhart for about 80 days and that he’d worked from February through late November in Georgia once.

Haku- Good heart as well as one of the toughest guys ever. Just wanted to work and feed his family.

Working with Vince McMahon- Never had problems with him because he was always smooth with people.

British Bulldogs- One of the greatest tag teams ever. They did spots that no one had ever done before.

Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth- He was in broadcasting then, so he only heard stories about what Randy would do with Elizabeth. Says that he can see how Randy justified it but that if he didn’t want her screwing around on him with the other wrestlers, he should have left her at home. (This dealt with rumors of Savage locking Liz up in a room before his matches, which WAS substantiated by several wrestlers including Honkytonk Man.) Talks about managing Savage’s father, Angelo Poffo, at one time.

Did anyone ever get upset over his insults? Sid Vicious got upset at being referred to as “not the sharpest spoon in the drawer.” Talked about how he referred to Mikey Whipwreck as Mikey Sheepdip because it would click better than his name. Talks about how Kanyon would insult everyone and ask for their opinion of him instead of complimenting them and asking for their opinion of him. If they booed him after he’d complimented them, it would give him material to work with. Heenan made suggestions to him and was blown off with “I might try them at a house show somewhere.” Asks where he is now sarcastically then talks about how that’s what happens when you take bottom feeders and try to put them on top.

Jake “the Snake” Roberts- Tremendously talented guy but had a lot of emotional problems. Said that Jake and Ted Dibiase were two guys that he could leave alone in the interview room and still end up with two months of great interviews.

Did he see Beyond the Mat? He doesn’t read wrestling books or watch wrestling movies.

Managing Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson- Arn was a great guy, and he liked Tully but he had personality problems. He got along great with Tully’s dad Joe, who ran Southwest Championship Wrestling out of San Antonio, Texas.

Leaving the WWF- He was tired of going to New York and his daughter was going to college at the University of Alabama, so he took the WCW offer. He’d intended to just take a year off, but the offer was too good to pass up. There was no hard feelings with Vince over it. Said that the WWF was the major leagues and that WCW was like tee-ball.

WCW- He was called at home by Eric Bischoff to do their Saturday night show. Once Jesse Ventura quit, he gradually took over his stuff. Says Bischoff wasn’t too bright but that he got three raises out of him, so he was happy.

Eric Bischoff- Initial impressions were that he was a used car salesman that happened to be in wrestling. Eric vs. Vince = Walmart vs. Neiman Marcus. Said that whoever came up with the idea of beating Goldberg was bad but whoever okayed it was worse. Talked about how McGwire came to Atlanta to meet with Goldberg, and ended up rubbing his bat on Goldberg’s chest before starting his 70 home run season. Says that Eric missed a LOT of stuff that Vince would have done in a heartbeat. Vince was a wrestling company that used TV to survive, WCW was a TV company that wrestled. Said that payouts weren’t given to the right people and that angles were never followed up on.

Brian Pillman at the Clash of Champions- Says it was an accident because he was watching the monitor and didn’t know Pillman. He thought that Pillman was a fan that was screwing with his jacket, and that he was nervous because of his bad neck, so that’s why he yelled “What the fuck are you doing?!?” at him while he was still on the microphone. Said it was stupid to mess with the announcers because they’re never on camera.

WCW was a television production that “had no one in charge who knew what they were doing and Tony Schivone was worst.” Tony would hold back information from him and Mike Tenay at times. Said that all the shoot business was stupid because shoots don’t happen in wrestling.

Steve McMichael- Said that he was up for an Emmy award for doing radio broadcasts for the Chicago Bears and that Bischoff fell in love with the idea of bringing him in to commentate on wrestling, but that McMichael didn’t make the transition well. Said that Mark Madden was put in his spot because they wanted a “younger and more MTV look” despite the fact that Madden wasn’t a good announcer and is by most accounts “a fat piece of shit”.


They take a break here and put on a 6-man tag match from somewhere in the Midwest. The teams are The Crusher, Dick the Bruiser, and Little Bruiser vs. Heenan and the Blackjacks (Lanza and Mulligan). It’s mostly a comedy match as Heenan and Little Bruiser start off then Crusher brings in Little Brusier later to humiliate one of the Blackjacks. Eventually, Little Brusier gets the pin on Heenan.


Says that the new format of wrestling is much better because everyone used to watch the interviews then go to the bathroom during the squash matches because it was always the same stuff.

Didn’t like Warrior because he wouldn’t plan things out. Talks about how guys like that don’t realize that he could no-sell something and completely kill his gimmick. Talks about how he buried his mother, his grandmother, and other people with all the money he made in the business, so he owes them a lot. Talks about how the fans are so important to the business.

Monday Night Raw- Loved the concept and loved the Manhatten Center, where they used to film it. Says that the TV is as good or better than the pay-per-views now, so why pay $50 for it? Says that the 4 PPVs a year was perfect, but now only Wrestlemania means something since there are 12 a year.

Gorilla Monsoon again- Talked to him right before he died. Talks about how he was a great guy. Said that Gorilla’s bedroom furniture was Oriental because his wife picked it out, and that Gorilla had once said “She should have married Fuji.” When Heenan’s last night came around, Vince asked him how he want to go and he suggested that Gorilla throw him out and that he should have hotel towels and everything in his bag. Pat Patterson had suggested bras and panties, but he told him “Pat, when you and I pack, we pack differently.” He and Gorilla got off the elevator together at the hotel that night and said their goodbyes, then he went to his room, saw a basket of fruit, and called up Gorilla and said “Hey, you big ape, I’ve got some bananas here?” Then Gorilla came over, got the fruit, and they both cried for an hour in the hall.

Working at WCW- Treated with no respect. When Mick Foley and Maxx Payne were feuding with the Nasty Boys, he had suggested that Gene Okerlund open up the show with a siren in the background, then slowly pull back to see that an ambulance was headed to the ring. Bischoff blew him off, so he went into paycheck-zombie mode. Said that most people there were unqualified to be in the business.

If he’d have been in charge of WCW- He’d “have put everyone in a room and rolled a grenade in.” He would never have bitched at anyone because they were going to do what they wanted anyway.

Memories that stick out from WCW- “That would be like asking George Brett if he remembered that hemorrhoid operation.”

Complaints about his commentary style- He says that everyone knows that wrestling’s fake, so why not have fun with it? He said that people who complain about it and say that they’re being serious out there should start laying in their hits instead of “looking like they can’t break an egg.” “You can’t make chicken salad out of chicken shit.”

Was he asked to manage in WCW- He turned it down because of his neck and he was never told who he’d manage. He said that they didn’t know what to do with the wrestlers, so they wouldn’t know what to do with him either.

Kevin Nash and Scott Hall coming in to WCW in 1996- Scott Hall was a heck of a talent but had a lot of bad advice from bad people. Says that the WWF could still use him if they did it correctly. Says that Nash was just another big guy.

Did any of the young guys ever approach him for advice- Yes, and he told them that “whatever you do, pretend like you do it for real” and that whatever advice he gave worked with him but may not work for them.

Guys he was responsible for getting over- He refuses to say because he says they would have gotten over anyway and that he may have just been a small part of it. Talks about how the Valiant brothers (Jimmy Valiant, Johnny Valiant, and Jerry Valiant) were useless and that they needed him badly because they’d talk at the wrong times and do the same stupid things in the ring.

WCW circa 1996- Eric Bischoff never really changed because he never had confrontations with people. He acted like he was above everyone else. Says things were the same when they were on top or the bottom, and that they were lucky to be on top for 83 weeks in a row. Says that Vince screwed up with the Billionaire Ted stuff because it just made people want to watch WCW and that WCW had made the same mistake by telling people what was on RAW. Said that telling people that Mick Foley was winning the belt on the other channel was stupid.

Bill Goldberg- Said he’d have had him go 3000 and 0. Says that being Jewish would help him tremendously because a lot of people in marketing and television were Jewish and would run with it. Says that being an ex-football player, being raw, and his look also helped him tremendously. Says that beating Goldberg killed WCW. Said that they did it to hurt Goldberg instead of helping the company.

WWF- Told Vince he was available and so Vince used him at Wrestlemania X-7. Says that it was wonderful after having worked in WCW. Says he’d go back if the timing and the money were right, as well as not having to work every day. He doesn’t see much of a future in wrestling since people can figure out what’s going to happen and because there’s no competition.

Being replaced by Mark Madden- Worked there for 6 years and only missed two days. One was for his mother-in-law’s funeral and the other was when he lost his voice due to strep throat. They went nuts trying to find Madden when the second one happened.

Hated Vince Russo and said that Vince McMahon would take 1/20th of Russo’s ideas and adapt it to what he needed, so that he wasn’t the savior of the WWF.

Favorite and least favorite people to work with- Loved working with Monsoon, Gene Okerlund, and Mike Tenay. Didn’t mind working with Ed Ferrara. Hated working with Tony Schivone.

WCW sale- Says that he knew someone would buy it and figured Vince would do it just for the tapes.

Wrestlemania X-7- Met a lot of the new guys and they treated him great, like the Dudley Boyz. Also had a great time with other people involved in the battle royal like Hillbilly Jim and the Iron Sheik. He looked at it as an opportunity. “I had to get out of the house because I was starting to think of my wife as Nicole Simpson”

Lucha and other styles- Says it was great every once in a while, but that it’s overdone now. Says that they could have just brought in 2 or 4 Lucha guys and a bunch of different masks instead of 12 Lucha guys.

When asked to single out a guy who killed WCW, he pins it on Bischoff or Dr. Harvey Schiller for making dumb decisions like allowing Goldberg to lose or paying guys millions to sit at home.

WCW politics- He was in the announcers’ room and the different factions would have their own rooms with signs saying “keep out” and having Doug Dillinger work the door. Says that Dillinger was a cop who used to drive the motorcycle at funerals. Said that no one cared by the end of his time there and that everyone just wanted to go home.

Working the Women of Wrestling PPV- Says that it was a lot of fun.

What would he say to people complaining about his outdated references the last few years- They could be right, but that WCW never let him say much. Talked about how they had a Mexican Midget Battle Royal and he wasn’t allowed to say anything because Bischoff was nervous about complaints. Said that he didn’t care then anyway, so that was his fault.

Says that Jim Ross is very educated to the business and liked working with him at Wrestlemania 9. Likes Paul Heyman as a friend but never worked with him as an announcer.

Says that he had a choice a long time ago to go to medical school or to be a manager and that he made his choice.

Being on the Arsenio Hall show- It was great and Arsenio was a class guy. Tells a story about his wife clandestinely taking all of the stuff that was put into their goody basket after he’d told her

Brusier Brody- Didn’t like him because he’d purposely screw up matches and tried to mess with the promoter. Says guys like Brody don’t take into account the guy making $50 in the opening match to make their car payment.

Abdullah the Butcher- Lazy.

Jerry Lawler- Fortunate to have been built up in a small territory and survive all these years. Good worker. Didn’t like working Memphis because of the “hillbilly mentality”. Said that the only people working Memphis were either on their way up in the business or were on their way out of it because of the horrible payoffs.

Jimmy Valiant>- Pig

Superstar Billy Graham- Great talker.

Don Muraco- Good guy, good weed.

King Kong Bundy- Good guy. Referred to him as “Shamu” because of the black suit he always wore and the fact that he was shaved bald.

Dr. D David Shulz- Redneck before it was popular. Went way too far, doesn’t know if Vince told him to slap John Stossel but figures that no one would do it unless they were told to.

Mr. Fuji- He was great, especially at ribbing. You’d go to sleep and wake up with painted fingernails or no eyebrows.

Mad Dog Vachon and the AWA airplane (“Suicide One”)- Vachon got left behind after being told to be at the airport at a certain time and the plane left early, without him. When he got on that night, he opened the door in mid-flight and started throwing bags out of the plane.

Drugs and drinking in the business- Figures it wasn’t worse back then than it is now, but it’s common knowledge now. People who smoked, did drugs, etc. tended to stick together and not flaunt it in front of the rest of the locker room.

Fritz Von Erich- Knew him from back in the 60’s and liked him a lot. Didn’t know David before he died and had little contact with the other kids before Kerry came to the WWF.

Bret Hart- Very intense with his interviews. Had no problems with him. Says the Owen Hart business was a tragedy and that Owen was one of the only people to shake his hand and wish him well when he left the WWF. It was only Owen, Blackjack Lanza, Rene Goulet, and Gorilla. Says that Owen had considered another line of work back then. As for Montreal, he thinks that Bret took a worked sport too far because he didn’t want to lose a belt that Vince let him have, but that Vince shouldn’t have put creative control in Bret’s contract if he didn’t want to deal with it. Says that most guys, when given the choice between $1000 a week to be a jobber or $500 to be a champion, they’d almost always choose the belt.

Andre vs. Hogan- He disproves the theory that Andre thought about shooting on Hogan to win the belt at WM3. Says that Andre came up with the idea to job to Hogan at WM3 in order to get his last big payday in the business.

Thinks that if Goldberg had been in the WWF that he’d have been bigger than Austin.

Lou Thesz- Says that when Thesz won his first belt in 1937, he was “jumping from ball to ball in the hopes of becoming a bastard.” Gentleman and a nice man.

Bruno Sammartino- Bitter, but that he should have put up or shut up. If he wasn’t making money, he should have quit instead of spending 20 years in the business. Says that injuries could happen anywhere “I could have broken my neck working at 7-11… I’m married to an Italian woman and her family could have killed me”.

Never worked for Vince McMahon Sr. because Vince had Captain Lou Albano, Fred Blassie, and The Wizard managing in his territory and didn’t have enough guys for a fourth one. He was supposed to talk to Vince Sr. after a Japan tour but that he died before he got back.

Never worked for Bill Watts because they worked everyday and he “wanted to join the WWF, not the AAA”.

The Sheik- His first friend in the business. He’d go warm up Sheik’s car in the days when he was still a ring-crew guy. Says that Sheik just wore himself out because he ran the same stuff for 20 years.

On the blood capsule theory of bleeding in matches- “Where would you carry it, your trunks? If you got kicked there, it would look like you were having your period.:

The AWA- It was like a family.

Any regrets? He wished he’d worked out more to get bigger and that he should have stood up for himself more. They should have formed a union.

Worked for Jim Barnett in 1979 in Georgia and when he went back to WCW. “When he was a kid, where do you think the pacifier went?”

The one guy he never got to manage that he wanted to- Hogan, because Hogan = $$$.

Loves Triple H because he’s dedicated to the business. Wish he’d lose the water, the black trunks, and the black boots. Thinks he should dye his hair blonder. Thinks The Rock is fine like he is.

Anything he wants to say to his fans? He says a lot of people will be upset with his book because it will expose the business but it’s a little late for that because the business is already exposed.

“Now who pays me for this sonofabitch?”


Matches-

Heenan and the Sheik vs. Bobo Brazil and Dick the Bruiser- Mid-70s match from the Midwest. Not particularly good.

Promo- Standard challenge promo. Don’t know who he challenged. Heenan says if he loses in any way, he won’t come out for the main event that night.

Pepper Gomez vs. Heenan for the Mexican title- It’s a crappy strap match with the standard “touch all four corners” rule that’s joined in progress.

Heenan vs. Gomes in a cage match- This is also joined in progress and isn’t very good either. It’s mostly chokes and restholds to start. Gomez puts on brass knuckles and beats up Heenan off and on for several minutes, while Heenan blades pretty good. With that crimson mask, I’d guess that he’s about 0.5 or so on the Muta scale. The ref eventually stops the match as Heenan is too wounded to continue.

Heenan and one of the Valiants cut promos on interviewer Sam Menacker to build up the Valiants vs. Sam Menacker and Dick the Bruiser match. first. Fairly generic promos.


Heenan promo from Georgia Championship Wrestler… It’s Heenan, Tony Atlas, and a blonde guy (Tommy Rich?) cutting promos about each other. Heenan talks smack, Atlas wants Killer Karl Kox (a Heenan Family member) in a match, etc. etc.etc. Heenan signs a contract without reading it, which ends up being for Heenan and Kox vs. Atlas and Andre the Giant at the Omni.

Heenan promo with the Masked Superstar from Georgia. Heenan talks about how Killer Karl Kox is about to beat Tommy Rich, the rest of the family would take on the Andersons, etc.

AWA promo for a Chicago card- It’s Gene Okerlund interviewing Heenan about the card, which includes Heenan vs. Buck Zumhoff, Hogan vs. Ken Patera and Big Bad Bobby Duncum, and the big 18-man battle royal in the main event.

Hogan and the High Flyers (Jim Brunzell and Greg Gagne) vs. Ken Patera, Jesse Ventura, and Heenan- AWA match from 1983. The intros take several minutes, then it starts out with a big schmoz. The faces clean house and knock the heels out of the ring. Hogan and Ventura have a posedown, eventually lock up, and Hogan beats Ventura so bad that he tags out to Heenan. The rest is typical tag stuff, with wristlocks, double and triple teaming, etc. Hogan’s team wins, then Heenan jumps one of the High Flyers after the match. The babyfaces take turns beating up all the heels.

20-man battle royal in the AWA- This includes Hogan, Andre the Giant, Heenan, the High Flyers, several members of the Heenan Family including Patera, etc. It comes down to Hulk and Andre vs. the Heenan Family (Duncum, Patera, Nick Bockwinkle, etc.) Heenan eliminated himself rather than face Andre, who chased after him, so it came down to Hogan vs. Bockwinkle and Patera. Hulk eliminates both to win. After the match, Heenan gets caught by Andre and the faces destroy the Heenan family.

Heenan vs. Buck “Rock and Roll” Zumhoff in a weasel suit match- This is a standard gimmick for Heenan, as he’s been in weasel suit matches with Greg Gagne and the Ultimate Warrior as well. Lots of stalling, as this is an early 80’s AWA match and there’s a 10-minute time limit in which Heenan must win or he’ll be forced to wear the suit. Very vanilla, with some headlocks and clotheslines between the stalling. It ends in a time limit draw, which means Heenan has to wear the suit. He throws a fit over it and starts begging the referee. Eventually, the referee and the commissioner start counting, so Heenan starts putting it on. Heenan sells it like it’s the most embarrassing thing he’s ever done.


Comments- This is one of the better shoot interviews ever because Heenan is an incredible talker, in addition to being financially secure AND willing to stay away from the business. That combination is a jackpot for shoot interview viewers because it makes for an interesting tape. (The interviewee is willing to say what’s on their mind instead of keeping back some comments that may keep them from getting employed somewhere) Heenan has a lot of good stories and jokes in addition to some good dirt on major players, so it’s great all around.

Highly recommended


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