The world at large is still reeling from the loss of Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, the WWE Hall of Fame manager and announcer who passed away on Sunday at the age of 72. In the wake of his passing, peers and fans flooded every social media outlet they could to pay tribute to the man who was an influence and inspiration to so many.
We here at With Spandex even offered our own tribute to Heenan, in the form of our favorite quotes from the Brain.
As is the custom when someone of Heenan’s stature passes away, WWE offered their own superbly crafted loving video tribute on Monday night during WWE Raw. If anyone warranted the full video tribute, rather than just the opening “In Memoriam” card, it was Bobby. Everyone in wrestling from the 1980s on who has ever picked up a microphone or stood at ringside owes a debt to the man the fans affectionately referred to as “Weasel.”
Raw opened with a title card for Heenan, but half an hour into the show, the company aired a short social media recap tribute. Michael Cole, Booker T, and Corey Graves sang the praises of Heenan and said there would be more tributes to come throughout Monday night’s show. Another, similar small social media package aired later in the evening, followed by more of the announce team reminiscing about Heenan. That was followed by a pitch-perfect full tribute to the man that so many loved to hate, for so long. Fittingly, it focused heavily on Heenan’s long partnership with fellow broadcaster Gorilla Monsoon.
Here’s the video that aired on Raw, so you can enjoy it for yourself:
Well done, WWE. All pro wrestling fans will remain in mourning for the time being, because his was a peerless wit in the business … one that will likely never be duplicated.
