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Is Heyman greater than Heenan?

7K views 93 replies 56 participants last post by  Culebra75 
#1 ·
JBL seems to think Paul Heyman is better than Bobby Heenan.

I can see that.

I know its 2 different eras, and Heenan had a couple more years in than Heyman currently does, but Paul kills the Brain on promos and in crowd participation.

What will be the deciding factor on who is better, when its all said and done?
 
#2 ·
Nah. Heenan will always be the greatest manager AND the greatest color guy of all time. Seriously doubt that throne will ever be challenged. Heyman is my number 2 though, he is just tremendous. Easily one of the best parts of the WWE today. He is just a master of crowd psychology.
 
#8 ·
Heenan is by far the greatest manager ever, one of the best colour commentators & one of the greatest heels of all time. The guy created genuine heat in way nobody else could, he had people trying to kill him, he had arenas in the palm of his hands & he made rookies into stars simply by associating himself with them.

Heyman is brilliant & I'd consider him to be the second greatest manager after Heenan, but in no way does he surpass him.
 
#16 ·
Keep in mind Heenan was around in a time where Kayfabe was heavily protected, therefore was a lot easier to gain heat. Heyman doesn't have that advantage, as the more he tries to gain heat the more some people seem to love him.

I think you can't make a proper comparison cos the business has changed so much, just like you couldn't really compare an athlete today to one who competed in the same sport 30 or 40 yrs ago. The game evolves and so does wrestling.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Heenan is so damn funny. Him and Gorilla were like peanut butter and jelly. They were as much of a staple of my childhood as any cartoon characters. I heard an interview with Arn Anderson once and he said Bobby could have been a big time comedian. I totally agree. Such a dry, sarcastic, snarky, south Chicago attitude. Fucking loved the Brain. He could bump like a mother fucker too.

Yeah Bobby is #1 upon further review. Heyman is a solid #2 though.
 
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#13 ·
Heenan is so damn funny. Him and Gorilla were like peanut butter and jelly. I heard an interview with Arn Anderson once and he said Bobby could have been a big time comedian. I totally agree. Such a dry, sarcastic, snarky, south Chicago attitude. Fucking loved the Brain. He could bump like a mother fucker too.

Yeah Bobby is #1 upon further review. Heyman is a solid #2 though.
His Hall of Fame speech was like a mini roast. What a natrual comedian, too bad throat cancer affected a bit of his speech.
 
#14 ·
Absolutely NOT ... but that said, Paul Heyman is without a doubt pretty much up there, as close to and is no doubt one of the BEST things to happen in the wrestling business, but to say he's better than Bobby Heenan, is a little far fetched, clearly people don't remember Heenan's quality's as much when they say this, YES, Paul Heyman is shit hot!!!! (Personally I would LOVE to see Paul Heyman get involved in creative!) ... but Heenan really was something else, his wit, the way he would work and sell a crowd etc... which Heyman is just as good as also (working the crowd), but Heenan does pip the post on this one.

Regardless ... both of those guys are two of the BEST things to happen to the Wrestling business, it's a compliment to Heyman to be compared to and be legitimately eligible to be in the same category as Heenan (which my guess is he would say the same himself), so it doesn't really matter because both guys are absolutely fantastic, end of!
 
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#21 ·
I can't even believe this fucking thread exists.

I am guessing the OP does not know much about Bobby Heenan, or else he wouldn't have made this thread.

Heyman doesn't touch GOAT Hennan. No one does.

This thread is disgusting. Negged.
 
#22 · (Edited)
Anybody who thinks that Heyman is better than Heenan need to do just one thing. Watch the Royal Rumble 1992 and watch the Rumble event. The match in itself is probably the best Rumble ever but the thing is Heenan on commentary makes it so much better. Also, they are rare because there are only 4 of them but do watch The Bobby Heenan Show. He literally is a god as far as being a heel manager/commentator. Nothing on Heyman because he's top 5 managers in my book, but even the big managers like J.J. Dillon and Cornette rank Heenan far and away as the #1 manager of all time.
 
#23 ·
Bobby Heenan was a much better character and much better commentator, too.

Heyman ain't bad or anything but come on, Bobby Heenan helped lay the blueprint for what it is Heyman is doing right now.

Shit, to be honest I view Jim Cornette and Jimmy Hart as better than Heyman, too. Heyman is a different breed of manager. With his 2 biggest successes being Brock Lesnar and CM Punk, he didn't really provide much help in storyline to them attaining their success. His strong point is his mic work. He wasn't a "game changer". Heenan, Cornette and Jimmy Hart were and all had strong mic work, even Jimmy Hart with his high pitched, frantic squealing..
 
#36 ·
No. Heyman is great at what he does, but Heenan was in a league all his own. No one has ever come close to Heenan's quick on the spot wit. As mentioned, his work with Flair and Henning during Flair's first WWE run was just amazing. My all time favorite Heenan commentary is when Shawn turned on Jannetty and threw him through the glass and Heenan accused Jannetty of diving through the window to escape.
 
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#53 · (Edited)
Definitely Heenan. He could be both sarcastic to the point of infuriating you and have you rolling over in laughter a minute later.




Hell, I still roll in laughter when I hear Heenan's commentary during the Barber Shop episode when Shawn Michaels threw Jannetty through the window.


"Jannetty tried to dive through the window to escape. What an act of cowardice!"
 
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#67 ·
And even when he was trolling, it would be funny when it turns out that he was right.

Like how he always would bag on Hogan for being scum etc then during hogans epic heel turn, Bobby Heenan says but whose side is he on, everyone thinking he is trolling then it turned out that Hogan was the 3rd member.

Or some of his best work was the be fair to flair stuff in the WWF. No one will ever be as good as a color guy than Bobby.

I would have loved to have see Jim Ross and Bobby Heenan together for a long run.
 
#76 ·
Fan of both but Heenan was the best. Not only were his promos great but the reactions out of him while his talent was in the ring, pure gold. On top of that you have Monsoon and him as the all time great commentary team. Heenan for sure.
 
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#9 ·
Tough call. I think Heenan is still #1 but a few more years doing what he's doing and he will be up there.

Heenan, Heyman and Cornette are the top 3 managers of all time.


I'd LOVE to see a Heyman DVD someday like the Heenan one.
 
#15 ·
Maybe Heyman can step up to the commentary once King steps down?
 
#17 ·
Tough call...I don't actually think Heenan was the greatest manager ever, my pick for that is Paul Bearer because he entertained me more. I also enjoy Heyman more than Heenan as well. I think my perception might be a bit biased, however. I didn't grow up with good Bobby Heenan commentary, my exposure to him on color was unfortunately his WCW work, where he was actually...pretty bad, as an overall (he did have some legendary calls, like Goldberg's title win, or at Starrcade 1997, so I give him full credit for that). I mean, looking back, all he did was sit back and crack cheesy jokes 99% of the time, playing off of whatever dumb ass thing Tony Schiavone just said. The only one at the WCW commentary table with any real credibility was Mike Tenay, and half the time he was backstage doing interviews. So maybe the fact that I didn't grow up with better Heenan commentary skews my perceptions a bit.

Anyway, I'd say as an overall, Heenan was probably a better manager for nostalgic purposes, but I enjoy Heyman more overall.
 
#19 ·
Heyman is a solid heel commentator.
 
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