The following are highlights from Xtreme Mayhem's interview with Bobby "The Brain" Heenan! The interview was conducted by Mike Nagel and Jeff Meacham on May 22nd, 2003. Visit
xtreme.themayhem.com/ to listen to the streaming audio or downloadable version of the interview! The interview runs over 90 minutes, and a simple recap can't do the interview justice.
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- Heenan joked that he didn't see the McMahon/Hogan match because he was celebrating his cat's birthday.
- In regards to his health status, Heenan said that he has good and bad days. The sound of his voice might depend on the medication or the weather. He said he didn't sound as well when they interviewed him for Hogan/McMahon because they had filmed the segment at night after he had been talking on the phone and such all day and his throat was sore. Heenan said that all the cancer he has been through has been worth it because he is still alive and can still be with his daughter. He said that nothing bothers him anymore and he just wants to have fun during the time he has left.
- Heenan said that the motivation for his first book was money. He talked about how he got together with Steve Anderson and how the first book was produced. Heenan is going to be working on a second book, where he would tell stories about some wrestlers and possibly have wrestlers tell their stories about Heenan.
- Heenan mentioned the recent deaths of Elizabeth and Curt Hennig. Hennig had called him a week before his death, and Heenan was going to wait until an upcoming indy show to speak with Hennig, but then Hennig ended up passing way. Heenan and the hosts also discuss the situation with Luger/Elizabeth and how it relates to internet reporters.
- Heenan talked about Jerry Lawler, and how he has changed since his early days in Memphis wrestling. Heenan said he heard that Lawler was going to be moving from Memphis to Silcon Valley.
- Heenan talked about Wahoo McDaniel, who he praised and felt the promoters could have used him better than they did.
- Heenan spent some time talking about the Cauliflower Alley Club and what it was like to visit with old friends and legends.
- Heenan talked about the WWE's declining ratings, and he didn't understand why Vince McMahon did the Necrophilia angle. He said it was the worst thing he had ever seen on WWE TV and he felt Vince was too creative to do something like that. He is surprised that Vince didn't get thrown off the air, and he felt that anybody else would have.With all that said, he said he wasn't putting down Vince because Vince has made so much money and did so many things for the business.
- They talked about the RAW 10th anniversary show and Heenan felt that they threw everything together at the last minute.
- Heenan talked some more about Tony Schiavone, and said he would suck up to anybody who was in charge of WCW. Schiavone also knew that WCW was going under, and that was why Heenan was released in November 2000 because TimeWarner didn't want to pay him after WCW folded and Schiavone wouldn't tell him anything about it.
- Heenan talked about Dusty Rhodes and while he didn't have a great body, he could put people in the seats and that is how Heenan judges a good worker. Heenan disagreed with what Dusty Rhodes said on XM where the 70's was the best era of wrestling. He said that the 70's was a good era for promoters, but wrestlers didn't make much money. Heenan said the 80's and 90's was the peak of business because of shows like Wrestlemania and wrestlers were finally making some money. In a hilarious moment, Heenan yells at Dusty for wanting to outlast Terry Funk in the wrestling business.
- They talked for a while about the NWO angle, and Bobby went into the background of his character and why he never supported the NWO.
- Other discussion topics of the interview include Ric Flair's rise to the top, the downfall of WCW, comparison of matches between Andre/Studd and Malenko/Guerrero, the difference between indy shows and wrestling events, and much more!
Bobby Heenan's official website:
www.bobbythebrain.com/
Steve