10 Things You Didn't Know About The Heenan Family

Bobby “The Brain” Heenan is arguably one of the most famous wrestling personalities of all time. Not only is he famous, but his contribution to the world of professional wrestling is also one of the most important of his era. While the family worked in various promotions back in the day, it is fair to say that they are most fondly remembered for their time in the WWE.

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There’s plenty that could be said about The Heenan Family. The stable seemed to change fairly regularly, but to the surprise of many, it was almost never a detriment. Whether a wrestler was an A-lister before they began working with Heenan, or whether they were relatively unnoticed, Heenan changed lives with his incredible group.

10 The Stable Lasted For Nearly Twenty Years

Back during the years in which Heenan was most active, it wasn’t uncommon for wrestlers and groups to have a serious impact in a short amount of time. Heenan’s Family almost did the exact opposite during their lengthy time in professional wrestling.

Rather than changing the entire wrestling scene over the course of a single year, The Heenan Family had more of a slow-burn effect on the world. One stable lasting that long in modern times is almost impossible to think about, but that’s how incredible The Heenan Family was.

9 Heenan Hated His Group Being Called A Stable

Just about everyone refers to wrestling groups as a stable. In classic Heenan fashion, Bobby Heenan actually hated his Family being referred to as a stable. His reasoning is something that likely only would have come from a man like Heenan.

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Heenan has been vocal about the term stable as he believed that it was better used to reference a home for horses. An iconic group of usually menacing wrestlers needed a better term to refer to them, so Heenan made sure that his group was known as a family.

8 Ax & Sgt. Slaughter Were Members Of The Family

While there are a number of fan favorites that have made up The Heenan Family over the years, many may not know that, at one point, Ax of Demolition was tied to Heenan. While Heenan is fondly remembered with many wrestlers, Ax is typically remembered for his work as a member of Demolition.

Something that may come as an additional surprise is that Heenan got his hands on Sgt. Slaughter long before he became widely known for his most iconic character. He was with Heenan during his AWA days as Super Destroyer Mark 2.

7 Jesse Ventura Was Supposed To Be His First WWE Family Member

A lot of WWE fans may not have been entirely aware of who Bobby Heenan was when he first appeared on WWE television. His lengthy career working for other promotions got him in touch with many who had already become stars for the company.

Fans can only wonder how different Heenan’s time with WWE would have been if his run began with Jesse Ventura by his side. Unfortunately, Ventura was unable to join the family due to personal health problems. To be fair, Heenan could have done worse than Big John Studd as his first official member of the family.

6 Heenan Traded Members To Destroy Andre The Giant

When most people think about stables in the modern-day, it’s hard to imagine them actively trading members in order to strengthen their ranks. Back in the day, it wasn’t uncommon for managers to trade their stars in order to get a contract to manage someone who may become a title contender.

Heenan traded with plenty of managers during his time with WWE, with one of his most notable being trading The Missing Link and Adrian Adonis for none other than King Kong Bundy. At the time of the trade, everything Heenan was doing was in service of destroying Andre The Giant.

5 The Family May Have Not Gone To WWE Without Hulk Hogan’s Help

It seems that Bobby Heenan is one of the most beloved figures in all of professional wrestling with the way that much of the industry speaks of him. It shouldn’t be a surprise then that Heenan and his family had a little help getting into the big-time.

It’s been said that Heenan was in contact with Hulk Hogan even back during his AWA days and a quick phone call is what helped him find a place in the WWE. While Heenan certainly would have ended up with the company sooner or later, it’s safe to say that Heenan came into the company at the perfect time.

4 It Took Heenan’s Family Years To Pick Up A Title In WWE

There’s little debate about how legendary Bobby Heenan was. While he is looked at as one of the greatest managers of all time, many may be surprised to learn that it took him years for his group to pick up even a single title.

It took Heenan’s Family roughly four years to pick up any kind of championship gold, but when they did, they found fast success. Rick Rude picked up the intercontinental championship, and shortly after, The Brain Busters picked up the tag team titles from Demolition.

3 Heenan Admitted He Couldn’t Keep Up With Ric Flair

Late in his career, Heenan was paired with the always iconic Ric Flair. Every wrestling fan knows how free and wild Flair enjoyed keeping his lifestyle, but that was something that Heenan found himself struggling with during their time together.

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Heenan has stated openly that after only about a month with Flair, he marched to McMahon and told him that he just couldn’t do it anymore. Anyone who’s heard the countless legendary stories of Ric Flairs career probably won’t be all that surprised by Heenan’s inability to keep up.

2 His Family Of Legends Had Fewer Title Reigns Than One Might Expect

Heenan managed some of the most iconic wrestlers of all time. Before the end of his managing career, Heenan had managed the likes of Rick Rude, Mr. Perfect, Andre The Giant, The Brain Busters, Harley Race, and Ric Flair amongst many others.

Between those legends and many more that graced The Heenan Family, the group only secured eight championships over their near ten-year run in the WWE. Eight championships are certainly impressive, but it’s still surprising for the caliber of talent that made up the group's ranks.

1 Heenan Had Honor When Many Others Did Not

People who enjoy looking into the history of professional wrestling will surely know all about how ruthless Vince McMahon was in his conquest of the industry. He was often able to toss so much money at performers that they would then ignore previous agreements with their current companies.

While Vince probably did something similar for Heenan, he remained true to his agreement with AWA. While others left the promotion without notice, Heenan remained in order to work until he felt the company was adequately prepared for his departure.