Weasel Tales: The Bobby Heenan Archives - The Hogan-Ventura Rift

Text Me, Ya Ham And Egger

Step into the ring with us as we grapple with the hidden dramas of professional wrestling, guided by an industry veteran who's lived to tell the tale. This isn't just a trip down memory lane; it's a no-holds-barred exploration of the real-life tension between Jesse "The Body" Ventura and Hulk Hogan, two titans of the squared circle. Our guest doesn’t pull any punches in describing Ventura's mastery of the mic and Hogan's magnetic pull as the ultimate crowd pleaser. But beyond their public personas lies a saga of jealousy, rivalry, and the gritty pursuit of wrestling supremacy.

Wrestling is more than brawn; it's an intricate dance of performance and athleticism, a truth our guest embodies through tales of their own storied career. From the art of the promo to the politics behind the scenes, we step behind the curtain to reveal the often-unseen side of the business. You'll also hear firsthand about the challenges and triumphs of transitioning from the mat to the commentator's booth and even the silver screen. It's a rare look at what it takes to stay relevant in an industry that never stops evolving, packed with anecdotes that are as much about human nature as they are about professional wrestling. Join us for an episode that's as electrifying as a championship bout, without the bodyslams.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
I'm gonna weed a guy, I'm gonna weed a Saint Pap.
Here it comes.
Music, yeah, half a pound oftap and he rice, half a pound of
treacle.
That's the way the money goes.
Pop goes, the weasel Music,music A friend in need is a pest

(00:23):
.
You're gonna be a successfulWWV when hated by millions.
Jesse and Hogan never liked eachother and I don't know why.
I think, uh, I think Jesse wasjealous of Hogan and I think
Hogan didn't like Jesse becausehe knew he could draw more money

(00:44):
than Jesse and he knew Jessedidn't like him and he just did
little things, I think, to pissJesse off all the time he was.
I don't know, I don't know, Idon't know.
I think something like thatbecause Jesse hates him and
Hogan hates him.
But Jesse was never a threat toHogan because Jesse could never
.
He had a great ability to talk.
I mean, there's no doubt aboutthat.

(01:06):
But you know, once that bellrang and the bowler came off,
yeah, there was pretty much.
He wouldn't even been a goodjob guy.
He couldn't take bumps, but hehad a good head, but he had a
good talk and he dressed as badas anyone.
So he made himself a museum ofpeople.
Yeah, he would see people, hecould draw any money, but
nothing like Hogan.
That's why they teamed him withAdrian.

(01:28):
I don't know why he did that.
We had problems with him.
Adrian would just tell me howcome you beat me as if you'd
been promoted.
Who would you want to dressbefore?
You would dress as you can doit better, as if your work is
telling you and Jesse's a goodtalker and everything.
Yeah, but they were great as ateam and I'm not.
I sound like I'm not going todress you, but it's the truth.

(01:49):
It's the truth.
I mean, look at me.
I wasn't real checking because Ididn't have a body.
I wasn't going to go to the gymor work out all those days.
I wasn't into listing anything.
I didn't care about that.
I didn't like that and I made avery good living on what I did
and I went on to one time whereyou don't have to be big or
small, you just have to know howto work, and Jesse was a good

(02:15):
talker and a good entertainerand some people just can't take
the big bumps.
Some can.
I don't know if they're scaredand not coordinated or whatever
this is, but they do what theycan and Jesse did a very good
job of what he did.
Remember, I told my wife thisone thing we got an argument if
you could do anything better,you're with her.

(02:36):
Well, if I wanted to bepresident, I would go to the
school of good education, go tothe politics, and I could have
become president.
I did the best I could.
Yeah, that's it.
Yeah, remember that, like thisman here, you could do anything.
I would.
What about the cop?

(02:57):
Because you're both morepowerful commentators at the
same time.
We're a little bit veryincompetent in the fair.
I never worked with him.
He worked with Vince on SuperSerted and I worked with my mom
still on the challenge, and thenJesse went to do the movie with
Arnold and that's when Istarted doing Climetime.
And then Jesse became a moviestar and I stayed on that time

(03:22):
and then I started doing SuperSerted things and I don't know
what Jesse's complaint was.
It was probably something aboutHolmes.
That's why he helped WPW.
It was something about Holmes.
So, yeah, jesse became Holmes.
On Friday, holmes just went.
He was gone because Jessewouldn't put him over on TV.

(03:43):
Oh no, he was Jesse Rocks.
So Jesse was just sittingaround.
He was like what a movie,what's that he was like yeah, so
I just somebody a part of itwas.
I said we, only this guy, I'mtalking to him.
We were paying him all out ofmoney to put over all our people
and that didn't actually happenfor those two and just the

(04:05):
whole two in a room.
We were going to go and act andcome out and talk.
It's hard to, yeah, hard to act, but Jesse knows for his
preparation before matrimony, toshow up like for commentating,
I should say doing it, learningan angle, knowing an angle.
And then you know Jesse was onthe ball, he knew what to talk

(04:27):
about, he knew what was going on, he prepared himself.
Yeah, yeah, that's a commonmisconception about him.
Sometimes he's soundable, Ikeep it in the know.
Well, he's actually very smartat what he does.
He can make himself sound thatway.
That's what he'll let you over,he'll expect you to care about
all that.
Okay, that's what he knows,what it would.

(04:47):
We've got a lot going on.
Yeah, unfortunately we're notthe pilot with the canyon for,
but that's what.
That's not a bad person to doit, that's a person's
personality.
That's why people they get thevoice.
It's not because they're bad,it's usually because you just

(05:10):
don't get along.
The first thing we were readyfor was we played ball, we got
dirty, we had fraud, we workedat dirty magazine, we were on
that little dress, they haddolls, sugar, spice and
everything nice.
Then we get about 15 and we'regoing around and now I like some
of that.
And then you get married andyou don't even know each other.
What you did to him was we hadto eat the red room.

(05:30):
Yeah, ground rubble, and that'sit.
That's nice, that's over.
I said you beat that one moretime.
You get to keep it, you, you.