Weasel Tales: The Bobby Heenan Archives - Saying "No" To Vince McMahon

Text Me, Ya Ham And Egger

Ever wondered what really goes on behind the curtains of professional wrestling? This episode is a must-listen as we sit down with the one and only Bobby Heenan, a true legend in the wrestling world. Bobby shares a gripping tale about a controversial segment Vince McMahon once proposed, involving handcuffs, embarrassing underwear, and public humiliation. Bobby's refusal to participate in this stunt led to an intense face-off with Vince, and he opens up about how this decision was driven by his desire to protect his personal integrity and his family.

But that's just the beginning. Bobby takes us through the grueling workload he managed, juggling multiple roles from manager to producer, all while earning Vince's reluctant respect. You'll gain an insider's perspective on the wrestling industry, filled with behind-the-scenes insights and compelling anecdotes. If you want to understand the delicate balance between personal values and professional demands in the wrestling world, Bobby Heenan's story is one you can't afford to miss.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
You listen to me, you go to the top.
Bobby, bobby, bobby, bobby,bobby.
No-transcript.

(00:43):
I was working for the WWF.
Vince came up with this ideaabout having me handcuffed to
the rail, that corral that goesto people back home.
And then he wanted the big boxmen to come out because I was
getting his mother so much grief.
He wanted the big box men torip my clothes off me and leave

(01:05):
me standing there handcuffed inmy underwear.
But he wanted me to have heartson my underwear like women's
panties, and I said fine, but Ididn't.
It's a curse in my mind.
He wanted to do this the nextday, the next day in New
Providence, rhode Island, and Ikept thinking about this more
and more about it.

(01:25):
That's not Bobby Heenan, andyou never get heat from the
people and it's not entertainingto be embarrassed.
My daughter was going to aCatholic school.
What are her friends going tosay next thing?
Her dad's got her heart underwork, yeah.
Her friend's gonna say nextthing her dad's got her heart

(01:48):
kind of work, yeah.
So I said speckertoth.
So I took him in the dressingroom.
I explained him that I justcan't do it.
He sat there.
I thought he said you can't doit.
I said no, as long as youhandcuff me to the ring, you
just leave me there for thewhole hour.
Anybody comes to the ring.
I'll say would you go getrecruit?
Would you go get one of themembers of the Bobby Hamm family
?
And all the babyfaces come outand they play with me and they

(02:10):
hit me See you the whole night.
By the end of the evening theycame and let me go For the whole
show and it worked out great.
But Vince is sitting there andhe's listening to me telling him
why I don't want to do thisthing with the hearts on the
underwear and shift down and dothe nudity thing.
And he says you won't do it.
I said, vince, I can't do it.

(02:30):
He's nodding, it's the work.
I said I know that If it's thework, then you change it.
I can't do it, it'd be too hardon my kid.
You can't do it.
I said no and he got up andwalked out and slammed the door
so hard that the building shookand I didn't do it and I did the
other one, the handcuff thing,for the whole evening.

(02:52):
But he was very, very upsetwith me that I told him no.
I didn't tell him no, because Ijust respected him right now
and you can't do something rightand make it look good if you're
not comfortable doing it.
I never wrestled as a cowboy ora German, because I don't speak
with a German accent, I don'twear Western clothes, you know

(03:16):
it wouldn't work.
That thing just didn't work.
I didn't want to do it.
That made him upset with me.
You know.
I didn't want anybody to tellhim no and actually on a bigger
scale, there's more people whotold him no than me.
Why do you think?
I mean some people probablytold him no and he said you're
doing it or you're gone.
Why do you think he acceptedthat For me?
Because I was involved in toomany things.

(03:37):
I was managing almost every tapday there.
I also was doing wrestlingchallenge.
I also was doing primetime.
I also was doing thepay-per-views.
I was producing the interviews.
I was directing and producingthe interviews of the talent
Plus.
I was wrestling and managing,directing and producing the
interviews of the talent Plus.
I was wrestling and managing.
Yeah, so by giving you anultimatum he would have.
If he'd have given me anultimatum, I'd have left.

(03:59):
I'd have left Because if yougive me an ultimatum, that tells
me right off the bat, you haveno regard for me.
I have enough regard for you totell you I can't do it.
And let's think of somethingelse.
I have to admit it.
Remember what I'm supposed togo.
I said I can't do it.
I gave you a whole day'spreparation so we could be
business like and work somethingout.

(04:19):
But there are some people whojust don't like to be told no.
And you offered him analternative too.
I gave him what I thought was abetter idea and something I was
comfortable doing.
That was entertaining.
It was something I wascomfortable doing.
That was entertaining.
When he slammed the door, whatwere you thinking?
I'm done, yeah, I went up toJack Turney afterwards.

(04:40):
I said I'm done.
He said what do you mean?
So I told him what happened.
He said nah.
So I went up to Jack Landis.
I told him what I did.
He said yeah, I don't know.
Yeah, so that was it.
Then I went up to the standsand sat the whole day.
Oh, so he couldn't find me.
So then I went downstairs about3 o'clock and started producing

(05:01):
the interviews and stuff Nevercame back or said a thing to me
after that.
Nothing was ever said.
Nothing was ever said, got it.
Maybe he didn't make a man,maybe he forgot it, but he sure.
Maybe he didn't make a bet,maybe he forgot it, but you're
true slamming the door.
If you want to tell me that,god man, that's okay, there's
some things you have to do.
I guess I made that decisionand my daughter's well-being.

(05:30):
And you also said it wasn't aBobby.
You said you were a Bobby incharacter.
What about?
That's not a Bobby Heenancharacter.
I'm a loudmouth, brash manager.
I'm not a creepy little guylike some managers are.
I'm a wrestler and a managerand I have a reputation.
I've never done that before inthe business.

(05:51):
That would look like I was gay,wearing underwear with hearts
on it, and that didn't make mefeel well about doing that and I
didn't know how I was standingwith all the people looking at
me pointing and laughing, inunderwear with hearts on it.
I don't think I felt pulled offand also because I remember

(06:11):
that angle and I don't think Ifeel full enough, and also
because I remember that angleand I didn't think I had that on
tape, is that you it haspotential to last longer where
you can tell a story over thewhole hour, as opposed to you
can't just keep showing you theinitial shock of seeing it is

(06:32):
look at that, he's got a heart,he's wearing women's panties or
whatever, but then that's it.
I mean, you can't.
It's done, yeah.
But this week everybody came outwith a different story.
If you go back to your room,that could be 50 bucks.
Yeah, I'm driving.
Well, hey, what a really goodpair of turks.
You got on, yeah, I rememberthat For one hour.

(06:53):
And then Root came out and thatwas one of the first times I
and you didn't have a key.
You came out and don't have akey.
What did you come out for?
Man?
He was yelling at McMahon.
Yeah, he was saying get thef***ing key.
And I didn't believe in him.
I don't remember.
It was just he was like rightin McMahon's face.
Don't you think that was betterthan?
Oh, much better, much better,because it was just kind of a

(07:14):
bubbling.
I got myself in this situation.
Now I got to get myself out,kind of thing.
Is that okay, sir?
Oh, yeah, that's great.
I told her.
I said you beat Nick one moretime.
You get to keep him.
Put the word in the streets.