Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Bobby Heenan Goes NUCLEAR on Jumbo Tsuruta

A true dynamic duo
Photo via Kentucky Fried Rasslin
A lot of tributes, including some found here on TWB, focus on Bobby Heenan's heft as a comedic personality, and they're all well-intentioned. Heenan was a master of not only wit, witticism, and the art of the roast, but also of comedic timing, both physically through body language but also through his underrated ability to take a bump, which he employed masterfully from his time as a wrestler through his tenure as a manager until he couldn't do it anymore. Heenan was great at constructive comedy, not the "comic" relief Vince McMahon puts on today that either doesn't get anyone over, or if it does, leads him to believe those wrestlers aren't worth anything else1.

However, when Heenan wanted to bring the thunder, he could. No better example is out there than his fiery promo in defense of Nick Bockwinkel's honor after he lost the American Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Championship in Japan to Jumbo Tsuruta. Check this video out, courtesy of the .gif master himself, Mr. LARIATOOOO!!!:
Heenan goes scorched earth on AWA administration, Tsuruta, the whole country of Japan even not only for Bockwinkel's loss, but also for not even letting him into the country. It's a speech borne of pure emotion and immediate reaction, built upon a foundation of Heenan showing his chops as the best hypeman in wrestling history. Each word was a dagger straight at the hearts of his targets, and it provided a bombast that the cool, confident anger of Bockwinkel himself didn't have to convey. People say that great speakers like Heenan should utilize their talents to pick up lesser talkers, which is true in some cases. However, having Heenan paired with another one of history's greatest promo men in Bockwinkel, along with guys like Rick Rude, Ric Flair, Curt Hennig, Arn Anderson, and others in the past and future of that specific point in time, put strength upon more strength and galvanized acts to take them from hot to nuclear. It's just another reason why few people will ever be able to match The Brain when it comes to slinging speech on wrestling television.

1 - See, Marella, Santino, both at the 2011 Royal Rumble and 2012 World Heavyweight Championship Elimination Chamber match.
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