Gorilla and The Brain: Your Two Favorite Uncles

Undeniably the two best uncles you'll ever have in wrestling Screen Grab via YouTube

When Bobby "The Brain" Heenan made his big rise to fame in the '70s and early '80s, it was as an easily-hateable villainous wrestler/manager hybrid. He was so good at getting under your skin that he was almost exclusively utilized in getting the big antagonists over, whether in the territories, the American Wrestling Association, or WWE. It was because of this exceptional ability that Heenan was asked to work as a color commentator not too long after he arrived in Vince McMahon's newly-national promotion, and from that chair, he added new dimensions to his act. But it was also in that seat, whether as a color commentator, a roundtable guest, or a studio host, that he revealed another proclivity, one that ran almost paradoxically to his traditional role as a venomous, lawyer-like megaheel, and that was as a beloved funnyman. All it took was pairing him with Gorilla Monsoon to do it.

Heenan and Monsoon both defined the word "avuncular" but in two totally different ways. Heenan was the sarcastic uncle, the one who always negged his nieces and nephews but in a playful and loving way that always made them laugh. It wasn't goofily over the top and cartoonish like Hillbilly Jim or any number of McMahon's-comedy-gimmicks would be, but more like Don Rickles' Mr. Warmth-style of roasting only put through a wringer and made palatable for not only the ears of children, but also their minds. If Heenan was the "funny" uncle, Monsoon was the gruff, aloof one who still showed he cared but in his own standoffish way. He was erudite and gregarious, but he easily took the heat and didn't really show much in the way of emotion past an initial hug or a greeting. But you knew it was there. It was how he was the best possible straight-man for Heenan's routine.

When they got together, Heenan and Monsoon would have a clearly antagonistic routine, but it wasn't borne of hatred. It would be based on Heenan talking his grandiose shit and Monsoon not buying it, or Heenan razzing Monsoon and him just replying in kind rather than getting into a snipe war with his clearly more clever partner, instead opting to subtly get him back later by "accidentally" smushing his face into a cake or taking over for a masseuse and getting just a bit too rough. It was the best possible comedy duo of contrasting personalities one could get, and it happened all on WWE television.

All the credit in the world goes to Heenan for being able to make such an about face while with Monsoon, but Monsoon should share that in equality, because Heenan could still retain such a weasely demeanor and heat-generating monologue simultaneously while cracking wise with Monsoon. He could do silly vignettes with Monsoon on a boat or wherever and make people laugh at the same time he was endorsing Rick Rude's attempt to seduce his rival's wife in the most odious, unwanted manner possible. That doesn't just happen with anyone, and it certainly can't happen if that one person didn't have such a perfect foil off which he could bounce.

It's why in the moment that Heenan let his guard down the furthest, he couldn't do anything but wish that his late friend could be there, and why everyone at his Hall of Fame induction in 2004 couldn't help but shed a tear/ It wasn't just because they knew that Heenan and Monsoon were as close as blood and that was why their relationship on camera could work. It was because those people in the audience, they were the nieces and nephews for which their favorite uncles in the world were doing their shtick. Heenan lost his best friend, but in essence, everyone growing up watching them lost a piece of their childhood.

So while Heenan does and absolutely should get all the applause for his work in getting the villain over in a pro wrestling ring, one cannot discount the ways he and Monsoon made the people love them. It's one of the great paradoxes in wrestling history, and yet it makes the most sense. At the end of the day, every performer in wrestling wants people to appreciate their work. It's just as a heel, the best way to show that appreciation is through booing and hatred. Most performers need the audience to be in on the kayfabe to get true love. Heenan was lucky enough to have a Monsoon for him that he could have the best of both worlds without ever needing the audience to have the fourth wall broken.