Weasel Tales: The Bobby Heenan Archives - The Hogan-Ventura Rift
Mar 06, 2024
Steve Anderson
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.
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.
Speaker 1:
I'm gonna weed a guy, I'm gonna weed a Saint Pap. Here it comes. Music, yeah, half a pound of tap 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. You're gonna be a successful WWV when hated by millions.
Speaker 1:
Jesse and Hogan never liked each other and I don't know why. I think, uh, I think Jesse was jealous of Hogan and I think Hogan didn't like Jesse because he knew he could draw more money than Jesse and he knew Jesse didn't like him and he just did little things, I think, to piss Jesse off all the time he was. I don't know, I don't know, I don't know. I think something like that because Jesse hates him and Hogan hates him. But Jesse was never a threat to Hogan because Jesse could never.
Speaker 1:
He had a great ability to talk. I mean, there's no doubt about that. But you know, once that bell rang and the bowler came off, yeah, there was pretty much. He wouldn't even been a good job guy. He couldn't take bumps, but he had a good head, but he had a good talk and he dressed as bad as anyone. So he made himself a museum of people. Yeah, he would see people, he could draw any money, but nothing like Hogan. That's why they teamed him with Adrian.
Speaker 1:
I don't know why he did that. We had problems with him. Adrian would just tell me how come you beat me as if you'd been promoted. Who would you want to dress before? You would dress as you can do it better, as if your work is telling you and Jesse's a good talker and everything. Yeah, but they were great as a team and I'm not. I sound like I'm not going to dress you, but it's the truth. It's the truth. I mean, look at me.
Speaker 1:
I wasn't real checking because I didn't have a body. I wasn't going to go to the gym or 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 a very good living on what I did and I went on to one time where you don't have to be big or small, you just have to know how to work, and Jesse was a good talker and a good entertainer and some people just can't take the big bumps. Some can. I don't know if they're scared and not coordinated or whatever this is, but they do what they can and Jesse did a very good job of what he did. Remember, I told my wife this one thing we got an argument if you could do anything better, you're with her. Well, if I wanted to be president, I would go to the school of good education, go to the politics, and I could have become president. I did the best I could. Yeah, that's it. Yeah, remember that, like this man here, you could do anything. I would. What about the cop? Because you're both more powerful commentators at the same time. We're a little bit very incompetent in the fair.
Speaker 1:
I never worked with him. He worked with Vince on Super Serted and I worked with my mom still on the challenge, and then Jesse went to do the movie with Arnold and that's when I started doing Climetime. And then Jesse became a movie star and I stayed on that time and then I started doing Super Serted things and I don't know what Jesse's complaint was. It was probably something about Holmes. That's why he helped WPW. It was something about Holmes. So, yeah, jesse became Holmes.
Speaker 1:
On Friday, holmes just went. He was gone because Jesse wouldn't put him over on TV. Oh no, he was Jesse Rocks. So Jesse was just sitting around. He was like what a movie, what's that he was like yeah, so I just somebody a part of it was.
Speaker 1:
I said we, only this guy, I'm talking to him. We were paying him all out of money to put over all our people and that didn't actually happen for those two and just the whole two in a room. We were going to go and act and come out and talk. It's hard to, yeah, hard to act, but Jesse knows for his preparation before matrimony, to show up like for commentating, I should say doing it, learning an angle, knowing an angle. And then you know Jesse was on the ball, he knew what to talk about, he knew what was going on, he prepared himself.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, yeah, that's a common misconception about him. Sometimes he's soundable, I keep it in the know. Well, he's actually very smart at what he does. He can make himself sound that way. 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. We've got a lot going on.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, unfortunately we're not the pilot with the canyon for, but that's what. That's not a bad person to do it, that's a person's personality. That's why people they get the voice. It's not because they're bad, it's usually because you just don't get along. The first thing we were ready for was we played ball, we got dirty, we had fraud, we worked at dirty magazine, we were on that little dress, they had dolls, sugar, spice and everything nice. Then we get about 15 and we're going around and now I like some of that. And then you get married and you don't even know each other. What you did to him was we had to eat the red room. Yeah, ground rubble, and that's it. That's nice, that's over. I said you beat that one more time. You get to keep it, you, you.