The Ross Report Recap w/ Hurricane Helms – Remembering Bobby Heenan w/ Gene Okerlund & Tony Schiavone, Working With The Rock, Return to WWE? More!

Ross opens today’s show by sending his thoughts and prayers to the friends and family of Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan, who passed away this past weekend. He says Heenan’s passing caught him by surprise and it really hit close to home.

Ross welcomes Gene Okerlund to the show, who also says he was very surprised to hear that Heenan passed away. Both Ross and Okerlund were obviously aware of Heenan’s health issues over the last decade, but there didn’t appear to be any pressing health issues at this moment in time. For this reason, his passing caught both men by surprise.

Okerlund says Heenan was a very intelligent, bright, creative man. He was a tremendous athlete, actor and overall performer. Ross says that many people also forget that Heenan was an above average in-ring performer early in his career. He was a main event level heel, a fantastic manager and commentator, and one of the best overall performers in the history of the wrestling business.

Okerlund also mentions that he did a lot of travelling with Heenan back in the day. There’s no denying that Heenan’s mood could swing from one day to the next but no matter what, he was always the funniest guy in the room. Heenan’s relationship with Gorilla Monsoon was something worth envying, and Ross agrees saying that those two were an irreplaceable pairing.