Cyrus agrees with Madden in saying that Heenan’s WCW work was not up to par with the work he did in WWE. He says that Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon had such an incredible chemistry, that it was never going to be replicated. He agrees with Madden in the sense that Heenan probably gave less than his full effort on some nights in WCW.
Madden believes that the NWO angle also put Heenan in an awkward position in WCW. He was still a heel commentator, but he had to hate the NWO because he was a ‘WCW company guy’. This put his character in a tough spot and this made him very frustrated as time passed.
Cyrus says that Heenan was able to help anyone who he managed. People often remember his work with Andre the Giant, and the work he did building to Ric Flair’s debut in WWE. Madden feels that in spite of Heenan’s terrific work, WWE dropped the ball on this angle because they never went forward with a Championship unification match between Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair.
Cyrus doesn’t know why Heenan never pursued a career as a professional wrestler. His athleticism was terrific and he could work his ass off in the ring. The bumps he took as a Manager were some of the best managerial bumps of all time, and he brought credibility to whatever angle he was a part of due to his ability to bump and sell.
Madden says that Heenan was a master of putting the babyface performers over via frustration as a heel commentator. He could also be funny and entertaining all while managing to keep him heat. Madden says both of those things are incredibly hard to do, and Hennan mastered it all.
