Sportskeeda Remembers: WWE Hall of Famer Bobby "The Brain" Heenan

#5- Bobby Heenan helps make pro wrestling a national phenomenon

WrestleMania III. Hogan vs Andre. The biggest professional wrestling match at the time - and probably ever. A massively sold out (allegedly, let's not go there right now) Pontiac (MI) Silverdome, and millions more on TV, witnessed the biggest draw in wrestling against the current mega-draw in a match for the then-WWF Championship. It was epic during a time when, even then, the word "epic" was being thrown around as regularly as "awesome".

AS great as he was, Andre made his fame and fortune as a gentle giant who came to town to battle the evil-doers. And, while good guy-vs-good guy would sell out the Toronto Sky Dome three years later, nice guy Andre vs hero Hogan wasn't going to be the draw that sold tickets like the WWF wanted. No, needed.

Enter Bobby Heenan.

Just two years earlier, at WrestleMania I, Heenan managed Big John Studd to a losing effort against Andre in a "Body Slam Challenge." The WWF knew if there was anyone they could team Andre with and pass him off as a villain, it was Heenan. It worked. Soon, millions of fans believed that good guy Andre - under the manipulation of "The Weasel" - could turn against his best friend for championship gold.

• Kevin C. Sullivan