Like Hulk Hogan and Bobby Heenan, John Cena's greatest rival is Paul Heyman
By JEOHankins2
@Jimmy_Appleseed
on Jul 25, 2021, 8:20pm EDT
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Bobby Heenan walking out with Andre the Giant to confront Hulk Hogan on Piper's Pit represented, in kayfabe, the greatest coup of the legendary manager's career in the then WWF. To take an undefeated-ish monster, former friend of the Hulkster and turn him against Hogan after years of having guys in the Heenan Family like King Kong Bundy fall short, solidified The Brain as the true rival to the red and yellow. Even though Hogan faced classic challenges from Roddy Piper and Randy Savage, his true Lex Luthor, the villain who didn't just want to beat him but wanted to kill the entire concept of Hulkamania, its prayers, its vitamins, its Hulkamaniacs was Bobby Heenan. When we discuss greatest rivals in wrestling we most often default to two wrestlers who had great stories that contained and culminated in memorable matches, but its rare we get well told, long-term antagonism between an in-ring performer and a personality as we have with Hogan and Heenan. If there is anything that comes close to that same Luthor-Superman dynamic, its proven to be John Cena versus Paul Heyman.