WWF Magazine, January 1991

If you were around in the early 1990’s, you surely remember the storyline involving a freshly turned babyface Big Bossman and the nefarious tandem of Rick Rude and Bobby Heenan. It was originally designed to be a program pitting the corrections officer from Cobb County, Georgia against the Ravishing One. But there was just one problem: Rude left the company almost immediately following the start of the program. Oops.

Instead of dropping the angle cold, fans were given an absurd explanation being given that Rude was suspended for saying such terrible things, which has to mark the first (and possibly last) time in history a wrestler was punished for trash talking.

If anything, the WWF pushed harder than ever that it was actually Heenan that was the instigator, so for months “The Brain” continued to run his mouth (and also get pummeled nightly on the house show circuit). This leads us to today’s article, entitled “The Big Bossman: Honor They Mother”.

And it’s a doozy.

We learn that despite being a big, tough man, the Bossman is “admittedly soft when it comes to his mother.” Not only that, but he will pull off the road in the middle of the night to call her and take costly flights to surprise her for birthday dinners. And by golly, it was a talk with his mother that caused Bossman to leave Slick and become a fan favorite!

That’s 1990’s wrestling talk for “baby face”!

Heenan, however, has no regard for this lovely lady, going so far and I am just quoting here, to “make sick, disgusting jokes about here as if she wasn’t even a human being!” Whether she is an animal, a planet, or some type of alien mix of the two sadly isn’t explained.

This proud, “weathered” woman had to break down one night to her son and tell him all the terrible things Heenan had been saying about her because of course she religiously watches every WWF television show. Mad props to them for spelling them out by name!

No better feeling than seeing WWF Wrestling Challenge right there in black and white!

Despite her “never hurting anybody”, she admits to her son that “this fellow, Heenan” needs to be taught some manners. So she sends her son on a mission to do exactly that.

“AND DO IT NICE AND HARD!”

Don’t yell at me, that is what the woman said.

Suddenly, the original Big Bossman character makes a lot more sense.

He was just doing what his mama told him!