Big John Studd
Heenan was signed by the WWF in 1984 with the intention of him managing Jesse Ventura, however Ventura's retirement due to blood clots in his lungs prevented this from happening. Instead, Heenan managed Big John Studd (whom Heenan was best friends with in the AWA) in his feud against André the Giant. Studd challenged André to a US$15,000 bodyslam match at the first WrestleMania, with the stipulation being that André would have to retire had he lost. André won the match and then took the bag with the $15,000 and started throwing it out to the crowd before Heenan snatched the bag.