Curtis Michael "Curt" Hennig (March 28 1958 ? February 10 2003http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/c/curt-hennig.html), also known by his ring name Mr. Perfect, was an American professional wrestler who competed for the American Wrestling Association, World Wrestling Federation,Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling promotions. A former World Heavyweight Champion, he also was the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion of the 1990s.

Professional wrestling career

American Wrestling Association (1979-1982, 1984-1988)

Known as "Cool" Curt Hennig, he began his career in 1979 in the American Wrestling Association, the promotion which had made his father, Larry "The Axe" Hennig a star. He would become one of the promotion's top stars in his own right, forming a tag team with Scott Hall en route to winning the AWA World Tag Team Championship by defeating "Gorgeous" Jimmy Garvin & "Mr. Electricity" Steve Regal on January 18 1986 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He then re-entered singles competition, and ultimately defeated AWA legend Nick Bockwinkel for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship on May 2 1987. Hennig would hold the title for over a year before losing it to Jerry Lawler on May 9 1988. He left for the World Wrestling Federation shortly thereafter.

World Wrestling Federation (1982-1984, 1988-1996)

Curt Hennig's first tenure in the WWF began in 1982 where he began making a name for himself against the likes of 'Playboy' Buddy Rose and was later featured in tag team matches with another young upstart, Eddie Gilbert, son of another wrestling legend Tommy Gilbert. In his second tenure, the character of "Mr. Perfect" was created. Hennig spent weeks shooting promos for his new persona. These clips showed him hitting a three-point basketball shot, bowling a score of 300, running the table in pool, catching his own Hail Mary football pass, or sinking a long golf putt, all to solidify his claim of being a superior athlete in anything he did. He cut various promos with other pro athletes such as Wade Boggs, Steve Jordan, and Mike Modano where Hennig was depicted as the "Perfect" athlete. He would go undefeated for over a year during feuds with The Blue Blazer, The Red Rooster, and Jimmy Snuka, adding to his claim of perfection. That record came to an end when he began feuding with Hulk Hogan over the WWF Championship in 1989, which included a backstage segment where he and The Genius, his original WWF manager, destroyed Hogan's WWF Title belt with a hammer. Although a top contender to the WWF Championship, it would elude him for his entire tenure with the company.

Enlisting Bobby Heenan as his new manager, Mr. Perfect went on to win the vacant Intercontinental Title in the final round of a tournament in April 1990 by defeating two-time IC Champion Tito Santana. He lost the belt to The Texas Tornado at SummerSlam 1990. He regained the title in November thanks to interference from Ted DiBiase and held it until August 1991, dropping the belt to Bret Hart at SummerSlam; upon Heenan's retirement as manager in May 1991, "Coach" John Tolos became Perfect's new manager, and remained his manager until Perfect took time off after Summerslam. Hennig battled an injured back throughout most of this period, and while recovering he acted as Ric Flair's "executive consultant" during Flair's two WWF Championship reigns

He was a color commentator on WWF Superstars of Wrestling followng Survivor Series 1991 until the Superstars before Survivor Series 1992, acting as a suitable heel foil to Vince McMahon's play-by-play. Mr. Perfect soon had a falling-out with Flair and Heenan on Primetime Wrestling before Survivor Series 1992 (Flair's "financial advisor") after Randy Savage asked Perfect to be his partner against Flair and Razor Ramon at the 1992 Survivor Series. After initially laughing off Savage's decision, Perfect was swayed by Savage's cajoling. In one of the most classic segments of Prime Time Wrestling, Heenan jarred his pride, saying that Hennig wasn't capable of wrestling on that level anymore and demanded that Perfect follow orders and do as he was told. Immediately afterwards, Henning turned towards the camera to accept Savage's proposal, much to the horror of Heenan, who then slapped Perfect across his face. An infuriated Perfect responded by grabbing Heenan by his tie and pouring a full pitcher of water over Heenan's head. Perfect then stated that he was "back" as Savage's partner at the Survivor Series, much to the delight of the Prime Time Wrestling cast of Hillbilly Jim, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, and Vince McMahon. Mr. Perfect returned to the ring at the Survivor Series and he and Savage won the match by disqualification. Perfect later eliminated Flair from the 1993 Royal Rumble and defeated Flair the next night on Monday Night Raw in a "Loser Leaves the WWF Match."

He then went on to feud with Lex Luger, whom Heenan introduced into the WWF at the Royal Rumble. Luger officially won their match at WrestleMania IX though both of Perfect's feet were clearly between the ropes. Afterwards, Perfect chased Luger backstage where he was jumped from behind by Shawn Michaels. This feud with Michaels would lead to an Intercontinental Title match at Summerslam 1993, which Perfect lost by count-out due to interference from Diesel. As stated in WWF Magazine, Perfect was responsible for coining Michaels' moniker, "The Heartbreak Kid."

He was set to participate in the opening bout at 1993's Survivor Series, but ultimately was replaced by "Macho Man" Randy Savage and apparently had left the company. It is unclear whether he was still under contract until his next return, though it is also rumored that Perfect took a hiatus due to the steroid scandal going on at the time.

1994 return

At WrestleMania X, Mr. Perfect was a special guest referee for the title match between Lex Luger and Yokozuna. Perfect disqualified Luger after Lex put his hands on him, instead of counting the pin. Perfect was set to start another feud with Luger following WrestleMania, but plans were changed when Perfect's back problems flared up again. He left the Federation in the Spring of 1994.

1995-1996 return

He returned in 1995 as a color commentator at the Survivor Series. The following weekend, Jerry Lawler announced Perfect as his replacement on WWF Superstars, his second stint as a color commentator on the show with McMahon, this time with Jim Ross added as the analyst. Later in 1996, McMahon left and Ross switched to the play-by-play role. Perfect also did color commentary with McMahon at the Royal Rumble 1996, Summerslam 1996 with McMahon and Jim Ross, also In Your House "Mind Games" with Ross and McMahon. Mr. Perfect was once again called upon to serve as special referee for the WWF Championship match at King of the Ring 1996 between Shawn Michaels and the British Bulldog.

Mr. Perfect was initially to make his wrestling comeback on Monday Night Raw in October 1996 against Hunter Hearst Helmsley but was attacked by Hunter backstage just moments before their match. It appeared Hunter's attack left Perfect injured and unable to compete. This all turned out to be a ruse for the purpose of suckering "Wildman" Marc Mero into defending his Intercontinental Championship against Helmsley. With help from Mr. Perfect, Helmsley won the Intercontinental Title from Mero, and Perfect was once again a reviled heel. Perfect began to serve as a mentor to Helmsley and "hand picked" beautiful models to accompany Helmsley to the ring. Unfortunately, Mr. Perfect disappeared from the WWF once again shortly before the 1996 Survivor Series. He wouldn't be seen in the WWF again until 2002.

World Championship Wrestling (1997-2000)

Hennig signed with WCW in 1997, no longer billed as "Mr. Perfect" due to a copyright-related legal clause. Both the Four Horsemen and the nWo showed interest in recruiting him. Hennig made his official WCW debut at Bash at the Beach '97 as Diamond Dallas Page's mystery tag-team partner. Hennig ended up betraying and turning on Page costing them the match. After feuding with Page for a month he joined the Four Horsemen, taking the spot of the retiring Arn Anderson. Anderson's implorement that Hennig take "his spot" was the subject of the following week's parody of the Horsemen by the nWo, which lead to the WarGames match. At Fall Brawl, Hennig was allegedly jumped backstage by the nWo and came to ringside mid-match with his arm in a sling. The whole thing turned out to be a setup as Hennig betrayed the Horsemen and joined the nWo, handcuffing the other Horsemen to the cage and then slamming the steel cage door into Ric Flair's head, afterwards claiming he had "destroyed the Horseman" and as a further slap to Flair, claimed to be "the wrestler that made Minnesota famous". Two months after he joined the nWo, his childhood friend, Rick Rude, was also brought in. Hennig won the United States Title from Steve McMichael in September 1997 before losing it to Diamond Dallas Page in December of that year at Starrcade.

He struggled with a knee injury for much of 1998. When the nWo broke into two different factions, the Wolfpac (red and black) and nWo Hollywood (black and white), both Hennig and Rude joined the Wolfpac. The two did not really fit in with the fan favorite Wolfpac faction, especially when Rick Rude would still get on the microphone and tell the fans to shut up. Hennig was not able to compete against Bill Goldberg at the Great American Bash that June, so he asked his "buddy" Konnan to replace him. Konnan lost the match, and afterward both Hennig and Rude attacked him. The following night on WCW Monday Nitro, Curt Hennig and Rick Rude joined nWo Hollywood. Despite his injury he faced WCW World Champion Goldberg twice (losing both matches), the first being Goldberg's first world title defense at Bash at the Beach. That September, Hennig was taken off WCW TV due to his injury. He returned at Starrcade 1998 to aid Eric Bischoff in defeating Ric Flair.

In 1999, he joined nWo Black and White and tagged with Barry Windham. Hennig and Windham lost to Ric Flair and Flair's son David at Souled Out 1999 due to interference by Arn Anderson. After the match, the rest of the nWo came out and humiliated Flair by handcuffing him to the ring, and forced him to watch his son David take a beating from Hollywood Hogan. Shortly afterward, Hennig was attacked by the nWo and thrown out of the group for no apparent reason other than Scott Hall stating "it's time to trim the fat". Hennig went on to win the World Tag Team Titles with Barry Windham. Three months later, he became the leader of the West Texas Rednecks with Barry, Barry's brother Kendall Windham, and Bobby Duncum, Jr.. They were supposed to be heels to feud with rapper Master P's No Limit Soldiers, but the southern WCW fans cheered them and the angle was soon dropped. The Rednecks recorded a country song titled "Rap is Crap" that received some airplay. After the Rednecks disbanded, Hennig feuded with Harlem Heat and Shawn Stasiak. During the feud, Stasiak called himself "Perfectshawn" Stasiak, which was a ripoff of the "Mr. Perfect" gimmick. After Stasiak won the feud, Hennig briefly began coaching Stasiak before Hennig left WCW after his contract expired in the summer of 2000.

X Wrestling Federation (2000-2002)

He was a franchise star for the short lived XWF where he had a brief run.

World Wrestling Federation (2002)

During the build up for January's Royal Rumble, it was announced that Mr. Perfect would be returning as one of the 30 combatants. Mr. Perfect entered theRoyal Rumble at #25, and was one of the final three competitors before being eliminated by Triple H. Mr. Perfect made a strong showing at the Rumble, hitting his patented "Perfect-Plex" on Kurt Angle and holding his own with the WWF's best at the time. His performance, along with the positive reaction of the Atlanta crowd, earned Perfect a full time contract with the WWF. He appeared the next night on RAW in a match with Val Venis. He then had short feuds with Stone Cold Steve Austin and Rob Van Dam before forming a tag team with Shawn Stasiak at house shows throughout March 2002 and April 2002 as well as a tag team on television with The Big Boss Man. He appeared on Sunday Night Heat the night of WrestleMania X8. Mr. Perfect was drafted to RAW during the first ever "WWF Draft." Unfortunately, he was released from the company on May 5 2002.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling/All Star Wrestling (2003)

After being released from WWE,[1] he went on to work for TNA and Jimmy Hart's All Star Wrestling. He was involved in a feud with NWA: TNA's Heavyweight Champion, Jeff Jarrett.

Death and legacy

On February 10 2003, Hennig was found dead in a Florida hotel room. He was 44 years old. The Tampa Coroner's office and the Tampa Medical Examiner's office declared an acute cocaine intoxication as the official cause of his death. His father said a lethal combination of steroids and painkillers contributed to his death. [2]

WWE aired a video tribute as well as words from friends and former co-workers Jerry "The King Lawler and Jim Ross on RAW following the news of Hennig's death. TNA paid tribute to Hennig by displaying his wrestling singlet and a framed photo.

Hennig's widow Leonice signed a WWE Legends contract on her husband's behalf.

Hennig is considered by insiders and his peers (Most notably Bret Hart), as one of the greatest in ring performers in modern wrestling history.

In February 2007, WWE confirmed that it would be producing a two disc DVD set focused on Hennig titled "The Life and Times of Mr. Perfect" (a set which is currently planned for release in 2008).

Wade Boggs, who famously appeared in a vignette with Hennig and was a close friend of his for many years, inducted him into the WWE Hall of Fame on March 31 2007. His wife, his four kids, and his parents accepted the award on his behalf.

On July 4 2007, Hennig was posthumously inducted into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in Waterloo, Iowa. His father, who was inducted the prior year, represented him at the event.

There is a song about "Mr. Perfect" by "Macho Man" Randy Savage called "Perfect Friend".

Curt's son Joe is currently pursuing a career in pro-wrestling, and is being trained by Harley Race. Joe Hennig has wrestled as talent-enhancement on WWE television and has taken to wearing a style of singlet similar to that of his father.

Curt's daughter Amy is also currently pursuing a career in pro-wrestling and is reported to have undergone a one week evaluation training session with WWE's Ohio Valley Wrestling School.

In wrestling

• Finishing and signature moves
• Perfect-Plex / Hennig-Plex (Bridging leg hook suplex)
• Perfect-Plex II / Hennig-Plex II (Bridging belly to back suplex )
• Perfect DDT / Hennig DDT (Leg hook DDT)
• Rolling neck snap
• Swinging knee lift
• Backhand chop
• Standing dropkick / Running dropkick
• Spear
• Atomic drop
• Indian deathlock variation
• Figure four leglock

• Managers
• Bobby Heenan
• Rick Rude
• Coach
• The Genius
• Madusa

Championships and accomplishments

• American Wrestling Association
• AWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• AWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Scott Hall
• Future of Wrestling
• FOW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) - last champion
• i-Generation Superstars of Wrestling
• i-Generation Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
• Main Event Championship Wrestling
• MECW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• Pacific Northwest Wrestling
• NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Larry Hennig (1) and Buddy Rose (1)
• World Championship Wrestling
• WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• WCW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Barry Windham
• World Wrestling Council
• WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• World Wrestling Federation | World Wrestling Entertainment
• WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2007)
• WWF Intercontinental Championship (2 times)
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
• PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year award in 1987
• PWI ranked him # 13 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the year in the PWI 500 in 1991
• PWI ranked him # 9 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the year in the PWI 500 in 1993
• PWI ranked him # 55 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003.
• PWI ranked him # 98 of the 100 best tag teams of the PWI Years with Scott Hall in 2003.
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
• Most Improved Wrestler award in 1983

References

External links

• WWE Hall of Fame profile
• Curt Hennig on OnlineWorldofWrestling.com
• The Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum's induction of Curt Hennig
• The 10 Greatest Modern Wrestlers: #8, Curt Hennig
• SLAM! Sports mourning the death of Hennig
• Petite Power Lifter

1959 births2003 deathsAmerican professional wrestlersAmerican Roman CatholicsAmerican Wrestling Association alumniCocaine-related deaths in the United StatesNational Wrestling Alliance alumniNew World Order wrestlersPacific Northwest Wrestling alumniPeople from MinnesotaProfessional wrestling announcersProfessional wrestling managers and valetsThe Four HorsemenTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling alumniWorld Championship Wrestling alumniWorld Wrestling Council alumniWorld Wrestling CouncilWorld Wrestling Entertainment alumniWWE Hall of Fame

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