Curt Henning

Curtis Michael Hennig (March 28, 1958 – February 10, 2003) was an American professional wrestler. He performed under his real name for promotions including the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF; now WWE), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and NWA Total Nonstop Action, also using the ring name Mr. Perfect in the WWF/E. Hennig was the son of wrestler Larry "The Axe" Hennig and the father of wrestler Curtis Axel.

Hennig debuted in 1980 and won multiple championships in both Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW) and the AWA during the decade. He gained particular attention when he defeated Nick Bockwinkel for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship in 1987, with his 373-day reign being the seventh-longest in history. Hennig moved to the WWF thereafter, where he feuded with Hulk Hogan over the WWF Championship, and won the WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship twice, becoming the longest-reigning titleholder of the 1990s. In addition to winning multiple titles in WCW during the late 1990s, Hennig challenged for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on pay-per-view (PPV), and led stable and country music group the West Texas Rednecks, who recorded the popular tongue-in-cheek song, "Rap Is Crap". During a stint with the World Wrestling Council (WWC) in 2000, he won the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship. Hennig returned to the WWF/E for a brief period in 2002, being one of the last three men remaining at that year's Royal Rumble. He later headlined multiple PPV events for TNA, in contention for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, prior to his death on February 10, 2003.

WWE credited Hennig for raising the standard of technical wrestling in that company, while professional wrestling journalists Bob Ryder and Dave Scherer, in a 2000 publication, recognized him as "one of the best all-round competitors this business has ever produced". Hennig was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007 by former Major League Baseball player and longtime friend Wade Boggs. Hulk Hogan remarked, "Everybody would check their egos at the door when they came to a building that Curt Hennig was in, because you couldn't out-work him, you couldn't outshine him, and you couldn't out-perform him. He was the best of the best."

Early life

Curt Hennig was born on March 28, 1958, as the son of professional wrestler Larry "The Axe" Hennig. Hennig was childhood friends with fellow wrestler Rick Rude as well as Paul Shulte of Manchester, VT who was also known as "Mr. Perfect". They attended Robbinsdale High School in his hometown of Robbinsdale, Minnesota, alongside Tom Zenk, Brady Boone, Nikita Koloff, John Nord, Road Warrior Hawk, and Barry Darsow, who all became professional wrestlers.

Professional wrestling career

American Wrestling Association (1980–1982)

Known as "Cool" Curt Hennig, he began his career on January 30, 1980 in the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the promotion which had made his father, Larry "The Axe" Hennig a star.

World Wrestling Federation (1981–1983)

Hennig started his WWF career in 1981. His first victory was against Johnny Rodz. He established himself as a promising young performer against the likes of "Playboy" Buddy Rose, Greg Valentine and Killer Khan. Eventually, he was paired-up in tag team matches with another young upstart, Eddie Gilbert, himself the son of a wrestling legend (Tommy Gilbert).

Pacific Northwest Wrestling (1982–1988)

In 1982, Hennig teamed up with his father, Larry, and won the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship defeating Rip Oliver and Matt Borne on April 27. He later won the titles with Buddy Rose and Scott McGhee in 1983. From 1984 to 1988 he made occasional appearances for the company. During this time he worked for New Japan Pro-Wrestling and various territories such as NWA St. Louis, Central States Wrestling and Continental Wrestling Association.

American Wrestling Association (1983–1988)

Hennig returned to the American Wrestling Association in 1983. He would eventually become one of the promotion's top stars in his own right, winning the AWA World Tag Team Championship with Scott Hall by defeating "Gorgeous" Jimmy Garvin and "Mr. Electricity" Steve Regal on January 18, 1986, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Later, he resumed his solo career in the AWA, culminating in defeating the legendary Nick Bockwinkel for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship at SuperClash on May 2, 1987 with the help of Larry Zbyszko, and turning villain in doing so. Hennig, along with his father Larry "The Axe", would engage in a long feud with Greg Gagne and his father, Verne Gagne. He began being associated with Madusa Miceli, the AWA World Women's Champion since December 27, 1987. Hennig and Madusa joined The Diamond Exchange, a stable led by Diamond Dallas Page that also included Badd Company and Colonel DeBeers.

Hennig would hold the AWA World Heavyweight Title for about 53 weeks, before losing it to Jerry Lawler on May 9, 1988. Like many other AWA stars of the time (including Hulk Hogan, Rick Martel, and The Rockers), Hennig left the AWA for the WWF with the promise of more money and broadened exposure.

World Wrestling Federation (1988–1996)

Undefeated streak (1988–1990)

Hennig returned to the WWF in mid-1988. Hennig made his televised in-ring return on September 11 episode of '' All-American Wrestling'', defeating enhancement talent Ron Rovishod. On October 1 episode of ''Superstars'', vignettes began airing on WWF television, during which he was repackaged with a new character of an arrogant braggart villain who claimed to be able to accomplish difficult tasks "perfectly", thus earning the nickname of "Mr. Perfect", which would become his ring name in 1989 and the use of his real name would be phased out. He presented himself as being superior in athletics or anything else he did. These clips showed him hitting half-court, three-point, and no-look basketball shots, bowling a score of 300, running the table in billiards, throwing then catching his own Hail Mary football pass, sinking a long golf putt, hitting home runs and making bulls-eyes in darts. Stars of various major league sports, including Wade Boggs ( MLB), Steve Jordan ( NFL), and Mike Modano ( NHL), co-starred with Hennig in these vignettes. Hennig performed for the first time as Mr. Perfect on October 4 episode of '' Prime Time Wrestling'', where he defeated Jim Brunzell.

Hennig made his pay-per-view debut at Survivor Series 1988 and competed in a five-on-five elimination tag team match as a member of co-captain André the Giant's team, along with Rick Rude, Dino Bravo (also co-captain) and Harley Race against co-captain Jim Duggan's team of Jake Roberts (also co-captain), Ken Patera, Tito Santana and Scott Casey. Perfect survived the match with Bravo. He went undefeated on television for over a year, beating mid-card wrestlers including B. Brian Blair, Ronnie Garvin, Koko B. Ware, The Blue Blazer, The Red Rooster, Jimmy Snuka, Tito Santana, and Bret Hart throughout 1989.

On October 7 episode of ''Superstars'', Perfect began appearing with The Genius, an arrogant, poetry-reciting scholar on '' The Brother Love Show'' and began a rivalry with Hulk Hogan over the WWF Championship. Their rivalry heated up when Genius defeated Hogan by countout, with Hennig's assistance on November 25 '' Saturday Night's Main Event XXIV'' and the duo stole Hogan's title belt and destroyed it backstage. Perfect and Hogan wrestled on the live events, where he lost to Hogan but they did not compete on television until January 15, 1990 when Hennig received his first opportunity for the WWF Championship against Hogan at Madison Square Garden and this was his first televised match against Hogan, which he won by disqualification but not the title.

At Royal Rumble, Perfect attacked Genius's opponent Brutus Beefcake after their match, which began a feud between the two. Later in the same night, Perfect participated in the Royal Rumble match as the No. 30 entrant. He eliminated Rick Rude before making it to the final two, where he was eliminated by Hogan. Perfect's undefeated streak ended when he suffered his first pinfall loss on regional television against the Intercontinental Champion The Ultimate Warrior on March 19, at Madison Square Garden. His first loss in singles competition on national television was against Brutus Beefcake at WrestleMania VI. Hogan settled the score with Perfect with a match between the pair on April 28 ''Saturday Night's Main Event XXVI'', in which Hogan pinned Perfect for the first time on television. Following his loss to Hogan, Perfect quietly ended his association with The Genius.

Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion (1990–1991)

In May 1990, Perfect participated in a tournament for the Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship after previous champion Ultimate Warrior vacated the title upon winning the WWF Championship at WrestleMania VI. Hennig was booked to win the tournament for the vacant title by defeating Jimmy Snuka in the quarter-finals on May 5 episode of ''Superstars'' and two-time Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion Tito Santana in the finals on May 19 episode of ''Superstars''. After his title win, Perfect enlisted Bobby Heenan as his "perfect" manager and made a successful title defense against Santana on July 28 ''Saturday Night's Main Event XXVII''. Hennig was scheduled to defend the title against Brutus Beefcake at SummerSlam, stemming from his loss to Beefcake at WrestleMania but Beefcake suffered an injury and The Texas Tornado substituted for Beefcake and challenged Hennig to a title match for SummerSlam on August 11 episode of ''Superstars'', which Perfect accepted on the following week's ''Superstars''. Perfect dropped the championship to Texas Tornado at SummerSlam. Hennig was chosen to lead Demolition as "The Perfect Team" against The Warriors (Ultimate Warrior, Texas Tornado and Legion of Doom) in a four-on-four elimination tag team match at the Survivor Series pay-per-view, where Hennig's team lost. He unsuccessfully challenged Texas Tornado in a rematch for the Intercontinental Championship on November 24 MSG Network special, before regaining the title by defeating Texas Tornado on December 15 episode of ''Superstars'', with help from Ted DiBiase. Perfect defended the title against Texas Tornado in a rematch on February 2, 1991 episode of ''Superstars'', where he retained the title by losing via countout.

Perfect made his next title defense against Big Boss Man (wrestler), Big Boss Man at WrestleMania VII, where he retained the title by losing via disqualification after the challenger was attacked by Tonga Fifita, Haku and Sione Vailahi, The Barbarian. The following month, Perfect won a Battle royal (professional wrestling), battle royal on April 27 ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' by last eliminating Greg Valentine, which led to a match between the two for Perfect's title on May 14 episode of ''WWF Prime Time Wrestling, Prime Time Wrestling'', where Perfect retained the title via disqualification. On June 15 episode of ''Superstars'', Bobby Heenan retired as a manager and introduced John Tolos, The Coach as Hennig's new manager. Hennig began a rivalry with Davey Boy Smith, British Bulldog but suffered a back injury in late June, which led to the rivalry being wrapped up. Bret Hart was announced as his next challenger on July 13 episode of ''Superstars'', and in the meantime Hennig was held out of all house shows, usually replaced by Typhoon. On television, he wrestled a few preliminary opponents, but to avoid stressing his back with the Perfectplex, adopted the gimmick of throwing his opposition out of the ring in disgust and defeating them by countout. Perfect lost the title to Hart at SummerSlam (1991), SummerSlam and a broken tailbone and bulged discs forced him to retire from the ring.

Various storylines and departure (1991–1996)

Hennig spent the following year recovering from his injury. He returned to television on November 23 episode of ''Superstars'' where he became Ric Flair's "executive consultant". The following week on ''Superstars'', Perfect became a color commentator of the show for the next full year, acting as a suitable Heel (professional wrestling), villainous foil to Vince McMahon's play-by-play. During this period, Perfect assisted Flair in winning matches and managed him to two WWE Championship, World Heavyweight Championship reigns in 1992. By the fall of 1992, Perfect and Flair were in the midst of a rivalry with Randy Savage, building to a Professional wrestling tag team match types, tag team match at Survivor Series (1992), Survivor Series where Flair and Scott Hall, Razor Ramon would face Savage and Ultimate Warrior. However, Warrior was released from the WWF weeks prior to the event. On November 16 episode of ''WWF Prime Time Wrestling, Prime Time Wrestling'', Savage asked Perfect to be his partner. After initially laughing off Savage's offer, Perfect was swayed by Savage's cajoling and by Bobby Heenan's degrading comments and commanding Perfect to follow orders, which would lead to Perfect Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Turn, turning into a Face (professional wrestling), fan favorite for the first time in WWF by dumping water on Heenan and accepting Savage's offer to return to the ring and become his partner at Survivor Series, much to the delight of the ''Prime Time Wrestling'' cast of Hillbilly Jim, Jim Duggan, and Vince McMahon. Hennig made his return to the ring at Survivor Series, where Hennig and Savage won their match.

Perfect began a high-profile rivalry with Flair. He made his return to singles competition on January 2, 1993 episode of ''Superstars'', where he defeated John Nord, The Berzerker. Hennig participated in the Royal Rumble (1993), 1993 Royal Rumble match to determine the No. 1 contender for the WWF Championship at WrestleMania IX. He eliminated Flair, Steve Keirn, Skinner and Jerry Lawler until he was eliminated by Ted DiBiase, Koko B. Ware and Lawler. Hennig defeated Flair the next night on ''WWE Raw, Monday Night Raw'' in a Professional wrestling match types#Loser Leaves Town match, match where the loser would be forced to leave WWF. As a result, Flair left WWF. He then went on to feud with the debuting Lex Luger, who berated Perfect during his Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Promo, promos. Luger 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 Luger's ally Shawn Michaels. As a result, Perfect began a rivalry with Michaels.

During this time, Hennig qualified for the first-ever televised King of the Ring, King of the Ring tournament by defeating Doink the Clown. At King of the Ring (1993), King of the Ring, Perfect defeated Curtis Hughes, Mr. Hughes in the quarter-finals but lost to eventual winner Bret Hart in the semi-finals. Perfect competed against Shawn Michaels for the WWE Intercontinental Championship, Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam (1993), SummerSlam, where Perfect lost by countout due to interference from Michaels' new bodyguard Kevin Nash, Diesel. Hennig's last televised match in WWF was on November 7 episode of ''WWF Wrestling Challenge, Wrestling Challenge'', where he defeated Iron Mike Sharpe. He was set to participate as a member of Razor Ramon's team at Survivor Series (1993), Survivor Series, but was replaced in the match by Randy Savage. Ramon took the microphone before the match saying Perfect was "such a Perfect partner" that he tagged out before the match had even begun.

Perfect made his surprise return to WWF at WrestleMania X on March 20, 1994, where he was the Professional wrestling match types#Special referee, special guest referee for the WWF Championship match between Lex Luger and Yokozuna (wrestler), Yokozuna. Perfect Professional wrestling#Disqualification, disqualified Luger after Luger manhandled Perfect, who was tending to Yokozuna's stricken managers Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji instead of counting the Pin (professional wrestling), pinfall and turned heel again. Perfect was set to start another rivalry with Luger, during which he explained that he screwed Luger because of Luger's illegal win over Perfect the previous year at WrestleMania IX. However, plans were scrapped off after Hennig's back problems flared up again. He left the WWF in the spring of 1994.

Hennig took a year off to recover from a back injury until he returned to the company as a color commentator at the Survivor Series (1995), Survivor Series pay-per-view in 1995. The following weekend, Jerry Lawler announced Perfect as his replacement on ''Superstars'', his second stint as a color commentator on the show with Vince 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 at Royal Rumble (1996), Royal Rumble, SummerSlam (1996), SummerSlam and In Your House 10: Mind Games pay-per-views. Perfect also served as the special guest referee for the WWF Championship match between Shawn Michaels and Davey Boy Smith, British Bulldog at June's King of the Ring (1996), King of the Ring pay-per-view.

In mid-1996, Hennig was placed in an Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Angle, angle with Triple H, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, where he would come out to the ringside during Helmsley's matches and steal his Manager (professional wrestling), female escorts, which would often cause a distraction for Helmsley and affect his performance in matches. During the rivalry, Perfect helped Marc Mero in winning the Intercontinental Championship from Ron Simmons, Faarooq and assisted him in retaining the title against Goldust at In Your House 11: Buried Alive. The following night on ''Raw'', Perfect was initially going to make his wrestling comeback on against Helmsley but was attacked by Helmsley backstage just moments before their match. It appeared Helmsley's attack left Perfect injured and unable to compete. This all turned out to be a ruse for the purpose of suckering Mero into defending his title against Helmsley. With help from Perfect, Helmsley won the title from Mero. Perfect began to serve as a mentor to Helmsley and accompanied Helmsley to the ring. Perfect left the WWF once again shortly before Survivor Series (1996), Survivor Series, making his last televised appearance on November 5 episode of ''Raw''.

World Championship Wrestling (1997–2000)

The Four Horsemen; New World Order (1997–1999)

Hennig signed with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in mid-1997. Since his Mr. Perfect ring name was trademarked by the WWF, he returned to competing under his real name. He debuted in WCW as a Face (professional wrestling), fan favorite on June 30 episode of ''WCW Monday Nitro, Monday Nitro'', during a brawl which erupted after the Card (sports)#Main event, main event. His first match in the company took place at July's Bash at the Beach (1997), Bash at the Beach pay-per-view where he became Diamond Dallas Page's mystery tag team partner against nWo members Randy Savage and Scott Hall. Hennig ended up glossary of professional wrestling terms#Turn, turning on Page costing them the match. As a result, Hennig began a rivalry with Page, defeating him in a match at Road Wild (1997), Road Wild. Hennig continued to use the Suplex#Fisherman suplex, fisherman suplex as his finishing move, renaming it ''Hennig-Plex''. Shortly after his debut, he became a top favorite of both Four Horsemen (professional wrestling), Four Horsemen and the New World Order (professional wrestling), New World Order (nWo) as both Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Stable, factions showed interest in recruiting him. He ultimately joined the Four Horsemen, taking the spot of the retiring Arn Anderson. Hennig replied to Anderson's invitation by saying "It would be a privilege." Anderson's plea that Hennig takes "his spot" was the subject of the following week's parody of the Horsemen by the nWo, which led to the WarGames match. At Fall Brawl (1997), Fall Brawl, Hennig was allegedly jumped backstage by the nWo before the WarGames match 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, afterward claiming he had "destroyed the Horseman" and as a further slap to Flair, claimed to be "the wrestler that made Minnesota famous", thus becoming a villain. The following night on ''Nitro'', Hennig won the WWE United States Championship, United States Heavyweight Championship by defeating Horseman Steve McMichael. Hennig held the title for the next three months, during which he successfully defended the title against Flair in a Professional wrestling match types#Singles match, standard wrestling match at Halloween Havoc (1997), Halloween Havoc and a Professional wrestling match types#No Disqualification match/No Holds Barred match, no disqualification match at World War 3 (1997), World War 3, before Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Drop, dropping the title to Diamond Dallas Page at Starrcade (1997), Starrcade.

In the fall of 1997, Hennig was joined by his childhood best friend Rick Rude in the nWo. In 1998, Hennig and Rude were put into a rivalry with Bret Hart and his relatives Davey Boy Smith, British Bulldog and Jim Neidhart, during which both teams competed against each other in several matches throughout the first half of 1998. Hennig lost to Hart at Uncensored (1998), Uncensored and defeated Bulldog at Spring Stampede (1998), Spring Stampede.

He was sidelined due to a knee injury in mid-1998. During this time, the nWo broke into two different factions, the New World Order (professional wrestling)#1998: dissension, nWo Hollywood and Wolfpac, nWo Wolfpac and nWo Hollywood, both Hennig and Rude joined Kevin Nash's fan-favorite Wolfpac group. However, the two villains did not really fit in with the fan-favorite Wolfpac faction, especially when Rude would still get on the microphone and tell the fans to shut up. Hennig was scheduled to wrestle Bill Goldberg, Goldberg for the United States Heavyweight Championship at June's The Great American Bash (1998), The Great American Bash pay-per-view, but he failed to compete due to injury, so he asked Konnan to replace him. Konnan lost the match, and afterward both Hennig and Rude attacked him, removing themselves from the Wolfpac and joining nWo Hollywood. The following month, Goldberg won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, World Heavyweight Championship and Hennig, despite his injury, faced Goldberg for the title in a losing effort at Bash at the Beach (1998), Bash at the Beach.

In the fall of 1998, Hennig began feuding with Horseman Dean Malenko over his betrayal of the Four Horsemen the previous year which resulted in a match between the pair at September's Fall Brawl (1998), Fall Brawl pay-per-view, which Hennig lost. After the loss, Hennig was taken off television to recover from his knee injury. He returned to WCW at the Starrcade (1998), Starrcade event in December to aid Eric Bischoff in defeating Ric Flair. Hennig joined forces with Barry Windham to take on Flair and his son David Flair, David in a Professional wrestling tag team match types, tag team match at Souled Out (1999), Souled Out in 1999, which Hennig's team lost. In 1999, both nWo factions reunited and Hennig was placed in the List of New World Order members, nWo B-Team, a group consisting of mid-card wrestlers of the nWo. However, he was kicked out of the group after speaking against the leaders on January 25 episode of ''Nitro''.

West Texas Rednecks and departure (1999–2000)

Hennig formed a tag team with Barry Windham and continued the rivalry with The Four Horsemen (professional wrestling), The Four Horsemen. Hennig and Windham were placed in a tournament for the vacated WCW World Tag Team Championship, World Tag Team Championship, which they won by defeating Horsemen Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko at SuperBrawl IX. Hennig and Windham held the tag titles for a month, before losing to Benoit and Malenko in a Professional wrestling match types#Lumberjack match, lumberjack match, the following month at Uncensored (1999), Uncensored, after Arn Anderson hit Hennig with a Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Foreign object, tire iron. Hennig competed against Hulk Hogan, Hollywood Hogan in a losing effort the main event of the March 18 episode of ''WCW Thunder, Thunder'' after Horace Hogan, Horace saved Hogan from a ''Suplex#Fisherman suplex, Hennig-Plex''. In May, Hennig formed a new Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Stable, faction called The West Texas Rednecks with Windham, Barry's brother, Kendall Windham, and Bobby Duncum, Jr. The group members were presented as Southern United States, southern country musicians. They began feuding with rapper Master P's The No Limit Soldiers, No Limit Soldiers and recorded an infamous country song titled "Rap is Crap." During the rivalry, Hennig and Duncum lost to Konnan and Rey Mysterio, Rey Mysterio Jr. of the No Limit Soldiers in a tag team match on June 13 at The Great American Bash (1999), The Great American Bash. Less than a month later, the Rednecks lost to the Soldiers once again in an Professional wrestling tag team match types#Elimination tag team matches, elimination tag team match at Bash at the Beach (1999), Bash at the Beach on July 11. Rednecks were intended to be Heel (professional wrestling), villains but the southern WCW fans cheered them instead of the Soldiers, resulting in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Angle, angle being dropped. The Rednecks made their final pay-per-view appearance at Road Wild (1999), Road Wild on August 14, where Hennig, Barry and Duncum lost to The Revolution (WCW), The Revolution in a Professional wrestling match types#Multiple man teamed matches, six-man tag team match.

After the Rednecks disbanded, Hennig began a storyline, in which he stated that he was following orders from "Professional wrestling authority figures#The Powers That Be, the powers that be" that if he lost any match by Pin (professional wrestling), pinfall, he must retire. He participated in a WCW tournaments#WCW World Heavyweight Championship Tournament (1999), tournament to crown the new WCW World Heavyweight Championship, World Heavyweight Champion, during which he defeated Disco Inferno (wrestler), Disco Inferno in the first round but lost to Jeff Jarrett in the second round. He was forced to retire after losing a Professional wrestling match types#Retirement match, retirement match against Buff Bagwell at Mayhem (1999), Mayhem. He was reinstated by the powers that be a month later, however, and joined forces with Harris Brothers, Creative Control, during which the trio defeated Harlem Heat and Midnight (wrestler), Midnight at Starrcade (1999), Starrcade.

He remained on the WCW television, continuing to make sporadic appearances with the company. He entered a feud with Shawn Stasiak in the spring of 2000, after Stasiak referred to himself as "The Perfect One" which was a ripoff of Hennig's "Mr. Perfect" Gimmick (professional wrestling), character and even used entrance music composed to sound like Mr. Perfect's theme song. Hennig lost to Stasiak at Slamboree (2000), Slamboree. His last televised match in WCW was against Chris Harris (wrestler), Chris Harris on May 20 episode of ''WCW Worldwide, Worldwide'', which Hennig won. Hennig left WCW after his contract expired in the summer of 2000.

Various promotions (2000–2001)

After leaving World Championship Wrestling, in summer 2000 Hennig appeared with the Australian i-Generation Superstars of Wrestling promotion, where he held the i-Generation World Heavyweight Championship on two occasions. Following his appearances in Australia, he began appearing with the World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico, briefly winning the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship from Carly Colon. He appeared with the WWC until January 2001. In January 2001, Hennig made a one-night appearance in Japan with All-Japan Pro Wrestling at its King's Road New Century 2001 event, taking part in a six-man tag team match in the Tokyo Dome.

In mid-2001, Hennig made a handful of appearances with Harley Race's World League Wrestling promotion. He then wrestled sporadically on the independent circuit until November 2001, when he joined the newly-formed X Wrestling Federation. He wrestled for the XWF for the remainder of the year, facing opponents including Buff Bagwell and Vampiro. In December 2001, he made two further appearances with the World Wrestling Council.

World Wrestling Federation (2002)

During the buildup for January's Royal Rumble, it was announced that Hennig would be returning as one of the 30 combatants. Hennig, again billed as "Mr. Perfect" (although his real name was widely acknowledged), entered the Royal Rumble at No. 25, and was one of the final three competitors before being eliminated by eventual winner Triple H. Perfect made a strong showing at the Rumble, hitting the Suplex#Fisherman suplex, 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 Hennig a full-time contract with the WWF. Perfect 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 and April as well as a tag team on television with Big Boss Man (wrestler), Big Boss Man. Hennig was drafted to Raw (WWE brand), Raw during the first ever WWE Brand Extension#Raw and SmackDown!, WWF Draft. Hennig's final televised WWE match took place on May 12 edition of Heat (taped May 6) where he was defeated by Matt Hardy. He also participated in a dark match at the Insurrextion (2002), Insurrextion on May 4, 2002, defeating Goldust. Hennig was released from the company on May 7, 2002 due to a physical confrontation with Brock Lesnar on the return flight from the pay-per-view. Among other incidents of drunkenness, the tussle took place on the infamous "Plane Ride from Hell". According to Rob Van Dam and Tommy Dreamer on the ''Dark Side of the Ring'', Hennig pranked Lesnar by slapping shaving cream on his head, which started the scuffle and almost opened the emergency exit door.

NWA Total Nonstop Action (2002–2003)

After being released from WWE, he went on to work for NWA Total Nonstop Action. In TNA, he would wrestle three matches for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship (two against Ron Killings and one against Jeff Jarrett), but didn't win the title. Teaming with B.G. James, he also had a title match for the NWA World Tag Team Championship against Disciples of the New Church but failed to win the titles. Hennig wrestled his last match on January 8, 2003, defeating David Flair in a "Axehandle on a Pole match".

Personal life

Hennig was married to Leonice Leonard. They had four children: Curtis Axel, Joseph, Amy, Kaite, and Hank. Joseph and Amy are professional wrestlers. In addition to his wife and four children, Hennig was survived by his parents, Larry Hennig, Larry and Irene; two brothers, Randy and Jesse; and two sisters, Sandra and Susan.

Death

On February 10, 2003, Hennig was found dead in a Brandon, Florida hotel room, at the age of 44, six weeks away from his 45th birthday. The Hillsborough County, Florida, Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office declared acute cocaine intoxication to be the cause of his death. It was stated by his father that steroids and analgesic, painkillers also contributed to his death.

Legacy

WWE aired a video tribute as well as words from friends and former co-workers Jerry 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 as he was employed by TNA at the time of his death. A tribute song about Hennig, "My Perfect Friend", was featured on the 2003 Randy Savage, "Macho Man" Randy Savage album ''Be a Man (Randy Savage album), Be a Man''.

Other peers including Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, and Kevin Nash have also commended Hennig's in-ring talents. During his WWE Hall of Fame speech, Bret Hart spoke highly of Hennig, stating: "Anytime I wrestled Curt was basically a night off", referring to Hennig's ability to wrestle well and safely in the ring. Hennig's widow, Leonice, signed a WWE Legends contract on her husband's behalf.

Wade Boggs, who appeared in a vignette with Hennig and was a friend of his, inducted him into the WWE Hall of Fame on March 31, 2007. His wife, his four children, 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, George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in Waterloo, Iowa. His father, who was inducted the prior year, represented him at the event.

On September 9, 2008, WWE released a two-disc DVD set focused on Hennig titled ''The Life and Times of Mr. Perfect''. Promotion for the video included Charlie Haas spoofing Hennig's memorable sports Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Vignette, vignettes at a Dave & Buster's on ''Raw''. Finding that he was incapable of performing those feats, Haas decided "there was only one Mr. Perfect." The week after the DVD's release, its first week possible, it went to number one on the Billboard Recreational Sports DVD sales list.

Hennig was mentioned on ''Raw 1000'' by his old friend Bret Hart, who acted as the guest ring announcer for the night's Intercontinental title match. Hart stated that one of his best moments was winning his first ever Intercontinental title from Hennig, and described him as "one of the greatest superstars that ever lived".

Hennig's son Joe used the ring name Curtis Axel, representing his father's first name and his Larry Hennig, grandfather's nickname, respectively. He then went on to win the Intercontinental Championship in 2013 at Payback (2013), Payback on Father's day, and he dedicated his victory to his father. This title win makes them the first, and only, father-son duo to hold the championship.

Hennig was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in Amsterdam, New York in 2015 by his son Joe.

In other media

Hennig appears in the following video games: ''WWF Superstars'', ''WWF WrestleFest'', ''WWF Royal Rumble'', and ''WWF King of the Ring (video game), WWF King of the Ring'' for Super NES, ''WWF Rage in the Cage'' for Sega CD, ''WWF In Your House (video game), WWF In Your House'' for Sega Saturn and PlayStation but only as commentator alongside Vince McMahon, ''WCW/nWo Revenge'', ''WCW/nWo Thunder'', ''WCW Nitro'', ''WCW Mayhem'', ''Showdown: Legends of Wrestling'', ''WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007'', ''WWE WrestleFest'', ''WWE Legends of WrestleMania'', ''WWE All Stars'', ''WWE SuperCard'', ''WWE 2K14'' (As Mr. Perfect (Non-Playable Manager) and as Curt Hennig in his nWo Attire (DLC)), ''WWE 2K16'', ''WWE 2K17'', ''WWE 2K18'' and ''WWE 2K19''.

Championships and accomplishments

*American Wrestling Association
**AWA World Heavyweight Championship (List of AWA World Heavyweight Champions, 1 time)
** AWA World Tag Team Championship (List of AWA World Tag Team Champions, 1 time) – with Scott Hall
*Future of Wrestling
** FOW Heavyweight Championship (FOW Heavyweight Championship#Title history, 1 time)
*George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
** Class of 2007
*i-Generation Superstars of Wrestling
** i-Generation Superstars of Wrestling#Championships, i-Generation World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
* Main Event Championship Wrestling
** MECW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
*Pacific Northwest Wrestling
** NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship (NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship#Title history, 1 time)
** NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship (NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship#Title history, 3 times) – with Larry Hennig (1), Buddy Rose (1) and Scott McGhee, Pat McGhee (1)
** Salem City Tournament (1984)
*Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum, Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
** Class of 2015
*''Pro Wrestling Illustrated''
** List of Pro Wrestling Illustrated awards#Most Improved Wrestler of the Year, PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (1987)
** PWI ranked him No. 9 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the year in the Pro Wrestling Illustrated#PWI 500, PWI 500 in 1993
** PWI ranked him No. 55 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "Pro Wrestling Illustrated#All-Time Top Fives, PWI Years" in 2003
** PWI ranked him No. 98 of the Top 100 Tag Teams of the "PWI Years" with Scott Hall in 2003
*''Superstars of Wrestling, Pro Wrestling this Week''
**Wrestler of the Week ( May 17–23, 1987)
*World Wrestling Council
** WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship (WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship#Title history, 1 time)
*World Championship Wrestling
** WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (List of WWE United States Champions, 1 time)
** WCW World Tag Team Championship (List of WCW World Tag Team Champions, 1 time) – with Barry Windham
*World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment
** WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship (List of WWE Intercontinental Champions, 2 times)
** WWE Hall of Fame (WWE Hall of Fame#2007, Class of 2007)
* ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter''
** List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards#Most Improved, Most Improved (1983)

See also

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References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hennig, Curt
1958 births
2003 deaths
American color commentators
American male professional wrestlers
AWA World Heavyweight Champions
Burials in Minnesota
Catholics from Minnesota
Cocaine-related deaths in Florida
NWA/WCW/WWE United States Heavyweight Champions
People from Robbinsdale, Minnesota
Professional wrestlers from Minnesota
Professional wrestling announcers
Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
Professional wrestling managers and valets
The Four Horsemen (professional wrestling) members
The Heenan Family members
New World Order (professional wrestling) members
WWE Hall of Fame inductees
WWF/WWE Intercontinental Champions
AWA World Tag Team Champions
WWC Universal Heavyweight Champions
WCW World Tag Team Champions