Curt Hennig was a fantastic wrestler and legend of his era, who bridged three decades, working in all the major national promotions in North America (AWA, WWE, WCW, and even TNA). Holding outstanding skills in the ring, his contest against Bret Hart at Summer Slam 1991 set a benchmark for a generation in terms of ring quality, propelling the technical style in WWE forward for the next decade.
Tragically, his life was cut short at the young age of 44. Hennig packed a great deal into his time in the ring from 1980-2003. Never winning a major World Championship, he is at the very top of the list for wrestlers that should have. With peers such as Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart singing his praises in the ring as a professional and as "one of the greatest superstars that ever lived."
10 Family & Early Years
Son of Larry the Axe Hennig, and father of former WWE superstar Curtis Axel, Curt hailed from Minneapolis attending a unique high school in Robbinsdale, Minnesota. It produced many wrestlers, notably Rick Rude, Hawk, Nikita Koloff, Barry Darsow, and others. Hennig first gained notoriety in the AWA in his native state, where his father solidified his legacy.
The AWA was active from 1960-1991, founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo, breaking away from the NWA early. It became a distinct entity specializing in the Mid-West region, expanding rapidly. WWE raided many talents in the 1980s, from Hulk Hogan, Gene Okerlund then Curt Hennig eventually, and gave Eric Bischoff his first job in the industry.
9 Learning the Ropes
Hennig debuted in the AWA in January 1980 as “Cool Curt Hennig” initially. From 1981-83 for two years, he had his original stint in the WWE, which fans might not know about. Back in the territory days wrestlers would move around a lot, so Curt spent time everywhere learning his craft.
He was in the Pacific Northwest Wrestling promotion from 1982-88 but also gained experience in New Japan, NWA St. Louis, Central States Wrestling, and Continental Wrestling Association. Curt also competed back in the AWA through the decade, where he eventually became their World Heavyweight Champion, defeating Nick Bockwinkel, with his reign lasting over a year.
8 Re-Debut in WWF as Mr. Perfect 1988
In October '88, the famous “Mr. Perfect” vignettes began. These included everything from bowling the perfect game to three-point half-court shots in basketball, golf, darts, pool, ice hockey, football, and then baseball home runs with MLB player Wade Boggs. They are still some of the most vivid memories of Mr. Perfect that remain timeless to fans.
Apparently, at a meeting at Vince’s home trying to come up with new ideas for Curt, he was asked "what sports are you good at?". Curt replied humbly "all of them" and his character was born. Curt’s first PPV appearance was Survivor Series 1988 as a member of Andre the Giant’s team, where he "survived" after 30 minutes.
7 Hulk Hogan vs MR Perfect
After being undefeated for close to a year and a half, Perfect began a feud with Hogan for the WWE Championship, pairing with The Genius. The infamous visual of Perfect destroying the championship backstage with a hammer lives on to this day, as does the myth the original Hardcore Title was created out of it.
In January 1990 at MSG, he faced Hogan for the title and won via DQ. Perfect was eliminated in the final two of the Royal Rumble by his new adversary. Perfect's first televised loss came at WrestleMania 6 against Brutus Beefcake. He faced Hogan again on Saturday Night Main Event 26 in April, but this match was not for the championship despite competing on the "House Show" circuit since November for the title. Many fans hoped Perfect would end the period of Hogan domination.
6 Intercontinental Title Runs
Perfect's run with the IC Championship is still one of the best in the promotion, back when it was the "work-horse" title. After Warrior vacated the gold, Perfect defeated Tito Santana in the tournament finals in May, and Bobby Heenan started representing him. He lost it to Texas Tornado at Summer Slam 1990, then regained the title in December on Superstars before his second major run.
During this period, Hennig battled the likes of Bossman at WrestleMania 7, Greg Valentine, Roddy Piper, and Shawn Michaels, even gaining a new manager in "Coach" played by veteran John Tolos. In a feud with Bulldog that was never completed, tragedy struck and Hennig severely injured his back. This had a huge effect on his career.
5 SummerSlam 1991 Benchmark
The “Greatest Intercontinental Champion of all Time” faced the “Excellence of Execution”, and it was a truly special match for a generation, burned into their minds to this very day. Bret has said anytime he was wrestling Curt "it was like having a night off" as the two mat technicians locked horns.
The match created a new watershed in realism and in-ring action and went a long way to enhance Bret Hart’s status and lay the foundation for his future World Title run. Curt was hurt though, with a broken tailbone and bulging disc, adding authenticity to the match. Needing substantial time off, he still wanted to put Bret over the right way as promised.
4 The Remaining WWE Years 1992-1996
From 1991-1992 Curt healed up and managed Ric Flair successfully to two World Titles. Hennig eventually returned to the ring at Survivor Series 1992 against Flair plus his old AWA Championship partner Razor Ramon, teaming with Savage as a face. He sent Flair packing to WCW on a very early Raw episode to conclude their storyline.
The stop-start nature of his health, and Lloyds of London insurance policy, meant he covered many roles from commentator to referee. Matches with Luger at WrestleMania 9, a Bret rematch in the KOTR 93 tournament, and Michaels at Summer Slam 1993 were squeezed in. His last months saw a major unresolved angle with HHH and Marc Mero in the Autumn of 1996.
3 Emergence in WCW
Hennig surprisingly appeared in WCW in June 1997 to the ring after a long absence. Fans were "genuinely ecstatic" from all sides. He was inserted into a feud with DDP, harnessing their AWA history with the "Diamond Exchange" at Bash at the Beach that eventually culminated at Starrcade. Showing he could still go, Curt was just shy of his 40th birthday.
It was great to see him win the US Title early and go up against a new generation of gifted superstars from Jeff Jarrett, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, to Booker T. Curt renewed an old rivalry with Flair in the classic Wargames betrayal by joining the nWo, and he also feuded with Lex Luger, having unfinished business from WrestleMania 10. He even managed to "Hennig Plex" The Giant to the disbelief of fans.
2 Rick Rude & Rivalry with Hart Family
Curt's childhood friend Rick Rude joined post-Montreal, and they began feuding with the Hart Family in 1998. Teaming mainly with Brian Adams from the nWo initially, he faced Bret Hart at Uncensored, then Bulldog at Spring Stampede. A win here would have elevated Curt to the next level in WCW after his initial momentum, having put Hart over on two major occasions in WWE.
WCW chose a submission win for Hart, but Curt attacked him post-match with a chair shot, plus fans saw a long-forgotten "Rude Awakening". During his match with the British Bulldog, Rude and Jim Neidhart were handcuffed at ringside, and Vincent was secretly the police officer. The Anvil got anchored to the ring post and Hennig attained the win as "kayfabe revenge" for his injured back. Rude added further punishment, even more than the unintentionally hilarious "West Texas Rednecks" angle that was a major chapter later in his WCW career.
1 WWE Return & Passing
Curt's big return happened at Royal Rumble 2002 as a one-off, but he received amazing reactions and pulled off a great showing in the ring. Keeping pace with Austin, HHH, and Angle meant WWE signed him up full-time. Fans never got the Angle vs Perfect "dream match", but he did get to wrestle Stone Cold and RVD, plus Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton, and Edge were taught ring-craft by the veteran. Unfortunately, the "plane ride from hell" meant Hennig was let go because of a very serious altercation with Lesnar mid-flight.
Curt's next major stop was TNA for about 3 months from late 2002-2003 wrestling for the NWA World Heavyweight Title on multiple occasions. His life was cut short in February 2003. Hennig was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by close friend Wade Boggs in 2007. His official biographical DVD set went straight to No 1 nationally, such was his enduring popularity with fans, as his memory lives on to this day.