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Curt Hennig

Curtis Michael "Curt" Hennig (March 28, 1958 – February 10, 2003), also known by the ring name Mr. Perfect, was an American professional wrestler who competed for the promotions of American Wrestling Association, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling and most notably World Wrestling Federation. Hennig has the distinction of being the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion of the 1990s, and is also a former World Heavyweight Champion, United States Champion and World Tag Team Champion.

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, along with his father Larry "the Axe," would engage in a long feud with Greg Gagne and his father, WWE Hall of Famer Verne Gagne. Hennig would hold the title for over a year before losing it to Jerry Lawler on May 9 1988, ending his reign at a year and a week. 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.

Hennig returned to the WWF in the fall of 1988, and the "Mr. Perfect" character 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, beating the likes of 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 late 1989, which included a backstage segment where he and "The Genius" Lanny Poffo, his manager by this time, destroyed Hogan's WWF Title belt with a hammer. Hennig and Hogan would be the last two men left in the 1990 Royal Rumble, with Hogan getting the victory. Hennig's first one-on-one loss on television was to Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake at WrestleMania VI at the Toronto Skydome.

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 Intercontinental 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 (Flair's "financial adviser") on Primetime Wrestling before Survivor Series 1992 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, Hennig 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."

Hennig also competed in the 1993 King of the Ring tournament, losing in the semi-finals to eventual winner Bret Hart.

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, at In Your House "Mind Games" with Ross and McMahon, and in the video game WWF In Your House with 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 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. This was due to the WWF telling Lloyd's of London that Hennig would be competing in the ring again which stopped Hennig's very high monthly insurance payouts. Hennig left the WWF in disgust. He wouldn't be seen in the WWF again until 2002.

World Championship Wrestling (1997-2000)

Hennig signed with WCW in 1997, no longer known 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 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 and defended it by defeating many superstars like Ric Flair, Lex Luger, The Giant, Chris Benoit, Jeff Jarrett, and Diamond Dallas Page to name a few before losing it to 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, removing themselves from the Wolfpac and joining 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 early 1999, he began tagging 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)

Hennig was a franchise star for the short lived XWF where he had a brief run. The promotion quickly went under on behalf of the WWF buying out many of its major talent, including Hennig himself.

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 the Royal 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 the "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 and April as well as a tag team on television with The Big Boss Man. He also appeared on Sunday Night Heat the night of WrestleMania X8. Mr. Perfect was drafted to Raw during the first ever "WWF Draft". However, he was released from the company on May 5, 2002 due to a physical confrontation with Brock Lesnar over who had the best amateur skills. Among other incidents of drunkenness, the tussle took place on the infamous "plane ride from hell.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling/All Star Wrestling (2003)

After being released from WWE, he went on to work for NWA-TNA and Jimmy Hart's All Star Wrestling (his final promotion before his death). In NWA-TNA, he was involved in a feud with NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett.

Death and legacy

On February 10, 2003, Hennig was found dead in a Florida hotel room. 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 that steroids and painkillers also contributed to his death.

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 as he was employed to TNA at the time of his death.

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 and Ric Flair) as one of the greatest in ring performers in modern wrestling history.

Wade Boggs, who famously appeared in a vignette with Hennig and was a close friend of his, 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.

A tribute song about Hennig, "My Perfect Friend," was featured on the 2003 "Macho Man" Randy Savage album Be a Man.

Hennig's son Joe is currently pursuing a career in pro-wrestling and is being trained by Harley Race. Joe has wrestled as talent-enhancement on WWE television and has taken to wearing a style of singlet similar to that of his father. He is currently under a WWE developmental contract with FCW, WWE's farm promotion in Florida. Hennig'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 former development territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling.

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 vignettes at a Dave & Buster's on RAW. Finding that he was incapable of performing those feats, Haas decided that "there was only one Mr. Perfect."