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Curt Hennig

January 07, 2023

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.

Curt Hennig
Birth nameCurtis Michael Hennig
Born(1958-03-28)March 28, 1958[1]
Robbinsdale, Minnesota, U.S.[1]
DiedFebruary 10, 2003(2003-02-10) (aged 44)
Brandon, Florida, U.S.
Cause of deathCombined drug intoxication
Alma materNormandale Community College
Spouse(s)
Leonice Leonard
​
(m. 1978)​
Children4, including Joe Hennig
FamilyLarry Hennig (father)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Curt Hennig[1]
Mr. Perfect[1][2]
Billed height6 ft 3 in (191 cm)[1][2]
Billed weight257 lb (117 kg)[2]
Billed fromRobbinsdale, Minnesota, U.S.[2]
Trained byVerne Gagne[1][2]
Larry Hennig[1][2]
DebutJanuary 30, 1980[1]

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.[3] 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.[4] 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".[5] 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,[2] 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".[6] Hennig was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007 by former Major League Baseball player and longtime friend Wade Boggs.[2] 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."[7]

Early life

 
Curt (right) with his father Larry "The Axe" Hennig (left), circa 1981

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".[8] 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.[9]

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[10] 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).[citation needed]

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)

See also: The Diamond Exchange
 
Hennig (center) with Diamond Dallas Page and Diamond Doll Tonya in 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.[11]

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.[12][13] 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.[14][15] Hennig and Madusa joined The Diamond Exchange, a stable led by Diamond Dallas Page that also included Badd Company and Colonel DeBeers.[16]

Hennig would hold the AWA World Heavyweight Title for about 53 weeks, before losing it to Jerry Lawler on May 9, 1988.[13] 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.[citation needed]

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.[17]

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.[18] He went undefeated on television for over a year, beating mid-card wrestlers including B. Brian Blair, Ronnie Garvin, Koko B. Ware,[19] The Blue Blazer,[20] The Red Rooster,[21][22] Jimmy Snuka,[23] Tito Santana, and Bret Hart[24] 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.[22][24] 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.[25]

At Royal Rumble, Perfect attacked Genius's opponent Brutus Beefcake after their match, which began a feud between the two.[25] 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.[26] 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.[25] His first loss in singles competition on national television was against Brutus Beefcake at WrestleMania VI.[27] 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.[28] Following his loss to Hogan, Perfect quietly ended his association with The Genius.[25]

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.[29] 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.[29][30][31] After his title win, Perfect enlisted Bobby Heenan as his "perfect" manager[25] and made a successful title defense against Santana on July 28 Saturday Night's Main Event XXVII.[32] 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.[25] Perfect dropped the championship to Texas Tornado at SummerSlam.[15][33][29] 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.[34] 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.[15][25] 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.[35]

Perfect made his next title defense against Big Boss Man at WrestleMania VII, where he retained the title by losing via disqualification after the challenger was attacked by Haku and The Barbarian.[35][36] The following month, Perfect won a battle royal on April 27 Saturday Night's Main Event by last eliminating Greg Valentine,[37][38] which led to a match between the two for Perfect's title on May 14 episode of Prime Time Wrestling, where Perfect retained the title via disqualification.[35] On June 15 episode of Superstars, Bobby Heenan retired as a manager and introduced The Coach as Hennig's new manager. Hennig began a rivalry with 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.[35] Perfect lost the title to Hart at SummerSlam[10][15] and a broken tailbone and bulged discs forced him to retire from the ring.[35]

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".[39] The following week on Superstars, Perfect became a color commentator of the show for the next full year, acting as a suitable villainous foil to Vince McMahon's play-by-play.[35] During this period, Perfect assisted Flair in winning matches and managed him to two World Heavyweight Championship reigns in 1992.[40] By the fall of 1992, Perfect and Flair were in the midst of a rivalry with Randy Savage, building to a tag team match at Survivor Series where Flair and Razor Ramon would face Savage and Ultimate Warrior. However, Warrior was released from the WWF weeks prior to the event.[41] On November 16 episode of 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 turning into a 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.[42] Hennig made his return to the ring at Survivor Series, where Hennig and Savage won their match.[43]

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 The Berzerker.[40] Hennig participated in the 1993 Royal Rumble match to determine the No. 1 contender for the WWF Championship at WrestleMania IX. He eliminated Flair, Skinner and Jerry Lawler until he was eliminated by Ted DiBiase, Koko B. Ware and Lawler.[44] Hennig defeated Flair the next night on Monday Night Raw in a match where the loser would be forced to leave WWF.[15] As a result, Flair left WWF.[45] He then went on to feud with the debuting Lex Luger, who berated Perfect during his promos. Luger won their match at WrestleMania IX[46] 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.[45]

During this time, Hennig qualified for the first-ever televised King of the Ring tournament by defeating Doink the Clown.[45] At King of the Ring, Perfect defeated Mr. Hughes in the quarter-finals but lost to eventual winner Bret Hart in the semi-finals.[47] Perfect competed against Shawn Michaels for the Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam, where Perfect lost by countout due to interference from Michaels' new bodyguard Diesel.[45][48] Hennig's last televised match in WWF was on November 7 episode of Wrestling Challenge, where he defeated Iron Mike Sharpe. He was set to participate as a member of Razor Ramon's team at 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.[45]

Perfect made his surprise return to WWF at WrestleMania X on March 20, 1994, where he was the special guest referee for the WWF Championship match between Lex Luger and Yokozuna.[49] Perfect disqualified Luger after Luger manhandled Perfect, who was tending to Yokozuna's stricken managers Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji instead of counting the 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.[50]

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 pay-per-view in 1995.[51] The following weekend, Jerry Lawler announced Perfect as his replacement on Superstars,[15] 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, SummerSlam and In Your House 10: Mind Games pay-per-views.[52] Perfect also served as the special guest referee for the WWF Championship match between Shawn Michaels and British Bulldog at June's King of the Ring pay-per-view.[53]

In mid-1996, Hennig was placed in an angle with Hunter Hearst Helmsley, where he would come out to the ringside during Helmsley's matches and steal his 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 Faarooq and assisted him in retaining the title against Goldust at In Your House 11: Buried Alive.[52] 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.[15] 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, making his last televised appearance on November 5 episode of Raw.[52]

World Championship Wrestling (1997–2000)

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

Main articles: The Four Horsemen and New World Order

Hennig signed with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in mid-1997.[15] 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 fan favorite on June 30 episode of Monday Nitro, during a brawl which erupted after the main event.[54] His first match in the company took place at July's 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.[15] Hennig ended up turning on Page costing them the match.[54][55] As a result, Hennig began a rivalry with Page, defeating him in a match at Road Wild.[56] Hennig continued to use the fisherman suplex as his finishing move, renaming it Hennig-Plex. Shortly after his debut, he became a top favorite of both Four Horsemen and the New World Order (nWo) as both 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.[54] At 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,[15] 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.[54][56] The following night on Nitro, Hennig won the United States Heavyweight Championship by defeating Horseman Steve McMichael.[54] Hennig held the title for the next three months, during which he successfully defended the title against Flair in a standard wrestling match at Halloween Havoc[57] and a no disqualification match at World War 3,[58] before dropping the title to Diamond Dallas Page at Starrcade.[15][59]

In the fall of 1997, Hennig was joined by his childhood best friend Rick Rude in the nWo.[54] In 1998, Hennig and Rude were put into a rivalry with Bret Hart and his relatives British Bulldog and Jim Neidhart, during which both teams competed against each other in several matches throughout the first half of 1998.[60] Hennig lost to Hart at Uncensored[61] and defeated Bulldog at Spring Stampede.[62]

He was sidelined due to a knee injury in mid-1998. During this time, the nWo broke into two different factions, the 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.[60] Hennig was scheduled to wrestle Goldberg for the United States Heavyweight Championship at June's 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.[60][63] The following month, Goldberg won the World Heavyweight Championship and Hennig, despite his injury, faced Goldberg for the title in a losing effort at Bash at the Beach.[64]

In the fall of 1998, Hennig began feuding with Horseman Dean Malenko over his betrayal of the Four Horsemen the previous year[54] which resulted in a match between the pair at September's Fall Brawl pay-per-view, which Hennig lost.[65] After the loss, Hennig was taken off television to recover from his knee injury. He returned to WCW at the Starrcade event in December to aid Eric Bischoff in defeating Ric Flair.[60] Hennig joined forces with Barry Windham to take on Flair and his son David in a tag team match at Souled Out in 1999, which Hennig's team lost.[66] In 1999, both nWo factions reunited and Hennig was placed in the 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.[67]

West Texas Rednecks and departure (1999–2000)

Main article: The West Texas Rednecks

Hennig formed a tag team with Barry Windham and continued the rivalry with The Four Horsemen. Hennig and Windham were placed in a tournament for the vacated World Tag Team Championship, which they won by defeating Horsemen Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko at SuperBrawl IX.[68] Hennig and Windham held the tag titles for a month, before losing to Benoit and Malenko in a lumberjack match, the following month at Uncensored, after Arn Anderson hit Hennig with a tire iron.[67][69] Hennig competed against Hollywood Hogan in a losing effort the main event of the March 18 episode of Thunder after Horace saved Hogan from a Hennig-Plex.[67] In May, Hennig formed a new faction called The West Texas Rednecks with Windham, Barry's brother, Kendall Windham, and Bobby Duncum, Jr. The group members were presented as southern country musicians. They began feuding with rapper Master P's No Limit Soldiers and recorded an infamous country song titled "Rap is Crap."[2][15] During the rivalry, Hennig and Duncum lost to Konnan and Rey Mysterio Jr. of the No Limit Soldiers in a tag team match on June 13 at The Great American Bash.[70] Less than a month later, the Rednecks lost to the Soldiers once again in an elimination tag team match at Bash at the Beach on July 11.[71] Rednecks were intended to be villains but the southern WCW fans cheered them instead of the Soldiers, resulting in the angle being dropped. The Rednecks made their final pay-per-view appearance at Road Wild on August 14, where Hennig, Barry and Duncum lost to The Revolution in a six-man tag team match.[72]

After the Rednecks disbanded, Hennig began a storyline, in which he stated that he was following orders from "the powers that be" that if he lost any match by pinfall, he must retire.[67] He participated in a tournament to crown the new World Heavyweight Champion, during which he defeated Disco Inferno in the first round but lost to Jeff Jarrett in the second round.[73] He was forced to retire after losing a retirement match against Buff Bagwell at Mayhem.[74] He was reinstated by the powers that be a month later, however, and joined forces with Creative Control, during which the trio defeated Harlem Heat and Midnight at Starrcade.[75]

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" character and even used entrance music composed to sound like Mr. Perfect's theme song.[76][77] Hennig lost to Stasiak at Slamboree.[78][76] His last televised match in WCW was against Chris Harris on May 20 episode of Worldwide, which Hennig won.[77] Hennig left WCW after his contract expired in the summer of 2000.[citation needed]

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.[79][80]

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.[80]

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 Perfect-Plex on Kurt Angle and holding his own with the WWF's best at the time.[81] 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. Hennig was drafted to Raw during the first ever WWF Draft.[82] Hennig's final televised WWE match took place on May 12 edition of Heat (taped May 6) where he was defeated by Matt Hardy.[83] He also participated in a dark match at the Insurrextion on May 4, 2002, defeating Goldust.[84] 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".[85] 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.[86]

NWA Total Nonstop Action (2002–2003)

After being released from WWE,[87] 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.[88][89][90] 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.[91] Hennig wrestled his last match on January 8, 2003, defeating David Flair in a "Axehandle on a Pole match".[92]

Personal life

Hennig was married to Leonice Leonard. They had four children: Joseph, Amy, Kaite, and Hank. Joseph and Amy are professional wrestlers.[93][94] In addition to his wife and four children, Hennig was survived by his parents, Larry and Irene; two brothers, Randy and Jesse; and two sisters, Sandra and Susan.[95]

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.[39] The Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office declared acute cocaine intoxication to be the cause of his death.[96] It was stated by his father that steroids and painkillers also contributed to his death.[97]

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 "Macho Man" Randy Savage album Be a Man.[98]

Other peers including Hulk Hogan,[99] Ric Flair,[100] Bret Hart,[101] Shawn Michaels,[102] and Kevin Nash have also commended Hennig's in-ring talents.[39] 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.[39] 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.[2] On July 4, 2007, Hennig was posthumously inducted into the 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 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 grandfather's nickname, respectively.[39] He then went on to win the Intercontinental Championship in 2013 at Payback on Father's day, and he dedicated his victory to his father.[39][103] This title win makes them the first, and only, father-son duo to hold the championship.[39]

Hennig was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in Amsterdam, New York in 2015 by his son Joe.[104][105]

In other media

Hennig appears in the following video games: WWF Superstars, WWF WrestleFest, WWF Royal Rumble, and WWF King of the Ring for Super NES, WWF Rage in the Cage for Sega CD, 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.[citation needed]

Championships and accomplishments

 
Hennig (right) was a two-time WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion.

See also

References

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External links

  • Curt Hennig on WWE.com
  • Curt Hennig's profile at Cagematch.net, Wrestlingdata.com, Internet Wrestling Database
  • Curt Hennig at IMDb
  • "Curt Hennig". Find a Grave. Retrieved August 28, 2010.

January 07, 2023
curt, hennig, curtis, michael, hennig, march, 1958, february, 2003, american, professional, wrestler, performed, under, real, name, promotions, including, american, wrestling, association, world, wrestling, federation, world, championship, wrestling, total, no. 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 Curt HennigBirth nameCurtis Michael HennigBorn 1958 03 28 March 28 1958 1 Robbinsdale Minnesota U S 1 DiedFebruary 10 2003 2003 02 10 aged 44 Brandon Florida U S Cause of deathCombined drug intoxicationAlma materNormandale Community CollegeSpouse s Leonice Leonard m 1978 wbr Children4 including Joe HennigFamilyLarry Hennig father Professional wrestling careerRing name s Curt Hennig 1 Mr Perfect 1 2 Billed height6 ft 3 in 191 cm 1 2 Billed weight257 lb 117 kg 2 Billed fromRobbinsdale Minnesota U S 2 Trained byVerne Gagne 1 2 Larry Hennig 1 2 DebutJanuary 30 1980 1 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 3 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 4 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 5 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 2 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 6 Hennig was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007 by former Major League Baseball player and longtime friend Wade Boggs 2 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 7 Contents 1 Early life 2 Professional wrestling career 2 1 American Wrestling Association 1980 1982 2 2 World Wrestling Federation 1981 1983 2 3 Pacific Northwest Wrestling 1982 1988 2 4 American Wrestling Association 1983 1988 2 5 World Wrestling Federation 1988 1996 2 5 1 Undefeated streak 1988 1990 2 5 2 Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion 1990 1991 2 5 3 Various storylines and departure 1991 1996 2 6 World Championship Wrestling 1997 2000 2 6 1 The Four Horsemen New World Order 1997 1999 2 6 2 West Texas Rednecks and departure 1999 2000 2 7 Various promotions 2000 2001 2 8 World Wrestling Federation 2002 2 9 NWA Total Nonstop Action 2002 2003 3 Personal life 4 Death 5 Legacy 6 In other media 7 Championships and accomplishments 8 See also 9 References 10 External linksEarly life Edit Curt right with his father Larry The Axe Hennig left circa 1981 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 8 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 9 Professional wrestling career EditAmerican Wrestling Association 1980 1982 Edit 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 10 a star World Wrestling Federation 1981 1983 Edit 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 citation needed Pacific Northwest Wrestling 1982 1988 Edit 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 Edit See also The Diamond Exchange Hennig center with Diamond Dallas Page and Diamond Doll Tonya in 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 11 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 12 13 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 14 15 Hennig and Madusa joined The Diamond Exchange a stable led by Diamond Dallas Page that also included Badd Company and Colonel DeBeers 16 Hennig would hold the AWA World Heavyweight Title for about 53 weeks before losing it to Jerry Lawler on May 9 1988 13 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 citation needed World Wrestling Federation 1988 1996 Edit Undefeated streak 1988 1990 Edit 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 17 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 Andre 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 18 He went undefeated on television for over a year beating mid card wrestlers including B Brian Blair Ronnie Garvin Koko B Ware 19 The Blue Blazer 20 The Red Rooster 21 22 Jimmy Snuka 23 Tito Santana and Bret Hart 24 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 22 24 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 25 At Royal Rumble Perfect attacked Genius s opponent Brutus Beefcake after their match which began a feud between the two 25 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 26 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 25 His first loss in singles competition on national television was against Brutus Beefcake at WrestleMania VI 27 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 28 Following his loss to Hogan Perfect quietly ended his association with The Genius 25 Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion 1990 1991 Edit 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 29 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 29 30 31 After his title win Perfect enlisted Bobby Heenan as his perfect manager 25 and made a successful title defense against Santana on July 28 Saturday Night s Main Event XXVII 32 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 25 Perfect dropped the championship to Texas Tornado at SummerSlam 15 33 29 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 34 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 15 25 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 35 Perfect made his next title defense against Big Boss Man at WrestleMania VII where he retained the title by losing via disqualification after the challenger was attacked by Haku and The Barbarian 35 36 The following month Perfect won a battle royal on April 27 Saturday Night s Main Event by last eliminating Greg Valentine 37 38 which led to a match between the two for Perfect s title on May 14 episode of Prime Time Wrestling where Perfect retained the title via disqualification 35 On June 15 episode of Superstars Bobby Heenan retired as a manager and introduced The Coach as Hennig s new manager Hennig began a rivalry with 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 35 Perfect lost the title to Hart at SummerSlam 10 15 and a broken tailbone and bulged discs forced him to retire from the ring 35 Various storylines and departure 1991 1996 Edit 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 39 The following week on Superstars Perfect became a color commentator of the show for the next full year acting as a suitable villainous foil to Vince McMahon s play by play 35 During this period Perfect assisted Flair in winning matches and managed him to two World Heavyweight Championship reigns in 1992 40 By the fall of 1992 Perfect and Flair were in the midst of a rivalry with Randy Savage building to a tag team match at Survivor Series where Flair and Razor Ramon would face Savage and Ultimate Warrior However Warrior was released from the WWF weeks prior to the event 41 On November 16 episode of 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 turning into a 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 42 Hennig made his return to the ring at Survivor Series where Hennig and Savage won their match 43 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 The Berzerker 40 Hennig participated in the 1993 Royal Rumble match to determine the No 1 contender for the WWF Championship at WrestleMania IX He eliminated Flair Skinner and Jerry Lawler until he was eliminated by Ted DiBiase Koko B Ware and Lawler 44 Hennig defeated Flair the next night on Monday Night Raw in a match where the loser would be forced to leave WWF 15 As a result Flair left WWF 45 He then went on to feud with the debuting Lex Luger who berated Perfect during his promos Luger won their match at WrestleMania IX 46 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 45 During this time Hennig qualified for the first ever televised King of the Ring tournament by defeating Doink the Clown 45 At King of the Ring Perfect defeated Mr Hughes in the quarter finals but lost to eventual winner Bret Hart in the semi finals 47 Perfect competed against Shawn Michaels for the Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam where Perfect lost by countout due to interference from Michaels new bodyguard Diesel 45 48 Hennig s last televised match in WWF was on November 7 episode of Wrestling Challenge where he defeated Iron Mike Sharpe He was set to participate as a member of Razor Ramon s team at 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 45 Perfect made his surprise return to WWF at WrestleMania X on March 20 1994 where he was the special guest referee for the WWF Championship match between Lex Luger and Yokozuna 49 Perfect disqualified Luger after Luger manhandled Perfect who was tending to Yokozuna s stricken managers Jim Cornette and Mr Fuji instead of counting the 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 50 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 pay per view in 1995 51 The following weekend Jerry Lawler announced Perfect as his replacement on Superstars 15 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 SummerSlam and In Your House 10 Mind Games pay per views 52 Perfect also served as the special guest referee for the WWF Championship match between Shawn Michaels and British Bulldog at June s King of the Ring pay per view 53 In mid 1996 Hennig was placed in an angle with Hunter Hearst Helmsley where he would come out to the ringside during Helmsley s matches and steal his 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 Faarooq and assisted him in retaining the title against Goldust at In Your House 11 Buried Alive 52 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 15 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 making his last televised appearance on November 5 episode of Raw 52 World Championship Wrestling 1997 2000 Edit The Four Horsemen New World Order 1997 1999 Edit Main articles The Four Horsemen and New World Order Hennig signed with World Championship Wrestling WCW in mid 1997 15 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 fan favorite on June 30 episode of Monday Nitro during a brawl which erupted after the main event 54 His first match in the company took place at July s 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 15 Hennig ended up turning on Page costing them the match 54 55 As a result Hennig began a rivalry with Page defeating him in a match at Road Wild 56 Hennig continued to use the fisherman suplex as his finishing move renaming it Hennig Plex Shortly after his debut he became a top favorite of both Four Horsemen and the New World Order nWo as both 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 54 At 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 15 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 54 56 The following night on Nitro Hennig won the United States Heavyweight Championship by defeating Horseman Steve McMichael 54 Hennig held the title for the next three months during which he successfully defended the title against Flair in a standard wrestling match at Halloween Havoc 57 and a no disqualification match at World War 3 58 before dropping the title to Diamond Dallas Page at Starrcade 15 59 In the fall of 1997 Hennig was joined by his childhood best friend Rick Rude in the nWo 54 In 1998 Hennig and Rude were put into a rivalry with Bret Hart and his relatives British Bulldog and Jim Neidhart during which both teams competed against each other in several matches throughout the first half of 1998 60 Hennig lost to Hart at Uncensored 61 and defeated Bulldog at Spring Stampede 62 He was sidelined due to a knee injury in mid 1998 During this time the nWo broke into two different factions the 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 60 Hennig was scheduled to wrestle Goldberg for the United States Heavyweight Championship at June s 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 60 63 The following month Goldberg won the World Heavyweight Championship and Hennig despite his injury faced Goldberg for the title in a losing effort at Bash at the Beach 64 In the fall of 1998 Hennig began feuding with Horseman Dean Malenko over his betrayal of the Four Horsemen the previous year 54 which resulted in a match between the pair at September s Fall Brawl pay per view which Hennig lost 65 After the loss Hennig was taken off television to recover from his knee injury He returned to WCW at the Starrcade event in December to aid Eric Bischoff in defeating Ric Flair 60 Hennig joined forces with Barry Windham to take on Flair and his son David in a tag team match at Souled Out in 1999 which Hennig s team lost 66 In 1999 both nWo factions reunited and Hennig was placed in the 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 67 West Texas Rednecks and departure 1999 2000 Edit Main article The West Texas Rednecks Hennig formed a tag team with Barry Windham and continued the rivalry with The Four Horsemen Hennig and Windham were placed in a tournament for the vacated World Tag Team Championship which they won by defeating Horsemen Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko at SuperBrawl IX 68 Hennig and Windham held the tag titles for a month before losing to Benoit and Malenko in a lumberjack match the following month at Uncensored after Arn Anderson hit Hennig with a tire iron 67 69 Hennig competed against Hollywood Hogan in a losing effort the main event of the March 18 episode of Thunder after Horace saved Hogan from a Hennig Plex 67 In May Hennig formed a new faction called The West Texas Rednecks with Windham Barry s brother Kendall Windham and Bobby Duncum Jr The group members were presented as southern country musicians They began feuding with rapper Master P s No Limit Soldiers and recorded an infamous country song titled Rap is Crap 2 15 During the rivalry Hennig and Duncum lost to Konnan and Rey Mysterio Jr of the No Limit Soldiers in a tag team match on June 13 at The Great American Bash 70 Less than a month later the Rednecks lost to the Soldiers once again in an elimination tag team match at Bash at the Beach on July 11 71 Rednecks were intended to be villains but the southern WCW fans cheered them instead of the Soldiers resulting in the angle being dropped The Rednecks made their final pay per view appearance at Road Wild on August 14 where Hennig Barry and Duncum lost to The Revolution in a six man tag team match 72 After the Rednecks disbanded Hennig began a storyline in which he stated that he was following orders from the powers that be that if he lost any match by pinfall he must retire 67 He participated in a tournament to crown the new World Heavyweight Champion during which he defeated Disco Inferno in the first round but lost to Jeff Jarrett in the second round 73 He was forced to retire after losing a retirement match against Buff Bagwell at Mayhem 74 He was reinstated by the powers that be a month later however and joined forces with Creative Control during which the trio defeated Harlem Heat and Midnight at Starrcade 75 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 character and even used entrance music composed to sound like Mr Perfect s theme song 76 77 Hennig lost to Stasiak at Slamboree 78 76 His last televised match in WCW was against Chris Harris on May 20 episode of Worldwide which Hennig won 77 Hennig left WCW after his contract expired in the summer of 2000 citation needed Various promotions 2000 2001 Edit 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 79 80 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 80 World Wrestling Federation 2002 Edit This section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed February 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message 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 Perfect Plex on Kurt Angle and holding his own with the WWF s best at the time 81 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 Hennig was drafted to Raw during the first ever WWF Draft 82 Hennig s final televised WWE match took place on May 12 edition of Heat taped May 6 where he was defeated by Matt Hardy 83 He also participated in a dark match at the Insurrextion on May 4 2002 defeating Goldust 84 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 85 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 86 NWA Total Nonstop Action 2002 2003 Edit After being released from WWE 87 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 88 89 90 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 91 Hennig wrestled his last match on January 8 2003 defeating David Flair in a Axehandle on a Pole match 92 Personal life EditHennig was married to Leonice Leonard They had four children Joseph Amy Kaite and Hank Joseph and Amy are professional wrestlers 93 94 In addition to his wife and four children Hennig was survived by his parents Larry and Irene two brothers Randy and Jesse and two sisters Sandra and Susan 95 Death EditOn 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 39 The Hillsborough County Medical Examiner s Office declared acute cocaine intoxication to be the cause of his death 96 It was stated by his father that steroids and painkillers also contributed to his death 97 Legacy EditWWE 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 Macho Man Randy Savage album Be a Man 98 Other peers including Hulk Hogan 99 Ric Flair 100 Bret Hart 101 Shawn Michaels 102 and Kevin Nash have also commended Hennig s in ring talents 39 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 39 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 2 On July 4 2007 Hennig was posthumously inducted into the 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 vignettes at a Dave amp 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 grandfather s nickname respectively 39 He then went on to win the Intercontinental Championship in 2013 at Payback on Father s day and he dedicated his victory to his father 39 103 This title win makes them the first and only father son duo to hold the championship 39 Hennig was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in Amsterdam New York in 2015 by his son Joe 104 105 In other media EditHennig appears in the following video games WWF Superstars WWF WrestleFest WWF Royal Rumble and WWF King of the Ring for Super NES WWF Rage in the Cage for Sega CD 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 citation needed Championships and accomplishments Edit Hennig right was a two time WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion American Wrestling Association AWA World Heavyweight Championship 1 time 1 13 AWA World Tag Team Championship 1 time 11 with Scott Hall 1 Future of Wrestling FOW Heavyweight Championship 1 time 1 106 George Tragos Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2007 107 i Generation Superstars of Wrestling i Generation World Heavyweight Championship 2 times 1 108 Main Event Championship Wrestling MECW World Heavyweight Championship 1 time 1 109 110 Pacific Northwest Wrestling NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship 1 time 1 111 NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship 3 times 112 with Larry Hennig 1 Buddy Rose 1 and Pat McGhee 1 1 Salem City Tournament 1984 113 Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2015 114 Pro Wrestling Illustrated PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year 1987 115 PWI ranked him No 9 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the year in the PWI 500 in 1993 116 PWI ranked him No 55 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003 117 PWI ranked him No 98 of the Top 100 Tag Teams of the PWI Years with Scott Hall in 2003 118 Pro Wrestling this Week Wrestler of the Week May 17 23 1987 119 World Wrestling Council WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship 1 time 120 121 World Championship Wrestling WCW United States Heavyweight Championship 1 time 1 122 123 WCW World Tag Team Championship 1 time 124 with Barry Windham 1 World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship 2 times 1 29 125 WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2007 1 2 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Most Improved 1983 citation needed See also EditList of premature professional wrestling deaths People associated with professional wrestling who died before age 65Portal BiographyReferences Edit a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s OWOW profile Online World of Wrestling Retrieved March 5 2008 a b c d e f g h i j k Mr Perfect Curt Hennig World Wrestling Entertainment Retrieved March 29 2011 Royal Duncan amp Gary Will 2006 Wrestling Title Histories 4th ed Archeus Communications ISBN 0 9698161 5 4 History of the Intercontinental Championship WWE Archived from the original on December 14 2018 Retrieved February 2 2022 The 50 Greatest Stars in WCW History Curt Hennig WWE Retrieved May 27 2012 Ryder Bob Scherer Dave WCW The Ultimate Guide DK Books 2000 p 21 The Life amp Times of Mr Perfect WWE Home Video 2008 72 minutes in Tributes II Remembering More of the World s Greatest Professional Wrestlers Sports Publishing LLC 2004 p 62 pp ISBN 1 58261 817 8 Oliver Greg Steven Johnson 2007 The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame The Heels ECW Press p 207 ISBN 978 1 55022 759 8 a b Batista Dave Roberts Jeremy 2007 Batista Unleashed WWE Books p 21 ISBN 978 1 4165 4410 4 a b AWA World Tag Team Title History Solie s Title Histories Retrieved March 5 2008 Curt Hennig vs Nick Bockwinkel Superclash 2 WrestleHistory com Archived from the original on March 31 2012 a b c AWA World Heavyweight Title History Solie s Title Histories Retrieved March 5 2008 Madusa s profile Online World of Wrestling Retrieved May 17 2009 a b c d e f g h i j k l Meltzer Dave 2001 Wrestling Observer s Tributes Remembering Some of the World s Greatest Wrestlers Winding Stair Press pp 50 65 ISBN 1553660854 DDP s career Wrestling museum Retrieved July 29 2009 WWF Results 1988 The History of WWE Retrieved January 11 2017 Survivor Series 1988 results WWE Retrieved January 14 2017 Saturday Night Main Event results Jan 7 1989 WWE Retrieved January 14 2017 WrestleMania V results WWE Retrieved January 14 2017 SummerSlam 1989 results WWE Retrieved January 14 2017 a b Saturday Night s Main Event results Nov 25 1989 WWE Retrieved January 14 2017 Survivor Series 1989 results WWE Retrieved January 14 2017 a b WWF Results 1989 The History of WWE Retrieved January 14 2017 a b c d e f g WWF Results 1990 The History of WWE Retrieved January 14 2017 Hulk Hogan spot No 25 wins the Royal Rumble Match WWE Retrieved January 14 2017 WrestleMania VI results WWE Retrieved January 14 2017 Saturday Night s Main Event results Apr 28 1990 WWE Retrieved January 15 2017 a b c d WWF WWE Intercontinental Heavyweight Title History Solie s Title Histories Retrieved March 5 2008 Intercontinental Title Tournament 1990 Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments Retrieved January 15 2017 WWF SUPERSTARS 1986 97 The History of the WWE Archived from the original on December 12 2007 Retrieved March 7 2008 Saturday Night s Main Event results Jul 28 1990 WWE Retrieved January 15 2017 SummerSlam 1990 results WWE Retrieved January 15 2017 Survivor Series 1990 results WWE Retrieved January 15 2017 a b c d e f WWF Results 1991 The History of WWE Retrieved January 15 2017 WrestleMania VII results WWE Retrieved January 15 2017 Saturday Night s Main Event results Apr 27 1991 WWE Retrieved January 15 2017 WWE SNME Wrestling Results Taped April 15 1991 Omaha NE ObsessedWithWrestling com Retrieved March 18 2009 a b c d e f g Barrasso Justin June 17 2016 Thirteen years after his death Curt Hennig remains Perfect Sports Illustrated Archived from the original on June 18 2016 Retrieved February 2 2022 a b WWF Results 1992 The History of WWE Retrieved January 15 2017 Cawthon Graham 2013 the History of Professional Wrestling Vol 2 WWF 1990 1999 CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform ASIN B00RWUNSRS Prime Time Wrestling Results 1992 1993 The History of WWE Retrieved January 16 2017 Survivor Series 1992 results WWE Retrieved January 16 2017 Yokozuna spot No 27 wins the Royal Rumble Match WWE Retrieved July 6 2013 a b c d e WWF Results 1993 The History of WWE Retrieved January 16 2017 Full WrestleMania IX Results WWE Retrieved July 6 2013 King of the Ring 1993 results Pro Wrestling History Retrieved January 15 2017 SummerSlam 1993 results WWE Retrieved July 6 2013 Full WrestleMania X Results WWE Retrieved July 6 2013 WWF Results 1995 The History of WWE Retrieved January 17 2017 WWF Results 1995 The History of WWE Retrieved January 17 2017 a b c WWF Results 1996 The History of WWE Retrieved January 17 2017 King of the Ring 1996 results Pro Wrestling History Retrieved January 17 2017 a b c d e f g WCW Results 1997 The History of WWE Retrieved January 17 2017 Bash at the Beach 1997 results Pro Wrestling History Retrieved January 17 2017 a b Road Wild 1997 results Pro Wrestling History Retrieved January 17 2017 Halloween Havoc 1997 results Pro Wrestling History Retrieved January 17 2017 World War 3 1997 results Pro Wrestling History Retrieved January 17 2017 WCW Starrcade 1997 Online World of Wrestling Retrieved May 25 2008 a b c d WCW Results 1998 The History of WWE Retrieved January 17 2017 Uncensored 1998 results Pro Wrestling History Retrieved January 17 2017 Spring Stampede 1998 results Pro Wrestling History Retrieved January 17 2017 The Great American Bash 1998 results Pro Wrestling History Retrieved January 17 2017 Bash at the Beach 1998 results Pro Wrestling History Retrieved January 17 2017 Fall Brawl 1998 results Pro Wrestling History Retrieved January 17 2017 Souled Out 1999 results Pro Wrestling History Retrieved January 18 2017 a b c d WCW Results 1999 The History of WWE Retrieved January 17 2017 SuperBrawl IX results Pro Wrestling History Retrieved January 18 2017 Uncensored 1999 results Pro Wrestling History Retrieved January 18 2017 The Great American Bash 1999 results Pro Wrestling History Retrieved January 18 2017 Bash at the Beach 1999 results Pro Wrestling History Retrieved January 18 2017 Road Wild 1999 results Pro Wrestling History Retrieved January 18 2017 WCW World Title Tournament 1999 Pro Wrestling History Retrieved January 18 2017 Mayhem 1999 results Pro Wrestling History Retrieved January 18 2017 Starrcade 1999 results Pro Wrestling History Retrieved January 18 2017 a b Oliver Greg May 7 2000 Stasiak targets Hennig at Slamboree Slam Sports Canadian Online Explorer Retrieved February 2 2022 a b WCW Results 2000 2001 The History of WWE Retrieved January 17 2017 Slamboree 2000 results Pro Wrestling History Retrieved January 18 2017 Kreikenbohm Philip Curt Hennig matches 2000 Cagematch net Retrieved May 5 2022 a b Kreikenbohm Philip Curt Hennig matches 2001 Cagematch net Retrieved May 5 2022 Full Royal Rumble 2002 results WWE December 20 2005 Archived from the original on January 12 2006 Retrieved November 11 2021 WWF RAW Results March 25 2002 Wrestleview Archived from the original on August 15 2002 Retrieved November 11 2021 Heat 2002 WWE Heat Results List WWE Shows History The SmackDown Hotel Retrieved March 21 2022 Cawthon Graham Insurrextion 02 London England Wembley Arena May 4 2002 9 308 sell out The History of WWE Archived from the original on January 24 2008 Retrieved November 11 2021 Baines Tim May 8 2002 Hall Hennig and F are out Slam Sports Canadian Online Explorer Archived from the original on July 24 2017 Retrieved February 24 2019 Flook Ray September 16 2021 Mr Perfect Brock amp Shaving Cream Raise Hell Bleeding Cool Archived from the original on September 16 2021 Retrieved February 2 2022 Hall and Hennig released News Notes and Quotes Scott Hall and Curt Hennig lose contracts Brief Article Wrestling Digest Find Articles at BNET Findarticles com 2002 Archived from the original on February 22 2006 Retrieved May 31 2010 NWA Total Nonstop Action 17 Events Database CAGEMATCH The Internet Wrestling Database Archived from the original on November 8 2015 NWA Total Nonstop Action 18 Events Database CAGEMATCH The Internet Wrestling Database Archived from the original on April 30 2014 NWA Total Nonstop Action 25 Events Database CAGEMATCH The Internet Wrestling Database Archived from the original on October 14 2015 NWA Total Nonstop Action 23 Events Database CAGEMATCH The Internet Wrestling Database Archived from the original on October 15 2015 https www cagematch net id 1 amp nr 1400 bare URL Michael McGillicutty Online World of Wrestling Archived from the original on August 21 2010 Retrieved December 14 2011 Amy Hennig Online World of Wrestling Retrieved December 14 2011 Curt Hennig Obituary Legacy com February 12 2003 Retrieved June 22 2011 Report Cocaine killed wrestler Mr Perfect Tampa Bay Times March 26 2003 Retrieved February 2 2022 Wrestling deaths and steroids USA Today March 12 2004 Retrieved March 5 2008 Lyrics to Perfect Friend by Macho Man Randy Savage Song and Music Lyrics Archived from the original on January 16 2009 Retrieved March 5 2008 The Life amp Times of Mr Perfect 2008 One of the all time greats in this business he was the best of the best 2007 WWE Hall of Fame Inductees Mr Perfect WWE Archived from the original on June 3 2009 Retrieved May 31 2010 Hart Bret The death of Curt Hennig comrade The Calgary Sun Archived from the original on March 4 2008 Retrieved April 26 2008 Off The Record with Shawn Michaels Off the Record 2003 25 minutes in TSN A tragedy A very gifted guy a huge loss WWE Payback 2013 results WWE June 13 2013 Retrieved February 2 2022 Oliver Greg May 19 2015 Curtis Axel inducts Curt Hennig into the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame SLAM Wrestling Retrieved February 2 2022 Oliver Greg May 16 2015 Hall of Fame induction a Perfect night with a Model ending SLAM Wrestling Retrieved February 2 2022 FOW Heavyweight Title History Solie s Title Histories Retrieved March 5 2008 Johnson Steve July 14 2007 Emotions run high at Tragos Thesz induction Slam Wrestling Canadian Online Explorer Retrieved November 6 2018 SOW Superstars of Wrestling World Heavyweight Title History Solie s Title Histories Retrieved March 5 2008 MECW Heavyweight Title History Solie s Title Histories Retrieved March 5 2008 MECW Inaugural Show Events Database CAGEMATCH The Internet Wrestling Database www cagematch net NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title History Solie s Title Histories Retrieved March 5 2008 NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title History Solie s Title Histories Retrieved March 5 2008 Pro Wrestling History prowrestlinghistory com Retrieved June 12 2018 Oliver Greg November 26 2014 Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2015 announced Slam Sports Canadian Online Explorer Archived from the original on November 30 2014 Retrieved November 28 2014 Most Improved Wrestler of the Year Wrestling Information Archive Archived from the original on September 21 2011 Retrieved March 5 2008 Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 500 1993 Wrestling Information Archive Archived from the original on September 19 2011 Retrieved March 5 2008 Pro Wrestling Illustrated s Top 500 Wrestlers of the PWI Years Wrestling Information Archive Archived from the original on February 27 2009 Retrieved March 26 2009 Pro Wrestling Illustrated s Top 100 Tag Teams of the PWI Years Wrestling Information Archive Archived from the original on March 25 2009 Retrieved March 26 2009 Pedicino Joe Solie Gordon hosts May 23 1987 Pro Wrestling This Week Superstars of Wrestling Atlanta Syndicated WATL World Heavyweight Universal Heavyweight Title History Solie s Title Histories Retrieved March 5 2008 411mania com Wrestling Historical Perspective WWC Universal Title 2000 2005 August 5 2012 Archived from the original on August 5 2012 Retrieved December 18 2019 WCW United States Heavyweight Title History Solie s Title Histories Retrieved March 5 2008 WWE United States Championship Retrieved May 25 2020 WCW World Tag Team Title History Solie s Title Histories Retrieved March 5 2008 Matches WWF Intercontinental Title Tournament Tournaments Database CAGEMATCH The Internet Wrestling Database www cagematch net External links EditCurt Hennig on WWE com Curt Hennig s profile at Cagematch net Wrestlingdata com Internet Wrestling Database Curt Hennig at IMDb Curt Hennig Find a Grave Retrieved August 28 2010 Retrieved from 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