| Curt Hennig | |
|---|---|
 Hennig in 1994 | |
| Birth name | Curtis Michael Hennig |
| Born | (1958-03-28)March 28, 1958[1] Robbinsdale, Minnesota, U.S.[1] |
| Died | February 10, 2003(2003-02-10) (aged 44) Brandon, Florida, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Combined drug intoxication |
| Alma mater | Normandale Community College |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 4, includingJoe |
| Family | Larry Hennig (father) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Curt Hennig[1] Mr. Perfect[1][2] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)[1][2] |
| Billed weight | 257 lb (117 kg)[2] |
| Billed from | Robbinsdale, Minnesota, U.S.[2] |
| Trained by | Verne Gagne[1][2] Larry Hennig[1][2] |
| Debut | January 30, 1980[1] |
Curtis Michael Hennig (March 28, 1958 – February 10, 2003), better known by thering nameMr. Perfect, was an Americanprofessional wrestler. Considered one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time by peers, critics, and fans, he performed under his real name for promotions including theAmerican Wrestling Association (AWA), theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF; now WWE),World Championship Wrestling (WCW), andNWA Total Nonstop Action. Hennig was the son of wrestlerLarry "The Axe" Hennig and the father of wrestlerCurtis Axel.
Hennig debuted in 1980 and won multiple championships in bothPacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW) and the AWA during the decade. He gained particular attention when he defeatedNick Bockwinkel for theAWA 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 withHulk Hogan over theWWF Championship, and won theWWF 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 theWCW World Heavyweight Championship onpay-per-view (PPV), and ledstable andcountry musicgroup theWest Texas Rednecks, who recorded the populartongue-in-cheek song, "Rap Is Crap".[5] During a stint with theWorld Wrestling Council (WWC) in 2000, he won theWWC 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'sRoyal Rumble. He later headlined multiplePPV events for TNA, in contention for theNWA 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 journalistsBob Ryder andDave 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 theWWE Hall of Fame in 2007 by formerMajor League Baseball player and longtime friendWade 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]
Curt Hennig was born on March 28, 1958, the son of professional wrestlerLarry "The Axe" Hennig. Hennig was childhood friends with fellow wrestlerRick Rude.[8] They attended Robbinsdale High School in his hometown ofRobbinsdale, Minnesota, alongsideTom Zenk,Brady Boone,Nikita Koloff,John Nord,Road Warrior Hawk, andBarry Darsow, who all became professional wrestlers.[9]
Known as "Cool" Curt Hennig, he began his career on January 30, 1980, in theAmerican Wrestling Association (AWA), the promotion which had made his father,Larry "The Axe" Hennig[10] a star.
Hennig started his WWF career in 1981. His first victory was againstJohnny Rodz. He established himself as a promising young performer against the likes of"Playboy" Buddy Rose,Greg Valentine andKiller Khan. Eventually, he was paired-up intag team matches with another young upstart,Eddie Gilbert, himself the son of a wrestling legend (Tommy Gilbert).[11]
In 1982, Hennig teamed up with his father, Larry, and won theNWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship defeatingRip Oliver andMatt Borne on April 27. He later won the titles with Buddy Rose andScott McGhee in 1983. He also won theNWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship in 1983, after defeating Sheik Abdullah Ali Hassan. He lost the title toThe Dynamite Kid three months later. From 1984 to 1988 he made occasional appearances for the company. During this time he worked forNew Japan Pro-Wrestling and various territories such asNWA St. Louis,Central States Wrestling andContinental Wrestling Association.
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 theAWA World Tag Team Championship withScott Hall by defeating"Gorgeous" Jimmy Garvin and "Mr. Electricity"Steve Regal on January 18, 1986, inAlbuquerque, New Mexico.[12]
Later, he resumed his solo career in the AWA, culminating in defeating the legendaryNick Bockwinkel for theAWA World Heavyweight Championship atSuperClash on May 2, 1987, with the help ofLarry Zbyszko, and turningvillain in doing so.[13][14] Hennig, along with his father Larry "The Axe", would engage in a long feud withGreg Gagne and his father,Verne Gagne. He began being associated withMadusa Miceli, theAWA World Women's Champion since December 27, 1987.[15][16] Hennig and Madusa joinedThe Diamond Exchange, a stable led byDiamond Dallas Page that also includedBadd Company andColonel DeBeers.[17]
Hennig would hold the AWA World Heavyweight Title for about 53 weeks, before losing it toJerry Lawler on May 9, 1988.[14] Like many other AWA stars of the time (includingHulk Hogan,Rick Martel, andThe Rockers), Hennig left the AWA for the WWF with the promise of more money and broadened exposure.[citation needed]
Hennig returned to the WWF in mid-1988. Hennig made his televised in-ring return on the September 11 episode ofAll-American Wrestling, defeatingenhancement talent Ron Rovishod. On the October 1 episode ofSuperstars,vignettes began airing on WWF television, during which he was repackaged with a newcharacter of an arrogant braggartvillain who claimed to be able to accomplish difficult tasks "perfectly", thus earning the nickname of "Mr. Perfect,. 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, includingWade Boggs (MLB),Steve Jordan (NFL),Felton Spencer (NBA), andMike Modano (NHL), co-starred with Hennig in these vignettes. Hennig performed for the first time as Mr. Perfect on the October 4 episode ofPrime Time Wrestling, where he defeatedJim Brunzell.[18]
His first major PPV match was atSurvivor Series 1988 in afive-on-five elimination tag team match as a member of co-captainAndré the Giant's team, along withRick Rude,Dino Bravo (also co-captain) andHarley Race against co-captainJim Duggan's team ofJake Roberts (also co-captain),Ken Patera,Tito Santana andScott Casey. Perfect survived the match with Bravo.[19] The following year, he appeared inSummerSlam, defeatingThe Red Rooster in asquash match.[20] He went undefeated on television for over a year, beating mid-card wrestlers includingB. Brian Blair,Ronnie Garvin,Koko B. Ware,[21]The Blue Blazer,[22]The Red Rooster,[23]Jimmy Snuka,[24] Tito Santana, andBret Hart[25] throughout 1989.
On the October 7 episode ofSuperstars, Perfect began appearing withThe Genius, an arrogant, poetry-reciting scholar onThe Brother Love Show and began arivalry withHulk Hogan over theWWF Championship. Theirrivalry heated up when Genius defeated Hogan bycountout, with Hennig's assistance on November 25Saturday Night's Main Event XXIV and the duo stole Hogan's title belt and destroyed it backstage.[23][25] Perfect and Hogan wrestled on thelive 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 atMadison Square Garden and this was his first televised match against Hogan, which he won bydisqualification but not the title.[26]
AtRoyal Rumble, Perfect attacked Genius's opponentBrutus Beefcake after their match, which began a feud between the two.[26] Later in the same night, Perfect participated in theRoyal Rumble match as the No. 30 entrant. He eliminated Rick Rude before making it to the final two, where he was eliminated by Hogan.[27] Perfect's undefeated streak ended when he suffered his first pinfall loss on regional television against theIntercontinental ChampionThe Ultimate Warrior on March 19, at Madison Square Garden.[26] His first loss in singles competition on national television was against Brutus Beefcake atWrestleMania VI.[28] Hogan settled the score with Perfect with a match between the pair on April 28'sSaturday Night's Main Event XXVI, in which Hogan pinned Perfect for the first time on television.[29] Following his loss to Hogan, Perfect quietly ended his association with The Genius.[26]
In May 1990, Perfect participated in atournament for theIntercontinental Heavyweight Championship after previous championUltimate Warrior vacated the title upon winning theWWF Championship atWrestleMania VI.[30] Hennig wasbooked to win the tournament for the vacant title by defeatingJimmy Snuka in the quarter-finals on the May 5 episode ofSuperstars andtwo-time Intercontinental Heavyweight ChampionTito Santana in the finals on May 19's episode ofSuperstars.[30][31][32] After his title win, Perfect enlistedBobby Heenan as his "perfect"manager[26] and made a successful title defense against Santana on July 28'sSaturday Night's Main Event XXVII.[33] Hennig was scheduled to defend the title againstBrutus Beefcake atSummerSlam, stemming from his loss to Beefcake at WrestleMania but Beefcake suffered an injury andThe Texas Tornado substituted for Beefcake and challenged Hennig to a title match for SummerSlam on August 11's episode ofSuperstars, which Perfect accepted on the following week'sSuperstars.[26] Perfectdropped the championship to Texas Tornado at SummerSlam.[16][34][30] Hennig was chosen to leadDemolition as "The Perfect Team" against The Warriors (Ultimate Warrior, Texas Tornado andLegion of Doom) in afour-on-four elimination tag team match at theSurvivor Series pay-per-view, where Hennig's team lost.[35] He unsuccessfully challenged Texas Tornado in a rematch for the Intercontinental Championship on November 24MSG Network special, before regaining the title by defeating Texas Tornado on the December 15 episode ofSuperstars, with help fromTed DiBiase.[16][26] Perfect defended the title against Texas Tornado in a rematch on the February 2, 1991, episode ofSuperstars, where he retained the title by losing viacountout.[36]
Perfect made his next title defense againstBig Boss Man atWrestleMania VII, where he retained the title by losing viadisqualification after the challenger was attacked byHaku andThe Barbarian.[36][37] The following month, Perfect won abattle royal on April 27'sSaturday Night's Main Event by last eliminatingGreg Valentine,[38][39] which led to a match between the two for Perfect's title on the May 14 episode ofPrime Time Wrestling, where Perfect retained the title via disqualification.[36] On a June 15 episode ofSuperstars, Bobby Heenan retired as a manager and introducedThe Coach as Hennig's new manager. Hennig began a rivalry withBritish 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 the July 13 episode ofSuperstars, and in the meantime Hennig was held out of all house shows, usually replaced byTyphoon. 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.[36] Perfect lost the title to Hart atSummerSlam[10][16] and a broken tailbone and bulged discs forced him to retire from the ring.[36]
Hennig spent the following year recovering from his injury. He returned to television on November 23 episode ofSuperstars where he becameRic Flair's "executive consultant".[40] The following week onSuperstars, Perfect became a color commentator of the show for the next full year, acting as a suitablevillainous foil toVince McMahon's play-by-play.[36] During this period, Perfect assisted Flair in winning matches and managed him to twoWorld Heavyweight Championship reigns in 1992.[41] By the fall of 1992, Perfect and Flair were in the midst of arivalry withRandy Savage, building to atag team match atSurvivor Series where Flair andRazor Ramon would face Savage andUltimate Warrior. However, Warrior was released from the WWF weeks prior to the event.[42] On November 16 episode ofPrime Time Wrestling, Savage asked Perfect to be his partner. After initially laughing off Savage's offer, Perfect was swayed by Savage's cajoling and byBobby Heenan's degrading comments and commanding Perfect to follow orders, which would lead to Perfectturning into afan 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 thePrime Time Wrestling cast ofHillbilly Jim,Jim Duggan, andVince McMahon.[43] Hennig made his return to the ring at Survivor Series, where Hennig and Savage won their match.[44]
Perfect began a high-profile rivalry with Flair. He made his return to singles competition on the January 2, 1993, episode ofSuperstars, where he defeatedThe Berzerker.[41] Hennig participated in the1993 Royal Rumble match to determine the No. 1 contender for the WWF Championship atWrestleMania IX. He eliminated Flair,Skinner andJerry Lawler until he was eliminated byTed DiBiase,Koko B. Ware and Lawler.[45] Hennig defeated Flair the next night onMonday Night Raw in amatch where the loser would be forced to leave WWF.[16] As a result, Flair left WWF.[46] He then went on to feud with the debutingLex Luger, who berated Perfect during hispromos. Luger won their match at WrestleMania IX[47] 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 allyShawn Michaels. As a result, Perfect began a rivalry with Michaels.[46]
During this time, Hennig qualified for the first-ever televisedKing of the Ring tournament by defeatingDoink the Clown.[46] AtKing of the Ring, Perfect defeatedMr. Hughes in the quarter-finals but lost to eventual winnerBret Hart in the semi-finals.[48] Perfect competed against Shawn Michaels for theIntercontinental Championship atSummerSlam, where Perfect lost bycountout due to interference from Michaels' new bodyguardDiesel.[46][49] Hennig's last televised match in WWF was on November 7 episode ofWrestling Challenge, where he defeatedIron Mike Sharpe. He was set to participate as a member of Razor Ramon's team atSurvivor 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.[46]
Perfect made his surprise return to WWF atWrestleMania X on March 20, 1994, where he was thespecial guest referee for the WWF Championship match between Lex Luger andYokozuna.[50] Perfectdisqualified Luger after Luger manhandled Perfect, who was tending to Yokozuna's stricken managersJim Cornette andMr. Fuji instead of counting thepinfall and turned heel again. Perfect was set to start anotherrivalry 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 after Hennig's back problems flared up again. He left the WWF in the spring of 1994.[51]
Hennig took a year off to recover from a back injury until he returned to the company as a color commentator at theSurvivor Series pay-per-view in 1995.[52] The following weekend, Jerry Lawler announced Perfect as his replacement onSuperstars,[16] his second stint as a color commentator on the show with Vince McMahon, this time withJim Ross added as the analyst. Later in 1996, McMahon left and Ross switched to the play-by-play role. Perfect also did color commentary atRoyal Rumble,SummerSlam andIn Your House 10: Mind Games pay-per-views.[53] Perfect also served as the special guest referee for the WWF Championship match between Shawn Michaels andBritish Bulldog at June'sKing of the Ring pay-per-view.[54]
In mid-1996, Hennig was placed in anangle withHunter Hearst Helmsley, where he would come out to the ringside during Helmsley's matches and steal hisfemale escorts, which would often cause a distraction for Helmsley and affect his performance in matches. During the rivalry, Perfect helpedMarc Mero in winning the Intercontinental Championship fromFaarooq and assisted him in retaining the title againstGoldust atIn Your House 11: Buried Alive.[53] The following night onRaw, Perfect was initially going to make his wrestling comeback on 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.[16] Perfect began to serve as a mentor to Helmsley and accompanied Helmsley to the ring. Perfect left the WWF once again shortly beforeSurvivor Series, making his last televised appearance on November 5 episode ofRaw.[53]
Hennig signed withWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) in mid-1997.[16] Since his Mr. Perfect ring name was trademarked by the WWF, he returned to competing under his real name. He debuted in WCW as afan favorite on the June 30 episode ofMonday Nitro, during a brawl which erupted after themain event.[55] His first match in the company took place at July'sBash at the Beach pay-per-view where he becameDiamond Dallas Page's mystery tag team partner against nWo membersRandy Savage andScott Hall.[16] Hennig ended upturning on Page costing them the match.[55][56] As a result, Hennig began arivalry with Page, defeating him in a match atRoad Wild.[57] Hennig continued to use thefisherman suplex as his finishing move, renaming itHennig-Plex. Shortly after his debut, he became a top favorite of bothFour Horsemen and theNew World Order (nWo) as bothfactions showed interest in recruiting him. He ultimately joined the Four Horsemen, taking the spot of the retiringArn 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 theWarGames match.[55] AtFall 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,[16] 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 avillain.[55][57] The following night onNitro, Hennig won theUnited States Heavyweight Championship by defeating HorsemanSteve McMichael.[55] Hennig held the title for the next three months, during which he successfully defended the title against Flair in astandard wrestling match atHalloween Havoc[58] and ano disqualification match atWorld War 3,[59] beforedropping the title to Diamond Dallas Page atStarrcade.[16][60]
In the fall of 1997, Hennig was joined by his childhood best friendRick Rude in the nWo.[55] In 1998, Hennig and Rude were put into a rivalry withBret Hart and his relativesBritish Bulldog andJim Neidhart, during which both teams competed against each other in several matches throughout the first half of 1998.[61] Hennig lost to Hart atUncensored[62] and defeated Bulldog atSpring Stampede.[63]
He was sidelined due to a knee injury in mid-1998. During this time, the nWo broke into two different factions, thenWo Wolfpac and nWo Hollywood, both Hennig and Rude joinedKevin 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.[61] Hennig was scheduled to wrestleGoldberg for the United States Heavyweight Championship at June'sThe Great American Bash pay-per-view, but he failed to compete due to injury, so he askedKonnan to replace him. Konnan lost the match, and afterward both Hennig and Rude attacked him, removing themselves from the Wolfpac and joining nWo Hollywood.[61][64] The following month, Goldberg won theWorld Heavyweight Championship and Hennig, despite his injury, faced Goldberg for the title in a losing effort atBash at the Beach.[65]
In the fall of 1998, Hennig began feuding with HorsemanDean Malenko over his betrayal of the Four Horsemen the previous year,[55] which resulted in a match between the pair at September'sFall Brawl pay-per-view, which Hennig lost.[66] After the loss, Hennig was taken off television to recover from his knee injury. He returned to WCW at theStarrcade event in December to aidEric Bischoff in defeating Ric Flair.[61] Hennig joined forces withBarry Windham to take on Flair and his sonDavid in atag team match atSouled Out in 1999, which Hennig's team lost.[67] In 1999, both nWo factions reunited and Hennig was placed in thenWo 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 the January 25 episode ofNitro.[68]
Hennig formed atag team withBarry Windham and continued therivalry withThe Four Horsemen. Hennig and Windham were placed in a tournament for the vacatedWorld Tag Team Championship, which they won by defeating HorsemenChris Benoit andDean Malenko atSuperBrawl IX.[69] Hennig and Windham held the tag titles for a month, before losing to Benoit and Malenko in alumberjack match, the following month atUncensored, afterArn Anderson hit Hennig with atire iron.[68][70] Hennig competed againstHollywood Hogan in a losing effort the main event of the March 18 episode ofThunder afterHorace saved Hogan from aHennig-Plex.[68] In May, Hennig formed a newfaction calledThe West Texas Rednecks with Windham, Barry's brother,Kendall Windham, andBobby Duncum, Jr. The group members were presented assouthern country musicians. They began feuding with rapperMaster P'sNo Limit Soldiers and recorded an infamous country song titled "Rap is Crap."[2][16] During the rivalry, Hennig and Duncum lost toKonnan andRey Mysterio Jr. of the No Limit Soldiers in a tag team match on June 13 atThe Great American Bash.[71] Less than a month later, the Rednecks lost to the Soldiers once again in anelimination tag team match atBash at the Beach on July 11.[72] Rednecks were intended to bevillains but the southern WCW fans cheered them instead of the Soldiers, resulting in theangle being dropped. The Rednecks made their final pay-per-view appearance atRoad Wild on August 14, where Hennig, Barry and Duncum lost toThe Revolution in asix-man tag team match.[73]
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 bypinfall, he must retire.[68] He participated in atournament to crown the newWorld Heavyweight Champion, during which he defeatedDisco Inferno in the first round but lost toJeff Jarrett in the second round.[74] He was forced to retire after losing aretirement match againstBuff Bagwell atMayhem.[75] He was reinstated by the powers that be a month later, however, and joined forces withCreative Control, during which the trio defeatedHarlem Heat andMidnight atStarrcade.[76]
He remained on the WCW television, continuing to make sporadic appearances with the company. He entered a feud withShawn 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.[77][78] Hennig lost to Stasiak atSlamboree.[79][77] His last televised match in WCW was againstChris Harris on the May 20 episode ofWorldwide, which Hennig won.[78] Hennig left WCW after his contract expired in the summer of 2000.[citation needed]
After leaving World Championship Wrestling, in summer 2000 Hennig appeared with the Australiani-Generation Superstars of Wrestling promotion, where he held thei-Generation World Heavyweight Championship on two occasions. Following his appearances in Australia, he began appearing with theWorld Wrestling Council inPuerto Rico, briefly winning theWWC Universal Heavyweight Championship fromCarly Colon. He appeared with the WWC until January 2001. In January 2001, Hennig made a one-night appearance in Japan withAll-Japan Pro Wrestling at its King's Road New Century 2001 event, taking part in asix-man tag team match in theTokyo Dome.[80][81]
In mid-2001, Hennig made a handful of appearances withHarley Race'sWorld League Wrestling promotion. He then wrestled sporadically on theindependent circuit until November 2001, when he joined the newly-formedXcitement Wrestling Federation. He wrestled for the XWF for the remainder of the year, facing opponents includingBuff Bagwell andVampiro. In December 2001, he made two further appearances with the World Wrestling Council.[81]
During the buildup for January'sRoyal Rumble, it was announced that Hennig would be returning as one of the 30 combatants in the match. 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 winnerTriple H. Perfect performed notably at the Rumble, hitting thePerfect-Plex onKurt Angle and competing against several of the top WWF wrestlers of that period.[82] His performance, along with the positive reaction of theAtlanta crowd, earned Hennig a full-time contract with the WWF. Perfect appeared the next night onRaw in a match withVal Venis. He then had matches with WWF's up and coming Superstars likeBrock Lesnar,[83]Randy Orton, andBatista[84] as well as having short feuds withStone Cold Steve Austin andRob Van Dam before forming a tag team withShawn Stasiak athouse shows throughout March and early April as well as a tag team on television withBig Boss Man. Perfect was drafted toRaw during the first everWWF Draft.[85] Perfect, now wrestling in theRaw brand, Faced theBig Show in a losing effort on April 8, 2002.[86] In the April 21 edition ofHeat he beatStevie Richards and on the May 2 (Taped April 29) edition ofHeat, Perfect facedTommy Dreamer and won via pinfall.[86] His final televised WWE match took place on May 12, 2002, where he was defeated byMatt Hardy.[87] He also participated in a dark match atInsurrextion on May 4, 2002, defeatingGoldust.[88] Perfect was released from the WWE on May 8, 2002, due to a physical confrontation withBrock Lesnar[89] on the return flight from the pay-per-view. Among other incidents ofdrunkenness, the tussle took place on the infamous "Plane Ride from Hell".[90] According to Rob Van Dam and Tommy Dreamer on theDark 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.[91]
After being released from WWE,[92] he went on to work forNWA Total Nonstop Action. In TNA, he would wrestle three matches for theNWA World Heavyweight Championship (two againstRon Killings and one against Jeff Jarrett), but didn't win the title.[93][94][95] Teaming with B.G. James, he also had a title match for theNWA World Tag Team Championship againstDisciples of the New Church but failed to win the titles.[96] Hennig wrestled his last match on January 8, 2003, defeatingDavid Flair in an "Axehandle on a Pole match".[97][98]
Hennig was married to Leonice Leonard. They had four children:Joseph, Amy, Kaite, and Hank. Joseph and Amy are professional wrestlers.[99][100] 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.[101]
On February 10, 2003, Hennig was found dead in a hotel room inBrandon, Florida at the age of 44, six weeks away from his 45th birthday.[40] TheHillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office declared acutecocaine intoxication to be the cause of his death.[102] It was stated by his father thatsteroids andpainkillers also contributed to his death.[103]
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 albumBe a Man.[104]
Other peers includingHulk Hogan,[105]Ric Flair,[106]Bret Hart,[107]Shawn Michaels,[108] andKevin Nash have also commended Hennig's in-ring talents.[40] 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.[40] 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 theWWE 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 theGeorge Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum inWaterloo, 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 titledThe Life and Times of Mr. Perfect. Promotion for the video includedCharlie Haas spoofing Hennig's memorable sportsvignettes at aDave & Buster's onRaw. 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 onRaw 1000 by his old friendBret 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 who ever lived".
Hennig's son Joe used the ring nameCurtis Axel, representing his father's first name and hisgrandfather's nickname, respectively.[40] He then went on to win the Intercontinental Championship in 2013 atPayback on Father's day, and he dedicated his victory to his father.[40][109] This title win makes them the first father-son duo to hold the championship the second being Rikishi and Jey Uso.[40]
Hennig was inducted into theProfessional Wrestling Hall of Fame in Amsterdam, New York in 2015 by his son Joe.[110][111]
Hennig appears in the following video games:WWF Superstars,WWF WrestleFest,WWF Royal Rumble, andWWF King of the Ring forSuper NES,WWF Rage in the Cage forSega CD,WWF In Your House forSega Saturn andPlayStation but only as commentator alongsideVince 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 asdownloadable content,WWE 2K17,WWE 2K18,WWE 2K19,WWE 2K Battlegrounds,WWE 2K24 as downloadable content.[112] andWWE 2K25.
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