Interesting Facts about "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig

Interesting Facts about "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig

April 3, 2023

By Ryan Porzl

Curt Hennig was one of wrestling's greatest names. He was a great athlete, he was a great wrestler, he had a lot of charisma, he had swagger, and he could cut a great promo. The man who became most known as "Mr. Perfect" lived up to the name as far as wrestling went. Hennig also was more than just a great wrestler as he also showed he was good as a manager for talent and a good color commentator. He seemed to fit in any role. Sadly, it's been twenty years since we lost him as, like so many of his generation, his life ended too soon. This past March 28th would've been Hennig's 65th birthday so we will look at some interesting facts you might have known or perhaps not have known about the man who was what he said he was which was absolutely perfect.

Note: I don't own any of the photos. I found them on Google.

Is a two time World Champion- Curt Hennig is a wrestler who had quite the trophy case holding titles in both WWF and WCW during hot periods in the business and while he can be considered one of the greatest wrestlers to never have been WWE or WCW World Champion, Hennig could say he was a world champion, twice actually. As most know, before Hennig became Mr. Perfect in the WWF or joined the Four Horsemen and the nWo in WCW, he was in Verne Gagne's American Wrestling Association during the early to late 1980s and it was there where Hennig's career began to take off. While in the AWA, Hennig would go on to win the AWA World Heavyweight Championship when he defeated Nick Bockwinkel for the championship on May 2, 1987 at the AWA's SuperClash II event. Hennig would hold the belt for 373 days, making it the seventh longest AWA World Championship reign, before losing it to Jerry Lawler on May 9, 1988 during a Continental Wrestling Association show before he left for the WWF. In 2000, following his WCW run, Hennig would venture to the World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico and it was here where he became a world champion for the second time when he defeated Carly Colon (Carlito) for the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship on September 30, 2000. Hennig would only hold the belt for four days before dropping it back to Carly on October 4th.

Is linked to Diamond Dallas Page in various ways- When you think of Curt Hennig and people he's linked to, there's names that immediately popped in your head from Bobby Heenan to Ric Flair to Rick Rude but another name you can link Hennig to is someone that probably comes out of left field and that is Diamond Dallas Page. Hennig and Page would be linked in two promotions as well as being allies and enemies. The two first came together in the AWA in 1988 during which time, Hennig was the promotion's world champion while DDP was a manager beginning his career. Hennig was a client of Page and was part of his Diamond Exchange stable. Less than a decade later, the two would cross paths again in 1997 WCW. The first would be at Bash At The Beach 1997 on July 14, 1997, when Page was set to team with a mystery partner against Scott Hall and Randy Savage with Hennig being the mystery partner. The match was Hennig's WCW debut and his first match in three and a half years. The two would ultimately lose after Hennig abandoned Page. The two then met in Hennig's second WCW Pay-Per-View at Road Wild 1997 on August 9th where Hennig defeated Page. The two then met again at Starrcade 1997 on December 28th when Page defeated Hennig to win the United States Championship and thus, end Hennig's first WCW title reign.

Was Triple H's first manager in the WWF- For nearly thirty years, Triple H has been a mainstay in the WWF/WWE and has worn his share of hats for the promotion. During his in-ring career, he also became known for his entourages from DX to the McMahon-Helmsley Era to the Authority to seconds like Chyna and Stephanie McMahon. However, before all those occurred, HHH's first manager was Curt Hennig. In 1996, HHH was Hunter Hearst Helmsley, a Connecticut blueblood who was on the rise before the infamous Farewell to the Kliq event on May 19, 1996 where Triple H, along with Shawn Michaels, Kevin "Diesel" Nash, and Scott "Razor Ramon" Hall had a curtain call in Madison Square Garden despite the fact Triple H and Nash were heels and Michaels and Hall were babyfaces. Because Nash and Hall were leaving for WCW and Michaels was WWF Champion and one of the few top stars WWF had at the time, they were untouchable which resulted in HHH getting all the heat for breaking kayfabe. Throughout the late spring to early fall, Triple H went on a losing streak as punishment, was kept out of title contention, and mostly on the opening card. As this was happening, Hennig was out of the ring and working for the WWF as an announcer as well as a mentor to Marc Mero who he led to the vacant Intercontinental Championship in September 1996. Also during this time, HHH was known for bringing beautiful women with him to the ring. Beginning in the fall of 1996, a story began where during Triple H's matches, Hennig would come out and escort Helmsley's women to the back which would distract Helmsley and cost him matches. On October 21, 1996, a match was made where Hennig would return to the ring after a near three year absence to take on Triple H. However, before the match took place, HHH would ram an equipment box into Hennig in the back and seemingly injure his knee thus preventing him from competing. When the match was set to happen, Hennig brought Mero out to take his place and a match was made when both agreed for it to be an Intercontinental Title match. After a ref bump, HHH would grab a chair and attempt to use it on Mero only for Hennig to come in the ring, snatch it, and proceed to do the honors himself by nailing the Wildman with it. Triple H hit the pedigree and scored the win and the title with Hennig embracing Helmsley and the two revealing it was a plot all along. In the weeks after the match, Hennig would serve as Triple H's mentor and manager while accompanying him to the ring. According to Triple H, Vince wanted a "heater" or a second for him due to the punishment and Hennig was going to be it. Unfortunately, it wouldn't last as after a few weeks, Hennig abruptly left the WWF due to unknown reasons, supposedly due to WWF getting involved with his Lloyd's of London disability insurance and possibly getting it cancelled. Hennig would take several months off before making his in-ring return for WCW in June 1997. Meanwhile, Helmsley would briefly be paired with Mr. Hughes before finally being paired with Chyna and the rest is history.

Went to Robbinsdale High School with other wrestlers and legends- Minnesota was once a hotbed for professional wrestling. It was home to one of wrestling's greatest promotions in the AWA and many wrestling legends also called Minnesota home with Hennig being one of them. Because of this, many wrestlers likely went to school with fellow future wrestlers, especially Hennig who was one of many Minnesota wrestlers born in the mid 1950s to early 1960s. Sure enough, Hennig attended Robbinsdale High School during his teenage years, the same time other legends like Road Warrior Hawk, Barry Darsow, Nikita Koloff, Brady Boone, Tom Zenk, John Nord, and childhood friend Rick Rude attended.

Had TWO children that became wrestlers- Most people are familiar with Hennig's family tree when it comes to wrestling. His father was Larry "the Axe" Hennig who was a legend in his own right, mostly in the AWA where he had a legendary tag team with Harley Race. Most are also aware there are three generations of Hennigs but did you know Curt had not one but two children that followed him to the squared circle? Obviously, most people know of Curt's oldest child Joe who turned pro in 2007 and signed with the WWE in 2007 where he worked for thirteen years first under his real name in WWE's then developmental promotion Florida Championship Wrestling. There, Joe held the Florida Heavyweight Championship once and the Tag Team Championship four times. He eventually made his way to the main roster where he competed as both "Michael McGillicutty" and later as "Curtis Axel" where he was a member of the Nexus stable and later had runs with the Intercontinental Championship and two runs with the World Tag Team Championship while he and Curt were the first father/son duo to be IC champions. However, Joe wouldn't be the only child of Curt's to follow him into the ring. Curt's daughter Amy also tried out for wrestling and was trained by Race and Brad Rheingans. She turned pro in 2008 and was briefly signed to a WWE developmental deal but nothing came of it. She eventually wrestled for Race's World League Wrestling and captured the WLW Ladies Championship three times but her career proved brief as she retired in 2010 after only two years competing.

First wrestler to fail to win the Intercontinental Championship at a Summerslam- As I say with these articles, not all these facts are great ones as they can sting and this is an example. From the first five Summerslams (1988-1992), one thing they all had in common was the Intercontinental Championship changed hands. The Ultimate Warrior won the championship back to back Summerslams over the Honky Tonk Man in 1988 and then regained it from Rick Rude in 1989. Hennig then had his own back to back situation but the opposite as he lost the belt back to back, first in 1990 to "The Texas Tornado" Kerry Von Erich and then in 1991 to Bret "The Hitman" Hart. In 1992, Hart then lost it to The British Bulldog. Going in 1993, Hennig returned to Summerslam in an Intercontinental Championship match, this time, as challenger to champion Shawn Michaels. Given the past, it seemed that maybe Hennig would three-peat and regain the championship he lost in Summerslams past. Unfortunately, the streak had to eventually end and unfortunately for Hennig, it would be in 1993 as he lost to Michaels on a count out thanks to interference from Michaels' bodyguard Diesel in 11:20. With the loss, Hennig became the first wrestler to fail to win the IC Championship at Summerslam.

First WWF theme song was Theme from Exodus- Entrance music is something that has become something expected in modern day pro wrestling. The idea of entrance music dates back to Gorgeous George using "Pomp and Circumstance" in the 1950s but by the 1970s, it started catching on around the world. During the 70s and 80s, it was also common for promotions to use license music before royalty issues saw major promotions hire their own composers to create original music. During his WWF run, Hennig usually used the same theme which was the Jim Johnston composed "Perfection" but before that, when he debuted, he used licensed music for a brief period. Upon his return to the WWF in 1988 as Mr. Perfect, Hennig was given the song "Theme from Exodus" from the 1960 film as his entrance music. In the end, Hennig used the theme for a brief time before it was replaced by his "Perfection" theme.

Was the last wrestler to defend the AWA World Heavyweight Championship in All Japan Pro Wrestling- Since 1972, All Japan Pro Wrestling has been one of the best wrestling promotions in the world. The promotion was host to some of wrestling's greatest matches while being the home of many legends. From 1980-1988, the promotion had a working agreement with the AWA which saw talent make special appearances in the other promotion while the AWA allowed Jumbo Tsuruta and Stan Hansen to have reigns with their world title. Going into 1988, Hennig was the AWA World Champion and the two sides still worked together but the relationship was strained following Hansen's reign in 1986 when Hansen refused to drop the championship when asked due to All Japan not giving him the ok due to him being billed as champion and was set to defend on the following tour which resulted in AWA stripping him of the title and Hansen running the belt over with his truck before mailing it back. In January 1988, Hennig toured for All Japan and on January 2, 1988, would defend the AWA World Heavyweight Championship against the second incarnation of Tiger Mask (Mitsuharu Misawa). In the end, Hennig would lose via count out in 11:22. The finish created controversy as in Japan, titles can change hands on disqualification and count out so the fans thought it was a title change but because the match was under AWA rules, Hennig retained. This was the last time the title was defended at an All Japan event as the relationship between the two promotions ended shortly after and AWA entered a business deal with New Japan during it's last three years before shutting down in 1991.

Was associated with two generations of Duncum wrestlers- The Duncums were a father/son duo who were professional wrestlers that had cowboy gimmicks. "Big Bad" Bobby Duncum Sr. was a wrestling star during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. During his career, he achieved good success and championships in promotions such as the AWA, Championship Wrestling from Florida, Big Time Wrestling (the future World Class), Western States Sports, Jim Crockett Promotions, and Georgia Championship Wrestling. He also had a big run in the WWF in 1980 where he was managed by "Captain" Lou Albano and was a frequent challenger for Bob Backlund and the WWF Championship while also occasionally challenging Pat Patterson for the Intercontinental Championship. Bobby Duncum Jr. followed in his father's footsteps and entered the business in the 1990s where he became a journeyman as well appearing for the Global Wrestling Federation, ECW, All Japan, and WCW during the decade while his one and only championship was the GWF Tag Team Championship with John Hawk (the future JBL). Sadly, like Hennig and many from his generation, Duncum Jr. became a tragic story as he passed away in 2000 due to an accidental overdose at only 34 years old. Both Duncums would have something in common as both would form teams or be stablemates of one Curt Hennig. Hennig would first form a tag team with Sr. in 1983 where both participated in New Japan's MSG Tag League tournament while also teaming throughout the tour during non tournament matches. In the end, Hennig and Duncum only scored five points and placed second to last out of nine teams. As most know, Hennig would eventually align with Duncum Jr. in 1999 in WCW where they were stablemates in the West Texas Rednecks stable alongside Barry and Kendall Windham and Virgil (as Curly Bill). 

Was the last wrestler to lose the United States Championship at a Starrcade- The United States Championship is one of wrestling's most prestigious championships that has spanned Jim Crockett Promotions, World Championship Wrestling, and the WWE. Due to it originally being a JCP and WCW title, it's been defended many times in WCW's premier event Starrcade where legends have defended and won it. Legends like Dusty Rhodes, Lex Luger, Steve Austin, and Eddie Guerrero would win it at this event. Matches for it like the I Quit Steel Cage match between Tully Blanchard and Magnum TA are considered some of Starrcade's greatest matches. Hennig would also make his mark at Starrcade with the US Title but not in a way he want. After winning the championship in September 1997 from Steve "Mongo" McMichael, Hennig would hold the championship for three months until losing it to Diamond Dallas Page at Starrcade 1997 on December 28, 1997. With the loss, Hennig would turn out to be the last to lose the championship at Starrcade. In 1998, Bret Hart didn't wrestle and thus didn't defend the title. In 1999, Chris Benoit successfully defended against Jeff Jarrett in a ladder match. In the final Starrcade in 2000, General Rection successfully defended against Shane Douglas by disqualification.

He and Barry Windham became the last wrestlers to win the WCW World Tag Team Championships at a SuperBrawl- Starrcade wasn't the only big WCW event that had rich history as another was SuperBrawl. Originally held in May 1991, it eventually settled into being WCW's February Pay-Per-View. SuperBrawl has played host to many big matches from the Steiners vs. Sting and Luger at the inaugural event to Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Brian Pillman at II to the White Castle of Fear strap match between Vader and Sting at III. Hennig would also make history at the SuperBrawl event. In early 1999, WCW was forced to strip Rick Steiner and Kenny Kaos of the World Tag Team Championship due to an injury to Steiner. As a result, a tournament was held under unique rules where the finals would be between the winner of the tournament and the winner of a losers bracket. Hennig would team with Windham and won one part of the tournament before meeting Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko, who won the losers bracket, in the finals at SuperBrawl IX on February 21, 1999. Due to Hennig and Windham winning the first part of the tournament while Benoit and Malenko won the losers bracket portion, it mean Hennig and Windham needed to win once while Benoit and Malenko needed two straight wins. In the end, Hennig and Windham lost the first fall but won on the second to win the tournament and the championships. With the win, Hennig and Windham became the last to win the WCW World Tag Team Championships at a SuperBrawl. At SuperBrawl X in 2000, The Mamalukes (Big Vito and Johnny The Bull) retained the titles over David Flair and Crowbar. At SuperBrawl Revenge in 2001, Chuck Palumbo and Sean O'Haire retained over Shawn Stasiak and Mark Jindrak.

Wrestled David Flair in Flair's debut match. Flair was also his final opponent- Most long time fans are well aware of Hennig's connections to Ric Flair. The two were together in the WWF first with Hennig serving as Flair's "Executive Consultant" before feuding with him in the ring and ending his WWF run in a loser leaves WWF match. In WCW, the two would then be members of the Four Horsemen with Hennig taking the enforcer role of the Horsemen following the retirement of Arn Anderson only to turn on the group and join the nWo with Hennig resuming his feud with Flair. However, Ric wouldn't be the only Flair who had links to Hennig as his son David did too. In 1999, David decided to follow his father into the ring and quickly got involved with Ric as well as Hennig and Barry Windham. This resulted in David's debut match at the Souled Out 1999 Pay-Per-View on January 17, 1999 where he teamed with Ric to face Hennig and Windham with the Flairs ultimately winning with David even getting the pinfall on Hennig in 13:56 thanks to interference from Anderson. The story doesn't end there because four years after Hennig took part in the beginning of David's career, David would participate in the final chapter of Hennig's. On January 8, 2003, at NWA-TNA's weekly Pay-Per-View broadcast, Hennig and David met again in an axe handle on a pole match which Hennig won in 2:39. Sadly, the match proved to be Hennig's last as he passed away only a month later on February 10th at the age of 44.

Competed for the WWF early in his career and years before he was Mr. Perfect- Again, it's always fascinating to look back at pre-1984 WWE as you can find some interesting things and history you didn't know about. Such would be the case with Hennig. Obviously, most fans are aware of Hennig's 1988-1996 run as well as his cup of coffee run in 2002 where he was Mr. Perfect but it turns out, these weren't the only times Hennig competed in the WWE. Hennig actually made his debut all the way back in 1981. His first match was a TV Taping on June 9, 1981 where he defeated Fred Marzino. Hennig worked for the WWF on and off from June 1981 to February 1983 but due to him still being young and new to the business, he didn't get the big run he later got. Despite this, he did get some title shots including a few against the Magnificent Muraco for the WWF Intercontinental Championship, against Mr. Fuji and Mr. Saito and the Moondogs for the WWF Tag Team Championships, and Tiger Mask for the WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship. Another interesting note was Hennig would also form a brief team with fellow up and coming second generation wrestler and future legend Eddie Gilbert.

Was Goldberg's first opponent in his WCW Championship reign- In 1998, fewer names were hotter than Goldberg. From his debut in 1997, his charisma, look, dominance, and ability to chew opponents up and spit them out made him an almost overnight sensation. So much so that only nine months after his televised debut on July 6, 1998, did he defeat Hollywood Hogan to win the WCW World Championship. After winning the championship, Hennig would be put with Goldberg as his first opponent which made sense as Hennig had credibility and was a very good wrestler despite being passed his prime. Hennig would face Goldberg in his first three title defenses, which meant, Hennig was Goldberg's first opponent at house shows, PPVs, and Monday Nitro. The first match was at a special house show called "LA Melee" on July 10, 1998 which saw Hennig come up short. The second match was at the Bash at the Beach 1998 Pay-Per-View on July 12th which saw Hennig lose in 3:50. The third and final match was on the July 13th edition of Monday Nitro which saw Hennig come up short in 1:22.

Has participated in four different capacities at Wrestlemania- Since it's debut in 1985, Wrestlemania has been one of, if not, the biggest show of the year in all of professional wrestling. Big matches, big settings, celebrities, etc. all make Wrestlemania what it is. Many legends have competed on the grandest stage and many have left their mark on the event. Curt Hennig would be one of those legends as he not only competed in several Wrestlemanias but he also made his mark by contributing to the event in various other capacities. Hennig began at Wrestlemania as a wrestler and competed in four Wrestlemanias. His first was Wrestlemania V on April 2, 1989 where he defeated The Blue Blazer (Owen Hart). His second was Wrestlemania VI on April 1, 1990 where he lost to Brutus Beefcake. His third was Wrestlemania VII on March 24, 1991 where he lost to Big Boss Man by disqualification to retain the Intercontinental Championship. His final in-ring Wrestlemania was IX on April 4, 1993 where he lost to Lex Luger. Due to his recurrent back issues, Hennig would also contribute to Wrestlemanias in other ways. At Wrestlemania VIII on April 5, 1992, Hennig was Flair's executive consultant and seconded The Nature Boy for his WWF Championship defense against "Macho Man" Randy Savage. His next non wrestling appearance was Wrestlemania X on March 20, 1994 where he served as the special guest referee for the Yokozuna/Lex Luger WWF Championship match where Hennig turned heel and disqualified Luger as revenge for losing the previous year which was supposed to set up a rivalry only for Hennig's back issues to cancel them. His last Wrestlemania appearance was on March 31, 1996 at Wrestlemania XII where he was part of the WWF broadcast team and worked the show as an interviewer interviewing Diesel. All in all, I believe Hennig was second only to "Rowdy" Roddy Piper to have done as much as four different roles for Wrestlemania.

Ended Nick Bockwinkel's final title reign. Was also Bockwinkel's last opponent in the AWA- One of wrestling's greatest names is Nick Bockwinkel. Born in 1934, Bockwinkel was the son of wrestler Warren Bockwinkel and turned pro in 1953. After enjoying success as a journeyman for the first seventeen years of his career, he hit his peak upon joining the AWA in 1970 where he served as a top star and multi time world champion feuding and defending the title against the likes of Verne Gagne, Hulk Hogan, the Crusher, Jumbo Tsuruta, etc. In 1986, Bockwinkel became the AWA World Champion for the fourth and final time all the while Hennig began moving up the ladder and by the end of the year was a frequent title challenger for Bockwinkel. After many shots during late 1986 and early 1987, Hennig would finally dethrone Bockwinkel for the AWA World Championship at SuperClash II on May 2, 1987. By winning the championship, Hennig would end the legendary Bockwinkel's last title reign of his career. Hennig also served as Bockwinkel's final opponent in the AWA when Hennig defeated him at a live event on August 2nd. After this, Bockwinkel left the AWA and following a tour of All Japan, would retire from full time competition by September 1987. From 1987-1995, Bockwinkel eventually would work for WWF, AWA, and WCW in various roles such as road agent, commentator, and authority figure. He eventually would step back in the ring four more times in his career including at a WWF house show in 1987 where he participated in a legends battle royal, in 1990 for New Japan, in 1992 for UWF-i, and finally for WCW at their Slamboree 1993 PPV in 1993 where he went to a draw with Dory Funk Jr. before retiring for good.

Had the longest Intercontinental Championship reign of the 1990s. Had the longest reign for 32 years (1991-2023)- This fact is a well known one but I had to put it on here. During Hennig's WWF career as Mr. Perfect, he held the promotion's Intercontinental Championship on two occasions and is usually up there in the conversations about greatest Intercontinental Champions of all time. It was mostly Hennig's second reign as champion that saw him make history. After losing the title to Kerry Von Erich at Summerslam 1990, Hennig would regain the championship at a Superstars of Wrestling TV Taping on November 19, 1990. Hennig would reign as champion until losing the championship to Bret Hart at Summerslam 1991 on August 26, 1991. When it was all said and done, Hennig's second reign would last an impressive 280 days or nine months. As is now well documented, this meant Hennig had the longest IC Title reign of the entire 1990s with only Shawn Michaels first reign from 1992-1993 and The Rock's second reign from 1997-1998 even reaching 200 days. What a lot of people may not know is Hennig had another record and that is he was the longest Intercontinental Champion for over 32 years. From 1991-2023, not a single IC Title reign went longer than 280 days. Ultimately, it wouldn't be until March 2023 when Gunther finally broke Hennig's record by holding the Intercontinental Championship for longer than 280 days and as of writing, is still the champion. It really shows you the kind of confidence and faith WWF/WWE had in Hennig to not only give him a reign that long but the fact they didn't think anyone should have the championship reign that went over 280 days for three decades.