Curtis Michael "Curt" Hennig (March 28, 1958 – February 10, 2003)
also known by the
ring name Mr. Perfect, was an
American professional wrestler who wrestled for, among other promotions, the
American Wrestling Association,
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling,
World Championship Wrestling and the
World Wrestling Federation. He was the son of wrestler
Larry "The Axe" Hennig.
Among other accolades, Hennig was a two-time
world heavyweight champion (a
former AWA World Heavyweight Champion and a
former WWC Universal Heavyweight Champion), a
two-time WWF Intercontinental Champion (and the longest-reigning champion of the 1990s), a
former WCW United States Heavyweight Champion and a two-time
World Tag Team Champion (a
former AWA World Tag Team Champion with
Scott Hall and a
former WCW World Tag Team Champion with
Barry Windham). Although back problems prevented Hennig from once again being pushed as a world heavyweight champion in the WWF during the 1990s,
[The Life & Times of Mr. Perfect (2008)] he became one of the promotion's most colorful personalities and later assumed a role as a
manager and
color commentator. In addition to his championship success in WCW in the late 1990s, he was also a member of the
New World Order and later, wrestling
stable and
country music group,
West Texas Rednecks, who recorded their infamous,
tongue-in-cheek anti-
rap song, "Rap is Crap."
Hennig returned to WWE for a brief period in 2002, being one of the last three men remaining at that year's
Royal Rumble, and continued to accept bookings from independent promotions until his death on February 10, 2003.
Described by WWE as "one of the best in-ring technicians of his generation",
[www.wwe.com/superstars/halloffame/curthennig/] peers including
Hulk Hogan,
[The Life & Times of Mr. Perfect (2008): "One of the all-time greats in this business" ... "he was the best of the best."] Ric Flair,
[www.wwe.com/content/media/video/specialty_clips/hall_of_fame/2007/mrperfecthof] Bret Hart,
[ "A tragedy. A very gifted guy"... "a huge loss".] and
Randy Savage[www.songandmusiclyrics.com/59001-lyrics-to-'Macho-Man'Randy-Savage-Perfect-Friend.html] consider Hennig to be one of the most gifted in-ring performers in professional wrestling history. He was posthumously inducted into the
WWE Hall of Fame in 2007.
