Curt Hennig

[10.0] "Here's another "perfect" wrestler for me. Curt had it all, and when Bret won the World title I always felt it was a matter of time until Mr. Perfect did the same. Unfortunately that didn't happen, but it absolutely should have. Curt did everything at a top level! Worked great, worked the crowd, and seemed to be well-respected by all. Absolute warrior in the ring!"

[7.0] "'Mr. Perfect' Curt Hennig was a very good pro wrestler. He may not have been perfect, but he was definitely one of the best American pro wrestlers during his peak years in the late 1980s. Unfortunately, due to injuries, his 1990s wasn't nearly as consistent as his 1980s."

"I am shocked that in Matchguide he only has 18 matches that were rated over 7/10 (Chris Beniot for example had 182 matches) and only 6 matches that were 8 or higher rated."

[10.0] "Mr Perfect by the way, we need a 20 rank on here. Thank you. Curt Hennig trained by Verne Gagne and his dear father Larry The Ax Hennig & for 5 years counted pinfalls to learn the tricks of pro wrestling trade while living bruises and pain in technician training. He later conjure up a few more pieces into his inevitable character in which he never wanted to be a heel, he wanted to be a cowboy fan favourite. Until WCW, he decided to be Cool Curt Hennig alongside Big Scott Hall, as tag team champs they could had took on them all. His biggest matchup in their rookie years was against the lone riders Bill and Scott Irwin at the first and only WrestleRock Rumble. Curt moved on to tag with the Z Man Tom Zenk before becoming AWA heavyweight champion with some success. This was his only world title reign completely tragic how WWE or WCW never got him to win the top prize in their promotions. Outside of that sad fact, he later became the measuring stick of talent, if you have a good match with him, you will go far! Cue the WWF undefeated streak lasting 2 years with the Genius by his side. The Intercontinental Champion The Ultimate Warrior beat him for his first official loss, it is unpropitious without depth, ironically opposites prevails throughout his career. He went to the top of the intercontinental title scene, the following year winning the championship marking his dominance. Summerslam 1991 happened with John Tolos by his side & the intercontinental title went away to the Hitman, Bret Hart. Years of bad luck, implacable face turn later and one day, his back went out. A on-going issue in his active career almost ending. Then WCW brought out the Lloyds of London insurance bond thus getting him out of retirement for a interesting run, feuding with Bret Hart, Ric Flair, then Dean Malenko and Diamond Dallas Page, giving back to the locker room once again. His career took a step up for him personally the following year 1999. If he had talked about it, he probably say forming the West Texas Rednecks was the favorite. WTR had their own music track called "Rap Is Crap", commercially released as "I hate Rap". Curt Hennig was on a roll until his friends got hurt, Barry Windham headed to retirement and Virgil peaced out for a month. He went from singing to fighting for his career on Nitro keeping a un-clean undefeated streak before losing at Mayhem to Buff Bagwell (also bad.) To show how unimportant it was, he joined the group trying to retire him. He was never the same after that. In 2002 Royal Rumble had Mr. Perfect returned, he received that much love by the WWE universe, they signed him back, he was released many months after a kerfuffle on a plane ride from hell. Poor guy went from greatness send from the wrestling gods to holding resentment against Brock Lesnar by calling him out to a fight in NWA:TNA. He wrestled a few more times before passing away at young age of 44. No one was more slick, more crisp, more refreshing and physically impressing to watch. Truly Mr Perfect."

[9.0] "Curt Hennig, better known as Mr. Perfect, truly lived up to the name. His in-ring execution was crisp, smooth, and often ahead of its time. Whether it was his iconic Perfect Plex or his ability to make every opponent look like a million bucks, Hennig had that rare blend of technical skill, charisma, and old-school toughness. While he never reached the very top in terms of world titles, his influence and respect from peers speak volumes. One of the best workers of his generation--underrated in some mainstream circles, but a legend in the eyes of hardcore fans."

[10.0] "One of the best in ring performers in his era of wrestling. Hennig knew how to put his opponents over with his selling and had an amazing career in AWA, WWF, and WCW."

[10.0] "Curt Hennig is one of the all time greatest professional wrestlers to ever grace the mat, it's a crime that this man never got a chance at the World Championship in the WWF, one of the all time best to never have won it. In AWA, he was an amazing talent who had classics with Nick Bockwinkel, showcasing his technical prowess in the ring and even winning the belt down the line in his time in AWA, he even was in a tag team with Scott Hall and became tag champions, the more you know. Safe to say his AWA run was met with success, but he gained more prominence by joining the WWF under the Mr. Perfect gimmick, and he literally lived up to the name. Not just for being an amazing performer in the ring, but because all the things he bragged about in his vignettes and whenever he would throw his towel onto someone's shoulder or behind him and have Bobby "The Brain" Heenan catch it and spitting out his gum to swat at it and never miss, Brock Lesnar put it as "he always had a horse shoe up his ass, " Shawn Michaels claimed he had an uncanny ability, and he sure did. This gimmick literally couldn't have been given to anyone else but Curt Hennig, he played it... Well, perfectly. Unfortunately, he never became WWF Champion thanks to him coming up during the Hulk Hogan era, and the same issue in WCW, where he was pretty much bound to be another guy on the roster, but he did have an entertaining country band gimmick with their funny hatred for rap music. Overall, "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig is one of the all time greatest professional wrestlers who was the total package when it came to being a wrestler: great in the ring, on the mic, charismatic and character work. Kevin Nash said it best when he asserted that Heenan and Hennig were a duo similar to Lennon and McCartney, saying they didn't need each other but worked so well when paired. R.I.P. Curt Hennig"

[8.0] "Curt is the definition of a What If? in wrestling. An exceptional promo, phenomenal psychology, excellent technical skills and great selling. His matches with Bockwinkel and Hart are all must watches. His intercontinental title run was great and only made the title more prestigious, unfortunately his injuries caught up with him too early and as a result his match quality dropped significantly, I feel he could have been world champion if not for his back and struggling to go for more then 10 minutes in a match his WCW run although entertaining from a promo perspective his matches at this point were out shone by healthier wrestlers. A true great anything from 1991 and before are well worth your time but only a handful of matches after this are outstanding."

"One of the greatest wrestlers of his generation, but unfortunately was too underrated in the WWF and WCW. This and his difficult fate became one of the reasons for his drug addiction, which cost him his life"

[8.0] "Very talented worker who unfortunately never really had a true peak due to injuries. Curt's series vs Nick Bockwinkel is really the last highlight of the dying AWA, and Curt had a good run with the IC title capped by a great match with Bret Hart. Anything post early 90s isn't great."

[8.0] "One of the most beloved gimmicks of all time and yet at its heart it was incredibly simple. He had a hell of a run from AWA through to the WWE but he doesn't have a huge resume of must see matches but few will in that era of WWF. His Bockwinkel matches are as close to must watch as you can get in that era. It is a shame injuries robbed him of so much so we never got to see what it could do as a grumpy veteran but you suspect not much as wrestling in that era had changed so much."

[10.0] "Amazing on the microphone as he sounded genuine and real, his wrestling skills are always in high regard as he was a all time great storyteller, psychologist and a very skilled seller with a fun but weak moveset, master of mat wrestling and chain wrestling. from 1984-1993 he was one of the best workers in the world."

[7.0] "Gifted technical wrestler and a great worker, he had class and some kind of charisma as a heel mostly because of his cocky gimmick "Mr. Perfect". He often had a very intense ring presence. Still, I always found him slightly overrated. When he left WWF his career slowed down a lot."

[9.0] "Perfect was nearly perfect in the ring and on the mic. In the ring he was smooth and precise even with opponents who were unable to get good matches with other opponents. He was best as a heel on the mic as his charisma made him easy to hate. His last WWE run and after were not good but that wasn't on him as much as it was on booking, injuries and father time."

[10.0] "There's gimmicks that a wrestler was born for and Curt Hennig as Mr. Perfect is one of them. He really was perfect as a wrestler. He was athletic, crisp, good on the mic and even better when Heenan was with him. A shame he never won a major world title but he was so good he really didn't need one."

[9.0] "To put it simply, one of the very best to ever lace up a pair of boots. Great ability and a fantastic worker. I didn't like him growing up, but I think that's a argument for just how well his character work was. Now I can really appreciate how truly great he was"

[8.0] "On the same level as Bret Hart and he probably wins the tie breaker by way of having better promo skills. Hennig's crazy bumping style did him in and after 1991, it was a steady decline of injuries, and drugs that led to his untimely demise. The only reason I hold him at an 8 is those lousy injuries really hampered his career and his tenures got flaky post 1991 when he was hopping company to company."

[10.0] "Top 5 favourite wrestlers all time. Perfect 10. Discovered him and WCW love finding all his old stuff. Incredible talent."

[8.0] "I think it goes without saying that Mr Perfect was one of the greatest characters of all time. The way he was able to elicit heat and make himself appear as a legitimate threat against monsters such as Hulk Hogan is outstanding. I wish I could give Kurt at 10, however despite having the perfect 80s promo that style did not translate well into the grungy 90s and his work in WCW at times was just sad. He did find his groove with the West TX rednecks and it is a real shame that was cut short. Curt seemed to be finally finding a new grove when appeared in those early days on TNA/IMPACT but was sadly taken from us before we could see him rise again. I must also add I have seen little of his time in AWA and that may give me a different perspective."

[10.0] "Incredible in the AWA, put in a good effort while in the WWF, but fell off by the time he cane to WCW, but in his prime, he was incredible, better in his Curt Hennig AWA persona than the Mr. Perfect gimmick."

[10.0] "This man was so, so entertaining to watch. From the moment his amazing vignettes aired prior to the debut of 'Mr. Perfect', to his ability inside the ring as well as to cut promos, and how he could elevate anyone around him, he was great. Unquestionably one of the greatest wrestlers of his generation, if not of all time. His work pre-WWF, his initial "perfect record" undefeated run in the WWF, the work as Intercontinental Champion, the partnership with Flair & Heenan during the back injury... his career is so complete and he was engaging in every role. Amazing talent."

[8.0] "He had a good run in WWF in the late 80's and early 90's. Also did well in the AWA when the talent over there started to get thin. His family name opened some doors for him. Didn't do that well later in his career. Maybe people on this site rate him a little too high. Injuries also hurt him and it seems like he didn't accomplish as much as he could've."

[10.0] "My basic criteria for rating a wrestler is "how watchable are they? " it ranges from "immediate and instant fast forward (zero) to "even if it's a 45 second squash match, I'm going to watch the entire thing with vested interest, and maybe even twice in a row". Mr. Perfect fits into a "10" with relative ease. I want to see everything he does against anyone. It doesn't matter if there is a story or if the match is so-so, if it's Curt Hennig- I'm glued. Even deep into his career and even deep into WCW sucking ass, I wasn't going to deny Curt any attention*. I'm certainly a Mr. Perfect mark through and though. (* ah except of course the moment he turned against The Horsemen and joined the nWo, he was just as much a victim as any other nWo member then - fast forwarding with contempt, but I won't dock points for that)"

[10.0] "If there was anybody who was born to play the "Mr. Perfect" persona, it was Curt Hennig. He was literally perfect in all departments of wrestling. His great technical ability and his ability to bump around and make his opponent look good make him one of the greatest in-ring performers of all time. Add to that, he had loads of charisma and mic skills and the way he carried himself around, he looked like an absolute star. He could do any role he was given even as a manager or a commentator. He's definitely one of the best wrestlers ever to be part of WWE who never won the World Championship."

[9.0] "Best known for his awesome 'Mr. Perfect' persona in the WWF Golden Era, which is still legit one of my all-time favorite characters in wrestling. With that said, he does have his fair share of classic works over in the territories as well before stepping foot in said promotion, most notably in Verne Gagne's AWA, where he was able to put on some of the greatest mat-classics of the decade. His technical skill is up there with the very best of them, and his ability to bump all over the ring like a madman will never not get appreciated. Had loads of mic skills while also bringing a vast amount of charisma to the table, and not to mention he can even do excellent jobs portraying a manager, or even a commentator! Unfortunately, his later work in the 2000s slightly tarnished his legacy overall, which would lead to his untimely death not so long after."

[8.0] "If the majority of his career was the quality of him in the AWA, I'd put him easily as a top top guy. Sadly, his WWF run is kinda overrated (outside of maybe a dozen great matches and a lot of eh ones and whatnot) him in WCW (which was almost all unmotivated crap outside of the Rednecks stuff and some good showings here and there) and him everywhere else, which is even worse than all of that, lol. In the ring, guy was fantastically consistent, a complete joy to watch, was intently focused on ring psychology and knew what and when to turn up the heat or cool things off, and was basically a universal teacher for many wrestlers after him. He wasn't the best at promos: I felt like sometimes he was a bit stilted and didn't quite know what he was talking about, or believed in it very much. Other than that, very solid and a great babyface or heel, torchpasser or cartoonish villain, guy could do it all and then some."

[9.0] "One of the best of his era. Hennig's matches, persona, and talking ability kept him relevant any time he was near a ring. His matches with Bret Hart are all-time classics. I have only seen a bit of his AWA work (thanks WWE) but feel his absolute peak was as Mr. Perfect in WWF. He is one of my favorite IC champs of all-time and had underrated matches with Shawn Michaels as well. His promos and character work were always top notch and he hit a new level when Bobby Heenan became his manager. A very underrated manager and color commentator as well."

[10.0] "One of the greatest in-ring performers of all time. One of the best Ring Generals of all time. The greatest "Over the top" seller & bumper of all time. One of the smoothest in-ring performers ever. Memorable rivalry with the legendary Nick Bockwinkel. Former AWA World Heavyweight Champion. Was one of the best in-ring performers in the world during the early 19990's. One of the greatest & most memorable WWE Intercontinental Champions of all time. Produced memorable matches against the legendary Bret "The Hitman" Hart. Back injury turned him into a more limited performer, but he was still a smooth performer regardless. One of the greatest Midcard wrestlers of all time. Had great charisma. Great promo. Had the presence of a star. His "Mr. Perfect" gimmick is one of the most memorable gimmicks in pro wrestling history. His father Larry "The Axe" Hennig was also a legendary wrestler. His son, Curtis Axel, followed in the Hennig family footsteps and became a 3rd Generation wrestler. Never hit his full potential in the WWE because of injury & politics. Unfortunately was horribly misused in WCW, even though his "West Texas Rednecks" gimmick is memorable. Passed away way too soon. RIP to the legendary "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig."

[10.0] "A great wrestler. Athletic, good look, great mic skills, good moveset. Tendency to oversell, but a tremendous worker. It? s a real shame he had his issues and left us so young."

[4.0] "Very Overrated in my opinion. He's not the worst but I'd say I think his stuff is pretty bad. Maybe that comes down to personal preference as his style is not my preferred style of wrestling but even then I tried to give his matches with Bret a chance and I just did not enjoy it at all. His WCW run was pretty bad too"

[9.0] "Hennig was a terrific wrestler, and could sell as well as anybody. He was a terrific worker and talker. By the time he got to WCW, he was just kind of there. His work was still good, but they obviously didn't have plans for him and he didn't have an opportunity to have classic matches. With that said, he was undeniably a fantastic talent."

[10.0] "Mr Perfect was amazing. He was a great wrestler and could put on classic after classic. This man could also sell like crazy. I loved his Intercontinental Championship reigns and thought he was an amazing heel who could work the crowd. Some of my favorite matches if his are those with Bret Hart. Those 2 had unbelievable in ring chemistry. I think it's a shame Curt was never World Champion. R. I. P Curt Hennig Legend."

[9.0] "One of the most well rounded performers of all time. Great on the mic, tremendous personality, and top quality athletic worker. His matches with Bret Hart showcased both guy's excellence of execution, and were almost flawless. In another era, would have been a multi time world champion."

[9.0] "Mr. Perfect was damn near perfect. More of a classic wrestling style guy, and was hit hard when the industry modernized. Completely wasted in WCW."

[8.0] "AWA stuff was great and as Mr. Perfect was tremendous. Great at taking bumps. Extremely arrogant persona that was well, Perfect. His WCW stuff is not Perfect however."

[10.0] "A great wrestler and very well gifted. He was always exciting to watch. Great at his heel role. If I grew up watching him he would have been my favorite. When he was a babyface in the WWF in 1993 he was not as good. Very technical Sadly that he passed away so soon."

[9.0] "He's a guy like Rick Rude who I don't think we got enough out of. He was amazing in the ring & played the Mr. Perfect character to a tee. A great heel who was easy to root against."

[10.0] "For being ? Perfect? Curt Hennig was of modest size. But he could bump like no one else and had the stamina to always leave the fans satisfied. After laboring against the randy old rooster Nick Bockwinkel in the AWA, , he surged into the national scene with his amazing Mr. Perfect gimmick. His package was enhanced when he was given a flamboyant, slender but massively endowed male companion to lead him to ring. Side note- Lanny Poffos outfit was pretty much a stitch for stitch remake of Angelo Poffos graduate mortar board and gown set. Mr Perfect had a long prime but was never given the big prize in WCW and WWe. He was on the shelf for a while in the early 90s with a Lloyd? s of London policy spat. But he returned to high modcard status during a lengthy run with the NWO. Hennig will be best remembered for his Bockwinkel battles, initial heal run as Mr Perfect and sadly his career ending throwdown on a chartered flight. But any match he is in is worth watching. His battles with Bret Hart are top notch. If there is a critique, it is that he flip flopped too much. But in the cartoonish wrestling landscape of the time, he always made his opponents look amazing. It is a shame that he did not get a run on top with Bret Hart chasing him. A third generation wrestler, it would seem that a small, pink head is all that he shares with his boy Curtis Axel."

[8.0] "Another one of those wrestlers who were great in the ring but lacked the mic skills to become huge stars. Personally never really liked the Mr Perfect gimmick tbh."

[7.0] "If you ask me to base Curt Hennig off his AWA run, I would praise it to the hills and give him an 9 or maybe even a 10 because he really was fantastic. He could play the lovable face you wanted to root for or the detestable heel that you wanted to see his ass kicked. He could grapple with the best of them and was an overall great wrestler. In WWF though, meh. Honestly don't see why this run is praised so much. His wrestling can be hit and miss, he doesn't have a lot of great matches. Tons of good but never to the point where I feel the hype is justified. His bumping is beyond laughable. How any one considered him the measuring stick, I'll never know. His character whilst memorable, kinda one dimensional at the same time. I think he is pretty overrated overall. Still a good wrestler and has tons of great matches in AWA."

[7.0] "Hennig was a good worker who could make opponents look great and make matches great by taking wild but somewhat realistic bumps. But once he couldn't take those outlandish bumps, Hennig's limitations were made obvious, and he couldn't compensate for not being able to bump like he used to."

[10.0] "To watch Curt Hennig wrestle, was wrestling's equivalent of watching Raphael paint. He embodied perfect in every sense of the word."

[6.0] "Mr. Perfect was a great in-ring worker who had some fantastic matches. He cut great promos and had many memorable moments throughout an injury-plagued career. He was never elevated to main event status. There was potential for so much more."

[9.0] "Mr. Perfect has to be my favorite gimmick from the late 80s early 90s era of the WWF. Hennig himself was an amazing worker during that time and had great charisma."

[10.0] "Mr. Perfect was literally the perfect gimmick for Curt - his work was incredible and the way he portrayed that gimmick was just money. It was as they say, the "real deal". He was also very influential, being described by The Click as their spiritual godfather. While it was kinda silly to put him in a stable called "west Texas rednecks", the program was hilarious and memorable. I think he would be working at a high level behind the scenes now if he were still alive, and helping shape the future of Pro Wrestling. The biz is definitely not the same without him."

[7.0] "Everything I do is per.. Hennig. I look back a lot more kindly on Hennig now that I'm older. He was great in the ring, but a lot of his promos were a little too obvious. He kind of talked down to the audience and spelled everything out for them. In the ring, he was great but on the mic perhaps he needed some work. Surprisingly, the West Texas Rednecks were the promos that I remember being the best. Also, his 2000 era relationship with Russo and the New Blood was solid."

[9.0] "As good as his in ring work was in WWE it wasn't exactly where he shone. Oh he had some amazing matches with Bret Hart and an underrated classic with Ric Flair but most of his best work came from the AWA. Most'll point at his matches with Bockwinkel, and fair enough they're almost all pretty damn glorious but that's not all there is to his career there. Hes had great matches with Wahoo McDaniel, Jerry Lawyer and a lot of the others. Hes apparently even had a great tag run with Scott Hall but I haven't seen those matches yet. Anyways he had arguably a much more rewarding run in AWA but even without considering it he'd be a high 8."

[10.0] "This guy had everything going for him. Timing, match psychology, great selling ability, great athlete overall. Too bad he got plagued by demons later on in his life, but he will still go down as one of the best pure wrestlers of his generation."

[7.0] "I've watched his matches with Bret Hart, Ric Flair and Nick Bockwinkel. When I was young he was in the nWo, but to be honest from everything I've watched from him, he seems like a very crisp worker, but not too versatile. I can't give him a higher score until I see some more matches from him."

[10.0] "There's only one Mr. Perfect. I remember seeing him live in 1991 at the Nassau Coliseum against The Texas Tornado and I was one of a few cheering him. Curt Hennig was the man, plain and simple. One of the greatest Intercontinental Champions and could deliver a great match on impact. His death was sad especially seeing his return at the 2002 Royal Rumble showing he still had the goods at 44 years old. A man whose matches I still watch fondly today."