Curt Hennig

Curt Hennig
Hennig in 1988 during his reign as the American Wrestling Association World Champion
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)	Leonice Leonard ​ (m. 1978)​
Children	4, including Joe
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 the ring name Mr. Perfect, was an American professional wrestler. Considered one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time by many peers, critics, and fans, 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. Hennig was the son of wrestler Larry "The Axe" Hennig and the father of wrestler Curtis Axel.

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]