Curt “Mr. Perfect” Hennig
Hennig, a second-generation wrestler, made his debut in 1980 and eventually became a star in the AWA, the same promotion that his father Larry “The Axe” Hennig had. I watched AWA religiously as a kid because it was based in Minneapolis and was televised in the Midwest before WWF came to dominate.
Hennig defeated Nick Bockwinkle for the AWA Heavyweight title in May of 1987 and went on to hold for just over a full year (53 weeks). Like so many AWA stars, he made his way to the WWF (now WWE) in Fall of 1988 where he was introduced as “Mr. Perfect”.
Most remember his series of promos demonstrating how he was the perfect athlete by hitting a half-court basketball shot without looking, bowling a 300 game, hitting home runs and many more. I was always impressed how he could spit his gum out and swat it with his hand in the air (try it, it’s harder than you’d think).
His record remained perfect as well, with a winning streak that lasted over a year (his first televised one-on-one loss came to Brutus Beefcake at Wrestlemania VI in April of 1990). Hennig did not get any title pushes during his early years in WWF, though he did briefly feud with Hulk Hogan in late 1989 culminating with them being the last two standing in the January 1990 Royal Rumble and Hogan winning.
In the very early-90s, Hennig was able to get a belt by winning the Intercontinental title a couple times until he broke his tailbone and suffered some bulging discs in August of 1991. He dropped the title to Bret Hart and spent the next more than a year trying to recuperate from his injuries. During this time, he played an excellent heel color commentator on TV as well as an executive consultant for Ric Flair.
He returned as a wrestler in 1992, but never seemed to recapture the momentum he had going before the injuries. He died in 2003 and is widely considered by his peers as one of the greatest technical wrestlers the industry has ever known.
Good post, I love old school wrestling memories and thoughts
I wouldnt consider Steamboat, Perfect, Rude, Snake, or The Von Erich’s underrated they are loved by all (and I think most were brought up during the USF Fantasy Wrestling Draft .. not sure though)
Underrated for me are really good wrestlers who people wouldn’t immediately come up with when a wrestling fan named their favorites or ones they remember
Give me:
Magnum TA
Paul Orndorff
Nikita Koloff
Greg Valentine
Shane Douglass
Lance Storm
Super Calo and The Yeti lol
I actually considered including the first 3 guys you mentioned who were all personal favorites of mine: MagnumTA, Mr. Wonderful and the Russian Nightmare. They probably should have at least all been on the honorable mention list.
I was not implying that these wrestlers were never adored by fans, it was more that they never received the big time push that they probably deserved. Thanks for reading and commenting.
I was raised on AWA so I would have like to see The High Flyer, Greg Gagne and Jim Brunsel go further than they did. Greg’s father Verne was also a favorite.
Like I mentioned, I started off on AWA as well. The High Flyers are another example of a strong tag team that never really received the opportunity for individual glory.
The AWA was the first live wrestling match I was able to attend as a kid. Had front row seats and it hooked me in to wrestling even more at a young age. Baron Von Raschke, The Crusher, Mad Dog Vachon, Rock n Roll Buck Zumhoff, Sgt. Slaughter, Hulk Hogan, The Road Warriors, Jerry Blackwell, Nick Bockwinkle, Shiek Adnan El Kasey, the list goes on and on (and so do the great memories!)
good list, at first I thought no way Ricky is underrated, and then the Von Erichs, but I see what you mean. They were so talented they should have been as big as Hogan but weren’t.
Yes, that is the angle I tried to use. Who deserved a much bigger push than they ever received. There are certainly different ways to go at it and underrated is very subjective to begin with. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Where’s CoCo B. Ware or Jimmy “Superfly” Snukka?