In 1979, a green Curt Hennig made his start in the AWA at the same promotion that made his father famous. In the beginning, though, some in the business blamed his fast success, accusing Hennig of ridding his dad’s coat tails.
He quickly debunked those theories, with his hard work ethic in the ring, and the desire to learn and improve in his craft.
In his early days of the AWA, he wrestled under the name "Cute” Curt Hennig as a babyface. The promoters new they had an instant talent on their hands.
He stayed in the AWA for a few years before being drawn over to the WWWF in 82. He did feud a bit with "Playboy" Buddy Rose but was mainly used as a jobber.
Not liking where his career was going, he left WWWF in 1984. He went back to the AWA; it was then his career really started to take off.
He quickly became the AWA's top rising star. He eventually teamed up with a young Scott Hall to defeat "Gorgeous" Jimmy Garvin and "Mr. Electricity" Steve Regal.
Curt spent some time tagging, but didn't reach the height of his AWA career until going solo in 1986. He quickly rose through the ranks, and in 1987 beat Nick Bockwinkel for the AWA heavyweight title.
Though there was some controversy regarding the bout, he would keep it and retain the title for over a year before dropping the strap to Jerry Lawler.
In 1988 he would make his return to the WWF this time as a heel. Vince McMahon would give Curt his new name "Mr. Perfect."
McMahon, also spent weeks building him up with the promos that we all love and remember.
My personal favorite was the one where Hennig throws the football and catches it again.
Curt Hennig became an instant hit in the ring and on the stick. The vast majority of his promos went along the lines of making himself look perfect. At the same time he would be insulting the crowd in the process.
Here is an example of a typical Mr. perfect promo.
"This issue a lot of you people out there must be eating your hearts out. Why? Because of me, Mr. Perfect. Every time you see me, you know, deep down in your hearts, you can never be perfect like Curt Hennig. And, by the way, that's spelled H-E-N-N-I-G. With two n's, you boobs."
- Curt Hennig
Where Hennig really gained his respect was in the ring, though.
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