Why Curt Hennig Is The Greatest Wrestler Of The Last 20 Years

A lot of talk in today's professional wrestling world focuses on claims of greatness, or "being the best." And no offense to Bret Hart, who incidentally was my favorite wrestler while I was growing up, but he is most certainly not "the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be."

Those titles, in my mind, don't belong to just one person.

Currently, the best there is, it would seem, is Triple H. Putting aside the fact that he is married to the boss's daughter, he has been putting his body on the line day in and day out for the WWE since 1995, and has been on top of the game for much of that time.

And for those of you who are going to argue that John Cena is the best wrestler as of press time, get a life.

When he actually learns how to wrestle, then you can make that claim.

In today's time of beefed up physiques and high impact maneuvers, it made me search my mental database for a single performer that could still be relevant in the squared circle of today.

The first name that came to mind was Curt Hennig.

The son of AWA legend Larry "the Axe" Hennig, Curt was born with turnbuckles and body slams in his blood.

After a successful run in the AWA, in which he won the tag team titles with Scott "don't call me Razor Ramon" Hall, and also held the AWA world title for over a year, Hennig packed his bags and headed to the then-WWF,with whom he had had a less than successful run several years before.

After assuming the role of "Mr. Perfect," a gimmick originally created for Terry "I regret ever performing as the Red Rooster" Taylor, Hennig began to show the signs of brilliance that planted the seeds for smug heels of the future to emulate.

A two-time Intercontinental champ in the WWF, Hennig was never able to win the "big one," but proved any countless occasions that he could go out to the ring, and hang with the superstars of the time, including Hulk Hogan and Hart.

Hennig's in-ring performances were second to none, and his matches with Hart, himself an excellent wrestler, are mentioned by analysts when discussing the greatest matches of all-time.

But it was Hennig's mic work that set him apart from his fellow wrestlers. In an age when managers were placed with wrestlers to provide an entertaining interview, Hennig was always capable of standing on his own. When he was placed with legendary manager Bobby "the Brain" Heenan, a real star was born.

Both men were just incendiary on the microphone, and that led many people to not only respect everything that Hennig could do, with many fans actually supporting him, despite the fact that he normally competed as a heel.

During a stint in WCW in 1999, Hennig became the leader of the West Texas Rednecks (along with Barry and Kendall Windham, and Bobby Duncum Jr.), who supposedly despised rap music. Due in large part to his mic work and in-ring work ethic, Hennig was able to swing the crowd from booing his heel faction to actually cheering for them in most instances.

Even though he was 44 years old and his wrestling career was coming to an end when he suddenly died in 2003, Hennig most certainly could have remained a great presence in the wrestling world for many years afterward.

Wouldn't it have been interesting to see him making "perfect" decisions as RAW general manager? Or being the "perfect" manager for the Main Event Mafia, maybe even throwing in an occasional in-ring performance?

Hennig's son Joe is currently wrestling for Florida Championship Wrestling, a WWE developmental territory, and has won both the tag team titles (with Sebastian Slater) and the FCW Heavyweight championship.

Hennig's daughter Amy is also currently in training to become a wrestler.

I, for one, can't wait to see what either of them can do if they ever make it to the big time.