Curt Hennig

Curtis Michael Curt Hennig was an American professional wrestler manager and color commentator who performed under his real name for the American Wrestling Association AWA WWE World Championship Wrestling WCW and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling TNA In WWE he found his greatest success as Mr Perfect a nickname introduced in his second run with the company which gradually became his official ring name Hennig used the same ring name in his third and final run however his real name was widely acknowledged He was the son of wrestler Larry The Axe Hennig and father to current WWE superstar Joe Curtis Axel Hennig Hennig is recognized by WWE as a onetime world champion having held the AWA World Heavyweight Championship for 373 days the seventhlongest reign in history He won three additional world championships the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship once and the iGeneration World Heavyweight Championship twice A twotime WWE Intercontinental Champion Hennig has been named by WWE as one of the greatest Intercontinental Champions of all time and was the longestreigning champion of the 1990s In addition to winning multiple championships in WCW during the late 1990s he served as the enforcer of the Four Horsemen a member of the New World Order and leader of stable and country music group West Texas Rednecks who recorded the tongueincheek song Rap is Crap later described by WWE as a stunningly popular and infectious earworm Hennig returned to WWE for a brief period in 2002 being one of the last three men remaining at the Royal Rumble He later challenged for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in TNA prior to his death on February 10 2003 WCW described Hennig as one of the best allround competitors this business has ever produced WWE in a posthumous publication hailed him as a flawless technician who brought the Intercontinental Title a new level of credibility during his two reigns and set a higher standard for technical wrestling in WWE He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007 by former Major League Baseball third baseman and longtime friend Wade Boggs A number of Hennigs peers consider him to be one of the greatest inring performers of all time former onscreen rival Hulk Hogan remarked Everybody would check their egos at the door when they came to a building that Curt Hennig was in because you couldnt outwork him you couldnt outshine him and you couldnt outperform him He was the best of the best On February 10 2003 Hennig was found dead in a Florida hotel room The Hillsborough County Medical Examiners Office declared acute cocaine intoxication to be the cause of his death His father said that steroids and painkillers also contributed to his death WWE aired a video tribute as well as words from friends and former coworkers Jerry The King Lawler and Jim Ross on Raw following the news of Hennigs death TNA paid tribute to Hennig by displaying his wrestling singlet and a framed photo as he was employed by TNA at the time of his death A tribute song about Hennig My Perfect Friend was featured on the 2003 Macho Man Randy Savage album Be a Man Other peers including Hulk Hogan Ric Flair Bret Hart Shawn Michaels have also commended Hennigs inring talents