Behind The Titantron - The Final Days of Curt Hennig - Episode 47

that was unbelievable that was perfect I do Kurt for over 30 years that I can honestly say I never met anyone who did not like hurt any he loved to hunt he loved to fish he loved to play basketball he loved the golf he was the best in everything that he did passed away on February 9th 2003 he died of acute cocaine intoxication he was 44 he was pronounced dead on scene he left behind a legacy of memories that will last forever [Music] on 10th February 2003 Curt Hennig was scheduled to wrestle at the Florida State Fair part of his ongoing campaign to return to the top of the wrestling world sadly that match never happened and it was the end of the road for one of wrestling's most adored individuals at 10:00 p.m. that day a hotel housekeeper discovered hanoks body in his room leading fans friends and family to wonder what had robbed the world of a beloved individual at the age of 44 an autopsy would reveal the cause of death as a cue cocaine intoxication however Kurt's father was convinced there was more to his son's death than met the eye and he chose to look into the matter hoping to find closure was there more to Curt Hennig death than the seemingly endless cycle of personal demons killing wrestlers live short whether he was playing a traditional babyface in the AWA the ultimate athlete mr. perfect in the WWF or the country music loving leader of the West Texas rednecks player Hennig did it all proving he could play any role in wrestling to perfection beloved by his peers and equally respected for his in-ring abilities his career was seemingly cut short due to a devastating back injury not once but twice but hedig refused to quit and eventually returned to the ring setting his sights on returning to the top of the mountain sadly his drive to succeed Maher played a role in his death leaving fans wondering how things might have ended up had he lived the son of legendary AWA grappler Larry the axe Hennig ker Hennig had big shoes to fill as his famous father was a top performer from the territory era particularly in the AWA Larry had excelled in the AWA as a perennial challenger for the promotion's World Heavyweight Championship and was a powerful force on the tag team scene holding the AWA World Tag Team Championship four times including his famous team with Harley Race born on 20th March 1959 in Minneapolis Minnesota kurt played a number of sports including golf football wrestling hunting and fishing while the future mr. perfect wrestled in high school and junior college professional wrestling didn't seem a priority his father recalled he had to get himself into a situation physically and mentally in order to do that and then go out and pay the price when he did decide to pursue professional wrestling and it proved unnatural graduating from Verne Gagne 'he's legendarily grueling training camp and entering the squared circle after rounding out his wrestling skills as an undercard performer in the AWA the Pacific Northwest Territory and the WWF he returned to the AWA where he won the promotion's World Tag Team Championship alongside big Scott Hall Paul would later recall how henyk helped him develop as a wrestler we were very close said Hall when I got my first national break and started working with the AWA they me as a babyface I had a look they liked but I was really inexperienced the business was changing then it was more about television more about merchandise and kids were more of the targeted audience so even the guy with the beer guts smoking cigars was the better worker the little kids wanted to see the muscle guy beat the old guys I had the look there light but I was inexperienced at that time there was no guaranteed money and Kurt was a babyface and I was a babyface so technically we were competing for the same job as top babyface but Kurt was so unselfish that he didn't care he talked to me on the way to the show and on the way back from the show and told me what to do and what not to do he'd start the matches wrestle wrestle wrestle and I'd come in and beat the guys up he sells tags mian and I'd pin them everything was catered to me by Kurt the AWA Tag Titles was just the beginning of headaches climbed to the top of the mountain after turning heel he defeated aw a mainstay Nick Bockwinkel for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship although the AWA was rapidly fading from the national scene Hennings reign was one of the few highlights left in Van Gundy's once prestigious promotion soon henyk caught the wws eye and he was invited to work for them and egged turned down a second run with the AWA championship recognizing that the WWF was the place to be repackaged as mr. perfect a superstar athlete who mastered any sport II tried penny got over even before he stepped into the ring thanks to the hilarious vignettes showing his command of all sports ironically Hennig apparently never wanted the mr. perfect gimmick according to his longtime friend Bobby the brain Heenan he didn't want to be mr. perfect he wanted to be a cowboy character he loved that his WCW West Texas rednecks gimmick was his favorite character because he loved country music and singing country songs despite his reservations Henning took the character and made it his success infuriating fans with his cocky heel attitude and providing entertainment in the ring thanks to his fantastic ring work and an uncanny knack for taking bumps two runs as Intercontinental Champion cemented his national reputation as one of the world's best workers while Hennig didn't fit into the big man image Vince McMahon craved for his WWF champions the business was beginning to change and it's arguable Henry could have easily filled the roles later taken by Bret the Hitman Hart and Shawn Michaels a smaller WWF champions who relied on work great to get over that didn't happen however as Hennig injured his back in June of 1991 the injury being so bad that it seemed impossible that he make it to that year's SummerSlam where he was supposed to drop the belt to Bret Hart the WWF threw mr. perfect in less than a handful of preliminary matches to keep him visible all the while advertising him for house shows they knew he couldn't work and they dropped the belt AHA at SummerSlam cementing Hart's spot as a rising single star although a back injury looked to have sidelined him permanently henyk still had lots to offer to the WWF whether it was as a color commentator or Nature Boy Ric Flair's executive consultant this changed around 1992 when the WWF lost two top stars during the WWF steroid scandal the promotion released to table baby faces The Ultimate Warrior and Davey Boy Smith after they allegedly used human growth hormone to get around the company steroid band desperate for a top babyface the WWF bought out Hennings Lloyd's of London disability policy allowing him to return to the ring however Henning struggled to get over as a babyface and the WWF penchant for jobbing him didn't help matters either a heel turn against Lex Luger at WrestleMania 10 showed promise by henning injured his back again cashing in his disability policy once again it looked like mr. perfect would become an in-ring performer this time as an ally of hunter hearst-helmsley after it looked like mr. perfect had allied himself with marc mero against Helmsley perfect swerved Mero leading to mirror losing the integral little championship however at some point perfect negotiations with the WWF reportedly cost him a substantial sum from his Lloyd's of London policy believed to have been anywhere from one hundred and fifty thousand dollars to $300,000 and Hennig blamed the WWF opting to sign with WCW probably didn't hurt that WCW offered him more money Hennig jumped to WCW working as a tank hope member of the four horsemen who betrayed them to join the New World Order and later in the fondly remembered faction the West Texas rednecks arguably best remembered for their song rappers crap after a cup of coffee with the excitement Wrestling Federation Hennig returned to the place of his greatest success anacs surprise appearance at the 2002 Royal Rumble was so well received that the WWE hired him with perfect helping to put over younger talent behind the scenes Hennig was known for his zest for living which sometimes got him into trouble during 2002 s infamous plane ride from hell as covered in a previous episode panic grappled with Brock Lesnar mid-flight with both men smashing into an emergency exit and some fearing they may have blown the door off the WWE promptly fired Hennig but he soon found work Wrestling for Total Nonstop action and it competed for wrong killings his NWA World Heavyweight Championship but failed to wrest the title during his time in TNA Hennig would brag about taking Brock Lesnar down at 35,000 feet presumably hoping to generate interest in him returning to the WWE recently behind the titantron looked at the final days of ravishing Rick Rude a wrestler who's life paralleled Curt Hennig Zinn many ways both men attended Robbinsdale high school the home of many future wrestlers both excelled in the ring but were particularly strong as heels but weak as baby faces and both suffered would appear to be career-ending injuries only to train to come back sadly both also died at a fairly young age with their efforts and mounting a comeback possibly leading to their early demise although kerr Hennings glory days were behind him he still had much to offer in the ring and should have another back injury he could have wrestled several years more all that proved mood when HELOCs body was discovered in a hotel room leading to questions as to the cause of death even after medical officials disclosed their findings on 26 March 2003 WTSP 10 News reported on the cause of Curt Hennig death Shanaya tippin's of the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office says he died from acute cocaine intoxication was this the latest case of a wrestler dying young due to over indulging in drugs and/or alcohol initially Kurt's father Larry who wasn't sure in the book the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame the healed Larry discussed his many questions surrounding his son's death it's not quite clear to me yet and perhaps it never will be from my standpoint it just looked like it was one of those one-night deals got him with the wrong people Hennings father said there's still a mystery going on here he left here with a couple grand and he had a Rolex watch that stuff was gone that stuff was missing there's still a blank however as noted in the book Kurt's father elected to stop his private investigation of the tragedy to spare his family any more scrutiny a 2004 USA Today article also noted his father said last year that a lethal combination of steroids and painkillers contributed to his death like some believe may have happened to Rick Rude is it possible Hennig was working too hard to mount his comeback especially if he was eyeing a return to the WWE could overuse steroids and or painkillers to cope with the overzealous training regimen whether or not the circumstances of Kurt Hennings death extend beyond the medical examiner's ruling is unknown but what we do know is that the wrestler nicknamed mr. perfect left behind an undeniable legacy inside and outside the squared circle wrestling's man for all seasons care Hennings accomplishments in the ring saw him inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame and the George Travis / Lou Thesz professional wrestling Hall of Fame in 2007 an egg's legacy in the ring is still talked about today by those who worked with him Bret Hart once said wrestling Hennig was like having the night off the Hitman also praised him further saying Curt Hennig was one of the greatest athletes to ever put on a pair of wrestling boots said Hart who wrestled Hennig in one of the greatest matches of all time and 1991 SummerSlam you could wake me up at 4 in the morning and I could wrestle Curt Hennig for an hour and have a five star match he was so safe in the matches and logical he didn't waste a lot of moves every move made sense there was a reason why he did it they fit into the theme of the whole storyline a lot of wrestlers would be better off today if they watched Curt Hennig it's not about what you do it's how you do it as discussed earlier the man best known as mr. perfect was never afraid to share his wrestling experience with younger talent and have it believed to have come from Roddy Piper Sean Waltman recalled Curt would always talk about how Roddy shared his knowledge said Waltman Scott Hall will be the first to tell you that there were a lot of guys who were very stingy with their knowledge it's a very competitive business especially before there were any guarantees and everyone was going to territory to territory Curt was different he thought it was his duty and he took a lot of the guys including Brock Lesnar under his wing Hennig was warmly regarded by his peers to Stone Cold Steve Austin once remarking I'm sure he had some days like we all do but I never saw Koenig in a bad mood he always had a smile on his face I respected his work and it was a hell of a guy to be around Sean Waltman noted you could walk into the worst vibe locker room you could possibly imagine but when Curt Hennig walked in it would like the whole place up Owen Hart and Kurt were two of the best rivers but there were very different kinds of rivers Kurt's a legacy continues in the ring with his son wrestling as Curtis axel in a 2016 interview axel tall sports illustrated's just in Barrasso I think about my dad every time I step into the ring said a 36 year old axel people might not know this but I pray to him before every match wrestling has actually been away from me to heal after losing my father it still feels like up with him rest in peace to one of the greats we hope you've enjoyed episode 47 are behind the titantron if you'd like to see more episodes please click the playlist in the middle drop a like if you enjoyed the episode subscribe for more and I'll see you next time with some more wrestling content [Music] you

Channel: Wrestlelamia

Views: 1,102,082

Keywords: WWE, Behind The Titantron, behind the titantron curt hennig, behind the titantron episode, behind the titantron WWE, WWE Documentary, Wrestling Documentary, wrestling documentaries, Curt Hennig, Mr Perfect, curt hennig tribute, The Story Of Curt Hennig, The Final Days of Curt Hennig, Curtis Axel, WCW, ECW, TNA, world wrestling entertainment, wrestling, wrestler, wrestle, superstars, Wrestlelamia, mr perfect WWE, Curt Hennig Documentary, Last Days of Curt Hennig, mr perfect tribute

Id: LFOl82XXeZ4

Length: 15min 0sec (900 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 22 2019