Paid Members tiger_rick Posted June 10, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted June 10, 2020 What do you think of Curt Hennig/Mr Perfect? I've always rated him. Excellent working heel, decent gimmick in the WWF and a solid talker. Never being that impressed with him outside of the "Perfect" gimmick as a character or promo although his work before and after the WWF was still good. He's the definitive intercontinental champion for me and that match with Bret Hart at SummerSlam will always be high on my list. I'm pretty sure my first impression of him was the Tornado match at SummerSlam 90 and even from the pre-match promos and his ring-walk, I thought he was a dickhead and was fully behind Tornado. Exemplified the one-note, effective heel characters of the time. I've always thought he hit his ceiling. He's someone who comes up in those "Who should have been world champion?" topics all the time and I don't see that at all. Was interesting listening to the recent 1990 run through on SCG and hearing that Perfect didn't draw with Hogan. I'm not really surprised because they'd done little to suggest he was a top level player, unlike say Ted Dibiase. The gimmick wasn't big time and nor was the push. Not to say he couldn't have had a run but it would have been when the company diminished from 1993 rather than due to his own star power. That's not to trash him, he was very good. What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidB6937 Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 One of the most solid and well-rounded yet unspectacular guys they had in that generation. He was good. Really good. He just wasn't great, and never showed anything that suggested he was being wasted where he was on the card. He was the 'perfect' mid-card IC title guy who I really enjoyed. But there have been others at that level who felt they were making a journey through there up towards the main event, and I never once felt that way with him. Looking back, I don't feel like he was a missed opportunity or anything. Not everyone is a top level champ and that's okay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members quote the raven Posted June 10, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted June 10, 2020 Id have to agree with the two posts above. He was good at everything but never in a world champion way.Ā Ā His run with the ic belt was a great use of hisĀ skills, beating hogan and having a run on top? Probably notĀ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cutting Edge Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 Was 93 the back injury? If so timing was a shame because his face run was good but not long enough to judge too much, could've been a good heel vs Bret, Diesel, HBK over the next few years. Above points cover it, was a surprise hit in 2002 but the bloated roster of the time he didn't do much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidzero Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 When I was a boy I hated him along with the million dollar man and Andre ... looking back the were all great heels.. I loved savage and the warrior and hogan to a less degree...but yeah curt was all kinds of awesome shame he went to wcw in 97 he just seemed to phone it in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael_3165 Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 Never got the hype. He was fine. Athletic and able to work but nowhere near top ten or twenty. His last run in wcw was shockingĀ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members PunkStep Posted June 10, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted June 10, 2020 53 minutes ago, tiger_rick said: I've always thought he hit his ceiling. I'd agree with this, and I think his run with Hogan (which we weren't exposed to much anyway as it didn't really transfer to the big events) was above his station.Ā I think the big shame isn't that he wasn't pushed more, but that his run was relatively short due to injuries. I think he had a lot left in him after the Bret match and there were plenty of feuds there for him- but the back injury (or was it more a case of him wanting a Lloyds of London payout? I get confused with him and Rude- maybe it was both) restricted him to a managerial role that wasn't really needed. He could've had some really decent programmes if he wasn't out during 92. They didn't have anything of note for him in 93. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CavemanLynn Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 Probably the greatest workhorse ever. The moniker of "Mr Perfect" might've been one-dimensional, but that's all you need. The idea of a wrestler so convinced he's the very best at EVERYTHING made him great foil for so many opponents, and was a prime example of WWF/E's lost art of tying a good gimmick to augment an existing performer rather then rebuild or shoehorn a body into a slogan or skit. Ideal for that midcard role, seasoning up the up-and-comers, and making them look great. I think too much emphasis gets put on his wackier bumps. They were always designed to get the face's punching powerĀ over, instead of those who try and emulate what they've seen and get pops for their bump rather than fire for the face. Solid in WWF as Mr Perfect, believable as the tough vet in WCW, funny (and correct, of course) in the West Texas Rednecks, and still able to step up on his WWE return. It would have been fascinating to see what he would have done at the PC. If he'd got through his addictions, I could have seen him as a boon for the NXT recruits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEGABUCKS Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 Mr Perfect was great. He definitely suited being WWF champion after after Hulk andĀ warrior left. If he stuck around in 93 I can see him being champion sometime in 94.Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators PowerButchi Posted June 10, 2020 Moderators Share Posted June 10, 2020 He was probably at his best in the AWA as a heel. It was ever decreasing returns from there until he became a comedy character in '99. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Cod Eye Posted June 10, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted June 10, 2020 It's a shame his back was fucked when the WWF went with Bret as champion. An in his prime Perfect, Bret and HBK(and maybe Owen Hart too) all working together in main event programs could have produced some brilliant matches. Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Statto Posted June 10, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted June 10, 2020 I totally bought in on Perfect when he turned face in 92. For reasons I can't fully explain (I think there's a thread for that) he spoke to me as a 'top' babyface in a way Hogan, Warrior, Savage & Bret never had & I became a rabid Perfect fan. That stayed with me the rest of his career. Fucking brilliant theme too. Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted June 10, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted June 10, 2020 (edited) He carried himself like a star, and that's half the battle. Even coming out to do commentary towards the end of his WWF run, his whole body language was of someone who felt he was the dog's bollocks and that everyone knew it.Ā I'm not sure he was ever going to be a top guy, but maybe if he hadn't had the back injury he would have risen to a much better position - he was set for a feud with Luger coming out of Wrestlemania X, and they could have done a lot worse than push him to the top in '95, then have him mixing it up with Bret and Shawn et al in '96/'97. I was always disappointed he didn't do more when he came back in 2002, but every fucker was working there then, so he was hardly a priority.Ā Edited June 10, 2020 by BomberPat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snitsky's back acne Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 (edited) 7 hours ago, The Cutting Edge said: Was 93 the back injury? 6 hours ago, kidzero said: When I was a boy I hated him along with the million dollar man and Andre ... looking back the were all great heels.. I loved savage and the warrior and hogan to a less degree...but yeah curt was all kinds of awesome shame he went to wcw in 97 he just seemed to phone it in. He fucked his back in 1991. He was in incredible pain at SummerSlam 911 and probably should not have been allowed to wrestle Bret but apparently he insisted. I don't know how much better his back was in 93 when he came back as WWE needed someone to replace Warrior last minute at Survivor Series '92. I'm guessing notĀ great as he was only around about a year. Ā I think he returned to active wrestling in 1997 because WWF ran an angle where Perfect attacked Marc Mero and sided with Hunter Hearst Helmsley in late '96 and WWF reportedly rang Lloyds of London to say that he was returning to active wrestling when he apparently had no plans to do so. He left WWF and, with littleĀ big money options elsewhere and no insurance policy, went for the mega bucks in WCW. Can't really blame him for not being the Perfect of old. His body was shot by that point.Ā Edited June 10, 2020 by Snitsky's back acne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidzero Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 30 minutes ago, Snitsky's back acne said: He fucked his back in 1991. He was in incredible pain at SummerSlam 911 and probably should not have been allowed to wrestle Bret but apparently he insisted. I don't know how much better his back was in 93 when he came back as WWE needed someone to replace Warrior last minute at Survivor Series '92. I'm guessing now great as he was only around about a year. Ā I think he returned to active wrestling in 1997 because WWF ran an angle where Perfect attacked Marc Mero and sided with Hunter Hearst Helmsley in late '96 and WWF reportedly rang Lloyds of London to say that he was returning to active wrestling when he apparently had no plans to do so. He left WWF and, with little options big money options elsewhere and no insurance policy, went for the mega bucks in WCW. Can't really blame him for not being the Perfect of old. His body was shot by that point.Ā Yeah I remember reading thatĀ in powerslam at the time the wwf did him out of ā¬650 grand or some mega amount because the they ratted him out about making a comebackĀ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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