Mr. Perfect 1994 | WrestleZone Forums

May 2024 ยท 3 minute read
2 things did for Curt Hennig in terms of in-ring career and being the WWF champion... his back injury and not being a Hart.

Curt was never afforded the same "stroke" as any of the Hart clan were... Larry had never really been known as a WWF guy, he was always AWA. So he didn't have the "respect levels" that Bret, Davey, Owen etc had through the Stampede connection. Curt had been champion in the AWA but so had Rick Martel... it was bush league in Vince's eyes and with the exception of Hogan and Slaughter and eventually through work Razor Ramon, pretty much anyone who ever did anything there was started from the bottom and kept there... Diamond and Tanaka, Enos and Bloom, Steve Keirn, Nailz...

The injury however was the crucial thing and Curt's reaction to it... Let's get it out there, there is some doubt as to the severity of the injury for much of 92 onwards... Curt was claiming a very large Lloyds of London policy on being "retired" that basically paid his contract, plus an extra retainer from the WWF to be Flair's "executive consultant" and a commentator. Curt was doing well but then he came back... and he quickly realised he didn't quite have the momentum he once had... Work wise he was fine, but he was still claiming and Lloyds didn't want to pay out any more... so at Suvivor Series he bailed and didn't work again till the policy expired and ATM Eric gave him more money than that deal...

It is VERY sad, but the reality is Curt Hennig, like Animal and Shawn Michaels did sat out several years they didn't necessarily need to on a fat insurance deal.

1994 was a tough year all round for the biz... Rick Rude, Ted DiBiase, Rick Steamboat, Curt all disappeared from the business in short succession due to career ending injuries...

In 94 had Hennig NOT done has he did, I don't think he'd have got the title... the first point I made would be there, Bret would be in Vince's ear, as would Shawn by that time. But also had someone like Rude not been injured, HE would have come back the moment Hogan signed and HE would have probably got the not ahead of Curt based on his WCW work... Rude vs Bret or teaming with Shawn for example would have been money... Perfect v Bret for the title... good as it was Curt wasn't in the shape to make the rubber match epic enough to headline one of only 5 PPV's a year.

It's a real shame... cos by 2002 when he returned and I had the pleasure of seeing him live just before his firing and death, he was immense... THEN he could have easily gone to Mania after winning that Rumble, like Goldust he seemed to "find it" too late to live up to the potential... but it wasn't "tragically" cut short in the way it was for Rude or DiBiase...Curt got hurt and took full advantage of it to build a good life for his family... so it's hard to damn him... but it cost him greatness.

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