Curt Hennig

When he wanted to be, Curt Hennig was fantastic in the ring. I became a big fan of his in the mid '80s when Hennig was in the AWA. He was giving then-world champion Nick Bockwinkel a run for his money; I wanted anyone to topple his reign. Curt finally caught up with Bockwinkel in San Francisco at the Cow Palace. I didn't even care that he won the title through Larry Zbyszko's interference. When the AWA's officials reviewed the footage and allowed the title change to stand, announcer Larry Nelson interviewed Hennig and asked him for the truth: had Zbyszko passed him a foreign object, enabling Curt to win the title via nefarious means? Curt cracked his trademark shit-eating grin, looked right at the camera, and replied "YES!" I was won over for life. Hennig lost the AWA championship to Jerry "The King" Lawler in 1988, clearing the path for Curt to re-debut with the WWF⁠—where he had a previous run in the early '80s—as Mr. Perfect. I actually saw Mr. Perfect tear it up with the Blue Blazer (aka Owen Hart) at my very first WWF house show at the Oakland Coliseum before he appeared on television. Quite a pleasant surprise, as I hadn't known Curt had signed with the WWF until I sat down in my seat and saw his name listed in the program!