DEJ Experience District DEJ BLOG: Remembering Hennig, thinking of Heenan Mar 6, 2008 - 7:56:46 PM

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By Eric Nelson, DEJ Experience Member

In his blog this week at jrsbarbq.com, Jim Ross mentioned working on a DVD about the life and career of "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig. I don't recall talking about this on the audio, but I know I've said to Dusty more than once that WWE needs to release a Mr. Perfect DVD. Well, according to Amazon.com, the very DVD I've been clamoring for (can just one person clamor?) is set to see the light of day in September of this year.

For no good reason other than being a precocious, rambunctions and ADD-ish kid, I stopped watching wrestling right after Randy Savage crushed Ricky Steamboat's throat with the ring bell, and I started watching again when Jimmy Hart picked John Tenta out of the crowd to crush the first Ultimate Warrior in a push-up contest. (The second Warrior died when his stomach exploded while doing bench presses. Danny Altman told me so.)

But despite being a stark-raving Hulkamaniac when I was 7 years old, no one caught my 9-year-old attention like Mr. Perfect. I could see past the heel persona. I could see past The Genius mincing around ringside during Perfect's matches and staring lovingly at him during his interviews. What I saw in Mr. Perfect was a hell of a wrestler, a bump machine to such a degree that he, like Flair, Patterson and Michaels, is always referred to as a benchmark in the business; what I listened to was a guy who would build himself up while running everyone else down, and doing it with loads of charisma, to where you knew he was having a grand time utilizing his gift of gab; what I saw was a man who would toss his towel behind his back and catch it without looking, spit out his gum and slap it into the crowd, stare into the camera with that smug look and furrowed brow... and all with a twinkle in his eye.

To "get" Mr. Perfect was to understand the love Curt Hennig had for pro wrestling. Plenty of guys enter wrestling and just go through the motions until they are released, and then they try out for American Gladiators and fail. Some show spectacular athleticism, but you never see any fire in their eyes, and then Jim Ross chews them out on commentary until they get shipped to ECW. Above all else -- more than just the great standing dropkick or the flipping neck snap or the cinched-up Perfectplex, and more than just the natural promos or the way he could play off of Bobby Heenan or the way he could throw a 70-yard pass... to himself -- you could feel through your TV set the passion Curt Hennig had for this sport and, I truly believe, for entertaining us.

I've babbled about this before, but I was asked to put together a DVD to be played at last year's hall of fame inductions at the wrestling museum in Waterloo, Iowa. Hennig was one of the inductees, so I included his Summerslam 1991 match with Bret Hart on the compilation. Hennig's wife, Leonice, was there, and she thanked me for picking that match, saying it was one of his favorites. Well, Curt Hennig was one of my favorites, and I'm happy to do any little thing to keep his memory alive. I'm really excited for this DVD to come out, and while I know what I'd like to see (all of the "Hulk Hogan, you can't do that" promos, the time he smashed the WWF Title with a hammer, both of his I-C Title wins, and especially matches from his 2002 return to the WWF), I'm really looking forward to the documentary portion of the DVD. If Curt Hennig was half the man he seemed to be, it will be a treat to hear all of the wrestlers talk about him and give him the tribute he deserves.

I mentioned Bobby Heenan's name, and J.R. did in his blog, too. If I could go on for five paragraphs glowing about Mr. Perfect, I could go on for five days talking about Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. For those of you who don't know, Heenan recently underwent surgery to repair his jaw, which was damaged by all of the chemotherapy he received for the throat cancer he announced he had in 2002. The irony that a man who could make me laugh until I cried now can't talk kills me, but by all accounts, Heenan is recovering well. That's good, because -- not that it'll ever happen, but -- he is someone I've always wanted to meet, even if just to shake his hand and say thanks for the memories. Hell, why do you think I made it a point to ask Baron Von Raschke for a Bobby Heenan story? If you're in need of a good chuckle, pop in Summerslam 1991 or Royal Rumble 1992 or WrestleMania VIII, or search YouTube for some WWF Wrestling Challenge squash matches... Bobby Heenan is sure to please. It's like he has two brilliant minds!

Eric Nelson is the E in the DEJ Experience. Normally the guys' audio is posted at PWTorch.com/members on Wednesday, followed by Eric's blog on Thursday, Dusty's on Friday, Kevin's on Saturday and Jeremy's on Sunday. The gents are also taking your questions for their Ask the Experience feature on Mondays, so post your queries on the PWTorch.com VIP Forum, or e-mail them to theaudioexperience@gmail.com. You'll be glad you did.

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