This week on WWE television, WWE re-introduced Michael McGillicutty (Joe Hennig) as Curtis Axel, taking Curt Hennig's first name and attaching it to his son's ring name.

In a exclusive Torch Talk interview with PWTorch editor Wade Keller conducted in March 2011, Diamond Dallas Page talked about Curt Hennig's influence on his career and what made Hennig stand out from the rest of the pack that has been passed down to his son.

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Keller: Curt Hennig. He was obviously around when you were in the AWA and you got to cross paths with him when you were in WCW, too. Just give some thoughts or stories about him and did he have any influence on you?

DDP: Oh, absolutely he had influence on me. Getting to hang with him, because he was about five years younger than me, and he was on his way to being in his prime, and getting to meet "The Axe," his dad, that was a real honor for me. Curt, I'll never forget we were in the locker room and I used to say, "Good gawd!" That was one of DDP's catch-phrases, but in the beginning I didn't think of it as that. It's something I did in the DJ booth in the nightclub when the place was rockin'. So I'd throw into the occasional promo. So we're sitting in the back. I've been there for maybe seven shows, and Curt Hennig looks over at me in the locker room and he goes, "Diamond, say it." I said, "Say what?" He goes, "You know." I say, "No I don't. What do you mean?" He says, "Good gawd!" I go, "Good gawd!"

So when you got a guy who really was a top guy, the champ, in the AWA and he's befriending you, and we go out and get some drinks, and then he starts smartening me up to the business. He's like, "Dallas, I'm telling you right now, you come from the bar business, you probably know this because this is your life, but I'm telling you right now you will develop more relationships and create more friendships at the bar than you will anywhere else in the business." I totally got it because I grew up in the bar business and I was running nightclubs.

So Hennig actually came up to me while I was getting tan at the pool and he said, "Diamond, have got a couple of minutes?" I said, "Sure." He said, "I've been talking to my dad. I got the call from New York. I'm going." I'm like, "Oh, dude, God bless you, dude. That is so amazing. I'm so happy for you." He's like, "I was talking to my dad and he thinks we both favor each other a lot. He thinks it might be a good idea if you came in as my manager." I was, like, "Seriously?" He said, "Yeah." I was, like, "Dude, if you could make that happen, I would jump through hoops." Whatever it took to make that happen. Of course, it didn't happen, mainly because you go back to the story of "Classy" Freddie Blassie bringing my DVD in there and showing it to Pat Patterson and saying I'm Andre the Giant as a manager. But it was still a hell of an honor to get the guy who would be called Mr. Perfect because he did so many things so perfect. For him to entertain that was a huge honor to me as well. Then later on, for him to come in and be my partner that turns on me in WCW, for me to be awarded the U.S. Title from Curt Hennig, that was a big deal. I had that strap for a while. It was a big deal and it was just, you talk about things coming all the way around, I remember talking at Starrcade 1997 and he said, "D, I have never seen anyone in this business - and you knew I grew up in it - do what you have done. I'm so proud of ya'. It's totally mind-blowing."

Keller: Tell me what he meant by that because that can be interpreted multiple ways at that stage of your career. What in particular stood out to him about you?

DDP: He was there Day One when I came in as a manager who didn't really know a wristlock from a wristwatch. I knew nothing. He saw me go through my trials and tribulations and trying to get the Diamond Mine at the AWA. He saw that as well. He saw me go from being a manager to a wrestler and he knew how old I was. To make that transition, just like Scott Hall and so many guys told me, "Dally, you're in such a great spot as a manager, you're gonna be taking a step down to be a wrestler. You're going to start at the bottom. You're going to be an enhancement guy." I said, "Yeah, but I don't have a choice." So he saw that, too. You know the business as good as anyone ever, Wade. Has anyone ever done it the way I did it?

Keller: I don't think. I really do think your path was really unique.

DDP: If you take the fact that I'm a three-time World Champion, you go back and look at that, and there's absolutely no one. If that doesn't at some point get me in the Hall of Fame, I don't know what would.

Keller: So you got to wrestle Curt Hennig. This is where I get really curious. The first time you're getting in the ring with Curt Hennig, here's a guy who knew you from the beginning and where you came from. I'm asking you to go really deep here into how this works, how did you guys plan out your first match. How did he approach you or you approach him. What went on and what was going through your mind that you've made it to the point that you're going to be in a title match with Curt Hennig, that you're going to be at that level. It had to click more with him how far you had come at that point.

DDP: Yeah, and I think that's where him saying he hadn't seen anyone do what I did before. You know, when you're a job guy at 35 years old, you're a job guy for the rest of your life. When it came down to us working, I don't remember how it came together about him coming in and us getting together as far as the first match, because we knew he was just going to screw me in that match. So I can't remember how we put that all together. But when it came down to being in D.C. - you gotta remember, in 1997, I got it sitting right in my room, I've got the big trophy awarded to me by the fans for being the Wrestler of the Year in 1997 by Pro Wrestling Illustrated. They had me two years at no. 4. I was up there. I couldn't wait to work with him. This is a dream. Never mind he's going to put me over. Are you kidding? It was a huge honor. So when I walked into that match and said, "What do you want to do, bro?" I put it out there. I'm not going to say, "Okay, Curt, here's what we're going to do." I'm respectful. After I've worked with you a few times, I'll go, "What do you think about this?" I have this amazing match which happens to be featured on the "Best of Nitro" DVD, a World Title match. It wasn't even the World Title, actually. It was another of the great matches we had together. He said, "Diamond, this is Nitro. It's not the pay-per-view." I said, "And?" He said, "I know, you gotta give it all every night." (laughs) So I was laughing. But with Curt, he knew the things I did, I knew the things he did, and then it was just how do we tell the story. And some of the things - and I'll get to this with [Hulk] Hogan later - it's like, "Here, catch my boot. Now spin me. Because if you don't spin me the right way, I'm never gonna get around in time. You've gotta spin like a cork into the ground away from it, because I've had guys take me and throw me the wrong way." I thought, "Oh, God, this is going to be a cluster." (laughs)

So going over it with him, and I'll never forget that day because me and Goldberg were in the back, a group of guys wanted to meet us both, so they brought us to this one section. Here comes these twelve stock brokers and bankers. All of in their 30s and 40s and 50s. They might as well have been 7, 8, and 9. That's how over being in that spot was. I watch that stuff now because they're doing the very best of Nitro, they sent me everything. It looks great. It really does. I critique the hell out of myself. If I think something is a little ehh, I don't like it. I won't watch it again. I know I screwed that up. I haven't seen any of my wrap-arounds I've done so far. I'm just over the first half of the six DVD set. I'm really happy with the stuff I did. I think the storylines they told, I think they did a really good job.

Keller: So you wrestle Curt, and then after the match is that when you got some great feedback, too?

DDP: We had the people so good. And that was Christmas of '97. It was like living the dream at a level you never dared dream it. Afterward, sure, we talked about it and thought this is great, blah blah blah. We could have changed something here. We knew we weren't done working. We knew we were definitely going to get back together at some point or wherever. It was very favorable. He gave me some insight. I don't remember exactly what they were, but being able to be in the ring with Perfect, he wasn't the same guy who was in WWE because he was so much more beat up at this time. So considering knowing how beat up he was at that time, I thought it was amazing. I stole stuff from him and made it my own, little things that he did that I thought were amazing in the ring.

[Torch photo credit Wade Keller (c) PWTorch.com]

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