Curt Hennig Tribute Thread
04-19-2014
, 07:48 PM
Curt Hennig, born in 1958, first entered the wrestling world in 1979. His father, Larry "The Axe" Hennig, had paved a way for him, and the beginning of Curt's career overlapped with the end of his father's as the two were aligned and sporadically teamed together in the early pre-WWF years.
ITT I will include the following:
*Significant events in Curt's career.
*Cool time capsules, such as matches against other industry legends, even if the match wasn't great.
*All PPV matches that he participated in.
*Great and/or historic non-PPV matches that he participated in.
From 1979-1982, as best I can tell, Curt worked some independent shows in Wisconsin, Colorado, and western Canada. I can find no video footage of any of the above. He also jobbed a bit for WWF under his own name (and not Mr. Perfect obviously). My first video footage comes from 1982, Portland, Oregon, the epicenter of the NWA's Pacific Northwest territory.
04-19-2014
, 07:59 PM
Portland Wrestling Debut
Date: April 10, 1982
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk7Uf3nCqwk
This is the earliest televised footage of Hennig that I can find. He originally came on as the ally and tag team partner of his father, Larry "The Axe" Hennig. Pretty standard promo for the two of them to introduce themselves here.
Date: April 10, 1982
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk7Uf3nCqwk
This is the earliest televised footage of Hennig that I can find. He originally came on as the ally and tag team partner of his father, Larry "The Axe" Hennig. Pretty standard promo for the two of them to introduce themselves here.
04-19-2014
, 08:00 PM
April 27, 1982: Curt & Larry Hennig win tag titles
In a match that I cannot find footage of, Curt & Larry Hennig won the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Titles from Rip Oliver & Matt Borne (Borne went on to become Doink the clown). This was Curt's first title in professional wrestling.
In a match that I cannot find footage of, Curt & Larry Hennig won the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Titles from Rip Oliver & Matt Borne (Borne went on to become Doink the clown). This was Curt's first title in professional wrestling.
04-19-2014
, 08:06 PM
AWA Starcage '85 - AWA Tag Team Titles: Road Warriors w/ Paul Ellering (c) vs. Curt Hennig & Larry Hennig
Date: April 21, 1985
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-_jZGvuiSk
The Match: The Road Warriors were still heels at this point. In terms of their career, their heel run didn't last long, as the crowd warmed to them quickly and forced a face turn. Curt & Larry Hennig went by the moniker "Double Axe Attack" when they teamed up.
Larry starts against Hawk, and they struggle over power holds for a while until Larry tags Curt in. Curt is able to hang with both Road Warriors for a bit, but they eventually take control and isolate him to their half of the ring.
The heat sequence takes a decent bit of time, but Curt finally makes the hot tag to Larry, who cleans up both Road Warriors and then tags back out to Curt for a top rope missile dropkick that floors Animal. Curt goes for the cover but it gets broken up unnoticed by the official when Paul Ellering pulls Curt off. Match devolves into chaos here, as Larry runs in and pulls Ellering in to attack him. The referee stops the match and disqualifies the Hennigs because Larry pulled him into the ring? Huh. Dumb ending, I've never seen a DQ for that, though I suppose it helps explain Curt's actions as a guest referee at WrestleMania X nine years later.
Result: Road Warriors via DQ
Rating: Meh. Heat segment drags on for too long, and while the ending is a decent way to build up a feud, it's not what you like to see on a title match at a PPV/Special Event. 1.25 stars out of 5.
Date: April 21, 1985
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-_jZGvuiSk
The Match: The Road Warriors were still heels at this point. In terms of their career, their heel run didn't last long, as the crowd warmed to them quickly and forced a face turn. Curt & Larry Hennig went by the moniker "Double Axe Attack" when they teamed up.
Larry starts against Hawk, and they struggle over power holds for a while until Larry tags Curt in. Curt is able to hang with both Road Warriors for a bit, but they eventually take control and isolate him to their half of the ring.
The heat sequence takes a decent bit of time, but Curt finally makes the hot tag to Larry, who cleans up both Road Warriors and then tags back out to Curt for a top rope missile dropkick that floors Animal. Curt goes for the cover but it gets broken up unnoticed by the official when Paul Ellering pulls Curt off. Match devolves into chaos here, as Larry runs in and pulls Ellering in to attack him. The referee stops the match and disqualifies the Hennigs because Larry pulled him into the ring? Huh. Dumb ending, I've never seen a DQ for that, though I suppose it helps explain Curt's actions as a guest referee at WrestleMania X nine years later.
Result: Road Warriors via DQ
Rating: Meh. Heat segment drags on for too long, and while the ending is a decent way to build up a feud, it's not what you like to see on a title match at a PPV/Special Event. 1.25 stars out of 5.
04-19-2014
, 08:07 PM
Non-Title Match: Jimmy Garvin & "Mr. Electricity" Steve Regal w/ Precious (c) vs. Curt Hennig & "The Coyote" Scott Hall
Date: November 26, 1985
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UB1cnrli9gs
The Match: Sorry to disappoint, but this Steve Regal isn't the same man who wrestled as Steven Regal in WCW and then William Regal in WWE. He's some other guy. This is the Jimmy Garvin of Freebirds fame though.
Hennig quickly falls into face-in-peril mode. As Garvin works him over, Regal undoes the turnbuckle pad in his corner from the apron. I'm supposing that will come into play later, but in the meantime Hennig gets busted open by Garvin. I couldn't see an obvious blading spot so it could have been hard way.
Curt finally makes the hot tag to Hall. Hall fights back and forth with Regal, but at a point when the referee gets distracted, Garvin takes some sort of signature spray bottle from Precious and goes to spray it in Hall's eyes. Hall escapes and Regal gets blinded by it instead. Hall delivers a running bulldog and gets the 1-2-3 for a big pop.
Result: Curt Hennig & Scott Hall via pinfall when Hall pins Regal (9:30)
Rating: Not a technical classic, but not too bad. The crowd was certainly into it and it was a good way to test run Hennig & Hall as future champions. 2 stars out of 5.
Date: November 26, 1985
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UB1cnrli9gs
The Match: Sorry to disappoint, but this Steve Regal isn't the same man who wrestled as Steven Regal in WCW and then William Regal in WWE. He's some other guy. This is the Jimmy Garvin of Freebirds fame though.
Hennig quickly falls into face-in-peril mode. As Garvin works him over, Regal undoes the turnbuckle pad in his corner from the apron. I'm supposing that will come into play later, but in the meantime Hennig gets busted open by Garvin. I couldn't see an obvious blading spot so it could have been hard way.
Curt finally makes the hot tag to Hall. Hall fights back and forth with Regal, but at a point when the referee gets distracted, Garvin takes some sort of signature spray bottle from Precious and goes to spray it in Hall's eyes. Hall escapes and Regal gets blinded by it instead. Hall delivers a running bulldog and gets the 1-2-3 for a big pop.
Result: Curt Hennig & Scott Hall via pinfall when Hall pins Regal (9:30)
Rating: Not a technical classic, but not too bad. The crowd was certainly into it and it was a good way to test run Hennig & Hall as future champions. 2 stars out of 5.
04-19-2014
, 08:07 PM
Hennig & Hall win AWA Tag Team Titles
Looking high and low, I simply could not find this title win anywhere on video…but on January 18, 1986, about seven weeks after the non-title win that Curt and Scott scored over Garvin & Regal, they got a rematch with the titles on the line and won the belts.
Looking high and low, I simply could not find this title win anywhere on video…but on January 18, 1986, about seven weeks after the non-title win that Curt and Scott scored over Garvin & Regal, they got a rematch with the titles on the line and won the belts.
04-19-2014
, 08:08 PM
AWA Rage in the Cage - AWA World Tag Team Titles: Curt Hennig & Scott Hall (c) vs. Boris Zhukov & The Barbarian w/ The Sheik
Date: April 28, 1986
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ3Q_oRH6bE
The Match: This is the same Boris Zhukov that later teamed with Nikolai Volkoff, but The Barbarian in AWA isn't the future tag partner of The Warlord and Haku. This was actually Scott Nord, who went on to a brief run as The Berzerker in WWF. There's notable lack of Huss Huss Huss in this match.
Hennig & Hall are quite over here, and the crowd is into this from the bell. Hall and the Barbarian start things out and trade some power offense. Both of their arsenals are pretty limited (Hall was still pretty raw in these days, to no surprise since he took a year or so even into his WWF run to start being any good in the ring), but the action is still quick-paced with both guys trying hard. Both men eventually tag out, and Boris takes the brunt of a lot of Hennig/Hall double-teaming between frequent tags.
Zhukov is finally able to tag out to Barbarian, but Barbarian gets dropkicked into the ropes and spills over them. The referee doesn't see it and it seems incidental, so no DQ (yes AWA was another company that enforced that rule about throwing over the top). An awkward spot comes up late in the match where a bell rings, the referee heads out to find out WTF is going on, and the ring announcer ends up saying that the timekeeper made a mistake and the match would continue. No idea what happened there.
And then a couple of minutes later, Boris gets Hennig up over his shoulder in a backbreaker position, Barbarian comes off the top and hits Hennig in that position, and he has he does that the bell rings again. What on earth. So it was a time limit draw that just got called too early? No, seemingly they award the match to Hennig & Hall for no reason whatsoever. Even that much is a bit unclear though, since the ring announcer's mic only kicks in halfway through his announcement. What a mess of an ending after a decent match.
Result: Hennig & Hall via random bell and arbitrary decision?
Rating: Uhhh…well it was going to be at least a two-star thing, but that bizarre finish probably has to drop it to 1.5 stars out of 5.
Date: April 28, 1986
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ3Q_oRH6bE
The Match: This is the same Boris Zhukov that later teamed with Nikolai Volkoff, but The Barbarian in AWA isn't the future tag partner of The Warlord and Haku. This was actually Scott Nord, who went on to a brief run as The Berzerker in WWF. There's notable lack of Huss Huss Huss in this match.
Hennig & Hall are quite over here, and the crowd is into this from the bell. Hall and the Barbarian start things out and trade some power offense. Both of their arsenals are pretty limited (Hall was still pretty raw in these days, to no surprise since he took a year or so even into his WWF run to start being any good in the ring), but the action is still quick-paced with both guys trying hard. Both men eventually tag out, and Boris takes the brunt of a lot of Hennig/Hall double-teaming between frequent tags.
Zhukov is finally able to tag out to Barbarian, but Barbarian gets dropkicked into the ropes and spills over them. The referee doesn't see it and it seems incidental, so no DQ (yes AWA was another company that enforced that rule about throwing over the top). An awkward spot comes up late in the match where a bell rings, the referee heads out to find out WTF is going on, and the ring announcer ends up saying that the timekeeper made a mistake and the match would continue. No idea what happened there.
And then a couple of minutes later, Boris gets Hennig up over his shoulder in a backbreaker position, Barbarian comes off the top and hits Hennig in that position, and he has he does that the bell rings again. What on earth. So it was a time limit draw that just got called too early? No, seemingly they award the match to Hennig & Hall for no reason whatsoever. Even that much is a bit unclear though, since the ring announcer's mic only kicks in halfway through his announcement. What a mess of an ending after a decent match.
Result: Hennig & Hall via random bell and arbitrary decision?
Rating: Uhhh…well it was going to be at least a two-star thing, but that bizarre finish probably has to drop it to 1.5 stars out of 5.
04-19-2014
, 08:10 PM
AWA World Heavyweight Title: Nick Bockwinkel (c) vs. Curt Hennig
Date: November 21, 1986
Link: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1n...a-part-1_sport
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1n...a-part-2_sport
The Match: As the match is about to get going, Bockwinkel offers a handshake which Hennig accepts, and then Bockwinkel dropkicks Hennig in the back as soon as Hennig goes to return to his corner. This is a babyface vs. babyface match, so the announcers are surprised by the move, but it basically is brought across as the veteran with a trick up his sleeve. I get the sense that this match has a similar dynamic to Piper vs. Bret at WrestleMania VIII, with the young up-and-comer being the purer babyface than the grizzled vet is.
This match is exceptionally long so I won't write up the entire thing; I'll just give you what stands out. Much of the first 10 minutes is spent on mat wrestling. I assume this is the slow build to a fever pitch, and if so it's done exceptionally well. The old school announce crew, who I don't recognize, also does a great job describing the psychology of various holds. This type of match isn't for everyone, but if you like the slow-paced smart chain wrestling it's pretty elite.
At about the 24:00 mark, Bockwinkel attempts to roll up Hennig with the aid of pulling Hennig's tights, and then when he only gets a two-count he bails to the outside to regroup. The announcers speculate that perhaps he is gassed, and that while he has the experience on his side, Hennig's youth may give him the edge if the match wears on for a long time. Bock is able to regain control and continue to work Hennig's knee over with several painful leg holds. Hennig breaks free close to the 30:00 mark and gets some offense in, but is clearly limping to sell the holds, and then his attempt to bury a knee into Bockwinkel's leg results in his own leg giving out and him crumpling. Bockwinkel seizes the opportunity and places him in an Indian deathlock. Great stuff.
As the 30:00 announcement is made, the match intensifies into more of a brawl. Bockwinkel slaps on a sleeperhold, but as Hennig attempts to escape he accidentally lunges into the referee and all three men bump to the outside. Hennig and Bock brawl a bit on the outside, but both are fatigued and slowed down. The play-by-play announcer comments that he thinks this may be the longest that Bockwinkel has gone in a single match. Bockwinkel in fact asks the timekeeper how much time is left. This sparks the ring announcer to announce that 37:00 had elapsed. The announcers use that to further play up that the champ is in trouble, that he seems to be looking for the escape in a time limit draw and we're not really close to it.
Bockwinkel hits his biggest spot of the match thus far just past 40:00 when he connects squarely on a piledriver to Hennig. He only gets a two-count though, due to Hennig's foot getting to the rope during the pin attempt.
Back-and-forth for a bit. Both men muster enough energy to lay in a blow but can't really follow up because they're tired. Hennig gets Bockwinkel on his back and then lays in what is almost a low blow with a legdrop through Bockwinkel's legs, but the referee rules that the blow is high enough to be on the champion's abdomen. Hennig then cinches in a Boston crab as the ring announcer calls out 45:00, and this is a believable move as an endgame move given how spent both wrestlers are.
The announcers sell that Bockwinkel will probably be done here if he can't get the ropes, as it's probably impossible for him to break the hold in as tired of a condition as he's in. However, the champ manages the strength for a pushup and manages to break the hold through sheer strength and determination, and actually pushes Hennig over into a pinning combo. That only gets a two-count, as Hennig reverses into his own pinning combo, but they're too close to the ropes and Bockwinkel is able to escape the pin with a rope break.
Hennig lays in a couple of vicious loud chops to Bockwinkel's chest, then attempts a small package that only gets two. I'm telling you, the storytelling here and the announcing by the play-by-play and color really do make these submission/pin attempts believable. It helps immeasurably that in AWA not everything had to end on a finisher. Hennig hits his own piledriver, but Bockwinkel is also able to stretch his leg just far enough for a rope break.
At just past 50:00, Hennig attempts a step-over toehold, but Bockwinkel is able to get a foot into Hennig's ass and shove him through the corner and into the steel post. Hennig blades on the outside as Bockwinkel recovers inside, and when Hennig gets back up he's opened up. Honestly, I like going the full way to color here, but this move wasn't a great spot for blood because he didn't come close to taking a direct blow to the head.
Bockwinkel sees blood, and from the inside of the ring he repeatedly slams Hennig's head into the apron and won't allow him back inside. He's clearly trying to stall somewhat, as he again asks the timekeeper how much time is left. Hennig finally makes his way back in, and Bockwinkel promptly sends him into the corner and actually slams him over top of the turnbuckle and into another post. Hennig's blood, which started off somewhat modestly, now heads toward crimson mask territory as the ring announcer indicates that seven minutes remain in the time limit.
Hennig can hardly keep his footing and doesn't seem to know where he is, but after Bockwinkel floors him with a few right hands, he still manages to kick out at two. The announcers note that in a non-title match this match would clearly be stopped, but that referees are under orders to let matches go on as long as they possibly can if the title is on the line. Just as the referee is checking further on Hennig, he unleashes a desperation flurry of offense, hitting a couple of strong blows on Bockwinkel but only in spurts as he's out on his feet. He's really bleeding hard now, and actually drips quite a bit of his blood on the champion. At some point, Bockwinkel gets busted open himself as well; tough to tell at first if it was his own blood or not, but on one shot I saw a pretty deep gash and I'm confident from that he was opened up as well.
As it is announced that three minutes remain, one of the broadcast crew at ringside notes to the color guy that either Hennig or Bockwinkel lost a tooth in the ring. Like…I know how this match ends, and I'm STILL marking out and getting into the pin attempts.
Hennig manages to wrap Bockwinkel into the figure-four. This is probably his last-ditch effort to win before time runs out. He has it cinched in well and has Bockwinkel in serious trouble. Bockwinkel screams in pain as the ring announcer updates that there are 30 seconds left. The champion is right on the verge of having to submit, but manages to hold on until the bell rings and the time limit is called. Bockwinkel lays in the corner, unable to get up from all the pain the figure-four inflicted on him, as the referee hands him his title belt back. He remains champion.
Result: Time limit draw (60:00)
Rating: This is a ****ing masterpiece. Two legends of the industry just telling an epic story of a battle where both left absolutely everything they had on the mat. I can say that it isn't for everyone, and that you have to be able to appreciate good old school mat wrestling and psychology in order to fully love this one - that, and you have to set aside 60 minutes beforehand, which took me a while before I finally got around to it - but it really, really delivers. I struggled with whether or not to give this one the full five stars, but I'm going to go ahead and pull the trigger on a rating I rarely give out. 5 stars out of 5.
Date: November 21, 1986
Link: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1n...a-part-1_sport
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1n...a-part-2_sport
The Match: As the match is about to get going, Bockwinkel offers a handshake which Hennig accepts, and then Bockwinkel dropkicks Hennig in the back as soon as Hennig goes to return to his corner. This is a babyface vs. babyface match, so the announcers are surprised by the move, but it basically is brought across as the veteran with a trick up his sleeve. I get the sense that this match has a similar dynamic to Piper vs. Bret at WrestleMania VIII, with the young up-and-comer being the purer babyface than the grizzled vet is.
This match is exceptionally long so I won't write up the entire thing; I'll just give you what stands out. Much of the first 10 minutes is spent on mat wrestling. I assume this is the slow build to a fever pitch, and if so it's done exceptionally well. The old school announce crew, who I don't recognize, also does a great job describing the psychology of various holds. This type of match isn't for everyone, but if you like the slow-paced smart chain wrestling it's pretty elite.
At about the 24:00 mark, Bockwinkel attempts to roll up Hennig with the aid of pulling Hennig's tights, and then when he only gets a two-count he bails to the outside to regroup. The announcers speculate that perhaps he is gassed, and that while he has the experience on his side, Hennig's youth may give him the edge if the match wears on for a long time. Bock is able to regain control and continue to work Hennig's knee over with several painful leg holds. Hennig breaks free close to the 30:00 mark and gets some offense in, but is clearly limping to sell the holds, and then his attempt to bury a knee into Bockwinkel's leg results in his own leg giving out and him crumpling. Bockwinkel seizes the opportunity and places him in an Indian deathlock. Great stuff.
As the 30:00 announcement is made, the match intensifies into more of a brawl. Bockwinkel slaps on a sleeperhold, but as Hennig attempts to escape he accidentally lunges into the referee and all three men bump to the outside. Hennig and Bock brawl a bit on the outside, but both are fatigued and slowed down. The play-by-play announcer comments that he thinks this may be the longest that Bockwinkel has gone in a single match. Bockwinkel in fact asks the timekeeper how much time is left. This sparks the ring announcer to announce that 37:00 had elapsed. The announcers use that to further play up that the champ is in trouble, that he seems to be looking for the escape in a time limit draw and we're not really close to it.
Bockwinkel hits his biggest spot of the match thus far just past 40:00 when he connects squarely on a piledriver to Hennig. He only gets a two-count though, due to Hennig's foot getting to the rope during the pin attempt.
Back-and-forth for a bit. Both men muster enough energy to lay in a blow but can't really follow up because they're tired. Hennig gets Bockwinkel on his back and then lays in what is almost a low blow with a legdrop through Bockwinkel's legs, but the referee rules that the blow is high enough to be on the champion's abdomen. Hennig then cinches in a Boston crab as the ring announcer calls out 45:00, and this is a believable move as an endgame move given how spent both wrestlers are.
The announcers sell that Bockwinkel will probably be done here if he can't get the ropes, as it's probably impossible for him to break the hold in as tired of a condition as he's in. However, the champ manages the strength for a pushup and manages to break the hold through sheer strength and determination, and actually pushes Hennig over into a pinning combo. That only gets a two-count, as Hennig reverses into his own pinning combo, but they're too close to the ropes and Bockwinkel is able to escape the pin with a rope break.
Hennig lays in a couple of vicious loud chops to Bockwinkel's chest, then attempts a small package that only gets two. I'm telling you, the storytelling here and the announcing by the play-by-play and color really do make these submission/pin attempts believable. It helps immeasurably that in AWA not everything had to end on a finisher. Hennig hits his own piledriver, but Bockwinkel is also able to stretch his leg just far enough for a rope break.
At just past 50:00, Hennig attempts a step-over toehold, but Bockwinkel is able to get a foot into Hennig's ass and shove him through the corner and into the steel post. Hennig blades on the outside as Bockwinkel recovers inside, and when Hennig gets back up he's opened up. Honestly, I like going the full way to color here, but this move wasn't a great spot for blood because he didn't come close to taking a direct blow to the head.
Bockwinkel sees blood, and from the inside of the ring he repeatedly slams Hennig's head into the apron and won't allow him back inside. He's clearly trying to stall somewhat, as he again asks the timekeeper how much time is left. Hennig finally makes his way back in, and Bockwinkel promptly sends him into the corner and actually slams him over top of the turnbuckle and into another post. Hennig's blood, which started off somewhat modestly, now heads toward crimson mask territory as the ring announcer indicates that seven minutes remain in the time limit.
Hennig can hardly keep his footing and doesn't seem to know where he is, but after Bockwinkel floors him with a few right hands, he still manages to kick out at two. The announcers note that in a non-title match this match would clearly be stopped, but that referees are under orders to let matches go on as long as they possibly can if the title is on the line. Just as the referee is checking further on Hennig, he unleashes a desperation flurry of offense, hitting a couple of strong blows on Bockwinkel but only in spurts as he's out on his feet. He's really bleeding hard now, and actually drips quite a bit of his blood on the champion. At some point, Bockwinkel gets busted open himself as well; tough to tell at first if it was his own blood or not, but on one shot I saw a pretty deep gash and I'm confident from that he was opened up as well.
As it is announced that three minutes remain, one of the broadcast crew at ringside notes to the color guy that either Hennig or Bockwinkel lost a tooth in the ring. Like…I know how this match ends, and I'm STILL marking out and getting into the pin attempts.
Hennig manages to wrap Bockwinkel into the figure-four. This is probably his last-ditch effort to win before time runs out. He has it cinched in well and has Bockwinkel in serious trouble. Bockwinkel screams in pain as the ring announcer updates that there are 30 seconds left. The champion is right on the verge of having to submit, but manages to hold on until the bell rings and the time limit is called. Bockwinkel lays in the corner, unable to get up from all the pain the figure-four inflicted on him, as the referee hands him his title belt back. He remains champion.
Result: Time limit draw (60:00)
Rating: This is a ****ing masterpiece. Two legends of the industry just telling an epic story of a battle where both left absolutely everything they had on the mat. I can say that it isn't for everyone, and that you have to be able to appreciate good old school mat wrestling and psychology in order to fully love this one - that, and you have to set aside 60 minutes beforehand, which took me a while before I finally got around to it - but it really, really delivers. I struggled with whether or not to give this one the full five stars, but I'm going to go ahead and pull the trigger on a rating I rarely give out. 5 stars out of 5.
04-19-2014
, 08:13 PM
Superclash 2: AWA World Heavyweight Title - Nick Bockwinkel (c) vs. Curt Hennig
Date: May 2, 1987
Link: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1p...t-hennig_sport
Background: In November 1986, Bockwinkel and Hennig fought to a time limit draw. On Christmas 1986, Hennig got screwed by a referee's decision to disqualify him. Still in pursuit of the world title, here's Hennig's next title shot.
The Match: Larry Zbyszko, during ring announcements, grabs the mic and formally challenges the winner of this match to a title match. Then he hangs around ringside for the duration.
The trajectory of this title chase makes it seem like Bockwinkel would have organically become heel, but the crowd and the announcers aren't exactly tipping their hand on that front so I'm not sure what he is.
The two men go each other at a faster pace earlier in this one, since they don't have to pace themselves for a 60-minute war this time. Still mat wrestling, but there is a series of quick takedowns and armdrags mixed in so it's a bit more action early than the classic from November had. Sick spot about eight minutes in when Hennig runs in and tries to lunge at Nick Bockwinkel in the corner, Bockwinkel dodges, and Hennig runs all the way through the middle turnbuckle and instead of hitting the post, goes all the way outside and hits the steel guardrail.
While much of the action here is solid and enjoyable, a long time passes without another significant high spot. At about 16:00, Hennig does lock in the same figure-four that he was seemingly about to win with when time ran out on him in November.
Bockwinkel pulls the referee down as he flails to get out, but does not get disqualified for it. He then reaches the ropes for a rope break, at which point…the ref kicks his hand off the rope. Then he reaches out again with his other hand, grabs the rope, and the ref kicks his hand off. Wat. Finally he gets a hold of it with both hands and the ref enforces the break? I don't know WTF was going on there.
Nice spot around 19:00 when the two simultaneously clock each other hard with right hands. Bockwinkel is first to recover and gets control. He sends Hennig in for a vicious corner bump and then covers but only gets two.
The ending comes about super abruptly. As Hennig is recovering near the ropes, Zbyszko comes over and says something to him. Hennig hits Bockwinkel with a hard but standard-looking right hand, and then covers for the three-count. What? That's it, that's how you blow off six months of chasing the title? The crowd pops massively for Hennig's win.
Zbyszko comes in and shakes Hennig's hand as Hennig puts the belt on. Some official runs in and tries to tell the referee something, and…oh, it turns out that Larry had handed Hennig a roll of quarters, and THAT was in his right hand when he clocked Bockwinkel to win. So this was some terribly-executed attempt at a heel turn, and even the announce team wasn't privy to it since they're as confused as I am. Hennig then gets stripped of the belt on the spot until the championship committee has gotten a chance to review the tape. Man, what a cluster**** this whole thing was. From what I've read though, this was pretty standard AWA, they just couldn't stand to do clean finishes.
After a couple of weeks the championship committee ruled the result valid and Hennig was the champion.
Result: Hennig via pinfall, new champion…eventually (23:34)
Rating: Well this was pretty good until it went full Russo, which hurts it a lot. I'll still be nice and give it 3 stars out of 5, but shame on AWA for botching this ending that badly.
Date: May 2, 1987
Link: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1p...t-hennig_sport
Background: In November 1986, Bockwinkel and Hennig fought to a time limit draw. On Christmas 1986, Hennig got screwed by a referee's decision to disqualify him. Still in pursuit of the world title, here's Hennig's next title shot.
The Match: Larry Zbyszko, during ring announcements, grabs the mic and formally challenges the winner of this match to a title match. Then he hangs around ringside for the duration.
The trajectory of this title chase makes it seem like Bockwinkel would have organically become heel, but the crowd and the announcers aren't exactly tipping their hand on that front so I'm not sure what he is.
The two men go each other at a faster pace earlier in this one, since they don't have to pace themselves for a 60-minute war this time. Still mat wrestling, but there is a series of quick takedowns and armdrags mixed in so it's a bit more action early than the classic from November had. Sick spot about eight minutes in when Hennig runs in and tries to lunge at Nick Bockwinkel in the corner, Bockwinkel dodges, and Hennig runs all the way through the middle turnbuckle and instead of hitting the post, goes all the way outside and hits the steel guardrail.
While much of the action here is solid and enjoyable, a long time passes without another significant high spot. At about 16:00, Hennig does lock in the same figure-four that he was seemingly about to win with when time ran out on him in November.
Bockwinkel pulls the referee down as he flails to get out, but does not get disqualified for it. He then reaches the ropes for a rope break, at which point…the ref kicks his hand off the rope. Then he reaches out again with his other hand, grabs the rope, and the ref kicks his hand off. Wat. Finally he gets a hold of it with both hands and the ref enforces the break? I don't know WTF was going on there.
Nice spot around 19:00 when the two simultaneously clock each other hard with right hands. Bockwinkel is first to recover and gets control. He sends Hennig in for a vicious corner bump and then covers but only gets two.
The ending comes about super abruptly. As Hennig is recovering near the ropes, Zbyszko comes over and says something to him. Hennig hits Bockwinkel with a hard but standard-looking right hand, and then covers for the three-count. What? That's it, that's how you blow off six months of chasing the title? The crowd pops massively for Hennig's win.
Zbyszko comes in and shakes Hennig's hand as Hennig puts the belt on. Some official runs in and tries to tell the referee something, and…oh, it turns out that Larry had handed Hennig a roll of quarters, and THAT was in his right hand when he clocked Bockwinkel to win. So this was some terribly-executed attempt at a heel turn, and even the announce team wasn't privy to it since they're as confused as I am. Hennig then gets stripped of the belt on the spot until the championship committee has gotten a chance to review the tape. Man, what a cluster**** this whole thing was. From what I've read though, this was pretty standard AWA, they just couldn't stand to do clean finishes.
After a couple of weeks the championship committee ruled the result valid and Hennig was the champion.
Result: Hennig via pinfall, new champion…eventually (23:34)
Rating: Well this was pretty good until it went full Russo, which hurts it a lot. I'll still be nice and give it 3 stars out of 5, but shame on AWA for botching this ending that badly.
04-19-2014
, 08:15 PM
AWA World Heavyweight Title: Jerry Lawler (c) vs. Curt Hennig w/ Madusa Miceli
Date: July 16, 1988
Link: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1p...t-hennig_sport
Background: Lawler won the title from Hennig a couple of months previous, and I believe this is the first and only return bout since then. Hennig was on his way out of the company, so this is the last AWA bout I have. Hennig and Lawler also appeared to carry on this feud in another company, CWA, but I can't find any history cliffs on that, just sporadic YouTube videos here and there.
The Match: The early part of this match is a lot of feeling out. The crowd is hotter than I've seen from these other AWA matches; both guys are hugely over. It feels like a slow build to another long match, and in fact the announcers talk about how the match could easily go 60 minutes, but it doesn't come close so it doesn't really justify the slow start.
Hennig posts Lawler hard on the outside, then forces him inside from the apron with a suplex. He covers and gets two. The announcers are pretty hilarious here, as they sell the garden-variety suplex like it's the most amazing move ever, and then actually yell about how exciting it is when Hennig then locks in an abdominal stretch.
As the referee is distracted, Madusa slips her spiked heel shoe to Hennig, who clobbers Lawler with it, but his pinning attempt still only gets two. The near-fall here kind of gets ****ed up because Lawler throws his shoulder up way early and kills the drama of a believable false finish. Hennig piledrives Lawler, but doesn't hook a leg upon pinning him and the predictable rope break occurs. Lawler makes a surprise roll-up on Hennig, but Madusa had distracted the referee so there's no count. Hennig back in with the Rick Rude neckbreaker on Lawler, but it's still only worth two.
Curt heads to the top rope, but Lawler arrives in time to crotch him on the corner. The King hits him with an atomic drop and then drops the strap on his singlet. He pounds away on Hennig, gets a running start and connects with a punch that Hennig sells like a hand grenade just exploded in front of him. Lawler to the second rope, attempts a fistdrop, but Hennig moves and the King gets a fist full of canvas. Hennig quickly locks in a sleeper hold. Lawler's hand drops twice but not three times.
As Lawler struggles to try to escape the sleeper, Hennig is riding his back and hanging on, which causes Lawler to toss him off, over the top rope, and that causes a disqualification. Lame. Hennig was gone shortly after this from AWA, but I can't find record of another match between he and Lawler. How do you not just put Lawler over clean there?
Result: Curt Hennig via DQ (16:30)
Rating: Ummm…it was decent. Like it basically all played out like the start to a potentially great match, and then suddenly ended in lame fashion. I'm certainly now a believer that an inability to ever just end a match cleanly was really a big problem for AWA. 3 stars out of 5 though, good work by both men.
Date: July 16, 1988
Link: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1p...t-hennig_sport
Background: Lawler won the title from Hennig a couple of months previous, and I believe this is the first and only return bout since then. Hennig was on his way out of the company, so this is the last AWA bout I have. Hennig and Lawler also appeared to carry on this feud in another company, CWA, but I can't find any history cliffs on that, just sporadic YouTube videos here and there.
The Match: The early part of this match is a lot of feeling out. The crowd is hotter than I've seen from these other AWA matches; both guys are hugely over. It feels like a slow build to another long match, and in fact the announcers talk about how the match could easily go 60 minutes, but it doesn't come close so it doesn't really justify the slow start.
Hennig posts Lawler hard on the outside, then forces him inside from the apron with a suplex. He covers and gets two. The announcers are pretty hilarious here, as they sell the garden-variety suplex like it's the most amazing move ever, and then actually yell about how exciting it is when Hennig then locks in an abdominal stretch.
As the referee is distracted, Madusa slips her spiked heel shoe to Hennig, who clobbers Lawler with it, but his pinning attempt still only gets two. The near-fall here kind of gets ****ed up because Lawler throws his shoulder up way early and kills the drama of a believable false finish. Hennig piledrives Lawler, but doesn't hook a leg upon pinning him and the predictable rope break occurs. Lawler makes a surprise roll-up on Hennig, but Madusa had distracted the referee so there's no count. Hennig back in with the Rick Rude neckbreaker on Lawler, but it's still only worth two.
Curt heads to the top rope, but Lawler arrives in time to crotch him on the corner. The King hits him with an atomic drop and then drops the strap on his singlet. He pounds away on Hennig, gets a running start and connects with a punch that Hennig sells like a hand grenade just exploded in front of him. Lawler to the second rope, attempts a fistdrop, but Hennig moves and the King gets a fist full of canvas. Hennig quickly locks in a sleeper hold. Lawler's hand drops twice but not three times.
As Lawler struggles to try to escape the sleeper, Hennig is riding his back and hanging on, which causes Lawler to toss him off, over the top rope, and that causes a disqualification. Lame. Hennig was gone shortly after this from AWA, but I can't find record of another match between he and Lawler. How do you not just put Lawler over clean there?
Result: Curt Hennig via DQ (16:30)
Rating: Ummm…it was decent. Like it basically all played out like the start to a potentially great match, and then suddenly ended in lame fashion. I'm certainly now a believer that an inability to ever just end a match cleanly was really a big problem for AWA. 3 stars out of 5 though, good work by both men.
04-19-2014
, 08:18 PM
Survivor Series '88 - Survivor Match: Andre the Giant, Dino Bravo, Rick Rude, Mr. Perfect, & Harley Race vs. Jake Roberts, Jim Duggan, Tito Santana, Scott Casey, & Ken Patera
Date: November 24, 1988
Link: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xz2...port&start=340
Background: None to speak of. Perfect had just debuted and got thrown on as a token team member here.
The Match: Hey, if you transport the entire heel team either backward or forward to their prime, this was an absurdly stacked team. As it is, Andre and Race were woefully over the hill by this point, Rude was still well below what he would become, Perfect was a bit closer to his peak but not quite there, and Bravo…well, this probably was about his peak, but he's the one person on this team who was really never any good.
Perfect's first action comes in a brief exchange with each of Patera, Jake, and Tito before tagging out. The one thing I notice from watching some of Perfect's early action: his clotheslines kind of sucked. Like they were gator-armed and awkward. It's weird. This is the first I'm ever noticing that, so I'm guessing there's a decent chance it evolved over time.
Rude scores the first elimination of the match, pinning Patera after a Rude Awakening, so we're at 5-4. Scott Casey goes under to Bravo's side suplex right after; 5-3. So that largely gets rid of the outright jobbers posing as PPV performers. Tito sends Harley Race back into the 70's with a flying forearm and eliminates the first member of Andre's team. He is quickly thanked for his efforts by Andre himself though, who enters the match for the first time and polishes Tito off in short order. 4-2. After a short while, Duggan is in against Bravo and gets baited into using his 2x4 as a weapon right in front of the referee. Duggan is DQ'd, and Jake is up against all four remaining members of the heel team.
Jake manages to score one elimination, putting away Rude with a DDT, but then Andre runs a smart heel gambit to close things out. He goes in, chokes Jake out blatantly to the point that he gets disqualified for it, and Mr. Perfect is able to just stroll into the ring and pin Jake immediately after the DQ for the final elimination.
Result: Heel team wins, Mr. Perfect & Dino Bravo are remaining survivors (30:03)
Rating: In terms of Mr. Perfect stuff, this isn't much. He's never in for more than like 90 seconds at a time. Getting the final pin and being a survivor in his first PPV appearance was still a decent start though I guess. 1 star out of 5.
Date: November 24, 1988
Link: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xz2...port&start=340
Background: None to speak of. Perfect had just debuted and got thrown on as a token team member here.
The Match: Hey, if you transport the entire heel team either backward or forward to their prime, this was an absurdly stacked team. As it is, Andre and Race were woefully over the hill by this point, Rude was still well below what he would become, Perfect was a bit closer to his peak but not quite there, and Bravo…well, this probably was about his peak, but he's the one person on this team who was really never any good.
Perfect's first action comes in a brief exchange with each of Patera, Jake, and Tito before tagging out. The one thing I notice from watching some of Perfect's early action: his clotheslines kind of sucked. Like they were gator-armed and awkward. It's weird. This is the first I'm ever noticing that, so I'm guessing there's a decent chance it evolved over time.
Rude scores the first elimination of the match, pinning Patera after a Rude Awakening, so we're at 5-4. Scott Casey goes under to Bravo's side suplex right after; 5-3. So that largely gets rid of the outright jobbers posing as PPV performers. Tito sends Harley Race back into the 70's with a flying forearm and eliminates the first member of Andre's team. He is quickly thanked for his efforts by Andre himself though, who enters the match for the first time and polishes Tito off in short order. 4-2. After a short while, Duggan is in against Bravo and gets baited into using his 2x4 as a weapon right in front of the referee. Duggan is DQ'd, and Jake is up against all four remaining members of the heel team.
Jake manages to score one elimination, putting away Rude with a DDT, but then Andre runs a smart heel gambit to close things out. He goes in, chokes Jake out blatantly to the point that he gets disqualified for it, and Mr. Perfect is able to just stroll into the ring and pin Jake immediately after the DQ for the final elimination.
Result: Heel team wins, Mr. Perfect & Dino Bravo are remaining survivors (30:03)
Rating: In terms of Mr. Perfect stuff, this isn't much. He's never in for more than like 90 seconds at a time. Getting the final pin and being a survivor in his first PPV appearance was still a decent start though I guess. 1 star out of 5.
04-19-2014
, 08:20 PM
WrestleMania V: Mr. Perfect vs. The Blue Blazer
Date: April 2, 1989
Link: N/A
Background: Not much. They were just sticking Perfect in against whoever, which is also the same that can be said for Owen here. At least they had the sense to pit two of their better workers against each other as long as they otherwise lacked creative plans.
The Match: As foreshadowed in the last writeup, Perfect debuts the singlet that became his signature look for the rest of his career in this match. Gorilla marvels: "Wow, he LOOKS perfect!" Throw him into a singlet and into a match with Owen Hart, and maybe this Mr. Perfect thing will really take off. Jesse: "I went on record, Gorilla, I said this would be the sleeper match of the card. This is going to be a tremendous matchup." Nice job by the commentary team in putting these two guys over.
Watching these two wrestle allows me a glimpse of what it is to be Assani Fisher when the Redskins play the Ravens or whoever is his new favorite team I guess. Perfect disrespects the Blazer by slapping him early, but Blazer gets mad, gets some offense in, and then returns the slap.
Blazer's offense is way above what was mostly being done in the WWF at this time, and he takes it to Perfect as Gorilla and Jesse marvel and sell that Perfect's undefeated record is in danger. The momentum switches though, as Blazer goes for a top rope splash and takes Mr. Perfect's raised knees directly to the gut on the way down.
Match is back-and-forth the rest of the way, with Blazer getting a near-fall after a belly-to-belly suplex off the ropes and then getting an even nearer-fall on a crucifix pinning combo, but after he only gets two on that one he takes his eye off the ball and argues with the official. When he turns back around, Perfect wallops him with a big elbow to the face and then executes the Perfect-plex to win.
Result: Mr. Perfect via pinfall (5:38)
Rating: I only gave this 2.5 stars in the Owen tribute thread, but I enjoyed it more this time. I wonder if it's a function of watching a few bad Hennig WWF matches to start his career and just being thankful to see something solid, but in any case I'm going to up my rating of this to 3 stars out of 5. The shortage of time unfortunately hurts it though.
Date: April 2, 1989
Link: N/A
Background: Not much. They were just sticking Perfect in against whoever, which is also the same that can be said for Owen here. At least they had the sense to pit two of their better workers against each other as long as they otherwise lacked creative plans.
The Match: As foreshadowed in the last writeup, Perfect debuts the singlet that became his signature look for the rest of his career in this match. Gorilla marvels: "Wow, he LOOKS perfect!" Throw him into a singlet and into a match with Owen Hart, and maybe this Mr. Perfect thing will really take off. Jesse: "I went on record, Gorilla, I said this would be the sleeper match of the card. This is going to be a tremendous matchup." Nice job by the commentary team in putting these two guys over.
Watching these two wrestle allows me a glimpse of what it is to be Assani Fisher when the Redskins play the Ravens or whoever is his new favorite team I guess. Perfect disrespects the Blazer by slapping him early, but Blazer gets mad, gets some offense in, and then returns the slap.
Blazer's offense is way above what was mostly being done in the WWF at this time, and he takes it to Perfect as Gorilla and Jesse marvel and sell that Perfect's undefeated record is in danger. The momentum switches though, as Blazer goes for a top rope splash and takes Mr. Perfect's raised knees directly to the gut on the way down.
Match is back-and-forth the rest of the way, with Blazer getting a near-fall after a belly-to-belly suplex off the ropes and then getting an even nearer-fall on a crucifix pinning combo, but after he only gets two on that one he takes his eye off the ball and argues with the official. When he turns back around, Perfect wallops him with a big elbow to the face and then executes the Perfect-plex to win.
Result: Mr. Perfect via pinfall (5:38)
Rating: I only gave this 2.5 stars in the Owen tribute thread, but I enjoyed it more this time. I wonder if it's a function of watching a few bad Hennig WWF matches to start his career and just being thankful to see something solid, but in any case I'm going to up my rating of this to 3 stars out of 5. The shortage of time unfortunately hurts it though.