Posted on Feb 28, 2003               <<BACK TO NEWSBOARD

Courtesy of the Minnesota Sun Newspaper: Curt Hennig is remembered Curt Hennig portrayed a “bad boy” in the world of professional wrestling for more than 20 years. After his sudden death Feb. 10, the Robbinsdale native and Champlin resident is being remembered for his good side. “Curt would give his heart to you,” said Barry Darsow of Maple Grove, who met Hennig at Robbinsdale High School and worked with him in the wrestling business. “If he was your friend, he was your friend forever. He joked around, but he would do anything for you. I loved that guy. This is devastating.” Hennig, 44, was found dead in his hotel room on Feb. 10 in Brandon, Fla., hours before he was to do a wrestling show in Tampa. The cause of death is still being investigated. The funeral was Monday, Feb. 17, in Anoka. Hennig is survived by wife Leonice and children Joe, Amy, Katie and Hank. Memorials will go to establish a trust for the children. Information: 763-767-1000 (Washburn-McReavy Seman Chapel). “The truth is, Curt was a one-of-a-kind guy in the wrestling business,” said Jeff Jarrett, the current National Wrestling Association (NWA) heavyweight champion. Jarrett worked with Hennig for 15 years, recently as part of the NWA organization that started in June 2002 with weekly pay-per-view shows. “Curt was really a unique guy in and out of the ring,” said Jarrett. “He had his own style. Curt learned the fundamentals of his craft first and foremost, then he moved to the next level. He knew what worked in the ring and had the charisma and athletic ability to pull it off. He left his mark because he learned to respect the business.” Darsow played football with Hennig at Robbinsdale High in 1976, then they worked out together at The Gym in Golden Valley. Hennig encouraged Darsow to enter pro wrestling in the mid-1980s. Darsow started as Smash in a tag team known as Demolition. “I thought Curt was the greatest guy in the world when he gave me my first pair of wrestling tights,” said Darsow. “It turned out that he took the tights from his father’s dresser as one of his practical jokes. It’s not good to mess around with the Axe.” “The Axe” is Curt’s father Larry Hennig, a Robbinsdale native who had his own high-profile wrestling career. “The minute Curt stepped in the ring, it was the biggest thing in his life and he wanted to be good at it,” said Darsow. “He didn’t care what happened to him as long as he could put on a great show. When that crowd was there, he turned it on.” Another aspect of Hennig that Darsow will never forget was his competitiveness. “We were playing together at a celebrity golf tournament and we both claimed to have played the better round,” recalled Darsow. “The argument led to a challenge where we played another 18 holes until it was dark. We ended up in a tie. He was so competitive at anything he did, be it fishing or ping pong.” David Webber grew up in New Hope and graduated from Cooper High School. He now works in event operations for the NWA in Nashville, Tenn. “Everybody was shocked,” said Webber, who grew up as a Hennig fan. “No one expected to hear this one. When we got the call in the office everything stopped.” Hennig worked for several different wrestling organizations, including the Minneapolis-based American Wrestling Association (AWA). He joined the NWA in October 2002. “Curt did affect our [pay-per-view] buy rate,” said Webber. “He gave credibility to the organization and helped to build it up. “There is something to be said about experience,” added Webber. “Curt could wrestle a great match with anyone. He was one of the best at it.” A back injury kept Hennig out of action for much of the mid-1990s, but he resumed wrestling full time in the late ’90s. “I think Curt came back to wrestling because he simply loved the life of a wrestler and being around his friends every day,” said Webber. “Plus, traveling allowed him to play golf on some of the better courses around the country.” Webber said Hennig worked hard to get back in shape so he could continue doing something he loved. “A common thread for us was he liked to talk about home,” said Webber about their Robbinsdale-area roots. “He was a decent guy who was interested in your personal life.” Mick Karch of Crystal was a television announcer for the American Wrestling Association in late 1980s when Hennig was moving up the ranks. Karch still announces wrestling for a cable-access channel in St. Paul. “At one point Curt was the best in the business,” said Karch. “In 1989-90 there was no better performer in wrestling.” Hennig was a practical joker and great ribber, said Karch, who added that Hennig’s friends often responded in kind. “One day when Curt fell asleep on the flight home from a match, Ray Stevens shaved one eyebrow,” Karch recalled. “During the TV taping the next day he had to cover up with a bandage, acting like he was injured.” Karch said Hennig was fun to be around. “You never knew if he was pulling your leg,” Karch said. “He would look you in the eye and be dead serious about something that was outlandish, but you still believed it. When he walked away you could see the gleam in his eye and hear the little chuckle, so you knew you’ve been had.” Hennig started with Verne Gagne’s AWA organization in 1982 and moved to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 1988. He worked on and off for WWE until 2002. A story on the WWE’s Web site, www.wwe.com, quoted Hennig as saying his father never pressured him to get into the business. “We really never talked about the business around our house," Hennig said. "My dad went and did his job, and came back home, and we were a family. We separated the two." Prior to appearing on WWE television in 1988, Hennig was featured in several vignettes promoting his “Mr. Perfect” character. He was shown hitting home runs, throwing touchdowns, shooting bulls-eyes, pitching ringers with horseshoes and executing picture-perfect dives into a swimming pool. His upward climb continued in WWE when he became the Intercontinental champion. He held that title for 14 out of 17 months in 1990 and 1991. In the summer of 1991 Hennig suffered a freak injury during a match that nearly ended his career. "The turnbuckles weren't lined up right one time, and I hit real hard on the turnbuckles, and it bulged a disc in my back and broke my tailbone," Hennig said in the story on the WWE Web site. "My whole left leg went numb. I had actually gone so far as to cutting all my hair off, since I thought that was the end of the line for me." Over the next several years, Hennig spent some time in the ring and also did color commentary. He also worked for World Championship Wrestling (WCW), which had been WWE’s chief rival but was eventually purchased by WWE. Hennig returned to the WWE in 2002. In the WWE Web site story, Hennig said: “I've done some crazy things bumping around that ring, and some of the old-timers used to tell me, 'Hey, kid – by the time you're 40, you're going to be in a wheelchair.' I've been pretty lucky – I might be the luckiest guy ever in this business.”