wrestling / Video Reviews
Views from the Hawke’s Nest: The Life and Times of Mr. Perfect
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The Documentary:
This was the standard WWE documentary. It gave us the bullet points/cliff notes on Curt Hennig’s career with the primary focus being on his WWF run. It was both easy to watch and fun, and I hadn’t heard a lot of the stories told. As I almost always about these projects, it’s basically just a really effective vehicle for promoting Hennig as opposed to being a critical look at his career. That format/style is enjoyable enough to watch but never becomes truly satisfying.
Some Notes on The Life and Times of Mr. Perfect (just a handful of items that really caught my attention):
– Wade Boggs and Hennig bonded over killing animals for fun hunting and fishing.
– In a really touching moment, Boggs talked about considering Hennig his guardian angel after Hennig potentially saved his life during a (non-gun related) hunting accident.
– Bruce Pritchard exposed the business by introducing a montage of Perfect fucking up the vignettes!
– Everyone putting over his WCW run just felt so false considering how boring most of his matches were. Ross eventually conceded that he did not have a great run in so many words. He said Hennig liked not being in a big role and just having fun.
– His WWF return is actually brought up. Jericho said he worked to get a full-time job at the 2002 Rumble, and he got one. Got released a few months later.
– His death obviously lead to some emotional interviews. His father, widow, son (Curtis Axel), and Wade Boggs were particularly tough to watch.
The Matches:
WWF
November 21, 1982
Curt Hennig vs. Eddie Gilbert
Mechanically, these two were on point. The match just wasn’t doing anything for me. They picked up the pace for a few moments. The pace slowed again, as Hennig applied the dastardly headlock. Gilbert finally escaped, but he crashed to the floor on a failed corner charge. Gilbert recovered and nearly won with a sunset flip. The time limit expired shorty after that.
Quite frankly, neither guy showed me much here. It was a soulless affair that went on for way too long.
Match Rating: 1/2*
AWA Championship Wrestling
November 26, 1985
Curt Hennig & Scott Hall vs. Steve Regal & Jimmy Garvin
Not that Steve Regal. Scott Hall is completely unrecognizable compared to what he would like in the WWF and WCW. Garvin and Regal were the AWA Tag Team Champions at the time.
Regal and Garvin were accompanied by Precious. Hall and Hennig were in control at the start. After a decent amount of time, Hennig was cut off by Regal with an eye poke. Hennig was then worked over. Hennig eventually avoided a elbow from Regal and then tagged out to Hall. Hall made a big comeback. Garvin accidentaly shot spray into Regal’s face. Bulldog from Hall: 1…2…3
This match was just okay for a while, but it picked up a bit when Scott Hall entered the match towards the end. Did I really just type that? Watch this match here.
Match Rating: **1/2
Additional Bonus Content
WWE Hall of Fame
March 31, 2007
Wade Boggs inducted Mr. Perfect into the WWE Hall of Fame. He told the story of Perfect saving his life during after the hunting accident mentioned in the documentary. Boggs got choked up as he formally inducted Perfect and introduced the video. The Mr. Perfect Hall of Fame video package aired. Mr. Perfect’s family accepted the honor on his behalf. His widow gave the speech.
We then saw the music video for “Rap Is Crap (I Hate Rap).” Amazing stuff. WCW was the true King of Pro Wrestling.
We then got to see a ton (if not all ) of the Mr. Perfect vignettes. This DVD is rapidly approaching GOAT status. These are all pretty much amazing. I had never seen the ones with Lanny Poffo before. They seemed like a natural pair.
DISC 2
AWA Championship Wrestling
November 15, 1986
Nick Bockwinkel(c) vs. Curt Hennig [AWA Heavyweight Championship]
They shook hands, Hennig turned his back, and Nick immediately dropkicked Hennig. He almost got the win right away. Nick maintained control for a while. Hennig fought back and controlled Nick with a headscissors. Nick came back with a headlock. They fucked up a hip toss in the middle of a faster-paced sequence that allowed Hennig to get control. Hennig mostly used a hammerlock on Nick to maintain control. Nick started to fight back at one point, but Hennig got back control by going after the left arm. Nick got back control by going after the left leg. Nick later switched to his sleeper hold. Hennig’s attempt to escape caused a ref bump. Hennig started to come back. Hennig bashed Nick’s left leg on a ringpost. Nick came back and hit the piledriver: 1…2…Hennig got his foot on the ropes. Nick then went back after Hennig’s injured left leg. Both men continued to struggle through the match. With fifteen minutes remaining in the time limit, Hennig applied a Boston Crab. Nick survived that, but Hennig hit the piledriver: 1…2…foot on the ropes! Nick came back with a back suplex for a nearfall. Hennig came back with an O’Connor Roll and repeated elbow drops, but he couldn’t put the champ away. They traded a nearfall each. Nick applied a abdominal stretch. Hennig ended up on the floor and got busted open. Hennig’s face was covered in blood, and Nick targeted the face. Hennig came back with two AXES! Hennig was slowly getting covered in blood. He hit the axe two more times but he was too punch-drunk to properly make the pin. Three minutes remain! Hennig hit a vertical suplex for a nearfall. Hennig applied the figure four. Nick sat in the hold for a very long time. He survived the time limit without tapping,
I found this match to be interesting and entertaining for stretches of time, but overall it did not do enough for me to think it was great. The last five to ten minutes were superb though, as the visual of the bloody Hennig added a ton of drama to the proceedings. My biggest gripe is that there was no payoff to the many threads pulled on throughout the match. None of the limb meant much towards the end at all. Like most sixty minute matches that I have seen in my life, this was a mixed bag.
Match Rating: ***
WWF WrestleFest
July 31, 1988
Curt Hennig vs. Terry Taylor
Michael Cole and Mick Foley did commentary for this one. Foley explains that Taylor was another candidate for the Mr. Perfect character. The match was rather flat. Hennig got control early on. Hennig eventually caught him with a lariat: 1…2…3
This was not interesting at all. other than Mick Foley burying Terry Taylor the whole time.
Match Rating: 1/4*
WWF
April 24, 1989
Mr. Perfect vs. Bret Hart
I am not a huge fan of their higher profile matches that took place a few years after this one. I have no idea what this one will be like.
Bret had the advantage early on. Perfect decided to stall as he was wont to do. Perfect got control after finally returning to the ring. Perfect worked him over for a while, and I did not find it particularly gripping. Bret eventually kicked Perfect into a ringpost, which caused an arm injury. Bret went after that arm. Perfect managed hit a variation of the Samoan Drop. He got the O’Connor Roll, but Bret kicked him to the floor and then hit a pescado. Bret was building some momentum in the ring after that, but the time limit expired.
Bret asked for five more minutes. Perfect declined. Perfect attacked Bret from behind. Bret fought back though. Perfect was bumping around like a mad man. Too bad they didn’t work the match with the same sense of excitement or intensity.
This was JUST starting to get real good in the final two or three minutes. Then it ended in a time limit draw. The match was quite boring up until the final stretch.
Match Rating: **1/2
WWF
January 15, 1990
Hulk Hogan(c) vs. Mr. Perfect [WWF Heavyweight Championship]
The Genius did the introduction for Perfect. I love The Genius.
Hogan ran through Perfect at the start. He even attacked The Genius. The Genius got involved in the ring, but that didn’t get Perfect disqualified for some reason. Hogan took out The Genius and then went back after Perfect. Perfect finally cut Hogan off and worked him over. Hogan started to fight back, but Perfect thumbed him in the eye. Hogan came back by repeatedly crotching Perfect on a ringpost. Perfect hit the Perfect-Plex: 1…2…NO! Hogan Hulked Up and made a comeback. Perfect managed to hit Hogan with an illegal object in attempt to try to win via countout. Hogan recovered though and hit Perfect with the brass knuckles. The referee disqualified Hogan!
Hogan attacked The Genius after the match, but Perfect made the save. They ran away.
Despite the ending, this was a pretty fun match. Perfect was bumping like all around for Hogan and just working a much more enjoyable pace than I’ve come to expect from him. Hogan was Hogan, and if you like him like I do, you’ll like his chemistry with Perfect. If Hogan isn’t your thing, you probably won’t care for this one.
Match Rating: ***
WWF
November 24, 1990
The Texas Tornado(c) vs. Mr. Perfect [WWF Intercontinental Championship]
Roddy Piper was the referee.
This match was clunky as heck. After a few minutes of uninspired action, Perfect cut off the Tornado and applied a sleeper. Texas Tornado fought back. This match is awkward and bad. Perfect came back and hit a bridging back suplex: 1…2…3
Roddy Piper actually ruled that Perfect’s shoulders were down, and he awarded the match to the Tornado. Perfect attacked Roddy after that. They brawled for a bit.
This was absolutely awful.They had zero chemistry whatsoever, and almost every single moment felt fake because of how bad it was. I have no idea why you would want to put this full match on a set meant to celebrate the career of Mr. Perfect.
Match Rating: DUD
WWF Summerslam
August 16, 1991
Mr. Perfect(c) (w/ Coach) vs. Bret Hart [WWF Intercontinental Championship]
Bret was dominating the match early on. Perfect tried to walk out, but Bret brought him back. Bret accidentally tore Perfect’s singlet. Rude. Perfect cut Bret off after a closed fist. Perfect was not in a big rush to win this match. He worked Bret over in a methodical manner to further establish his character and Bret’s resilience. Bret had a couple of failed comebacks while Perfect worked him over. Perfect connected on the Perfect-plex: 1…2…NO! Bret then made a comeback on a frustrated Perfect. Perfect caught him with an O’Connor Roll for a nearfall. Bret got back control immediately after though. He kicked out Perfect’s leg and set up for the sharpshooter. He had to punch out Coach who jumped up on the apron. Perfect kicked a rope into Bret’s balls. Perfect went for a move on the leg, but Bret managed to reverse it into the sharpshooter. Perfect tapped out before it was even fully applied.
I found this to be fairly enjoyable. Perfect’s back was in really bad shape at this point, and I think it showed. That injury could have become a bigger part of the match, as it would have added a lot of satisfaction to the finish. Bret hit a couple of moves that targeted the back, but he could have benefitted from being a bit more relentless in that department. The crowd was into the match, but there wasn’t an atmosphere that I think most great matches create.
Match Rating: ***1/4
WWF Summerslam
August 30, 1993
Shawn Michaels(c) (w/ Diesel) vs. Mr. Perfect [WWF Intercontinental Championship]
There was an early sloppy moment. Perfect had control for a bit. Shawn couldn’t get much going in the slightest. A Diesel distraction on the floor gave Shawn an opportunity to cut off Perfect with a superkick. He then worked Perfect over. Perfect eventually made a comeback. He hit the Perfect-Plex, but Diesel pulled Perfect from the ring. Diesel sent Perfect into a ringpost, and Perfect got counted out.
Perfect attacked Shawn and Diesel after that. Diesel took him out though and left Perfect laying.
They were on their way to having a good IC title match until the finish. I really hate these types of finishes on PPV. It’s very lazy/insulting booking.
Match Rating: **3/4
WCW Uncensored
March 15, 1998
Curt Hennig (w/ Rick Rude) vs. Bret Hart
I haven’t seen anything of value from Hennig from this point in time. If he was going to have a good match though, it was going to be with Bret.
Hollywood Hogan sent Hennig to take out Bret. They started out very slowly. Bret applied the sharpshooter, but Rude punched him out. Hennig worked Bret over after that. Hennig targeted one of Bret’s knees. He applied the figure four. This should have been billed as a Calling Card match. Lots of phoning in. Bret eventually made a comeback. He didn’t really bother to sell the leg. Hennig came back and hit the Perfect-Plex: 1…2…no. Such a flat match. Hennig reversed an O’Connor Roll for a nearfall. Bret then reversed a sunset flip pin into a sharpshooter. Hennig tapped out before Rude could make the save.
Hennig and Rude laid Bret out after the match.
This was so boring. Hennig had nothing left in the tank, and Bret didn’t seem motivated to drag something out of him.
Match Rating: *
Watch some Mr. Perfect matches for free!
Perfect Team vs. Ultimate Warriors
Mr. Perfect & Scott Hall vs. Steve Regal & Jimmy Garvin
Mr. Perfect vs. Diamond Dallas Page
Mr. Perfect vs. Diamond Dallas Page
