WWE – The Life and Times of Mr. Perfect – DVD Review

DVD Reviews, Reviews, Top Story

Available at Amazon.com

As a fan of professional wrestling, you start finding your favorites among those you’ve seen over the years. Having now watched the sport for twenty-four years, I’ve seen many of my favorites come and go. I’ve also seen a lot of my favorites falter or, for those who weren’t in my sights, get better. The more you are into wrestling, the more you stop worrying about who the “good guys” and the “bad guys” are, and you just start appreciating their skills in the ring, on the mic, and also outside the squared circle. You begin loving the technical skills they possess and their abilities to make you get really into it by only their words. There are those who own a skill here or a trait there that makes them watchable and makes them tolerable. But there are so very few that have it all and that makes them absolutely perfect.

Curt Hennig was one of the most sound technical wrestlers to ever step foot inside the squared circle. He wrestled in the NWA, the AWA, TNA, WCW, and had his most success and history in the WWE. He was Known by different ring names and as Curt Henning, but he was and will always be “Mr. Perfect.” Hennig is the son of longtime wrestler, Larry “The Ax” Hennig and took up the sport at the early age of six. Watching his father wrestle and always being around it made him want to get into the business as he got older. He wrestled as an amateur in high school and excelled in every single sport he would take part in. Hennig was a joker at heart, but always put out every bit of effort that he had in order to put forth the best performance every time.

Hennig got his start in the AWA and had a lot of success there until the day he was called up by Vince McMahon Sr. to wrestle in New York for the WWWF (WWE today). That lasted only a little while and he ended up going back to the AWA and teaming with his father as one of the few father/son pairings in tag-team history. That success was great for both Larry and Curt, but the big time was calling again and it had the name of Vince McMahon. When Curt ended up back in Stamford-based company for his second run, he had to come up with a ring name. And, because he was good at everything he did, it was only appropriate that he took on the name of Mr. Perfect.

At the time he was to debut, Mr. Perfect had a series of vignettes showing him participating in every sport and being better then everyone else. I remember all of those and oddly enough, it is proven now that they all were real and not doctored in any way. Well, at least not exactly doctored as we find out from Bruce Prichard who lets us know that Curt could really do everything perfectly until he got on camera. So he needed to trick Curt and not let him know when they were actually taping so that his nerves would be calm and he could do things the way he knows how.

The role of Mr. Perfect fit Curt Hennig to a tee and he played it, for lack of a better word, perfectly. He was cocky and arrogant and it always appeared as if he believed as if he could do no wrong and everything he did was just flawless. If you ever saw Hennig in his Mr. Perfect persona, you remember all the things that made him stand out among a crowd of big names like Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, the Ultimate Warrior, and many more. Spitting out his gum and hitting it into the crowd with his hand. Throwing the towel behind his back and catching it over his shoulder. That wonderful fall over snapmare that would make his opponent’s neck look as if it was about to break. And then ending all his matches with a pinning maneuver that was just brilliant and error-proof, the PerfectPlex.

A back injury after a long and storied career including some great Intercontinental Title runs caused Perfect to go into a manager/announcer role with the WWE. While he was great in that role, it was time to move on: he went south to WCW. There he was even given a spot (Arn Anderson’s spot) in the legendary Four Horsemen. The ultimate turn to the darkside saw Curt show allegiance with the nWo and become a hated man for the deeds he had done; especially slamming Ric Flair’s head in a cage door. And in an odd and unexpected note, long time friend of Curt, Wade Boggs, says that he created the Wolfpac hand signal that ultimately became the sign of the nWo with Nash, Hall, and the rest of them. Interesting.

Near the end of his career, Curt Hennig returned to the WWE at the 2002 Royal Rumble again as Mr. Perfect and really showed that he belonged there. The vignettes started up again and it was like he hadn’t missed a single beat, but his run wouldn’t last long as he was released from the WWE in May of that same year. For another year or so, he would continue to accept bookings at independent shows and wrestle from time to time. On the morning of February 10, 2003, Curt was found dead in a Tampa hotel room. A cocaine overdose had taken the life of Curt Hennig way too early at the age of forty-four. Many people were affected greatly by his death including his father, wife, children, friends, and fans. One of the best wrestlers and performers ever, and one of the greatest men so many have ever known was taken before his time and he will always be remembered by millions. Thanks to the so many, he is also enshrined in the WWE Hall Of Fame.

Curt Hennig is someone I watched for over about a decade and a half in a wrestling ring. One of my fondest memories came when I saw him in person at a house show at a very young age. He was defending the Intercontinental Title against Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake and got caught in the sleeperhold that would surely cost him his championship. Being the smart wrestler he always was, Perfect reached out and punched the referee dead in the face getting him disqualified and keeping his belt. It was that kind of stuff that made him so much fun to watch. For as good as he was in the ring; he was always thinking just in case he got in the slightest bit of trouble. Mr. Perfect’s life and career are portrayed accurately and respectfully on this DVD and it shows just how phenomenal he truly was. Those that knew him should be honored and those that ever saw him in the ring should feel privileged.

One of the quotes that says it all best about Curt Hennig is from wrestling legend Arn Anderson and he says, “When you call yourself Mr. Perfect, you’re pigeon-holing yourself into a pretty tough act to follow. But you know something, the som’ bitch was pretty damn close to being perfect. In every way.”

**Warning: There are SPOILERS in this review!**

~ Madison Square Garden November 21, 1982: Curt Hennig Vs. Eddie Gilbert – This is a pretty decent match in the very early days of Curt’s career. It is rather slow though with a lot of restholds and just stalling going on. Nothing too exciting, but a nice way to get the matches started.

~ AWA Championship Wrestling November 26, 1985: Curt Hennig & Scott Hall Vs. Steve Regal & Jimmy Garvin – I just can’t get over Scott Hall with that big feather fro and mustache. Garvin and Regal look like a cheap rip-off of the Fabulous Freebirds, but that’s too be expected considering Garvin ended up a Freebird. Hall also looks huge compared to how he is later on in the WWE and WCW.

This match is a big difference from the first one on this DVD. It is much more physical and there is a lot more punching and kicking then anything technical going on. Hennig is even busted open due to some of the shots taken. Fun match though with a good amount of brutality for a match in the mid-eighties.

~ AWA Championship Wrestling November 15, 1986: 60-Minute Time Limit AWA World Heavyweight Championship Match: Curt Hennig Vs. Nick Bockwinkel – Here is a match that includes a lot of both styles seen in the previous two matches as we get some good physicality and some technical work as well. There are a good number of restholds throughout the match from both men as they try to gain the advantage by wearing down their opponent, but the action still stays pretty hot. Both men get bloodied up really good during the course of the match and as can be expected when a “time limit” is announced for a match, it’s not going to end good. It comes down to the final seconds and it looks as if Curt is going to get the Heavyweight Title but he just runs out of time.

A strange turn of events at the end happens though as the announcer starts counting down from ten as Curt has Bockwinkel in a figure four, and right as the countdown gets to six, the bell rings. Bockwinkel didn’t tap out and the time limit didn’t appear to run out, but oh well.

~ Wrestlefest July 31, 1988: Curt Hennig Vs. Terry Taylor – Michael Cole and Mick Foley sit together for commentary on this match which has Curt Hennig before he was Mr. Perfect and Terry Taylor before he was the Red Rooster. Foley tells a fun story about how both of these wrestlers came into the WWE at the same time and were both in contention for the moniker of “Mr. Perfect.” This match is rather short and Hennig actually wins with a power move, a running forearm, which just doesn’t seem right. Cole and Foley don’t talk about the match at all until it’s over, but share a lot of good stories from Hennig’s past.

~ Madison Square Garden April 24, 1989: Mr. Perfect Vs. Bret “Hit Man” Hart – You can’t really find much fault when these two are in the ring and they would go head to head numerous times throughout their career. This match takes an extremely long time to get started as Hennig does a serious amount of stalling to begin things. Then both men take turns being hurt outside the ring and using up almost the entire ten count before heading back in. It really heats up towards the end and Perfect starts selling like a champ, but then before it can continue, the time limit runs out again. I forgot how often that happened back in the day. After the match though is the really good stuff.

~ Madison Square Garden January 15, 1990: Mr. Perfect Vs. Hulk Hogan – “The Genius” Lanny Poffo is in the ring to introduce Mr. Perfect who is challenging for the WWE Title here. His poems were awesome. This is your traditional Hogan match that sees him start out as a house of fire, get beat down for a while, and then come back to be victorious. Perfect does get some help from the Genius to get the upper hand, but it worked because it showed they were both using their brains to get over on the Hulkster. And one thing about Hogan is that when people got the upper hand on him, you’d always know he was going to come back and beat them down. But with Perfect, there is actually a little bit of doubt and he makes you actually wonder if he could pull the upset. And that is proved here as the ending is a slight bit tweaked then what Hogan usually had happen. Mr. Perfect had some brass (plastic) knucks ready to drill Hogan, but Hogan stole them and used them on Perfect. The only problem is he used them in front of the referee and got himself disqualified giving the win to Mr. Perfect. I loved seeing that guy lose, and it couldn’t have been to a better guy.

~ Madison Square Garden November 24, 1990: WWE Intercontinental Championship Match With Special Referee “Rowdy” Roddy Piper: Mr. Perfect Vs. The Texas Tornado – This would not be one of their better matches because Von Erich and Perfect had some really good ones during their feud so I’m kind of confused as to why this was the one picked out to include here. The match just kind of plods along with a lot of punches and kicks and not much else. Piper doesn’t even really get involved at all here making his appearance as the special referee kind of useless.

~ SummerSlam August 26, 1991: WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: Bret “Hit Man” Hart Vs. Mr. Perfect – Later on in Perfect’s career it was said that he was alright with making wrestlers look better in the ring and helping younger stars. No matter who stepped into the ring with Perfect at any point in his career, he made them look good. This match is said to be the stepping stone that would shoot Bret Hart up the singles ladder and make him a star. It is obvious why they say that because this match is awesome.

Bret plays all the rules that a babyface is supposed to play and uses his God given ability to get the advantage over Perfect. Yet time and time again, Perfect would use one little evil move such as a poke to the eyes in order to get the advantage and take control. This is a much better match than the earlier one from MSG. Even though Perfect would go on to lose this match, it is one of the best of his entire career and a great sight to see from start to finish.

~ SummerSlam August 30, 1993: WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: Mr. Perfect Vs. Shawn Michaels – This is quite possibly the hardest match to figure out as to why it is included here. The match itself is nothing special at all when it could have been an instant classic with these two meeting up. Hennig does some work on Shawn’s back and there is a lot of back and forth work making for a very slow match. Eventually there is a crappy ending with Diesel (Kevin Nash) pulling Perfect out of the ring and getting him counted out. Not good at all.

~ Uncensored March 15, 1998: Curt Hennig Vs. Bret “Hit Man” Hart – Hennig was a part of the nWo at this time and the late Ravishing Rick Rude accompanied him to the ring. Man, two of my favorite wrestlers ever and both of them are already gone. Sucks. Can’t believe this is the third match between these two in this set, but it’s not like they don’t deserve the recognition because they’re both great wrestlers and put on great matches together.

Even close to ten years later and these guys are still starting out with some restholds and stalling. In what has to be one of the things that ultimately damned WCW; it is shown in this match. Early on, Hart gets Hennig in a sharpshooter and the ref is down by Hennig’s face asking him if he gives. Rude jumps into the ring, punches Hart in the face, and leaps out of the ring, and the ref never even noticed? Come on! There is a lot of cheating in this match on behalf of Hennig from Rude, and it takes away from the greatness that the two men in the ring really could have put together. Not awful, but nowhere near as good as their SummerSlam spectacle from 1991.

The event is shown in 1.33:1 Full Screen format and it all looks fantastic from the interview segments to pictures to old footage and more. The matches look restored and everything looks perfect (sorry).

The event is heard in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and it also comes through without any flaws. All commentary, interviews, music, pyro, and more is heard without any problems.

Matches – All the matches mentioned above are included in the “special features” section of the DVD set.

WWE Hall Of Fame March 31, 2007: Mr. Perfect Hall Of Fame Induction – Baseball Hall Of Famer Wade Boggs inducted Curt Hennig into the WWE Hall Of Fame. Boggs gives a very nice speech remembering not only Perfect’s career, but some personal stories that he experience with Curt as a person, not just a wrestler. The video package put together for Hennig also shows great moments from his career and tells of the great man he was outside the ring. Curt’s family including his wife, children, and parents came up to accept his induction. His wife gives a nice speech that sums him up for the great person he was. Very nice induction.

“Rap Is Crap” Music Video – When he was a part of the West Texas Rednecks in WCW, they were having a bit of a feud with the Filthy Animals and wanted to let them know what good old country boys thought of their type of music. Not the best song in the world, but a lot of fun.

Vignettes – All of the great things that Mr. Perfect said he did needed to be backed up with physical evidence so that is exactly what everyone got.

Billiards – October 1, 1988
Golf – Perfect Putt – October 1, 1988
Darts – October 8, 1988
Bowling – October 8, 1988
Chess – October 15, 1988
Basketball – October 15, 1988
Ping Pong – October 28, 1988
Diving – November 4, 1989
Golf – Perfect Drive – November 4, 1989
Horseshoes – November 24, 1989
Baseball With Wade Boggs – December 26, 1992
Football – Perfect Passer With Steve Jordan – February 13, 1993
Basketball With Felton Spencer – February 27, 1993
Hockey With Mike Modano – March 13, 1993

Stories: Curt Loved Karaoke – Wade Boggs and Dusty Rhodes discuss his love for country music and how he just loved singing whenever he got the chance.

Stories: Lifestyles Of Mr. Perfect – In somewhat of an odd special feature, former WWE star and current UFC fighter Brock Lesnar remembers when Mr. Perfect was on Lifestyles Of The Rich & Famous, but it wasn’t even his house they were showing because it was too messy. Funny stuff.

TrailersBehind Enemy Lines: Columbia, Nature Boy Ric Flair: The Definitive Collection, and Triple H: The King Of Kings – There Is Only One


World Wrestling Entertainment has done it again with a great tribute to one of the truly underrated wrestlers to ever step between the ropes. Curt Hennig (aka Mr. Perfect) could do no wrong when he was on camera playing a face or a heel, in the announcer’s chair, or nailing a promo. But it was the demons outside of the ring that would eventually take him from this world way too soon. This DVD set shows us a great portrayal of his life and career in ways that show the great competitor he was no matter what came before him. It’s a shame that the actual documentary portion of the DVD wasn’t a bit longer because it would have been great getting a little bit more from other wrestlers and friends on their feelings for Curt. But the WWE has done a great job of going back to keeping the documentary and matches separate instead of putting them both together in one very long main feature. Speaking of the matches, a few of them are questionable as to why they’re included here, but most of them are “Picture Perfect” Curt even if he came out on the losing end. All the vignettes being included really made my day too because those were fantastic then and would get a debuting wrestler over today as well. While not immaculate or flawless, this set is pretty damn close to perfect.

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WWE Home Video presents The Life And Times Of Mr. Perfect. Featuring: Mr. Perfect, Bret Hart, Terry Taylor, Kerry Von Erich, Shawn Michaels, Hulk Hogan, and many more.. Running time: 360 minutes on 2 discs. Rating: Not Rated. Released on DVD: September 9, 2008. Available at Amazon.com