Remembering Verne Gagne

Verne Gagne

1926-2015

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents
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The wrestling world lost a true legend earlier this week, when former AWA world heavyweight champion Verne Gagne died.  He was 89 years old.  By the time I started watching wrestling Verne had retired from the ring (as the champ).  He was the promoter and had an on-screen role during that time, even wrestled a few times too.

The thing I liked about the AWA was it was a decent alternative to the WWF and NWA.  When I really started watching, Vince McMahon had already signed guys like Hulk Hogan, Jesse Ventura and Andre the Giant.  But Verne had a talented roster and he worked hard to provide fans with wholesome, Mid-western wrestling action.

Verne vs. Nick Bockwinkel

Many men were given a chance in the AWA that would have likely been overlooked in the other "big two" companies. Guys like Nick Bockwinkel and Rick Martel made fine champions I always thought.  Stan Hansen had a run at the top too as did Jerry "The King" Lawler and Curt Hennig.  One of my favorite memories of the elder Gagne was his foray into the pay per view world and an event called WrestleRock.  This video was used to promote it, and although cheesy it was memorable and I rooted for the AWA hoping they'd continue the tradition.  (They did not though).

I remember his feud with Sheik Adnan al Kaissie and his army.  Bruiser Brody was brought in to help the heels in their attempt to dominate Verne's allies, including son Greg.  Even though he was well past his prime, Verne would step through the ropes and dish out whippings when he deemed it appropriate.  

Verne fought the good fight for as long as he could before going bankrupt.  The company folded and this meant no more afternoons of AWA Championship Wrestling on ESPN.  I'd love watching it after school.  Relative unknowns like Diamond Dallas Page, Shawn Michaels, Marty Jannetty and a guy named Leon White all went on to much bigger and better things, thanks to the vision of Verne Gagne.

Hall of Fame induction

In 2006 we had the honor of watching Verne become a member of the WWE Hall of Fame.  It was an interesting idea at the time, as I think he became the first non-WWE employee/Superstar to get inducted.  I was on pins and needles as he delivered his speech, wondering if he'd take any shots at the McMahons.  He did not.  Verne was a pro and kept it that way.  Much respect to him and my thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and fans.  Rest in peace.

Welcome Curtis Axel

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

Last week, on my YouTube page and right here I wrote and spoke about some possible "Heyman Guys."  My first pick for the job was Michael McGillicutty.  On the May 20th episode of Raw, Paul Heyman introduced McGillicutty as his new client, complete with a new theme song and name, Curtis Axel.

The name is a tribute to Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig and Larry "the Axe" Hennig.  Personally, I'm stoked about this and excited to see some relatively unknown talent getting an opportunity.  I hope this isn't just a "flavor of the month" move and the WWE allows Axel to develop into the superstar many know he can be.

The fact that Triple H didn't squash him on Raw was a good sign (as I had feared that scenario too).  I'm curious where things are headed for Trips.  Will this lead to him passing the torch to the up and coming Axel?  Time will tell.  Regardless, I'm happy to see this happening to a third generation star who is also able to now acknowledge his legacy for the world to see.

Nobody's Perfect, But Curt was Close

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger on Twitter

February 10, 2012 marks the nine year anniversary of the death of "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig.  It's hard to believe he's been gone that long already.  While the manner surrounding his death is less than perfect, the character he played in the ring was pretty damn close to it.

My first memories of Curt Hennig go back to the AWA days, in the early to mid 80's.  I know he started off working mostly as enhancement talent in the WWF early in his career.  But I didn't start watching wrestling full-time until 1984, and he had just come to the AWA at that point.

Hennig & Hall (Perfect & Razor)

He did a lot of work on the singles scene, but then was paired up with Scott Hall and won the AWA tag team titles.  Curt was good back then, but he seemed to lack any kind of character development.  I think the AWA kept him as "the son of Larry Hennig" and it kinda hurt him overall.  He was the plain vanilla baby face.  (Kinda reminded me of a more talented version of Greg Gagne)  Then the AWA turned him heel and put the world title on him.  That added a new dimension to him and showed that he was more than a guy who could wrestle.

I think the world really took notice of him after he lost the title to Jerry "The King" Lawler and headed to the WWF.  But he dropped his real name and became known as Mr. Perfect.  He was introduced to a new fan base through a series of vignettes that saw him doing near impossible feats in the world of sports.  Backward swooshes in basketball, the perfect dive, and sinking a hole in one.  For a while he went on a streak of beating mid carders and jobbers before picking up the Genius as his manager (that was Lanny Poffo for those who don't remember)  I thought it was an odd pairing as I never got into the Genius as a manager.  Anyway, he challenged Hulk Hogan in late 1989 for the WWF title, and in hindsight, I wish he would have won the title back then.  I was a Hulkamanic in those days and wanted to see him keep the title.  But now that more than two decades have passed, I've come to appreciate the other players in the WWF, including Mr. Perfect.

His biggest success in the WWF (and maybe in all of wrestling) came when he won the Intercontinental title.  This of course happened after he beat Tito Santana in a tournament when the Ultimate Warrior surrendered the title because he won the World title.  Perfect was then paired up with manager Bobby Heenan, and I think the relationship was, well perfect.  I had hoped that would have lead to a Rick Rude face turn and a feud with Curt for the the IC title, but Rude left the company too soon.

Perfect did drop to the title to one of my all time favorites, Kerry Von Erich, but quickly regained it and held it for quite some time.  He faced the challenges of Von Erich, Big Bossman, and Davey Boy Smith before finally dropping the belt to Bret Hart at SummerSlam 91.  Little did I know then, Curt was hurt badly and needed time off.  In my markish mind then I thought there was no way a tag team mainstay would beat someone like Perfect for the title.  In fact, I lost 5 bucks to my college roommate as a result of that match.  He dropped his new manager "The Coach" John Tolos after that match and quickly left TV to tend to his injuries.

He came back later, this time as an advisor to Ric Flair.  Again, I felt like this was the perfect role/relationship.  But eventually he'd turn face and end up beating Flair, sending him back to WCW.  Curt had an outstanding match with Bret again at the 93 King of the Ring and had been a top contender to Shawn Michaels IC title that year.  He never won the gold back, but did end up turning heel again and mentored a young Triple H in his quest for the IC title.  Then in late 96, he did what all the top WWF guys were doing and jumped ship to WCW.

Of course he had to drop the Mr. Perfect moniker there.  His run there was fine, some of the things I remember was his run as U.S. champion, his time as a Four Horsemen, and the nWo.  And who could forget his song "Rap is Crap."

He would eventually have one more brief run with WWE, but it didn't last.  Sadly he died from an apparent cocaine overdose.  A tragic end to such a talented life.  Curt has been enshrined in the WWE Hall of Fame and has produced a legacy in Michael McGillicutty.  I hope the WWE gives this kid a chance to shine at some point, but only time will tell.

Like I mentioned earlier, my appreciation for Curt Hennig has grown overtime.  I was a fan of Mr. Perfect in the WWF, but looking back on his career makes me miss him that much more today.  In today's wrestling environment, he would have definitely been a multi-time world champion.  He's one of those guys I've blogged about who SHOULD have won the gold in the WWF/E.  What are your favorite memories of Mr. Perfect?  Share them here or on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube.

What's In a Name?

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger on Twitter
All photos are from WWE.com

In the world of wrestling, appearance matters a lot.  But so does a good name.  So I've decided to go through my mental notes and pull out some of the coolest nick names in all of wrestling.  I'm just going from what pops into my head, so if I've forgotten someone, please be sure to comment here or on Facebook or Twitter.  You'll notice most of my choices are from the good ol' days.  Maybe I'm nostalgic, or maybe things really were better then.

"Macho Man" Randy Savage just had a cool name in general.  Especially when you consider his real name was Randy Poffo.  No offense to Leapin' Lanny or Angelo, but Randy had the right idea when he changed his name.  Savage just made him sound like a tough guy.  And despite the association of the Village People with the name Macho Man, Savage made it work.  I can still remember when I was a kid there was a WWF Magazine article written shortly after he signed with the company.  The title was "Randy Savage: More Savage Than Macho."  I think that really summed him up well.  Even when he became the King of the Ring, he was dubbed "The Macho King" and stopped wearing a crown and instead started sporting those stylish cowboy hats.  Since his death back in the spring, I've developed a greater appreciation for Randy Savage.  His style, his wardrobe, his music.  They are all missed and have yet to be duplicated in today's business.  That's a good thing though.  It's important for today's generation to create that persona, that character that stands out.  I've enjoyed CM Punk's recent tributes to Savage.  He truly was one of a kind.

Before he headed to the WWF in 1988, Curt Hennig was pretty much plain vanilla ice cream.  At least he was to me.  But then with a little magic from Titan Towers, he became Mr. Perfect, a role he was born to play.  When he left the AWA, Hennig was a heel.  He was cocky and arrogant, but nothing at all like the Mr. Perfect persona.  Pairing him up with Bobby "the Brain" Heenan about a year and a half into his time in the WWF was, well perfect.  These two were great together, and I totally believe had today's attitudes and busy schedule applied back then, Mr. Perfect would have been WWF heavyweight champion.  He is one of the all time greats to hold the Intercontinental title.  I know his son, Joe (Michael McGillicutty) is probably living with a lot of pressure to live up to his famous father's reputation.  I saw give him time to create a niche and become his own man.  Who knows what the future will hold.  I never imagined the AWA version of Curt would be as successful and popular as Mr. Perfect ended up becoming.

Excellence of Execution wasn't really his nickname, but it was a subtitle for Bret "the Hitman" Hart.  To this day, he's still referred to as the "best there is, the best there was, the best there ever will be!"  The Hitman also lived up to that excellence of execution moniker.  I'm not 100% sure, but I think Gorilla Monsoon may have been the one to coin that phrase to describe Bret.  In my opinion, he is among the top 5 wrestlers of all time.  I don't see him slipping out of that rank for quite sometime.  His work has stood the test of time, from his early days in Stampede, through is tremendous rise in the WWF and then in WCW.

These are just a few nicknames that popped into my head on this particular night.  Like the list?  Hate it? Let me know.