Name	Rick Steiner
Names	Rick Steiner
Height
Weight
Birth date	March 09, 1961
Birth place	Bay City, Michigan
Resides	Acworth, Georgia
Billed	Detroit, Michigan
Trainer	Brad RheingansEddie Sharkey
Debut	1983
Retired	}}

Robert Rechsteiner (born March 9, 1961) is an American professional wrestler, better known under his ring name Rick Steiner.

Steiner is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling, where he was an eight time World Tag Team Champion (seven times with his brother Scott and once with Kenny Kaos and Judy Bagwell). There was also a period of time when he held both the tag team titles himself, having won them at Halloween Havoc 1998. In addition to tag team success, he was also a one time United States Heavyweight Champion and a three time World Television Champion. Besides WCW, Steiner also found success in the World Wrestling Federation, where he and Scott won the World Tag Team Championship twice.

Professional wrestling career

Rechsteiner was an amateur wrestling standout at the University of Michigan, where he placed second at the Big Ten Championships in 1983, became an All-American and established the fastest pin record in the school's history at 15 seconds. After earning his bachelor's degree in education, he was introduced to professional wrestling by George "The Animal" Steele and entered the business immediately out of college. He initially wrestled under the name Rob Rechsteiner before he took on the simpler stage name Rick Steiner. He spent time in the American Wrestling Association, Montreal promotion International Wrestling, and the Universal Wrestling Federation before going to work for the National Wrestling Alliance in 1988.

National Wrestling Alliance / World Championship Wrestling (1988–1992)

He formed an early tag team with Sting in the UWF and was a charter member of the faction known as the Varsity Club along with Mike Rotunda and their manager Kevin Sullivan, with the long-term angle being that Rotundo was favored by Sullivan and both of them looked at Steiner as their dull-witted underling. It also started a slow fan favorite turn for Steiner, as he began breaking rules less often and was portrayed as a dim but good-hearted guy who was a villain by association only. Eventually, this would lead to a break-up and Steiner subsequently became a fan favorite before winning the Television Championship from Rotunda at Starrcade.

Teaming with Scott Steiner

In early 1989, his brother Scott began accompanying him to the ring and eventually, the two formed a tag team. They proved they were a serious tag team by defeating the Freebirds for the World Tag Team Championship in November 1989. The pair continued to dominate in the NWA (and later World Championship Wrestling, as NWA superterritory Jim Crockett Promotions came to be known), winning multiple championships and making occasional trips to New Japan Pro Wrestling. It was during this time that Rick earned the nickname "The Dog-Faced Gremlin" from both fans and commentators, which he would later have added to his ring attire.

World Wrestling Federation (1992–1994)

The two jumped to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), WCW's biggest competitor, in December 1992 after then WCW-head Bill Watts lowballed them on a contract extension and then gave them the option for an early release from their present contracts. They found success there as well, winning the Tag Team Championship from Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster) on two occasions.

The Steiners left the WWF later that year, with Rick stating that he felt that Vince McMahon was not following through with promises made to the team.

Extreme Championship Wrestling (1995)

After leaving the WWF, the Steiner Brothers debuted in Extreme Championship Wrestling on July 28, 1995, defeating Dudley Dudley and Vampire Warrior. A few days later on August 4, they defeated Dudley Dudley and 2 Cold Scorpio. The following day, the Steiner Brothers made their debut in the ECW Arena at Wrestlepalooza, where they teamed with Eddie Guerrero in a loss to Scorpio, Dean Malenko, and Cactus Jack. On August 25, they defeated Scorpio and Malenko and then Scorpio and Chris Benoit the following evening. On August 28, they defeated Dudley Dudley and Dances With Dudley.

At Gangstas' Paradise on September 16, 1995, they teamed with Taz in a loss to The Eliminators (John Kronus and Perry Saturn) and Jason. On September 23, they defeated Raven and Stevie Richards. Rick made his final ECW appearance on October 28, teaming with Taz in a loss to The Eliminators in a tag team match.

Return to WCW (1996–2001)

World Tag Team Champions

On the March 11, 1996 episode of ''Nitro'', the Steiner Brothers redebuted in World Championship Wrestling in a losing effort to the Road Warriors. The following week on ''Nitro'', the Steiners picked up their first win since returning after they defeated The Public Enemy. After briefly feuding with both the Warriors and Public Enemy, the Steiners began feuding with the World Tag Team Champions Harlem Heat. On July 24 at a house show, the Steiner Brothers defeated Harlem Heat to win the World Tag Team Championship, although they lost the title back to Harlem Heat only three days later. The Steiner Brothers then reclaimed the title after defeating The Outsiders on January 25, 1997 at Souled Out. Only two days later, they were stripped of the title by Eric Bischoff. Rick then faced Kevin Nash for the title at Spring Stampede on April 6 due to Scott Hall not appearing, but was unable to win the title back.

After starting a winning streak, the Steiner Brothers defeated the Outsiders in a rematch for the World Tag Team Title on August 9 at Road Wild, but due to winning via disqualification, they did not win the title. On the October 13 episode of ''Nitro'', the Steiner Brothers finally reclaimed the World Tag Team Title after defeating Hall and his substitute tag team partner Syxx. On the October 27 episode of ''Nitro'', the Steiners successfully retained the title in their first dfense against The Public Enemy. After several successful title defenses, they lost the title back to the Outsiders on the January 12, 1998 episode of ''Nitro''. Nearly a month later, they defeated the Outsiders for the championship on the February 9 episode of ''Nitro''.

Split and feuding with the nWo

During a title defense against the Outsiders during SuperBrawl VIII on February 22, the Steiner Brothers disbanded when Scott turned on Rick, becoming a villain in the process by allowing the Outsiders to pin Rick and win the World Tag Team Championship. Scott subsequently joined the New World Order (nWo) faction and began feuding with Rick. In addition to Scott, Rick also began feuding with various members of the nWo, facing them in either singles matches or teaming with Lex Luger on occasion in tag team matches over the following months. After wrestling to a no contest against Scott at Fall Brawl on September 13, Rick teamed up with Scott's former ally Buff Bagwell to defeat Scott and The Giant for the World Tag Team Championship at Halloween Havoc on October 25 despite Bagwell turning on Rick during the match. Immediately after the tag team match, Rick defeated Scott in a singles match.

On the October 26 episode of ''Nitro'', Steiner nominated Kenny Kaos as his new tag team partner to hold the World Tag Team Championship with due to Bagwell turning against him after winning the title at Halloween Havoc the previous night. Later on in the night, Steiner and Kaos successfully retained their title against nWo members Stevie Ray and The Giant. On January 4, 1999, the title was vacated after Steiner suffered an injury.

World Television Champion

After a few months of recovery, Steiner returned to the ring in February 1999. On the March 1 episode of ''Nitro'', he made his televised return as he and Goldberg defeated Scott and Buff Bagwell. After winning several matches, Steiner became a villain and lost to Booker T in a match for Booker's World Television Championship on the April 12 episode of ''Nitro''. On May 9 at Slamboree, Steiner defeated Booker in a rematch to win the World Television Title. After becoming a villain, Rick reunited with Scott on a few occasions and began feuding with Sting, culminating with a successful title defense at The Great American Bash on June 13. After four months as champion, he lost the title to Chris Benoit on the September 13 episode of ''Nitro'', before reclaiming it a little over a month later at Halloween Havoc on October 24. At Mayhem, Scott Hall defeated Booker T to retain his United States Heavyweight Championship as well as win Steiner's World Television Championship, which he had to vacate due to being injured.

On December 19 at Starrcade, Steiner reformed the Varsity Club with Mike Rotunda and Kevin Sullivan to wrestle an eight-man tag team match with Jim Duggan against the Revolution, whom Duggan had been feuding with. However, the Club turned against Duggan, allowing him to be pinned. After Starrcade, Sullivan left the Club as Steiner and Rotunda wrestled as a tag team throughout the rest of 1999 and into March 2000.

United States Heavyweight Champion

After taking a hiatus in late August, Rick returned on the January 15, 2001 episode of ''Nitro'' as he helped Kevin Nash fend off Scott after a World Heavyweight Championship match, turning Rick into a fan favorite again. Two days later on ''Thunder'', he made his in-ring return with a victory over Kwee Wee. On the February 5 episode of ''Nitro'', Steiner defeated Shane Douglas to win the United States Heavyweight Championship. Later that night, he teamed with Nash to face Scott in a handicap match, but turned on Nash and allowed Scott to pick up the victory, thus turning into a villain once more and also joining Scott's group the Magnificent Seven. After winning the U.S. Heavyweight Title, Steiner began a brief feud with Dustin Rhodes over the title, which culminated at SuperBrawl Revenge with Steiner being victorious in a title match. On March 18 at WCW's final pay-per-view, Greed, Steiner lost the U.S. Heavyweight Title to Booker T. On the final episode of ''Thunder'' on March 21, Steiner wrestled his final match for WCW in a losing effort to Hugh Morrus.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2002, 2003, 2006, 2007–2008)

Following WCW's closure, Steiner continued to wrestle in local venues and made several appearances with former fellow WCW superstar Buff Bagwell around the southeast United States and in Japan for Pro Wrestling Noah. He then debuted for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling during the promotion's debut show on June 19, 2002, where he participated in the 20-Man Gauntlet for the Gold match to crown the first World Heavyweight Champion in TNA, which was ultimately won by Ken Shamrock. Steiner made a one-night return to TNA in October 2003, brawling with Jeff Jarrett. On the May 4, 2006 episode of ''Impact!'', he returned as a possible partner for Sting at the pay-per-view Sacrifice. He made a second appearance on May 11 in a similar role.

In 2007, Rick and Scott reunited at Sacrifice after Scott and Tomko lost a World Tag Team Championship match, leading to the Steiners attacking Tomko. On the episode of ''Impact!'' following Sacrifice, the Steiners busted down the door to Jim Cornette's office and asked for Cornette to have Team 3D meet them in the ring the next week for an opportunity at the World Tag Team Title. However, the match never transpired due to Scott needing emergency surgery after damaging his trachea during a match in Puerto Rico. Scott was then replaced by Road Warrior Animal at Slammiversary, where Rick and Animal lost to Team 3D for the World Tag Team Title.

At Victory Road, he interfered in the Match of Champions by attacking the referee during Brother Devon's pinfall attempt on Kurt Angle. A month later at Hard Justice, Scott returned to the ring following his recovery and the reunited Steiners defeated Team 3D, beginning a feud with Team 3D. In retaliation to their loss, Team 3D attacked the Steiners, ending with Rick being powerbombed him through a table.

The Steiners returned to TNA in late September to challenge Team 3D in a two out of three falls tables match at Bound for Glory. Team 3D won the first fall after performing the 3D on Rick through a table. However, Brother Ray would take the first loss for his team after Scott performed the frankensteiner on him through a table. The deciding fall came when Scott lifted Ray on his shoulders and Rick performed his signature diving bulldog on Ray through a table, securing the win for the Steiners. On January 29, 2008, Rick Steiner was released due to budget cuts, splitting up the brothers once again.

Personal life

Steiner and his wife Jamye have three sons named Hudson, Maveric and Bronson.

In mid-2004, Steiner began selling real estate, a common career choice for retired and semi-retired wrestlers. In 2005, he joined with business partner, Donna Broadus, to form the Broadus/Steiner Realty Group. They are currently multi-million dollar producers in the North Metro Atlanta area servicing Cherokee, Cobb, Pickens, Bartow, and Fulton counties. Steiner and his business partner's tag line is "Wrestling Real Estate", which is also the name for their website. He is also a School Board member of the Cherokee County School District. He was disqualified from entering the primary for the 2006 term, however, due to the fact he used the Steiner name, rather than his legal name. Steiner could have run for reelection had he presented a petition calling for this with 4500 signatures, however he was unable to do so. Consequently, Steiner ran unopposed as a write-in candidate in November 2006 and won.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

Diving bulldog

''Steiner Driver'' (Death Valley driver)

Signature moves

Bulldog

Double underhook powerbomb

DDT

Double leg takedown

Headbutt

Keylock

Knee lift

*Multiple suplex variations

*Bridging / Release German

*Bridging / Release dragon

*Overhead / Side belly to belly, sometimes from the second or top rope

Scoop powerslam

''Steiner-Line'' (Lariat)

Stepover toehold camel clutch

STF

With Scott Steiner

''Steiner DDT'' (Rick lifts the opponent up followed by Scott hitting an aided elevated DDT)

''Steiner Device'' (Electric chair (Rick) / Diving clothesline (Scott) combination)

''Steinerizer'' (Electric chair (Scott) / Diving bulldog (Rick) combination)

''Steiner-Line'' / German suplex combination

Managers

*Eddie Gilbert

Missy Hyatt

Robin Green

Ted DiBiase

Leia Meow

Nicknames

"The Dog-Faced Gremlin"

Entrance themes

"Hot Stuff" by Donna Summer (used while teaming with Scott Steiner)

Cover of "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses (NWA / WCW / ECW; 1989–1990, 1995)

"Steinerized" by D. Conort, M. Seitz and J. Papa (WCW; used while teaming with Scott Steiner; 1996–1998)

Championships and accomplishments

Jim Crockett Promotions / World Championship Wrestling

NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship (1 time)¹

NWA United States Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Eddie Gilbert (1) and Scott Steiner (1)²

NWA ''(Mid-Atlantic version)''/WCW World Tag Team Championship (8 times) – with Scott Steiner (7) and Kenny Kaos (1)

NWA/WCW World Television Championship (3 times)

WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Pat O'Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament (1990)³ – with Scott Steiner

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling⁴

NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Terry Taylor (1) and Scott Steiner (1)

New Japan Pro Wrestling

IWGP Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Scott Steiner

Pro Wrestling America

PWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Scott Steiner

'''Pro Wrestling Illustrated

*PWI Match of the Year (1991) with Scott Steiner vs. Lex Luger and Sting at SuperBrawl

*PWI Tag Team of the Year (1990, 1993) with Scott Steiner

PWI ranked him #2 of the Top 100 Tag Teams of the "PWI Years" with Scott Steiner in 2003

PWI ranked him #10 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1991

PWI ranked him #88 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003

Southern Championship Wrestling

SCW Championship (1 time)

Universal Wrestling Federation

UWF World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Sting

World League Wrestling

WLW Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

World Pro Wrestling

WPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

World Wrestling Federation

WWF Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Scott Steiner

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

*5 Star Match (1991) with Scott Steiner, Sting, and Brian Pillman vs. Ric Flair, Larry Zbyszko, Barry Windham and Sid Vicious in a WarGames match at WrestleWar

*Tag Team of the Year (1990) with Scott Steiner

*Most Improved (1986)

*Best Gimmick (1988)

*Match of the Year (1991) with Scott Steiner vs. Hiroshi Hase and Kensuke Sasaki at WCW/New Japan Supershow

¹Although it was almost always defended in Florida, the NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship was given to Steiner by Mike Rotunda while working a storyline together in Jim Crockett Promotions in December 1987. Steiner was stripped of the championship so that it could be defended in the Florida promotion exclusively once again in December 1988. ²Steiner's reigns with this championship occurred after Ted Turner purchased Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling from Jim Crockett, Jr. in November 1988 and renamed the promotion World Championship Wrestling. The reigns also occurred prior to the title being renamed the WCW United States Tag Team Championship and while WCW was still an NWA affiliated promotion. ³Tournament was won in 1990 when Mid-Atlantic was bought by Ted Turner and renamed World Championship Wrestling, but prior to WCW's withdrawn from the National Wrestling Alliance. ⁴While this Mid-Atlantic promotion operates in the same region of the United States and has revised several of the championships used by the original, it is not the same promotion which was originally owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. and sold to Ted Turner in 1988.

References

External links

Category:Article Feedback Pilot Category:1961 births Category:American professional wrestlers Category:American sport wrestlers Category:American people of German descent Category:Living people Category:People from Bay City, Michigan Category:People from Cobb County, Georgia

da:Rick Steiner de:Rick Steiner es:Robert Rechsteiner fr:Robert Rechsteiner ko:릭 스타이너 it:Robert Rechsteiner nl:Rick Steiner ja:リック・スタイナー pt:Rick Steiner

Jonathan Allen (born 1966) is a visual artist, writer, and magician based in London. His alter-ego "Tommy Angel", is a fictitious evangelist and magician satirising the genre of Gospel Magic, who Allen portrays in a variety of media including performance, photography, video, and writing.

Life and work

He received his MA from Chelsea College of Art in 1989 and was a Henry Moore Fellow at Sheffield Hallam University from 1991-1993. From 2007-8 Allen was the Arts Council England Helen Chadwick Fellow at the University of Oxford and the British School at Rome.

Allen's work has appeared in many exhibitions including “Feint” at Deutsche Bank in New York, “The Float in the Sight of Things” at Ferens Art Gallery in Hull, “Mesmer” at temporarycontemporary in London, “Con Art” at Site Gallery in Sheffield, "Scarecrow" in Metzova Greece, and "Variety" at the De La Warr Pavilion Bexhill on Sea, UK, the first Singapore Biennale, "The Dictionary of War" in Berlin, "Kalanag" at David Risley Gallery London, and 'The Great Transformation - Art & Tactical Magic' at Frankfurter Kunstverein.

In 2002, Allen instigated the international group show "Con Art" with American curator Helen Varola, and Carol Maund which explored art and conjuring’s shared principles of ‘cunning and conning’ through a gallery exhibition (including Mark Wallinger, Simon Patterson, Sarah Charlesworth, and others), a symposium (chaired by Susan Hiller), and a live performance event including, amongst others, Forced Entertainment, Ursula Martinez, and Tommy Angel.

Jonathan Allen writes widely on theatrical magic history and related themes for visual art journals including Contemporary (magazine), Tate Etc, and Cabinet magazine, for which he guest-edited an issue dedicated to magic in 2007. In 2010, he co-curated the Hayward Gallery touring exhibition 'Magic Show' with the writer Sally O'Reilly. His work as Tommy Angel was the subject of a feature article in the Las Vegas-published Magic (magazine) in February 2006. Allen is a member of The Magic Circle, the UK organisation for professional magicians.

Tommy Angel

Tommy Angel is the name of a fictional 'gospel magician' who features in Allen's photographic and performance work. Gospel Magic is a form of evangelical entertainment used by Christian believers, primarily within the USA, to communicate religious stories and ideas through the medium of performance magic. Tommy Angel, who has been described as 'Billy Graham meeting David Copperfield via Donald Rumsfeld', parodies this suggestive magic sub-genre.

Large black-and-white photographic images depicting Tommy Angel, were exhibited at the The De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill on Sea, UK (2005), David Risely Gallery (2006), and Singapore Biennale (2006). Allen has performed the persona of Tommy Angel in a diverse contexts including cabaret venues, church halls, and art galleries, including the Hayward Gallery on the occasion of Eyes, Lies and Illusions, and in 2006 at Tate Britain, as well as the ZOO Art Fair.

A fake dollar bill bearing the face of Tommy Angel and various parodic evangelistic slogans was introduced into public circulation (via pickpockets using their skills in reverse) during the 1st Singapore Biennale in 2006.

References

External links

Allen’s official site

Tommy Angel's official site

Allen at David Risley Gallery

Jonathan Allen at the Saatchi Gallery

Category:1966 births Category:Living people Category:English artists Category:Professional magicians Category:English magicians

Name	Kenneth Massey
Alma mater	Bluefield College (B.S.), Virginia Tech (M.Sc., ABD)
Birth name	Kenneth P. Massey
Birth date	December 25, 1975
Birth place	Danville, Virginia, U.S.
Residence	Jefferson City, Tennessee
Known for	Sports rating systems
Employer	Carson-Newman College
Religion	Christian }}

Kenneth Massey is an American sports statistician known for his development of a methodology for ranking and rating sports teams in a variety of sports. His ratings have been a part of the Bowl Championship Series since the 1999 season.

Methodology

Massey, unlike the developers of other sports rating systems, gives quite a lot of information on how his system works, but omits enough details to prevent someone from copying the calculations in their entirety. The Massey Ratings are designed to measure past performance, not necessarily to predict future outcomes. The first challenge for any computer rating system is to account for the variability in performance. A team will not always play up to its full potential. Other random factors (officiating, bounce of the ball) may also affect the outcome of a game. The model must somehow eliminate the "noise" which obscures the true strength of a team. The second goal is to account for the differences in schedule. When there is a large disparity in schedule strength, win-loss records lose their significance. The model must evaluate games involving mismatched opponents, as well as contests between well matched teams. It is necessary to achieve a reasonable balance between rewarding teams for wins, convincing wins, and playing a tough schedule. This issue is difficult to resolve, and rating systems exist that are based on each of the extremes.The overall team rating is a merit based quantity, and is the result of applying a Bayesian win-loss correction to the power rating. Only the score, venue, and date of each game are used to calculate the Massey ratings. Stats such as rushing yards, rebounds, or field-goal percentage are not included. Nor are game conditions such as weather, crowd noise, day/night, or grass/artificial turf. Overtime games are not treated any differently. Finally, neither injuries nor psychological factors like motivation are considered.

Justification

Massey's ratings are particularly relevant in the world of American college football, where, with over 200 teams in NCAA Division I competition, there is no way a team can play against more than a small fraction of its competitors. Therefore, in determining the participants in championship games and tournaments, it is necessary to distinguish between teams that have compiled impressive win-loss records against strong competition and teams that have defeated weaker opponents.

In addition, sports rating systems are generally of great interest to gamblers. Massey's ratings have come under some scrutiny as of late 2008 due to his controversial rankings at the end of the season. Although Massey's rating system came under fire near the end of the 2008 season for rating undefeated Utah ahead of then consensus human-poll #1 Alabama, his ratings seemed to be justified following Utah's 31-17 one-sided victory in the 2009 Sugar Bowl.

Background

External links

http://masseyratings.com/ Massey Ratings Website

http://www.highschoolsports.net/masseyratings/ Massey Ratings on HighSchoolSports.net

http://www.cn.edu/math/faculty.htm?#1768669890

http://www.masseyratings.com/rate.php?lg=brfa

References

Category:Living people Category:American statisticians Category:1975 births

name	David Abbott
other names	Tank
birth date	April 26, 1965
birth place	Huntington Beach, California, U.S.
nationality	American
height
weight lb	269
weight class	Super Heavyweight (no limit) Heavyweight (265 lb)
style	Pit Fighting, Wrestling
fighting out of	Huntington Beach, California
years active	1995 - present
mma kowin	6
mma subwin	3
mma decwin	1
mma koloss	6
mma subloss	6
mma decloss	2
sherdog	110
updated	}}

David Lee "Tank" Abbott (born April 26, 1965) is an American mixed martial arts fighter and former professional wrestler. He has described his fighting style, which he developed brawling in the bars and streets of Huntington Beach, California, as "street fighting". Abbott was the first fighter to regularly wear what would be known as traditional MMA gloves in the UFC.

Mixed martial arts career

1995–1998

Abbott was a frequent participant in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Abbott made his mixed martial arts debut in 1995 at UFC 6 Clash of the Titans in Casper, Wyoming. In his opening fight, he knocked out John Matua, who weighed 400 lb, in 18 seconds. Later that night he fought Oleg Taktarov for over 17 minutes before succumbing to a rear naked choke. Both men collapsed in exhaustion after the fight, and Taktarov had to be carried out of the cage. In his first 4 UFC tournament appearances, Abbott advanced at least 1 round in all of them. Around the same time the UFC began switching away from the tournament format, his fortunes declined, as he won only 2 of 5 bouts in '97-'98 before retiring from MMA.

2003–present

Abbott waged an unsuccessful UFC comeback in the mid 2000's, losing fights to Frank Mir, Kimo Leopoldo and Wesley "Cabbage" Correira. He later defeated Cabbage by K.O. in a rematch. Abbott would lose several more matches in regional shows. In February 2008, he had a first round knockout loss to Kimbo Slice at Elite XC's Street Certified event. His next fight—against Mike Bourke on February 13, 2009 at The Selland Arena in Fresno, California—was a part of the Valentine's Eve Massacre Event. Abbott knocked out Bourke in the first round and secured a victory for the first time in nearly four years.

Professional wrestling career (1999–2001)

Abbott worked as a professional wrestler with World Championship Wrestling (WCW); initially he was brought in as an opponent for Goldberg, on the understanding he was a "legitimate" fighter—who could render any opponent unconscious with a single punch, which became his wrestling finisher, 'The Phantom Right'—and could boost Goldberg's reputation. This feud, however, never developed.

Mere days prior to the Souled Out pay-per-view in 2000, WCW head writer Vince Russo was given the responsibility of booking a match to crown a new WCW World Heavyweight Champion. This came at the news that both WCW Champion Bret Hart and Jeff Jarrett, two of the company's top performers, were injured and could not participate at the event. To the dismay of company officials, Russo suggested having the mid-card Abbott win the Championship albeit only to hold it briefly. The scenario would not take place, and Russo was consequently released from WCW while other bookers composed the Souled Out card. Abbott instead faced Jerry Flynn, a legitimate black belt in taekwondo and defeated him at the pay-per-view.

He was then featured in segments with the boy band parody stable, 3 Count as their "biggest fan". He began feuding with the stable after they would not let him join the band; the feud ended when Abbott was released from WCW.

Acting career

In 1997, Abbott appeared as a UFC fighter in the TV show ''Friends'', defeating Jon Favreau's character, the billionaire Pete Becker, who was dating Monica at the time.

Nickname

Abbott claims his nickname of “Tank” was given to him by UFC officials after the character of “Tank Murdock“ from the 1978 Clint Eastwood movie Every Which Way but Loose.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Ultimate Fighting Championship

*UFC 6 Tournament Runner-Up

*Ultimate Ultimate 1996 Tournament Runner-Up

*Ultimate Ultimate 1995 Semifinalist

Viewer's Choice Award

Amateur wrestling

NJCAA All American

California High School State Champion

Mixed martial arts record

|- |Win |align=center|10–14 | Mike Bourke |KO (punch) |War Gods/Ken Shamrock: Valentine's Eve Massacre | |align=center|1 |align=center|0:29 |Fresno, California, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|9–14 | Kimbo Slice |KO (strikes) |EliteXC: Street Certified | |align=center|1 |align=center|0:43 |Miami, Florida, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|9–13 | Gary Turner |TKO (punches) |Cage Rage 21 | |align=center|1 |align=center|2:27 |London, England | |- |Loss |align=center|9-12 | Paul Buentello |KO (punch) |Strikeforce: Tank vs. Buentello | |align=center|1 |align=center|0:43 |Fresno, California, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|9–11 | Hidehiko Yoshida |Submission (gi choke) |PRIDE Final Conflict 2005 | |align=center|1 |align=center|7:40 |Saitama, Japan | |- |Win |align=center|9–10 | Wesley Correira |KO (punch) |Rumble on the Rock 7 | |align=center|1 |align=center|1:23 |Honolulu, Hawaii, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|8–10 | Wesley Correira |TKO (cut) |UFC 45 | |align=center|1 |align=center|2:14 |Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|8–9 | Kimo Leopoldo |Submission (arm triangle choke) |UFC 43 | |align=center|1 |align=center|1:59 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|8–8 | Frank Mir |Submission (toe hold) |UFC 41 | |align=center|1 |align=center|0:46 |Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|8–7 | Pedro Rizzo |KO |UFC Brazil | |align=center|1 |align=center|8:07 |São Paulo, Brazil | |- |Win |align=center|8–6 | Hugo Duarte |TKO (strikes) |UFC 17 | |align=center|1 |align=center|0:43 |Mobile, Alabama, United States | |- |Win |align=center|7–6 | Yoji Anjo |Decision |UFC Japan | |align=center|1 |align=center|15:00 |Yokohama, Japan | |- |Loss |align=center|6–6 | Maurice Smith |Submission (strikes) |UFC 15 | |align=center|1 |align=center|8:08 |Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, United States |For UFC Heavyweight Championship. |- |Loss |align=center|6–5 | Vitor Belfort |TKO (strikes) |UFC 13 | |align=center|1 |align=center|0:52 |Augusta, Georgia, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|6–4 | Don Frye |Submission (rear naked choke) |UU 96 | |align=center|1 |align=center|1:22 |Birmingham, Alabama, United States | |- |Win |align=center|6–3 | Steve Nelmark |KO |UU 96 | |align=center|1 |align=center|1:03 |Birmingham, Alabama, United States | |- |Win |align=center|5–3 | Cal Worsham |Submission (strikes) |UU 96 | |align=center|1 |align=center|2:51 |Birmingham, Alabama, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|4–3 | Scott Ferrozzo |Decision (unanimous) |UFC 11 | |align=center|1 |align=center|15:00 |Augusta, Georgia, United States | |- |Win |align=center|4–2 | Sam Adkins |Submission (neck crank) |UFC 11 | |align=center|1 |align=center|2:06 |Augusta, Georgia, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|3–2 | Dan Severn |Decision (unanimous) |UU 95 | |align=center|1 |align=center|18:00 |Denver, Colorado, United States | |- |Win |align=center|3–1 | Steve Jennum |Submission (neck crank) |UU 95 | |align=center|1 |align=center|1:14 |Denver, Colorado, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|2–1 | Oleg Taktarov |Submission (rear naked choke) |UFC 6 | |align=center|1 |align=center|17:47 |Casper, Wyoming, United States | |- |Win |align=center|2–0 | Paul Varelans |TKO (Strikes) |UFC 6 | |align=center|1 |align=center|1:53 |Casper, Wyoming, United States | |- |Win |align=center|1–0 | John Matua |KO (punches) |UFC 6 | |align=center|1 |align=center|0:18 |Casper, Wyoming, United States |

References

Further reading

External links

Professional wrestling record for Tank Abbott from The Internet Wrestling Database

Category:1965 births Category:American mixed martial artists Category:Heavyweight mixed martial artists Category:Super heavyweight mixed martial artists Category:Mixed martial artists from California Category:American professional wrestlers Category:Living people Category:People from Huntington Beach, California

da:Tank Abbott de:Tank Abbott es:Tank Abbott fr:David L. Abbott it:Tank Abbott ja:タンク・アボット pt:Tank Abbott fi:Tank Abbott sv:Tank Abbott

Name	Curt Hennig
Names	Curt HennigMr. Perfect
Real height
Real weight
Birth date	March 28, 1958
Death date	February 10, 2003
Birth place	Robbinsdale, Minnesota
Death place	Tampa, Florida
Billed	Robbinsdale, Minnesota
Trainer	Verne GagneLarry HennigBuddy Rose
Debut	January 30, 1980 }}

Curtis Michael "Curt" Hennig (March 28, 1958 – February 10, 2003), also known by the ring name Mr. Perfect, was an American professional wrestler, manager and color commentator who worked for, among other promotions, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), the American Wrestling Association (AWA), World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). He was the son of wrestler Larry "The Axe" Hennig, and father to current WWE superstar Michael McGillicutty.

Among other accolades, he is recognized by WWE as a one-time world champion, having held the AWA World Heavyweight Championship for over a year. He is also a two-time WWF Intercontinental Champion. Considered one of the greatest Intercontinental Champions of all time, Hennig was the longest-reigning champion of the 1990s and has been credited with helping bring the importance of the Intercontinental Championship close to that of the WWF Championship during the decade. Although recurring back problems prevented Hennig from being considered for a WWF Championship reign, he challenged for the title and enjoyed success in managerial and color commentary roles when inactive from in-ring competition. In addition to championship success in WCW in the late 1990s, he was also a member of the New World Order and later, wrestling stable and country music group, West Texas Rednecks, who recorded their infamous, tongue-in-cheek song, "Rap is Crap." Hennig returned to the WWF for a brief period in 2002, being one of the last three men remaining at that year's Royal Rumble. He later wrestled for TNA, challenging for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, prior to his death on February 10, 2003.

Described by WWE as a "tremendous talent" and "one of the best in-ring technicians of his generation", Hennig was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007 by former Major League Baseball third baseman, and longtime friend, Wade Boggs. A number of Hennig's peers consider him to be one of the greatest in-ring performers of all time.

Professional wrestling career

American Wrestling Association (1980–1982, 1984–1988)

Known as "Cool" Curt Hennig, he began his career on January 30, 1980 in the American Wrestling Association, the promotion which had made his father, Larry "The Axe" Hennig a star. He would eventually become one of the promotion's top stars in his own right, co-holding (with Scott Hall) the AWA World Tag Team Championship (they defeated "Gorgeous" Jimmy Garvin and "Mr. Electricity" Steve Regal on January 18, 1986 in Albuquerque, New Mexico).

Later, he resumed his solo career in the AWA, culminating in defeating the legendary Nick Bockwinkel for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship at SuperClash on May 2, 1987. Hennig, along with his father Larry "The Axe", would engage in a long feud with Greg Gagne and his father, Verne Gagne. He began being associated with Madusa Miceli, the AWA World Women's Champion since December 27, 1987. Hennig and Madusa joined the Diamond Exchange, a stable led by Diamond Dallas Page that also included Badd Company and Colonel DeBeers.

Hennig would hold the AWA World Heavyweight Title for about 53 weeks, before losing it to Jerry Lawler on May 9, 1988. As many other promising-yet-underexposed AWA stars had before him (including Hulk Hogan, Rick Martel, and Bobby Heenan), he left the AWA for the World Wrestling Federation.

World Wrestling Federation (1982–1984, 1988–1996)

Curt Hennig's first tenure in WWE/WWF began in 1982; he established himself as a promising young performer against the likes of 'Playboy' Buddy Rose. Eventually, he was paired-up in tag team matches with another young upstart, Eddie Gilbert, himself the son of a wrestling legend (Tommy Gilbert).

Hennig returned to the WWF in the fall of 1988 as ''Mr. Perfect'', an arrogant braggart heel who claimed to be able to accomplish difficult tasks "perfectly." In the weeks before his debut, Hennig shot several promos to get his persona of being superior in athletics or anything else he did. These clips showed him hitting half-court, three-point, and no-look basketball shots, bowling a score of 300, running the table in billiards, throwing then catching his own Hail Mary football pass, sinking a long golf putt, hitting home runs and making bulls-eyes in darts. Stars of various major league sports, including Wade Boggs, Steve Jordan, and Mike Modano, co-starred with Hennig in these vignettes.

Mr. Perfect - initially introduced as "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig - went undefeated for over a year, beating mid-card wrestlers including The Blue Blazer, The Red Rooster and Jimmy Snuka. Although undefeated on television, Hennig fought Bret "Hit Man" Hart to a draw at several house shows. Later in 1989, Mr. Perfect began appearing with Lanny Poffo, who had turned heel earlier in the year and began competing as "The Genius," an arrogant scholar. That fall, Hennig began feuding with Hulk Hogan over the WWF Championship. In the first nationally televised contest of a rivalry that would span Hennig's WWF and WCW careers, he defeated Bret Hart on the November 6, 1989 edition of ''Prime Time Wrestling'', when he pulled Hart's tights during a roll-up, building momentum for an eventual meeting with Hogan. Their feud heated up when, after The Genius defeated Hogan by countout, Poffo and Hennig stole Hogan's title belt and destroyed it backstage. Although Hogan later pinned "Mr. Perfect" at several house shows, these were not taped and no reference was made to them on television. Hennig and Hogan were the last two men left in the 1990 Royal Rumble, with Hogan getting the victory. Hennig's first one-on-one loss on television was to Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake at WrestleMania VI at the Toronto Skydome, though a week earlier he was pinned by The Ultimate Warrior in a taped show at Madison Square Garden.

Enlisting Bobby Heenan as his new manager, Mr. Perfect went on to win the vacant Intercontinental Title in the final round of a tournament in April 1990 by defeating two-time Intercontinental Champion Tito Santana. He lost the belt to The Texas Tornado four months later at SummerSlam, but regained the title back on November 19, 1990, thanks to interference from Ted DiBiase. This title win aired on the December 15, 1990 edition of WWF Superstars of Wrestling. Perfect faced the Big Boss Man at WrestleMania VII, where a disqualification loss meant that he retained his title. The following month he was the winner of a 20-man Battle Royal on ''Saturday Night's Main Event''. Perfect held the Intercontinental Title until August 1991, when a broken tailbone and buldged discs forced him to drop the belt to Bret Hart at SummerSlam; In the month of May prior to this match, Heenan retired from managing, which led to "Coach" John Tolos becoming Mr. Perfect's new manager. This was short-lived, as Perfect had actually retired from the ring a couple months before SummerSlam, but he just returned for one match to drop the title to Hart. Hennig spent the next year plus, trying to recuperate from his injuries. While recovering, he acted as Ric Flair's "executive consultant" during Flair's two WWF Championship reigns.

He also worked as a color commentator on WWF Superstars of Wrestling following Survivor Series 1991 until the Superstars before the next Survivor Series, acting as a suitable heel foil to Vince McMahon's play-by-play. Perfect began a return to wrestling and a face turn when he had a falling-out with Flair and Heenan (Flair's financial adviser) on the last Prime Time Wrestling before Survivor Series 1992 after Randy Savage asked Perfect to be his partner against Flair and Razor Ramon at the 1992 Survivor Series. After initially laughing off Savage's decision, Perfect was swayed by Savage's cajoling and by Heenan's comments that Perfect wasn't capable of wrestling on that level anymore and demanded that Perfect follow orders and do as he was told. Immediately afterward, Perfect turned towards the camera to accept Savage's proposal, much to the horror of Heenan, who then slapped Perfect across his face. An infuriated Perfect responded by grabbing Heenan by his tie and pouring a full pitcher of water over Heenan's head. Perfect then stated that he was "back" as Savage's partner at the Survivor Series, much to the delight of the Prime Time Wrestling cast of Hillbilly Jim, Jim Duggan, and Vince McMahon. Perfect returned to the ring at the Survivor Series and, despite some initial mistrust between them, he and Savage won the match by disqualification. Perfect later eliminated Flair from the 1993 Royal Rumble and defeated Flair the next night on ''Monday Night Raw'' in a "Loser Leaves the WWF Match". In reality, Flair gave his notice that he was going back to WCW shortly after Survivor Series and promised to put over Perfect before he left.

He then went on to feud with Lex Luger, whom Heenan introduced into the WWF at the Royal Rumble. Luger won their match at WrestleMania IX though both of Perfect's feet were clearly between the ropes. Afterwards, Perfect chased Luger backstage where he was jumped from behind by Luger's onscreen ally Shawn Michaels. This feud with Michaels led to an Intercontinental Title match at Summerslam 1993, which Perfect lost by countout due to interference from Michael's new bodyguard Diesel. As stated in ''WWF Magazine'', Perfect was responsible for coining Michaels' moniker, "The Heartbreak Kid".

Hennig also competed in the 1993 King of the Ring tournament, losing in the semi-finals to eventual winner Bret Hart.

He was then set to participate in the opening bout at 1993's Survivor Series, but due to the re-emergence of his back injuries, was replaced by "Macho Man" Randy Savage and apparently had left the company.

1994 return

At WrestleMania X, Mr. Perfect was the special guest referee for the title match between Lex Luger and Yokozuna. Perfect disqualified Luger after Luger put his hands on him, instead of counting the pin. Perfect was set to start another feud with Luger (this time with Perfect as the heel) following WrestleMania, but plans were changed when Perfect's back problems flared up again. He left the Federation in the spring of 1994.

1995–1996 return

Hennig took a year off to recover from a back injury but before he returned to wrestling he took out a very big insurance policy with the company Lloyds of London.By December 1996 Hennig either wanted to return to in-ring action or the insurance company stopped paying him because his health was back to normal. He returned in 1995 as a color commentator at the Survivor Series. The following weekend, Jerry Lawler announced Perfect as his replacement on ''WWF Superstars'', his second stint as a color commentator on the show with McMahon, this time with Jim Ross added as the analyst. Later in 1996, McMahon left and Ross switched to the play-by-play role. Perfect also did color commentary with McMahon at the 1996 Royal Rumble and the 1996 SummerSlam with McMahon and Ross, and also at In Your House 10: Mind Games with Ross and McMahon, and in the video game WWF In Your House with McMahon. Mr. Perfect was once again called upon to serve as special referee for the WWF Championship match at 1996 King of the Ring between Shawn Michaels and the British Bulldog.

Mr. Perfect was initially going to make his wrestling comeback on Monday Night Raw in October 1996 against Hunter Hearst Helmsley but was attacked by Helmsley backstage just moments before their match. It appeared Helmsley's attack left Perfect injured and unable to compete. This all turned out to be a ruse for the purpose of suckering "Wildman" Marc Mero into defending his Intercontinental Championship against Helmsley. With help from Perfect, Helmsley won the Intercontinental Title from Mero, and Perfect was once again a heel. Perfect began to serve as a mentor to Helmsley and "hand picked" beautiful models to accompany Helmsley to the ring. Perfect disappeared from the WWF once again shortly before the 1996 Survivor Series. He wasn't seen in the WWF again until 2002.

World Championship Wrestling (1997–2000)

Hennig signed with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1997, and since he could no longer be billed as Mr. Perfect as that moniker was trademarked by the WWF he returned to wrestling under his real name for the first time since his AWA departure. Both the Four Horsemen and the New World Order (nWo) showed interest in recruiting him. Hennig made his official WCW debut at Bash at the Beach '97 as Diamond Dallas Page's mystery tag-team partner. Hennig ended up turning on Page costing them the match. After feuding with Page for a month he joined the Four Horsemen, taking the spot of the retiring Arn Anderson. Anderson's implorement that Hennig take "his spot" was the subject of the following week's parody of the Horsemen by the nWo, which lead to the WarGames match. At Fall Brawl, Hennig was allegedly jumped backstage by the nWo and came to ringside mid-match with his arm in a sling. The whole thing turned out to be a setup as Hennig betrayed the Horsemen and joined the nWo, handcuffing the other Horsemen to the cage and then slamming the steel cage door into Ric Flair's head, afterward claiming he had "destroyed the Horseman" and as a further slap to Flair, claimed to be "the wrestler that made Minnesota famous". Two months after he joined the nWo, his childhood friend, Rick Rude, was also brought in. Hennig won the United States Title from Steve McMichael in September 1997 and defended it by defeating many superstars like Ric Flair, Lex Luger, The Giant, Chris Benoit, Jeff Jarrett, and Diamond Dallas Page to name a few before losing it to Page in December of that year at Starrcade.

He struggled with a knee injury for much of 1998. When the nWo broke into two different factions, the Wolfpac (red and black) and nWo Hollywood (black and white), both Hennig and Rude joined the Wolfpac. The two did not really fit in with the fan favorite Wolfpac faction, especially when Rick Rude would still get on the microphone and tell the fans to shut up. Hennig was not able to compete against Goldberg at the Great American Bash that June, so he asked Konnan to replace him. Konnan lost the match, and afterward both Hennig and Rude attacked him, removing themselves from the Wolfpac and joining nWo Hollywood. Despite his injury he faced WCW World Champion Goldberg in a losing effort at Bash at the Beach. That September, Hennig was taken off WCW TV due to his injury. He returned at Starrcade to aid Eric Bischoff in defeating Ric Flair.

In early 1999, he began tagging with Barry Windham. Hennig and Windham lost to Ric Flair and Flair's son David at Souled Out due to interference by Arn Anderson. After the match, the rest of the nWo came out and humiliated Flair by handcuffing him to the ring, and forced him to watch his son David take a beating from Hollywood Hogan. Shortly afterward, Hennig was attacked by the nWo and thrown out of the group for no apparent reason other than Scott Hall stating ''"it's time to trim the fat"''. Hennig went on to win the World Tag Team Title with Barry Windham. Three months later, he became the leader of the West Texas Rednecks with Barry, Barry's brother, Kendall, and Bobby Duncum, Jr.. They were supposed to be heels to feud with rapper Master P's No Limit Soldiers, but the southern WCW fans cheered them and the angle was soon dropped. The Rednecks recorded an infamous country song titled "Rap is Crap." After the Rednecks disbanded, Hennig turned face and feuded with Harlem Heat and Shawn Stasiak. During the feud, Stasiak called himself "Perfect Shawn" (pronounced like perfection) Stasiak, which was a ripoff of the "Mr. Perfect" gimmick. After Stasiak won the feud, Hennig briefly began coaching Stasiak. On November 21, 1999 at WCW Mayhem in Toronto's Air Canada Centre, Hennig lost a retirement match to Buff Bagwell. Hennig left WCW after his contract expired in the summer of 2000.

X Wrestling Federation (2001–2002)

Hennig was a franchise star for the short lived X Wrestling Federation where he had a brief run. The promotion quickly went under on behalf of the WWF buying out many of its major talent, including Hennig himself. Hennig wrestled a well-known match with Hulk Hogan in XWF, where Hogan defeated him.

World Wrestling Federation (2002)

During the build up for January's Royal Rumble, it was announced that Hennig would be returning as one of the 30 combatants. Hennig, now billed as "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig, entered the Royal Rumble at #25, and was one of the final three competitors before being eliminated by Triple H. Mr. Perfect made a strong showing at the Rumble, hitting the Perfect-Plex on Kurt Angle and holding his own with the WWF's best at the time. His performance, along with the positive reaction of the Atlanta crowd, earned Perfect a full time contract with the WWF. He appeared the next night on ''Raw'' in a match with The Big Valbowski. He then had short feuds with Stone Cold Steve Austin and Rob Van Dam before forming a tag team with Shawn Stasiak at house shows throughout March and April as well as a tag team on television with The Big Boss Man. Mr. Perfect was drafted to Raw during the first ever WWF Draft. However, he was released from the company on May 5, 2002 due to a physical confrontation with Brock Lesnar. Among other incidents of drunkenness, the tussle took place on the infamous "plane ride from hell."

Death and legacy

On February 10, 2003, Hennig was found dead in a Florida hotel room. He was 44 years old. The Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office declared acute cocaine intoxication to be the cause of his death. His father said that steroids and painkillers also contributed to his death. Hennig was survived by his parents, Larry and Irene, two brothers, Randy and Jesse, and two sisters, Sandra and Susan, wife Leonice and four children, Joe, Amy, Kaite, and Hank.

WWE aired a video tribute as well as words from friends and former co-workers Jerry "The King" Lawler and Jim Ross on Raw following the news of Hennig's death. TNA paid tribute to Hennig by displaying his wrestling singlet and a framed photo as he was employed by TNA at the time of his death. A tribute song about Hennig, "My Perfect Friend", was featured on the 2003 "Macho Man" Randy Savage album ''Be a Man''. Other peers including Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels have also commended Hennig's in-ring talents.

Hennig's widow, Leonice, signed a WWE Legends contract on her husband's behalf. Hennig's two children, Joe and Amy are both professional wrestlers. Joe Hennig works for WWE under the ring name "Michael McGillicutty"

Wade Boggs, who appeared in a vignette with Hennig and was a friend of his, inducted him into the WWE Hall of Fame on March 31, 2007. His wife, his four children, and his parents accepted the award on his behalf. On July 4, 2007, Hennig was posthumously inducted into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in Waterloo, Iowa. His father, who was inducted the prior year, represented him at the event.

On September 9, 2008, WWE released a two disc DVD set focused on Hennig titled ''The Life and Times of Mr. Perfect''. Promotion for the video included Charlie Haas spoofing Hennig's memorable sports vignettes at a Dave & Buster's on ''Raw''. Finding that he was incapable of performing those feats, Haas decided on one of his idols that "there was only one Mr. Perfect." The week after the DVD's release, its first week possible, it went to number one on the Billboard Recreational Sports DVD sales list.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

''Perfect-Plex'' (WWF) / ''Hennig-Plex'' (WCW) (Bridging cradle suplex)

Signature moves

Atomic drop, sometimes inverted

Backhand chop

Bridging belly to back suplex

Dropkick, sometimes from the top rope

Figure four leglock

Forearm smash

Hip toss

Indian deathlock

Kneebar followed by a knee breaker (leaps up and drives the knee of his inside leg into the back of his opponent's knee)

Knee drop

Seated senton to force an opponent to the mat or to an opponent's leg draped over the first rope

Sleeper hold

Snapmare, often followed by a rolling neck snap

Spear

Spinning toe hold

Standing headscissors into a swinging knee strike

Swinging knee lift

Managers

Madusa Miceli

Diamond Dallas Page

*The Genius

*Bobby Heenan

*Coach John Tolos

*Rick Rude

*Vincent / Curly Bill / Shane

Nicknames

"The Perfect One"

"Cool" Curt Hennig

Entrance themes

*"Theme of Exodus" by Ernest Gold (used only briefly; 1988)

*"Perfection" (also known as "The Perfect Twist") by Jim Johnston (WWF; 1989–1993, 1994, 1995–1996, 2002)

* "Rock Energy (a)" from the Chappell Recorded Music Library (WCW; 1997)

*"Rockhouse" by J.Hart and H.Helm (WCW; used while a part of the New World Order; 1997–1998, 1998–1999)

*"Wolfpac Theme" (WCW; used while a part of the nWo Wolfpac; 1998)

*"Road to Glory (b)" from the Chappell Recorded Music Library (WCW; 1999)

*"Rap is Crap" by the West Texas Rednecks (WCW; 1999)

*"Good Ol' Boys" by the West Texas Rednecks (WCW; 1999)

*"Champion" by Dale Oliver (TNA; 2002–03)

Championships and accomplishments

American Wrestling Association

AWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

AWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Scott Hall

Future of Wrestling

FOW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

i-Generation Superstars of Wrestling

i-Generation World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

Main Event Championship Wrestling

MECW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Pacific Northwest Wrestling

NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Larry Hennig (1), Buddy Rose (1) and Pat McGhee (1)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (1987)

PWI ranked him #9 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the year in the PWI 500 in 1993

PWI ranked him #55 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003

PWI ranked him #98 of the Top 100 Tag Teams of the "PWI Years" with Scott Hall in 2003

World Championship Wrestling

WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

WCW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Barry Windham

World Wrestling Council

WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment

WWF Intercontinental Championship (2 times)

WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2007)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

*Most Improved (1983)

References

External links

WWE Hall of Fame profile

Curt Hennig at the Online World of Wrestling

tribute the Hall of Fame Curt Hennig - Absolutely Perfect

"Mr.Perfect"Perfect Entertainer

The Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum's induction of Curt Hennig

The 10 Greatest Modern Wrestlers: #8, Curt Hennig

SLAM! Sports mourning the death of Hennig

Petite Power Lifter

Category:1958 births Category:2003 deaths Category:American professional wrestlers Category:American Roman Catholics Category:People from Hennepin County, Minnesota Category:Professional wrestling announcers Category:Professional wrestling managers and valets Category:WWE Hall of Fame Category:Cocaine-related deaths in Florida

da:Curt Hennig de:Curt Hennig es:Curt Hennig fr:Curt Hennig ko:커트 헤닉 it:Curt Hennig nl:Curt Hennig ja:カート・ヘニング no:Curt Hennig pt:Curt Hennig ru:Курт Хенниг fi:Curt Hennig sv:Curt Hennig th:เคิร์ต เฮนนิค