Nobody's Perfect, But You're Perfect For Me

Stan Hansen (c) VS Curt Hennig - AWA World Championship 5/31/1986

CJD: To paraphrase Bryan Danielson. There's a time to wrestle, and there's a time to fight. This was fight time and these two guys knew it. This match has a bit of a reputation as one of the under the radar greats in AWA history and rightfully so. If I'm making a top 10 of Hennig's career this is on there because it's such an interesting side of him. The bumping and selling are still huge but much more understated by his standards. He's great at sticking and moving and making you think he's got a chance against "Tough Cookie" Stan Hansen. And the most impressive thing about this match might be Hansen's performance as the dominant but vulnerable Champion. Pro wrestling is a hobby that I'll keep coming back to because it's always there to give me a glimpse into something fantastical and larger than life when my mind needs it most. I'd seen this match before but that's how I felt watching it again today and hopefully you do too.

JJZ: The energy from the jump is off the charts. It was a fucking fist fight to say the least baby. Curt Henning could sell a ketchup popsicle to a woman in white gloves. Jesus he makes everything look so painful. Wild. This match in one word is wild. I felt like it could've ended with any fall. Let's talk about the fact that these two didn't take a second to rest at all. It was bedlam in a squared circle. The only negative was the they were both wearing black trunks. Crazy fun ass ride that I could watch over again right now my beautiful long haired friend.

Green Onions

Booker T (c) VS Curt Hennig - WCW TV Championship 4/29/1999

JJZ: Alright so let's start with the obvious Chris. That finish was disappointing. My first thought was fucking shit. I can't play this forward now. But the match stayed with me on a whole. I kept thinking to myself, man for the end of his career Hennig can fucking go. And Book looked like he the was right there at his feet. The potential was radiating off of him. This match was a showcase of what will become and what made someone great. I honestly don't know if either ever reached their full potential but I loved both of these careers.

CJD: I would say these are two of the  prime examples of never hit their ceiling in wrestling history. I bet some would disagree on Booker T, that if anything he overachieved. I think watching him in this time period though and you can see ACE written all over him and he only briefly got to hit that level. Listen to how he's got that crowd in the palm of his hand. These are two guys who understood the broad strokes of American heavyweight wrestling so well while bringing an explosive athletic style. They're similar in a lot of ways when you think about it, great characters yet largely forgettable promos (outside of King Bookah). And they worked together exceptionally well in this match! I get why this match stuck with you because I'm a sucker for this style when it's done well. This is Sting, Dustin Rhodes, Steve Austin, Barry Windham, etc. Good mechanics, great fire, compelling face/heel dynamic. I'll forgive the crap finish. This match was a hum dinger!

Arrive, Spit Gum, Perfect-Plex, Leave

Mr Perfect VS Tito Santana - WWF Intercontinental Championship Tournament Finals 4/23/1990

JJZ: So when I was a kid the first live wrestling show I went to was WWF at the Spectrum in Philadelphia 1990. The main event of that show was Mr Perfect VS Tito Santana for the Intercontinental title. I loved that match. Perfect VS Tito was the first real feud I was ever fully invested in as a fan. I'm so in love when these two work each other that my opinion is honestly biased. So I tried not to play this match forward but everything else I watched from Perfect wasn't even close to this for me. Watching this match is like reliving my childhood. Jesse Ventura calling Tito Chico is so wrong but so familiar. Even for the early 90s cartoony WWF this match could wow the crowd in any promotion. You said that you're not super familiar with Mr Perfect in early WWF but you owe it to yourself to find out what you've been missing.

CJD: Chico trying to turn this match into a Tijuana Brawl! I love hearing about your childhood experiences with this feud. RIP the Spectrum, one of the greatest venues ever. And RIP Curt Hennig, one of the only wrestlers who could consistently work from under as a heel and still make me enjoy it. You can take the boy out of AWA but you can't take AWA out of the boy. It's weird, I remember watching the Mr Perfect vignettes as a kid, but you're right that I don't remember his matches until around '91. This was the best version of that cartoony WWF you mentioned, still featuring great action, strong characters, and an antagonist who believes in his motivation. Mix in Ventura on commentary and a little dash of Heenan (spoiler alert) and more than a great match, this is a great moment in time for pro wrestling. I never knew this is what happened to the Intercontinental title (well one of the tag belts here, but you get the drift) after Warrior vacated it, it was cool to learn that little bit of history. And I can't wait to dive into more Tito, he's another childhood favorite I've never gotten very deep into. One last thing John. I've gotta say, 7 year old JJZ had great taste in wrestling. You were destined to be a curator right from the start!

I've Been To The Hitman School

Bret Hart VS Mr Perfect - WWF Toronto 4/23/1989

CJD: I know you love the way these two work with each other. But I don't know if you've ever seen this early match from their rivalry?? This had a lot of the elements that would build their future matches, including the little bit of post match shenanigans. But where things fit and how they played out felt different, like a demo recording of what would go on to be a classic song. As such there's a rough around the edges quality to this match that I find endearing. I wish we had 10 more matches from these two that made tape, I'd love to see them wrestle once with the roles reversed. Bret's a better heel than he often gets credit for and young Hennig in particular was a great babyface. If only.

JJZ: I could watch these two for days. I would love to have all their house show matches on tape also. I'm sure they changed it up so much. Watching this match you get quickly reminded how amazing of a bumper Perfect was. I still don't understand why he never got a world title run. Bret brings the psychology while Curt sells his ass off. Classic heel VS face here, Perfect not being able to out-wrestle Bret so he does a few underhanded things to gain some offense. And I'm totally not trying to undersell Bret's bumping btw. Everyone loves that sterum first turnbuckle spot. I'd imagine since this is in Canada and the time it was given that this was the main event. I would have loved to have been there for it. Great pick baby cakes.