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The Champ is set to return to an area where he first learned the ropes to face the challenge of one of the Pacific Northwest Wrestling's greatest stars
MINNEAPOLIS, MN | 1987
Having defeated the legendary Nick Bockwinkel months earlier to capture the AWA World Heavyweight Championship, Curt Hennig prepares to tour the Pacific Northwest to defend his title.
It was a bit of a homecoming for Hennig, who gained valuable experience working in the area for longtime promoter Don Owen when he first started his career. The American Wrestling Promotion and Owens' Portland promotion had a longstanding working agreement and somewhat shared a huge swath of territory that encompassed much of the western United States and Canada. Therefore, the World Champion would sometimes make the pilgrimage there to put the gold up for grabs.
During his time as an up-and-coming star, Hennig would spend a considerable of time in the territory. He captured the PNW Heavyweight Championship once, as well as the tag team titles three times, once with his father - Larry 'The Ax' Hennig.
Now considered one of the best all-around performers on the planet, Hennig says in this AWA interview that he won't lose to The Grappler and his dreaded, loaded boot.
However, in May 1988, he did lose the AWA title to Jerry Lawler in Memphis, TN, and departed for the WWF shortly thereafter. He would go on to have two reigns as the Intercontinental Champion and eventually be elected to the promotion's Hall of Fame in 2007
His posthumous induction would be accepted on his behalf by his family. On February 10, 2003, Hennig was found dead in his Brandon, Florida, hotel room, at the age of 44. Acute cocaine intoxication was ruled to be the cause of his death.
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