Hennig/Hart career trajectory if Curt never gets injured

[eudypfohl]

Around 1991 it evidently got so bad that he needed to take significant time off. Broken tailbone, disc issues (and having to execute the Perfect Plex must've been absolute murder on his back). He wouldn't wrestle for about 16 months...then after a nice comeback run from late 1992 through 1993 he would disappear again.

If Hennigs back is healthy does Bret get the title at Summerslam 1991 or do they keep the belt on Curt for a longer run? I always felt that injury really opened the door for Bret to get the IC Title (which meant a lot back then) it was a huge career boost and hinted that Vince may have bigger plans for you down the line.

Hitman in 1991 was already 34 years old...if he doesn't get the belt there what does his future look like? Does he get it later or does he get lost in the mid card shuffle?

Would Hennig eventually be positioned for a world title run around 1992 or 1993 (would it be as a heel or face?)

[Mozenrath]

I feel like the IC title change still might happen given Hennig loved Hart and would have wanted to put him over.

As for the world title, it's not impossible. It's not like the WWF wasn't experimenting a bit by then.

[XIII]

He probably would have went to WCW with Rick Rude honestly.

[tirtefaa]

Nah, I'd say Bret's career still maintains course.

As much as I love Hennig, I think Bret was better at just about everything else besides selling.

And even if it wasn't for this injury, Hennig would become plagued with them for the rest of his WWF run if they ever decided to give him a title run. Just about every program he had was cut short due to injury.

[celtics543]

Bret still beats Flair in 1992. I think Wrestlemania 9 could have been Mr. Perfect vs Bret Hart. The person who may see their push changed is HBK. He still gets over and gets to the top but maybe not tied to Bret as closely because Curt would have been one of Bret's main rivals. Maybe Owen loses that spot instead.

Basically I think Bret's career still works out the same but HBK and Owen Hart maybe have to wait longer for a main event run. Or maybe it's Curt instead of Bob Backlund who takes the title off Bret in 1994.

[Jaws the Shark]

Something I had never considered until just now about Hennig and the world title is if he would have been reliable enough in the drug test era to have a run with the title. Obviously we all know the circumstances surrounding his death, but he'd been a heavy user since the eighties, this is the man who Scott Hall "credited" with introducing him to drugs. Could he have been trusted with the title at a time when the WWF was under the microscope for drugs?

[tafkaga]

Oct 3, 2023 7:49:46 GMT -5 tirtefaa said:

Nah, I'd say Bret's career still maintains course.

As much as I love Hennig, I think Bret was better at just about everything else besides selling.

And even if it wasn't for this injury, Hennig would become plagued with them for the rest of his WWF run if they ever decided to give him a title run. Just about every program he had was cut short due to injury.

I agree, only I'd say Bret was better at selling too.  Hennig was certainly more flashy, but I think that only really worked for him as a heel.  

Hennig had the edge over Bret in terms of having that larger than life charisma to be a star in the 80's and early 90's, but I think Bret was much more at home in the edgier late 90's wrestling landscape. 

[tirtefaa]

Oct 3, 2023 9:24:15 GMT -5 tafkaga said:

I agree, only I'd say Bret was better at selling too.  Hennig was certainly more flashy, but I think that only really worked for him as a heel.

I'm actually of the same opinion as well. I actually prefer the way Bret would sell, but Perfect stands out because of it.

[msc]

Speaking as a huge Mr Perfect fan, he still drops the belt at Summerslam. He loved Bret (and vice versa).

Speaking as a Mr Perfect fan, the idea of getting more Hennig matches in 1991-93, or 1994-97, or after Feb 2003, would have been amazing and full of great matches.

Unfortunately, as a realist Mr Perfect fan, I know that you can't just cancel someone's demons - addictions and mental health wise. For all we know, that long 90s break kept him alive for five extra years because he wasn't self-medicating after match bumps.

I've fantasy booked Curt Hennig WWF/E title runs every year since 1999, but yeah, he was never going to get further than he did, because of those demons.