Dr. Tom Prichard speaks on death of Curt Henning

[Ultimo Dugas 0]

It's days like this ...

by Dr. Tom Prichard

Feb. 11, 2003

 

It's times like these all I can do is shake my head and ask, why? I have the greatest job in the world. For over 25 years, I have met some pretty cool and crazy characters. The reason I wanted to be a wrestler in the first place was because it looked like fun. You get to travel the world and be around all kinds of interesting people and places.

 

Along the way, we've lost some key people who made our life on the road fun and exciting. On Monday, Feb. 10, we lost Curt Hennig.

 

I met Curt in Portland, Ore., in 1984. Right away, he made me feel at home. I could tell Curt was someone who loved life and kept things light on the road. The travel in Oregon wasn't bad at all. We were home almost every night. We mainly wrestled in high school gyms and National Guard armories.

 

We had a pretty good crew at the time: Matt Borne, Mando Guerrero, Jerry Gray, Brett Sawyer, Buddy Rose, Rip Oliver, Frankie Hill (aka Jules Strongbow), Ed Wiskoski, Mike Miller, and I'm sure there were some other guys whose names escape me right now. Everybody got along, but that didn't stop the ribbing.

 

One night while wrestling in an armory, Matt Borne started ribbing Frankie Hill about his shoes. They were new and pretty expensive. Well, Frankie went out for his match, and when he came back, he only found one shoe. Matt had taken the other shoe and hid it on top of the toilet. It didn't take long for Frankie to find it. But Frankie had to run in during the main event, which meant he had to leave his belongings once again in the dressing room.

 

As soon as Frankie walked out the door, Curt took both shoes and put each one in the toilet, and he and Matt (they rode together) left! Frankie came back from the match and found both shoes soaking wet. He was pissed but managed to laugh it off by the time we got to the car. Nobody "stooged" on Curt or Matt. Frankie knew who did it and was planning on giving them both a "receipt."

 

Curt played innocent and Frankie never got his revenge, as Curt left the territory and went home to Minnesota shortly thereafter.

 

Curt had a lot of success and made things fun and interesting wherever he went. When Jimmy Del Ray, Jim Cornette and I came to WWE in 1993, Curt picked up where we left off. It's like that a lot of times. You haven't seen somebody in a while, but you start reminiscing about the old times and the good times you had in another part of the country during a different chapter in your life.

 

I hadn't talked to Curt since he came back for his last go-round with WWE. The last time I saw him and talked at any length was in Houston at WrestleMania X-Seven. He looked great and was the same guy I knew years before. The news of his death was a shock. I felt numb as it started to sink in. I can only imagine how his family is dealing with their loss. I am grateful for the time I was around Curt and will always remember him for his free spirit and passion for not only this business, but also everything in life. He will be missed.

[Guest BobBacklundRules]

I was just talking to a friend of the Hennig family, the kids are taking it well but Curt's wife is struggeling. The family still doesn't know the cause of death. I'm still shocked.