Wrestling with History - March 19 (Patreon)

32 year ago:

Ultimate Warrior “unofficially” ended Mr. Perfect’s perfect streak at Madison Square Garden.

If anyone encapsulated their WWF name perfectly it was indeed “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig. You ask any of his colleagues and it was Hennig who was basically good to great at any sport he participated in, but he was undoubtedly excellent at the one true sport of pro wrestling.

Being AWA born and raised, Hennig first had his stop in WWWF in 1982, but came back as a full blown heel in 1988 with a series of hilarious vignettes that would showcase how great Hennig was at everything. From then on, his record remained “perfect” up until March 19, 1990 in the city of New York where he clashed with then Intercontinental Champion, Ultimate Warrior.

While Hennig was admired for his backstage demeanor and ring work, Ultimate Warrior (Jim Warrior) was the polar opposite. Known for his carelessness in the ring with his opponents, Warrior did himself zero favors at making himself friends with a veteran locker room, but what mattered (as it always does in wrestling) was how much money he raked in and it was undeniable that Warrior was the next big star behind Hulk Hogan. That was evident as Warrior was set to challenge Hogan for the WWF Title at WrestleMania VI in Toronto, but first he’d have to get through Curt. Even from a behind the curtain perspective, this bout seemed serendipitously ironic to occur, and what better venue to have it in than the “Mecca” MSG?

From a fan perspective, the match went…flawlessly as Perfect displayed his innate ability to sell and in turn, made Warrior look like a million bucks. Perfect kept Warrior grounded with submissions, but Warrior fired himself up for the expected finish of his gorilla press, splash and 1-2-3.

While many note that it was Brutus Beefcake who ended Perfect’s streak at the aforementioned WrestleMania VI, this bout occurred first and was then aired on the MSG Network.

The sweet serendipity continued later that year as Perfect would go on to win Warrior’s Intercontinental Championship in a tournament after Warrior vacated it when winning the WWE Championship.

27 years ago today

On March 19, 1995 WCW Uncensored took place from The Coliseum in Tupelo, Mississippi. The main event featured Hulk Hogan defeating Vader in a leather strap match.

17 years ago today

On March 19, 2000 WCW Uncensored took place at the American Airlines Center in Miami, FL. The main event featured Hulk Hogan defeating Ric Flair in a Yappapi Indian Strap match.

Follow Dominic DeAngelo from WrestleZone on Twitter @DominicDeAngelo. Thanks to @LetsGoBackToWCW for curating the historical moments.