Larry Hennig
Larry Hennig | |
---|---|
Born | Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. | June 18, 1936
Died | December 6, 2018 St. Cloud, Minnesota, U.S. | (aged 82)
Spouse(s) |
Irene Hennig (m. 1955) |
Children | 5, including Curt Hennig |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Larry Hennig |
Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1] |
Billed weight | 275 lb (125 kg)[1] |
Billed from | Robbinsdale, Minnesota[1] |
Trained by | Verne Gagne[2] |
Debut | 1956 |
Retired | 1985 |
Larry Hennig (June 18, 1936 – December 6, 2018) was an American
Professional wrestling career
American Wrestling Association
In the early 1960s, Hennig entered the American Wrestling Association (AWA) under the tutelage of Verne Gagne.[2] He eventually found some main event success and shared a brief Tag Team Championship reign with Duke Hoffman.[3][2] But due to frequently losing to rougher, more experienced wrestlers, he began questioning the scientific style instilled into him by Gagne and looked toward a different approach (in kayfabe).[3]
During the summer of 1963, Hennig left the AWA for a stint in the
Verne Gagne, in particular, was a hated rival of the team and recruited many different partners to try to defeat Race and Hennig during their AWA run. Gagne and Crusher won the titles from them six months after Race and Hennig's first reign but lost them back on August 7, 1965. The team retained the titles until May 1966 when they lost to Bruiser and Crusher.[3] They then embarked on a tour through New Zealand, Japan, and Australia where they became the first Tag Team Champions of Australia's World Championship Wrestling in June.[3] Just before leaving to Japan, they dropped the titles to Mark Lewin and Dominic DeNucci.[3]
Race and Hennig returned to the US in fall of 1966, starting back at the bottom of the competition. As they climbed the ranks all over again, they received a title shot on January 6, 1967, and defeated Bruiser and Crusher in
Knee injury
On November 1, 1967, during a tag team match in Winnipeg, Hennig was in the middle of lifting Johnny Powers as another opponent rammed into him from the front.[4] As he dropped Powers to the mat, Hennig found that his knee had bent inward.[4] Despite severe damage to the cartilage and tendons, he refused to go to the local hospital and instead had Race drive him 500 miles home to Minneapolis.[4] The injury ended their last title run. The AWA allowed Harley Race to select another partner to defend the championship.[3]
In March 1968, Hennig returned to once again wrestle alongside Race.
In November and December 1970, Hennig wrestled in Japan for the
Hennig made a face turn on August 10, 1974, at a TV taping in Minneapolis, now sporting a full red beard and calling himself "the Axe" when he saved the High Flyers, Jim Brunzell and Greg Gagne, from an attack. The event had Hennig opposing his former allies, Nick Bockwinkel and Ray Stevens, and manager Bobby Heenan (who Bockwinkel and Stevens hired following their recent loss of the AWA World Tag Team title to The Crusher and Billy Robinson the previous month) as they assaulted the Flyers during an episode of AWA All-Star Wrestling.[7]
During this time, Hennig also appeared in the independent film, The Wrestler, where he faced Verne Gagne at the Cow Palace in the opening match. In 1976, Hennig formed a team with Joe LeDuc.[8]
Return to AWA
When Harley Race returned to the AWA in 1984, he wrestled Hennig's son,
Hennig also traveled to New York City to unsuccessfully challenge Bruno Sammartino for his WWF World Heavyweight Championship title.[4]
Personal life
Before pursuing a career in professional wrestling, Hennig became the Minnesota State High School Heavyweight Champion from Robbinsdale, Minnesota, in 1954.[8] He was awarded a scholarship from the University of Minnesota to wrestle and play football but had to quit due to the priorities of family and raising children.[1][4][8] He had five children, including professional wrestler Curt Hennig.[2] Curt died on February 10, 2003, of an acute cocaine intoxication. After the highly publicized death of Chris Benoit, Hennig shared a few words with USA Today regarding premature deaths in professional wrestling.[9]
Hennig was also known for his completion of the 1966 and 1967 I-500 snowmobile race, from Winnipeg, Manitoba to St. Paul, Minnesota. He is most notably remembered from the 1966 race in which he drove through a chicken coop. However, this did not prevent him from successfully completing the 500 mile race.
Post-retirement
Following Hennig's retirement from professional wrestling, he and his wife became owners of a real estate company in St. Cloud, Minnesota. He had sold real estate since 1957 and also worked as an auctioneer.[2] He also dabbled in commodity futures, specifically CME Dairy.[10]
Death
Hennig died on December 6, 2018, of kidney failure at the age of 82.[11][12]
Championships and accomplishments
- American Wrestling Association
- Lars Anderson[13]
- AWA World Tag Team Championship (4 times) - with Duke Hoffman (1) and Harley Race (3)[14]
- AWA World Tag Team Championship Tournament (1962) - with Duke Hoffman[15]
- Cauliflower Alley Club
- George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
- International Wrestling Enterprise
- IWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Blackjack Mulligan[18]
- Pacific Northwest Wrestling
- Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Class of 2017 - Inducted as a part of a tag team with Harley Race[19]
- Western States Sports
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7566-4190-0.
- ^ a b c d e f Russo, Ric (June 2, 2000). "What Ever Happened To . . . Larry 'The Axe' Hennig?". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-5502-2683-6.
- ^ a b c d e Oliver, Greg (December 14, 2005). "Larry Hennig one tough guy". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on January 1, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2012.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Larry 'The Axe' Hennig passes away at 82". WON/F4W - WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, UFC News, UFC results. December 6, 2018. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Larry Hennig - matches - International Wrestling Enterprise". Cagematch.net. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
- ^ Spectacular Legacy of the AWA (DVD). WWE. 2006.
- ^ a b c d e Ward, Marshall (April 4, 2015). "Larry Hennig Q&A: Early days through to the CAC's Iron Mike Award". SLAM Wrestling. Archived from the original on August 17, 2018. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
- ^ a b Saraceno, Jon "Wrestling: Too many sequels to this tragedy" USA Today (2007). Retrieved on April 26, 2008.
- ^ Larry Hennig - 2006 Hall of Fame Inductee Archived 2008-05-09 at the Wayback Machine WrestlingMuseum.org. Retrieved on April 26, 2008.
- ^ "Larry "The Axe" Hennig Passes Away". pwinsider.com. December 6, 2018.
- ^ WWE Announces Larry 'The Axe' Hennig Has Died at Age 82
- ^ "AWA Midwest Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
- ^ "AWA World Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling History". prowrestlinghistory.com.
- ^ "Larry "The Axe" Hennig to receive the 2015 Iron Mike Award". Cauliflower Alley Club. March 5, 2015. Archived from the original on December 4, 2018. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
- ^ "STEINERS, HENNIG AND MORE HEADLING [sic] 2014 NATIONAL PRO WRESTLING HALL OF FAME INDUCTIONS - PWInsider.com". www.pwinsider.com.
- ^ "IWA World Tag Team Title (IWE)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
- ^ "PWHF Hall of Famers" (PDF). Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
- ^ "Texas Brass Knuckles Title (W. Texas)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
External links
- SLAM! Sports - Larry Hennig one tough guy[usurped]
- Larry Hennig's profile at Cagematch.net , Wrestlingdata.com , Internet Wrestling Database