It seemed like Curt Hennig was plucked from low-level upstart X Wrestling Federation in late-2001 on a whim. What use would the post-Attitude WWE have for a 43-year-old that was rather far removed from his athletically-stellar heyday of the early 1990s? Mr. Perfect was slated for a guest appearance in the 2002 Royal Rumble, which went well enough. He got the big nostalgia pop, and the crowd went berserk when he dropped Kurt Angle with the Perfect-Plex. After that, it was all downhill. Perfect struggled to keep up with the likes of Edge and Rob Van Dam in TV matches, and the allure faded fast. His TNA run later in the year was worse, showing a steep decline from the days when he was one of McMahon's premier athletes.