One MIND-BLOWING Secret From Every WWE Royal Rumble

2002 - The Real Reason WWE Re-Signed Mr. Perfect

kurt angle steve austin mr perfect royal rumble 2002
WWE.com

It was magic when Mr. Perfect returned at Royal Rumble 2002, wasn’t it?

All those years of thrashed WCW-era Curt Hennig were erased. The cameo was helped, massively, by nostalgia - at the ideal time, too, since what was old felt new again. The fans were tired of the current product, since 2001 was such a disaster of a year.

Perfect still looked the part; it was almost as if he had been catapulted forward through time, and of all the characters to bring back, the technical genius was the best choice. In 2002, the desire to see great in-ring wrestlers in the main event scene was at its most intense among the hardcores. It was this exact sentiment that saw Chris Benoit get the push ahead of WrestleMania 20.

But it felt like more than a sweet mystery cameo. Perfect was in there for 15 minutes, part-eliminated Steve Austin alongside Kurt Angle, made the final three, and the nature of the match meant he could play the hits and play them well. The run wouldn’t last, but the moment is remembered fondly all these years later. Why did it happen?

The reason is less fuzzy than the occasion was: the WWF wanted to thwart a potential competitor.

X Wrestling Federation (XWF) was pitched by Kevin Harrington and ran by Jimmy Hart between 2001-2002. The basic thrust of it was to plug the market gap by using a readily available pool of talent - an unofficial WCW reboot deal. It was opportunistic and unlikely to succeed, but Vince didn’t want the XWF to stand even a miniscule chance, so he poached Hennig, who had earned praise for his work. This XWF business also hastened the inevitable return of Jerry Lawler.

Pushing Hennig so hard might have dissuaded other past names from joining up with the various post-buyout offshoot groups.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!