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IT'S HARD TO SAY GOODBYE
A revised version of a letter
Cheryl wrote to her friends
and family, hours after
Curt Hennig's funeral

Hello all,

This is long, but just wanted to share it with you...

It has been a rough week and an even sadder couple of days. I went to Curt Hennig's prayer service and met his family Sunday night, then went to his Catholic church service (Mass) Monday morning preceding his burial.

Sunday night, I had the awesome but heartbreaking (because it was so sad) experience of meeting great, big Larry the Ax Hennig and hugging him as we wept on each other's shoulders...Leonice Hennig (Curt's wife) doing the same and pouring out her sadness and concerns as we held each other's hand tightly the whole time...and meeting Curt's mom (in the women's restroom of all places) and sharing a long hug and listening to her memories as well. They are an incredible, beautiful family. They all said that they don't know what to do now that he is gone. I had the incredible opportunity to encourage them to lean on God and tell about His love for them, as well as share a little bit about my memories of Curt. Larry was incredibly hospitable and shook everyone's hand who stood in line, saying "Welcome and thank you for joining all of us in our family's home tonight..." as he tried to restrain his tears. My heart broke for them, and I was so glad I could be there to tell them how sorry I was and listen to their thoughts.

The only comical part of this service was that they were softly playing some of Curt's favorite music in the chapel, and then all of a sudden, we could all hear "Rap is Crap" playing over the speakers (the song that Curt used to sing when he was a part of the West Texas Rednecks). In another room, a small television played the old match WWF match between Roddy Piper and Mr. Perfect while visitors looked at numerous pictures of Curt and his family and friends from the last 44 years.

Monday morning's church service at St. Stephen's in Anoka, MN was a huge gathering of Curt's friends, relatives, and wrestlers from all over. They played a recording of "Odyssey 2000", Curt's old entrance music from his WWF days. This absolutely tore me up...the song that would rouse me to my feet and cause me to cheer when I was 16 years old, played for his very last entrance in front of a crowd. The wrestlers present included Ken Patera, Jumpin' Jim Brunzell and B. Brian Blair (the Killer Bees), Steve Kern, Brock Lesnar, Joe Laurinaitas (Animal of the Road Warriors), Wayne Bloom, Barry Darsow, Brian Knobbs (of the Nasty Boys), Jesse Ventura, Ray Traylor (the Big Bossman) and numerous others whom I saw but didn't know (since I quit watching wrestling years ago), and those who were present but whom I didn't see (because big Barry Darsow was sitting in the pew right in front of me and the guy is almost 2 feet taller - and wider - than me... also because it was a huge crowd in a huge church).

Curt left behind 4 children, his 3 oldest being Joe, Kaite, and Amy, who all went up and spoke. His youngest, Hank, who I believe is only 10 years old, wept the whole time we were at the Sunday night prayer service...

And why he died?... Well, they're not releasing the info yet... but one of the former wrestlers told me that he heard it was a heart attack. I couldn't believe I was hearing that again. Another heart attack to another healthy, strong 40-something year old wrestler? And what could cause that? I was sad, but now I am angrier than anything. I have concluded that sweeping the issue of the pressures of drug usage in professional wrestling under the rug has done nothing but murder an entire generation of athletes who will never be replaced.

I am not saying that this is definitely what caused the many recent, sudden deaths, as Curt's cause of death is still unreleased. But we all know that they are (or were) doing things to their bodies, and putting things into their bodies (out of need or because of pressure), that the rest of us do not. Back in the 80's and early 90's I had never heard of so many guys in that business dying of "heart attacks". The industry changed so much, it has gone to smut and violence and everything else other than the fun type of wrestling I grew up with, including a culture that puts new demands, risks, and abuse on the athletes' bodies. Today's kind of wrestling is not worthy of their lives; it is certainly not worthy of my respect. The kind of entertainment some fans demand today is not worth dying for, or worth children becoming fatherless and wives becoming young widows. Today's wrestling is simply not wrestling anymore. It IS worth it if any of those guys would just get out of it and find some other career (which many have done).

I told Barry Darsow that he is not to go ANYWHERE, and that he is to stay RIGHT HERE. I said this in front of Ken Patera (who, by the way, I didn't know WAS Ken Patera until Barry told me). But I don't have to worry about them or Wayne Bloom and any other childhood wrestling hero of mine who is no longer in that business. They are now just like the rest of us... with not much fame and fortune, but definitely safer and happier. Because it is simply not what it used to be, and I am now convinced it is like committing suicide.

I will always respect the impact Curt Hennig made on the professional wrestling that I enjoyed as a child and a teenager. In his greatest days in the ring, as the perfect Intercontinental Champion, as the greatest athlete the State of Minnesota has ever produced... THAT was when wrestling was at its best. There was no coincidence. And I am glad I was there for it.

Curt Hennig is a very, very difficult person to say goodbye to. It didn't have to happen so soon, that I can assure you. And I am not 100% certain I have the whole story on what took him, but I AM 100% certain that it was not God's doing. I think some people need to get held accountable for their part in this... someday. Meanwhile, Curt spends all his time in heaven, in God's awesome presence, and there isn't a more peaceful place to be than right there.

Curt inspired me to come up to Minnesota for college.... he inspired me to continue to compete in bench press competition and powerlifting.... and he was the only person I spoke to who gave me the advice that ultimately led to the healing of my injured back. He went out of his way to make me laugh. But I went out of my way to make sure he met me and that I met him, and ultimately, we got to know each other and my life will never be the same.

I will be adding more info and details of my experiences yesterday and today to my website when I get to it. On Tuesday, Feb. 11th - the day after he tragically died - PetitePowerlifter.com received close to 900 (yes, I'll say that again... 900) visits/hits within that one day. I don't know who did it, but someone got it listed on Yahoo!'s main listings for wrestlers, under "Curt Hennig 1958-2003". I am so honored. The best reward for creating a website is knowing that other people see it and enjoy it. But I had no idea that THIS event would happen, and that my favorite wrestler's death would be what would lead the world to see my work and read my memories. I got several emails from folks telling me they were blessed by Curt's webpages on my site.

This has been a whirlwind of a week... and I'm feeling a little numb.

Thanks,
Cheryl Anderson
PetitePowerlifter.com