Mr. Perfect Terry Taylor?

[The Brain]

There is a popular rumor that in 1988 the WWF offered the Mr. Perfect gimmick to Terry Taylor. Taylor turned down the idea and Curt Hennig was given the role. I have a couple questions concerning this rumor.

Question #1: Do you think this rumor is true? I was always under the impression that when a wrestler made it to the WWF they pretty much took what was given to them. It’s not like Terry Taylor was a huge name. Would he actually say no to Vince McMahon? That seems pretty risky for a young wrestler who made it to the big time. If he did have to power to turn a gimmick down why in the hell would he become the Red Rooster instead of Mr. Perfect?

Question #2: How would Terry Taylor have done as Mr. Perfect? Would he have been as successful as Curt Hennig? I don’t think so. He probably would have done ok, but not as good as Hennig. Curt Hennig was made to be Mr. Perfect. That gimmick suited him so well. For Taylor it would have been just another gimmick, but Hennig became Mr. Perfect. Pardon the obvious pun, but Hennig was the perfect choice for the gimmick. If it were Taylor I don’t think we would remember Mr. Perfect as one of the all time great gimmicks.

Question #3: How would Curt Hennig have done had he not been Mr. Perfect? I think he still would have been successful. He was fantastic in the ring and was dripping with charisma. Hennig didn’t need the Perfect gimmick to be successful. It certainly helped, but Hennig would have been successful no matter what; unless they made him the Red Rooster.

So do you think the Terry Taylor/Mr. Perfect rumor is true? If so how would Taylor and Hennig’s careers have turned out if Taylor accepted the role, and how would we remember the Mr. Perfect gimmick?

 

[Vintage]

1) I definitely believe this one. Why do you think he was the Red Rooster? He pulled it off, but it fits Vince's M.O of humiliating people who don't do what he wants.

2) I'm going to have to say no. Hennig made Mr. Perfect look like a nick name, not a gimmick. Taylor was good, he was no Hennig in the ring.

3) If he was exactly like Mr. Perfect without the perfect gimmick he would have had the same run. If he was given a goofy gimmick I don't know if anyone would have cared about his in ring work.

 

[Judah's Lion]

1. to my knowledge, this rumor is true. the Mr Perfect gimmick was originally offered to Terry Taylor and then later to Curt Hennig. of all the gimmicks that were around in the WWF then and now, why anyone would ever choose the Red Rooster over the perfect athlete, i'll never know, but i guess we all make mistakes. i've also read that one of the original ideas for Austin was a cold gimmick; not like a stone cold personality, which he took up later on, but a cold temperature gimmick with possible names of Ace Dagger, Chilly McFreeze and Baron Von Ruthless. all that said, there have been some pretty terrible gimmicks and ideas in the WWF in the past and present with more sure to come, but why when one has the choice they make this kind of mistake is just odd to me.

2. Curt Hennig was destined for greatness. his dad was a wrestler and now his son is. he would have made an impact no matter what his gimmick, assuming it wasn't the Red Rooster. but this guy had incredible mic skills, great technician in the ring and just awesome crowd reaction. plus he had a pretty good look to him also. i loved his theme music and the spitting out and swatting the gum, the towel he'd carry out with him, everything was just perfect, no pun intended. his "rap is crap" stuff in WCW was hilarious, though i never knew about all the minnesota cowboys prior to this run, lol. he would've been great regardless. no matter his gimmick, he was a heck of an athlete and would have done great things. and likewise, no offense to Terry Taylor or any of his fans and family, but he may not have been destined for the same greatness no matter what his gimmick was. some guys just don't reach the same heights as others.

3. this is a tough question to answer. in a semi-related subject, i've read that the role of Forrest Gump was originally written for John Travolta instead of Tom Hanks. now it's impossible for me to see that especially since Tom Hanks is so known for it. he won the oscar for that role. but could Travolta have pulled it off? it's so hard to think about because in my mind now, all i see is Hanks in that role. same thing goes with Perfect. all i see for that role now is Curt Hennig and it's hard to imagine anything different because of the memories i have with what actually happened, no matter the talent that could have stepped up. Terry Taylor was a very talented hand, but i just can't imagine him in the Perfect gimmick because all i see is Hennig and he was absolutely perfect. pun intended.

 

[Mr-excitement]

Terry Taylor was never offered the role - they wrestled at Wrestlefest before either received a gimmick and that match was used to decide who would become Mr. Perfect.

Creative liked what they saw Curt do more than Terry, and thought he had more of an arrogant air about him and he became Mr. Perfect and Taylor became the Rooster.
The match is on the Perfect DVD with new commentary from Cole and Lawler explaining how the decision was made.

And for those wondering ... Hennig won the match, which of course had no bearing on who received which gimmick since it was booked that way.

But Taylor was never offered the gimmick. From what I heard, he was in the running.

 

[The Prophecy Trevor Sins]

We will never know if Terry Taylor would have been as good. You say you couldnt imagine anyone else play the character because you know of that one way. You are being biased. Who knows, Terry Taylor could have taken it even farther

 

[THTRobtaylor]

This has happened several times in WWF/E history...

Terry could easily have pulled off the gimmick, but the reality was Hennig was not available when it was first envisaged... much like Randy Colley (AKA Moondog Spot) and Barry Darsow for Smash... Colley was Smash for several shows before Darsow signed and the fans didn't buy it so they switched for Darsow who was coming in hot.. Colley bitched and was released... For Perfect...when Hennig became available he was a more natural fit... Taylor too was unahppy and complained... hence the burial under the rooster gimmick... He was too talented to send to WCW (ironically when he did go they buried him with the "Taylor Made Man/DiBiase rip off)

More interesting time was Shane Douglas and the "Heartbreak Kid" gimmick... Shane was slated for the HBK gimmick, along the lines of a David Cassidy style Rockstar... even gigs... his dad became terminally ill and he elected to quit... Shawn Michaels got the nod and they adapted it... when Shane got into WWE again... Shawn made sure to bury him, after all he had to as he was 2nd choice for the role that made him famous...

 

[Big Sexy]

Question #1: Do you think this rumor is true? I was always under the impression that when a wrestler made it to the WWF they pretty much took what was given to them. It’s not like Terry Taylor was a huge name. Would he actually say no to Vince McMahon? That seems pretty risky for a young wrestler who made it to the big time. If he did have to power to turn a gimmick down why in the hell would he become the Red Rooster instead of Mr. Perfect?

According to I think Pat Patterson from a legends round table on WWE 24/7 he said Taylor and Hennig came in at the same time and the two gimmicks on the table were Mr Perfect and the Red Rooster. They threw around Taylor's name for Perfect but ended up giving it to Hennig. So according to that Taylor did not turn the gimmick down, they just decided to give it to Hennig.

Question #2: How would Terry Taylor have done as Mr. Perfect? Would he have been as successful as Curt Hennig? I don’t think so. He probably would have done ok, but not as good as Hennig. Curt Hennig was made to be Mr. Perfect. That gimmick suited him so well. For Taylor it would have been just another gimmick, but Hennig became Mr. Perfect. Pardon the obvious pun, but Hennig was the perfect choice for the gimmick. If it were Taylor I don’t think we would remember Mr. Perfect as one of the all time great gimmicks.

Taylor was pretty good in the ring so he would have done ok, but not nearly as well as Hennig did with the gimmick.

Question #3: How would Curt Hennig have done had he not been Mr. Perfect? I think he still would have been successful. He was fantastic in the ring and was dripping with charisma. Hennig didn’t need the Perfect gimmick to be successful. It certainly helped, but Hennig would have been successful no matter what; unless they made him the Red Rooster.

If he was made the Red Rooster no, but he still would have had a solid career with another gimmick. It would have been a shame though because the Mr Perfect gimmick seemed tailor made for him and he played the character very well.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

There is an element of retconning going on in Pattersons words...which often happens in WWE... Hennig was NEVER going to be the Red Rooster...it would have been ludicrous... Ultimately they decided his "name" was not enough despite being a former AWA World Champion... they had already tried with Rick Martel as a vanilla star and it hadn't worked...

 

[PsychoBlack]

From what ive heard about the perfect gimmick Hennig was asked by vince what kind of athlete he was and when hennig said he played all types of sports growing up vince came up with the gimmick. so for that reason i cant believe that this rumor is true