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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2011 15:10:40 GMT -5
Hey guys.
I was watching Survivor Series 1992 the other day which i know marked the beginning of the end of Ric Flair's WWF run during the 90's . Can anybody tell me the story of how Ric Flair came to work for WWF, what it was like when he was there ( in terms of politics and what not) and why he departed so soon from the company?
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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2011 15:17:49 GMT -5
One thing I can offer is that on the recently released "True Story of Wrestlemania" DVD, a few officials touch on the fact that Flair just didn't blend into the WWF product as much as they hoped he would.
Add that to the fact that he was brought in and immediately started feuding with Piper and Hogan, with the intention of a Wrestlemania VIII super main event, and then had it cancelled due to lack of interest, that I think Flair wasn't as big as they thought he'd be.
To offer my personal opinion, I can see why. Growing up in England, I was around 10 years old in 1991 when Flair debuted. Back then, because we didn't get much NWA/WCW programming over there, I didn't know who Ric Flair was.
When he finally debuted, after months of hype from Bobby Heenan and others, I remember being disappointed that he was just a regular looking old man with white hair and crooked teeth. And there was no way I could take him as a serious threat to the likes of Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, Sid Justice, etc. It as the land of the giants around that time.
I think that sentiment may have been shared by other fans as well because Flair was soon in the midcard feuding with Bret and Hennig before finally leaving in early 1993.
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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2011 15:49:26 GMT -5
see, that just so weird to me because i have always felt that Macho Man Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair for Wrestlemania VIII had the greatest buildup, was the greatest feud, and was the most epic match of all time ( obviously excluding hogan and andre) i was totally sucked into Ric Flair and i was totally sucked into that feud.
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Post by darksoul on May 9, 2011 15:51:53 GMT -5
NWA/WCW:
July 1991: Behind the scenes, Ric Flair was having difficulty with his employment with Ted Turner's WCW..
~~~WCW management wanted to cut his pay and take him out of the top spot in the company, but Flair resisted..
~~~Ric Flair was also asked to lose his NWA championship to Lex Luger at the upcoming Great American Bash..
~~~Ric Flair refused, so he was asked to lose to Barry Windham instead ~ Flair refused again, so he was fired!
Although he was no longer the champion of WCW, Flair was (technically) still the NWA champion, which WCW could not contest..
Ric Flair was also was (arguably) the rightful owner of the championship belt since he was never repaid the cash deposit which is paid by the NWA champion as a sort of insurance bond..
Transition:
Ric Flair appeared on WWF Television with the WCW title belt and claimed to be the "Real World's champion."
~~~The reason he was able to leave the company (WCW) with the title is because Ric Flair legally owned that belt..
~~~World Championship Wrestling later bought it back from Ric Flair for reportedly $75,000 (US)..
Back in World Championship Wrestling storyline, "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair was stripped of the title..
World Wrestling Federation:
Ric Flair took on Bobby "The Brain" Heenan as his "Financial Consultant" and Mr. Perfect as his "Executive Consultant"..
January 19, 1992 - Royal Rumble: Ric Flair outlasted the other 29 WWF superstars to win the Royal Rumble..
~~~As per the stipulation, Ric Flair was awarded the WWF Heavyweight championship by President Jack Tunney..
February 8, 1992 - SNME: Hulk Hogan & Sid Justice defeated Ric Flair & The Undertaker via DQ..
April 5, 1992 - WrestleMania 8: Randy "Macho Man" Savage defeated Ric Flair for the WWF Title..
August 29, 1992 - SummerSlam: Ric Flair & Mr. Perfect intefered in the WWF title match between Randy Savage & Ultimate Warrior..
September 1, 1992: Ric Flair defeated Randy Savage to reclaim the WWF title with help from Razor Ramon..
October 12, 1992 - House Show: Bret Hart defeated Ric Flair in Saskatchewan for the WWF Heavyweight title..
Mr. Perfect and Ric Flair had a dispute and split up and began a big feud..
November 24, 1992 - Surivor Series: Randy Savage & Mr. Perfect defeated Ric Flair & Razor Ramon by Disqualification..
January 24, 1993 - Royal Rumble: Mr. Perfect eliminated Ric Flair from the Royal Rumble Match..
January 25, 1993 - RAW: Mr. Perfect defeated Ric Flair in a "loser leaves WWF" match..
Ric Flair then returned to World Championship Wrestling..
Credit:Onlin*W*rld*FWrestling...com
I believe more is explained in first his book, and on his second three disk DVD about his WWF departure.
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Post by Emerald Enthusiast on May 10, 2011 0:56:02 GMT -5
Flair was a victim of circumstance in the WWF. He was brought in for a big payoff feud with Hogan (they wrestled at several house shows) but the steriod scandal forced Hogan out and WM plans had to be changed to the "Liz Photos" swill.
Flair was preparing to feud with Warrior (as set up at SummerSlam) but those plans also got changed with Warrior's departure.
At the end of '92, Vince realized he needed to prepare for the future. The focus shifted to Bret, Yokozuna, and Luger, though Vince lost faith in him before he got the belt. By '93, time had passed Flair by in the WWF.
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2011 6:00:17 GMT -5
yeah pretty much-wrong place wrong time really......
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2011 10:11:00 GMT -5
see, that just so weird to me because i have always felt that Macho Man Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair for Wrestlemania VIII had the greatest buildup, was the greatest feud, and was the most epic match of all time ( obviously excluding hogan and andre) i was totally sucked into Ric Flair and i was totally sucked into that feud. 100% agreed there. Flair-Savage is one of my all-time favorite feuds. "She was mine before she was yours, baby! WOOOOO!" |
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machomadness
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Post by machomadness on May 10, 2011 10:12:50 GMT -5
Flair's time in WWF was by far my favorite period. Not only because Flair was there but because McMahon really went out and had a roster full of world champions, past, present and future. It was truly one of the most epic rosters of all time.
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Post by tnafan17: The Total Package on May 10, 2011 10:21:44 GMT -5
Flair's time in WWF was by far my favorite period. Not only because Flair was there but because McMahon really went out and had a roster full of world champions, past, present and future. It was truly one of the most epic rosters of all time. I wish I grew up during these times! Lol. Now I'm just reliving history. That Royal Rumble in 92 was epic. |
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2011 10:23:52 GMT -5
Flair's time in WWF was by far my favorite period. Not only because Flair was there but because McMahon really went out and had a roster full of world champions, past, present and future. It was truly one of the most epic rosters of all time. I wish I grew up during these times! Lol. Now I'm just reliving history. That Royal Rumble in 92 was epic. Best Rumble ever, in my opinion. |
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Burger Lad
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Post by Burger Lad on May 10, 2011 15:49:09 GMT -5
92 was indeed the best Rumble ever thanks mainly to Heenan's commentary. From memory the UK had very little exposure to NWA/WCW other than a Saturday afternoon show on ITV (anyone with Sky watched WWF).
I do remember thinking WTF to Flair claiming to be the 'real worlds champion' along with Heenan and Perfect and thinking he looked ordinary. My Dad thought he was great (despite having no NWA/WCW knowledge) - what a wise man he was...
The Savage/Liz storyline was good! Classic times...
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Post by steel on May 10, 2011 15:52:32 GMT -5
The '92 Rumble was epic. Flair has always been a favorite of mine and his bringing the "Real World Champions Belt" in was genius.
Be fair to Flair!
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Post by twinn on May 10, 2011 16:44:45 GMT -5
I'll add another vote for the 92 Rumble being the best. I feel so lucky to have been a little kid during this era
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2011 18:20:58 GMT -5
I was 11 watching the 92 rumble and my only knowledge of NWA/WCW came from PWI which I used to get religously.
and man was it glorious to see all those big names in that Rumble.
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machomadness
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Post by machomadness on May 11, 2011 9:39:16 GMT -5
Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Kerry Von Erich, Undertaker, Randy Savage, Col Mustafa, Hulk Hogan, Sgt Slaughter, Sid Justice.....All were one time World Champions and all were in the rumble. Then you have a pile of non world champion Main eventers like Ted DiBiase, Roddy Piper, Greg Valentine, Jake Roberts........The lineup was just filled.....Surprisingly one of the greatest of all times missed the event as Bret Hart was scheduled to defend his IC title as well.
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Post by marino13 on May 11, 2011 10:14:04 GMT -5
I was only like 12 at the time so I was all confused, but I remember it just not feeling right. I knew Flair from the NWA and when he first debuted he kinda felt outta place in WWE. He didn't have that feel of the untouchable champion that he did in NWA. In WWE he came off as just plain and ordinary.
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Post by mikey1974 on May 11, 2011 11:53:41 GMT -5
Flair's time in WWF was by far my favorite period. Not only because Flair was there but because McMahon really went out and had a roster full of world champions, past, present and future. It was truly one of the most epic rosters of all time. i loved this time too....particulary because i felt it became the "Time of the Heels"....the heels always served their purposes to further storylines and feuds....but from August of 1991 til March/April of 1992,it felt like the bad guys were in control! Jake Roberts turning heel,attacking Savage,aligning with the Undertaker, having his King Cobra bite Savage,punching Elizabeth...man,he was a nasty heel for that time! Undertaker...aligning with Sgt. Slaughter (at house shows,anyway), targeting the Ultimate Warrior ( before he left,anyway) , beating Hogan for the WWF title.... Sid Justice.... turning on Hogan,making himself the #1 bad guy in the WWF... and,of course,Flair,involving himself in many different feuds and winning the WWf title... it really felt like the Bad Guys were on top,and the "good guys" were trying desperately to beat them back...i loved it!! |
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Post by carling27 on May 11, 2011 13:37:31 GMT -5
Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Kerry Von Erich, Undertaker, Randy Savage, Col Mustafa, Hulk Hogan, Sgt Slaughter, Sid Justice.....All were one time World Champions and all were in the rumble. Then you have a pile of non world champion Main eventers like Ted DiBiase, Roddy Piper, Greg Valentine, Jake Roberts........The lineup was just filled.....Surprisingly one of the greatest of all times missed the event as Bret Hart was scheduled to defend his IC title as well. Don't forget Virgil! |
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2011 19:22:09 GMT -5
Flair's time in WWF was by far my favorite period. Not only because Flair was there but because McMahon really went out and had a roster full of world champions, past, present and future. It was truly one of the most epic rosters of all time. i loved this time too....particulary because i felt it became the "Time of the Heels"....the heels always served their purposes to further storylines and feuds....but from August of 1991 til March/April of 1992,it felt like the bad guys were in control! Jake Roberts turning heel,attacking Savage,aligning with the Undertaker, having his King Cobra bite Savage,punching Elizabeth...man,he was a nasty heel for that time! Undertaker...aligning with Sgt. Slaughter (at house shows,anyway), targeting the Ultimate Warrior ( before he left,anyway) , beating Hogan for the WWF title.... Sid Justice.... turning on Hogan,making himself the #1 bad guy in the WWF... and,of course,Flair,involving himself in many different feuds and winning the WWf title... it really felt like the Bad Guys were on top,and the "good guys" were trying desperately to beat them back...i loved it!! your right man it did have that flavor...... |
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