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Post by mikey1974 on Feb 20, 2012 19:43:00 GMT -5
what would've happened? i mean,we know he was being brought in to face Savage at SummerSlam 88 for the World Championship...but would he have won? how would it have affected the year-long build to Savage-Hogan,which was the already planned in advance main event for WM V? or would Flair have just been brought in to job to Savage?
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jason1980s
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Post by jason1980s on Feb 21, 2012 11:12:25 GMT -5
I think he would've lost to Savage. Flair was a WCW guy, even when he got a huge push in WWF he wound up leaving. I think Heenan and Perfect, a little, got him over. 3 years earlier, in 1988 he would've been younger but to WWF fans who wouldn't know him too well, if at all, he was an old looking man. More people probably remember "fair to Flair" or Heenan's rumble commentary or Monsoon's response to it than they remember Flair's actual run. Weird a numbered of the biggest Horsemen went to WWF but didn't last long, Sid, Flair, Arn, Tully, Windham. Flair was a WCW guy, he may have went to WWF in 1988 but just like his 1991-1993 run and especially if Arn and Tully are coming and then going Flair wouldn't have stayed. 1987-1989 was probably the best Savage ever was though he was always great and for a newcoming outsider to lose to a WWF star it wouldn't have been very likely. During that perioid Savage can't lose clean unless it's to Hogan and he would've been a heel not a face. If Flair does beat Savage and Hogan needs revenge or if Flair and Savage were to team against Hogan, Flair would lose to Hogan and at the time I don't fans would even think of it as the best of both promotions. A few years later and many non-WWF magazines later fans may see it differently though they wound up scrapping the PPV match.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2012 11:21:13 GMT -5
tough one and its hard to know really......Vince started the build to WMV straight after SSlam 88 main event......so how the hell would Flair have fit in?
very difficult to envision.
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Post by tnafan17: The Total Package on Feb 21, 2012 11:57:39 GMT -5
tough one and its hard to know really......Vince started the build to WMV straight after SSlam 88 main event......so how the hell would Flair have fit in? very difficult to envision. Very true. The only thing I could possibly have seen happening, is if maybe Flair came in that early, he would have most definitely at some point have had a match with Hogan. Just my 2 cents. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2012 12:58:15 GMT -5
oh yes the reason for his signing would surely have been a payoff with Hogan.but again its so difficult to imagine where.....
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Raine
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Post by Raine on Feb 21, 2012 13:44:48 GMT -5
A switch to Hogan vs Flair at WM5?
Perhaps Savage would have dropped the belt to Flair at Summerslam, and Vince would have pushed that hard instead of Hogan/Savage?
Vince seem to lose interest in Savage after Summerslam 89 pretty quick, saddling him with Duggan & king gimmick, perhaps if Vince did get his hands on Flair in 88, it could have happened to Savage a year earlier? Flair wouldn't have come to WWF in 1988 without a title run at some point (a la 1992) thats for sure.
Have to remember Vince soon kicked Demolition to the kerb once L.O.D were coming in.
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jakksking1
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Post by jakksking1 on Feb 21, 2012 14:44:37 GMT -5
Another big question is what would have happened to WCW? Flair was the man forever in WCW. Would WCW have floundered?
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Post by kenlarchtin on Feb 23, 2012 9:44:08 GMT -5
It may have set up Hogan vs Flair at WM5 which would have led to Hogan/Savage at WM 6 and Hogan/Warrior WM7.
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Post by punksnotdead on Feb 23, 2012 13:35:01 GMT -5
Yeah, I tend to lean towards the Hogan vs Flair replacing Hogan vs Savage thought process.
Flair could have faced Savage at SummerSlam and lost. Then at Survivor Series the Mega Powers could have taken on a team with Flair, replacing Terry Taylor, and then have Flair take the title from Savage at some point between Survivor Series and the Royal Rumble. Wherein, the feud would flip over to Hogan vs Flair. They still could have done the Mega Powers split after Hogan won at Mania and turned Savage heel on Hogan.
That's an interesting question and I think it would have had an impact on a number of different outcomes long term.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2012 14:24:09 GMT -5
Mega Powers exploding had been planned way too far in advance for Flair to be thrown in...
My guess is that he would've had a mid-card/upper mid-card feud going into Wrestlemania until Hogan was freed up from Savage.
Maybe Jake "The Snake" Roberts or someone...
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koreygunz
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Post by koreygunz on Feb 23, 2012 15:52:22 GMT -5
If I assumed that Savage/Hogan was still taking place at Mania 5 regardless, I could see Flair taking the title at SummerSlam (Im sure he would have been assured a title reign if he were to jump ship), perhaps by Hogan somehow inadvertantly costing Savage the title, thus laying the seeds for their split. Savage then regains the title at SvrS, with help from Hogan, continuing the angle of Savage thinking that people think he can only win the title with Hogan's help, etc. The Mega Powers split then continues on until WM5 and Flair has an upper mid card feud with someone or possibly even forms a Horsemen-like stable.
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Post by punksnotdead on Feb 23, 2012 15:55:39 GMT -5
Mega Powers exploding had been planned way too far in advance for Flair to be thrown in...My guess is that he would've had a mid-card/upper mid-card feud going into Wrestlemania until Hogan was freed up from Savage. Maybe Jake "The Snake" Roberts or someone... Yeah, but does the draw power of Ric Flair supersede those plans? I have to assume that it possibly would have, or at least put those plans on hold. If they had from SummerSlam to WrestleMania to work out what they were doing with Flair and then Savage and Hogan longterm, then I have to believe they would have gone with Flair vs Hogan if it stood the better possibility of drawing more money. Savage is my favorite wrestler of the 3, by far, so I am glad it sort of happened the way it did, but I think Savage would have been the odd man out personally. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2012 16:22:50 GMT -5
its possible Vince is VERY glad he didnt sign Flair then.
Hogan vs Savage was both mens most sucessful program at the box office and was red hot.and as we all know when Flair DID come......a program with Hogan didnt light anyones fire.
I also think Flairs character was too close to that of Ted Dibiases.....who was already feuding with the working men of WWF in 88/89.
ah I dunno.Im glad it didnt happen actually.WM5 is one of my faves because of that ME.its just effin awesome and IMO is Hogans finest hour in the ring.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2012 17:14:44 GMT -5
I do NOT believe for a second that Flair coming in would even remotely change/alter Savage vs. Hogan. That match was goin to happen no matter what...
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Johnny Lawrence - Cobra Kai
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Post by Johnny Lawrence - Cobra Kai on Feb 24, 2012 0:17:54 GMT -5
The only way I could imagine Flair interrupting the Hogan-Savage build / feud in 1988 is if McMahon were contractually obligated to put Flair in a title program within his first year. Otherwise, I think the closest Flair would have gotten is a heel pairing with DiBiase.
I'm thinking the Summerslam main event becomes the Megapowers vs. DiBiase & Flair (Andre feuds with Duggan and/or Jake Roberts instead). And from Sept. 1988-Feb. 1989, Flair and DiBiase could be feuding with Savage and Hogan in both singles matches (alternating opponents) and in tag matches. This could bump Bossman and Akeem out of the NBC tag match where the Megapowers broke up, in favor of DiBiase & Flair. Otherwise, Savage & Hogan break up and feud into WM5 as expected. The feud was too hot to scrap, and in 1988-89, McMahon wouldn't have wanted Flair -- Mr. NWA -- to look too much like Hogan's equal yet, anyway.
The real losers would have been Big Bossman (who would have lost out on his main event feud with Hogan if Flair were signed) and Bad News Brown (whose brief run vs. Savage might have never have happened either). I don't consider de-pushing Andre a major loss for him because he was already a big enough star to main event on his own and his best days as a singles wrestler were behind him anyway.
The big winner in this scenario, I think, would have been Ricky Steamboat. He would have either a) gotten a bigger payday out of a Flairless WCW when he signed there, or b) might have opted to stay in the WWF after all, and could still have feuded with Flair in 1989 -- in the WWF, although probably not for the title.
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Post by Calcifer Boheme on Feb 24, 2012 5:40:41 GMT -5
I don't know if they would have changed the Megabucks, as that had to do with the feuds that would have already been happening before Flair appeared.
But I very much suspect that he would have replaced the Twin Towers in some way. I'm not sure who he would have teamed with, but that is a likely scenario.
After that, feuds with Warrior, Jake Roberts, etc. would have been likely. I don't think he would have gotten the world title at that time, but it's possible they could have given him Rude's spot in beating Warrior, but I kind of doubt that too.
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Post by Nivro™ on Feb 25, 2012 0:04:21 GMT -5
I see it kinda like how SummerSlam '92 went down. Flair is brought in to feud with Savage. Someone is paired with Flair (Heenan, DiBiase, Perfect..SOMEONE) to give Flair the two on one advantage. Hogan comes into the picture costing Flair the match. Somehow Hogan ends up #1 Contender (Maybe a battle royal on SNME) Hogan wins and goes on to face Savage (both faces..ala SummerSlam '92) at Wrestlemania.
Outside of that, I can see it with Flair coming in and losing to Savage being cost the match by Hogan. Hogan & Flair then go into a feud where Hogan is managed by Liz and Savage does the jealousy thing. Hogan beats Flair in a #1 contenders match, setting up Face Hogan vs Heel Savage at Wrestlemania V. Flair would then end up bumping Rude out of the IC title picture as Flair would challenge Warrior for the IC title at Mania and the Brain Busters would go on to defeat Demolition for the Tag Titles.
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Bullgod
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Post by Bullgod on Feb 27, 2012 5:53:18 GMT -5
the trouble with flair is WWF only ever wanted him so he could put Hogan over. Thats why he was brought in back in 91 and been built as the "Real" worlds champion, I think the plan was for him to lose to Hogan and and thus putting hogan over and giving more legit credibility to WWF's world title, although it all went tits up because they steroid trial kicked in and Hogan was on his way out and they had Flair put Macho Man over instead, he did eventually win the belt back but only so he could drop it to Bret Hart and get Bret over. after they got what they wanted out of him he was nothing more than a mid carder....
I think had they brought him in, back in 88 all he would have really done is be a big money oponent for Hulk Hogan, don't get me wrong they would have drawn a huge crowd and torn the house down, but once it was over Flair would have drifted down to the point that by the next year he would have been feuding with Brutus Beefcake or Koko B Ware. I'm personally glad it never happened because he wouldn't have the legacy he has now if he did and we wouldn't have got to see the amazing matches he had with Steamboat etc.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2012 7:15:46 GMT -5
heres another point.
would this have been a detriment to Stings career?.....I think it would.a lot of work went into making Sting look credible thru Flair in 89/90.
without that title win at GAB90(and Flair being so great with him in the run up) Sting may not have made it anywhere at all.
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Post by punksnotdead on Feb 27, 2012 9:47:37 GMT -5
heres another point. would this have been a detriment to Stings career?.....I think it would.a lot of work went into making Sting look credible thru Flair in 89/90. without that title win at GAB90(and Flair being so great with him in the run up) Sting may not have made it anywhere at all. Without Ric Flair, there would be no man called Sting. I think that's a really valid point. |
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