Came across this on you tube while watching Ric Flair promos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJA_BYb_eFI
Not seen on television, but was advertised locally on Oakland, CA Television. Holy crap was the crowd into it. Still not sure how Vince screwed up this sure fire money maker for Wrestlemania 8.
I had this one on a comp tape years back. Not sure if it ever made DVD, though.
god bless the dude who brought his 40 lb home video camera into the arena and taped this!
ReplyDeleteIf Hogan leaving in early 92 was a forgone conclusion then Vince really didn't have much of a choice but to change the matches around.
ReplyDeleteWas it a forgone conclusion? I thought he only left because the steroid allegations started to come out.
ReplyDeleteThese promos...why did we never see them anywhere on TV...
ReplyDeleteAnd W.T.F. is with the camera work on Flair's promo?? Did they film it on a boat?!?!
They were shown on TV in the markets of the house shows prior to the actual match.
ReplyDeleteWell they didn't officially change plans until late January/early February right? Or maybe they knew by the Rumble since Hogan/Sid was set up during it.
ReplyDeleteI meant more the injustice of never getting Flair vs. Hogan promos like this on a national/international level.
ReplyDeleteHell of a fun match. I saw it on the Youtube "Ric Flair: From Unemployed to Undisputed" video.
ReplyDeleteIts not the Camera, its the blue screen that was behind them. It was like they were adjusting it for the shot as he was talking.
ReplyDeleteThis is just further proof that WWE and VKM are sitting on a bunch of gold that people would pay for.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how he got away with it! You can't hide that really lol. And the company at that time would kick out anyone suspected of doing that ...they were like this up until smart phones took over and they had no choice,
ReplyDeleteThe match could have been complete sh*t and people would have still bought it because its Hogan vs Flair
ReplyDeleteCan we add "Hogan/Flair at WM8" to the dried out and overly discussed topics, along with Montreal and Cena turning heel? It's been especially brutal over the past month or so. Why can't people just be happy that we got an awesome match like Savage/Flair instead?
ReplyDeleteI saw Hogan-Flair at MSG in November 1991, heck of a fun match, but even the Garden had a lot of empty seats going on, from what I remember.
ReplyDeletePeople call this a "sure fire money make for Wrestlemania 8" whilst ignoring the fact that it didn't draw on its second go around on the house show circuit, along with the fact that same house circuit was still the WWF's bread and butter in those days, not occasional PPV numbers.
ReplyDeleteThere's also the fact that Hogan was leaving after WrestleMania anyway, which means if they'd done a title match, they'd have done a cop out finish a'la Hogan/Sid, and everyone would instead be whining about how "Hogan/Flair was the dumbest end to a Wrestlemania match evarr!"
Not only that, but everyone's seen Savage/Flair, right? And all the Hogan/Flair matches too, none of which could hold a candle to it? Okay, just checking.
Just a minute, the referee's decision is final. Flair was champion! Honestly didn't know any of these matches ended with Hogan getting pinned. Sure, knew they saw a ton of DQs, but presumed the ref made the decision before a pin. Also who were the two who saved Hogan? Bulldog and Shawn?
ReplyDeleteAgain, amazed it ended with Flair on top. Hogan didn't even insist on clearing the ring as you'd expect. Quality video!
Flair said in his book this was their first match against each other in the WWF.
ReplyDeleteI think you're overestimating Flair's appeal. In 1991 he didn't mean jack shit to a large portion of WWF's then-audience, most of whom never watched NWA/WCW.
ReplyDeleteConsidering WCW actually did file a lawsuit over the use of the Big Gold Belt... yeah, a knockoff might not have worked out too well.
ReplyDeleteI completely forgot about that lawsuit...figure there could have been a better workaround than the current belts...maybe bring back the pre-winged eagle belt to video distort?
ReplyDeleteIf Hogan-Flair was going to do a way bigger number for Wrestlemania, I think Vince would have done it. You can always just have Flair regain the title at another show (TV or house show) before SummerSlam, and do Flair-Savage at SummerSlam. I would imagine that the lower-than-expected house show numbers for Hogan-Flair probably led him to believe the combo of Hogan-Sid and Savage-Flair would be just as good for Wrestlemania, without risking putting the belt on Hogan during the steroid stuff
ReplyDeleteSo...what would a Hogan/Flair match have looked like if Hogan was the one to jump to WCW in 1991?
ReplyDeleteThink it's a fancam, if it's the copy I have. Just like the MX vs. Horsemen title change.
ReplyDeleteYes, they had what is known as the "Vegas" BG which you could see during the 1994 feud in WCW. It appears in the Flair vs. Hart match on the Dungeon Collection as well. (there is a clear shot of the VBG in Flair's bio, from I assume the same match)
ReplyDeleteI don't know if that made TV until Fall Brawl '94. I always thought it was the original BG, then censored BG, then censored tag title. Survivor Series '91 had similarly sloppy censoring. But...if you find a picture of Flair with the tag title, notice..."Tag Team" is covered with jewels and he is using the version of the belt with "World" in black font, not red. That wouldn't debut for the actual tag titles until Money Inc. won them months later.
Boy are tag team belts versatile...ask the GWF post-1992.
"But...if you find a picture of Flair with the tag title, notice..."Tag
ReplyDeleteTeam" is covered with jewels and he is using the version of the belt
with "World" in black font, not red."
Wrong.
http://www.wwe.com/f/reign/image/2009/02/3630360.jpg
TRUE.. but if you add the regular WM PPV audience to the casual fans and WCW fans that might have bought into that dream match, then it made sense. Guess we'll never know...
ReplyDeleteYea, thats the word. Ill never ever believe that Hogan/Flair main eventing WM wouldnt have done better business then what we got. I know the word is the house show gates were disapoointing but ill always bbelieve there was sone major political reasons we never got Hogan/Flair. I was just a jr officerfarva at this point so dont rremember if any news of such ever was reported.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like Bulldog and Greg Valentine that made the save.
ReplyDeleteThey weren't "still pushing" the censoring bit despite not having the actual belt. Not having the actual belt available anymore is what led to the censoring angle in the first place.
ReplyDeleteI am probably heading into "whoosh" territory, but this doesn't refer to when Flair was a tag team champ, it refers to when they used a modified '80s WWF tag title to stand in for the Big Gold, back in 1991.
ReplyDeleteThis version is fan cam, yes, but I imagine WWE has their own taped version of this match...and many others that we have all seen via fan cam.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if they maybe they thought Flair would stay in WWF longer than he did? Maybe they figured once the steroid stuff blew over, Hogan would be back (he was anyway, for WM9) and they could just do the Hogan-Flair match down the road from WM8 (that never came)?
ReplyDelete1. Even worse entrance music for Hogan in WCW than we got in '94.
ReplyDelete2. Horsemen breaking Hogan's legs?
Hogan in WCW in '91 would have been interesting. They had Flair, Sid, Vader, Hansen, Abdullah, Luger (when he turned heel). Plenty for Hulk to do