Time to get “retro creative”
By Scott Keith on 6 September 2024
Hey there Scott, coming through with another email for you and the blog. I've been reading your work for almost 25 years now, plus I own all of your books, except one. Keep up the solid work!
Flair in the WWF (before 1991)
I've been revisiting some history regarding how close Flair was to debuting in the WWF at the inaugural Summerslam, but he chose to remain in the NWA. I also read that had Vince brought him in, he wanted to have him challenge Savage for the WWF title almost immediately. I'm tempted to ask several questions here, but I'll try to keep it brief. Looking at everything that took place in the WWF's main event scene from Summerslam '88 until, let's say Survivor Series '91, do you think that Flair would've been lost in the shuffle at a certain point, assuming he stayed with the company for longer than 1 year or so? For instance, would you put Savage over Hogan at Wrestlemania 5, build to a Savage vs. Flair main event at Summerslam '89, have Flair win there and possibly build to Hogan vs. Flair at Wrestlemania 6? Lots of possibilities here, plus Hogan would be all but clamoring for that rematch against Savage.
Survivor Series 1990
In one of your recent reviews of Survivor Series '90, you noted that in the “Grand Finale Match of Survival,” you would've had Warrior turn on Hogan to build to a rematch at Wrestlemania 7. What would you have done with this match to make it more memorable/exciting than what we got? And would you have kept the “grand finale” match as part of Survivor Series going forward or having it as a one time happening the better option?
Flair in the WWF (before 1991)
I've been revisiting some history regarding how close Flair was to debuting in the WWF at the inaugural Summerslam, but he chose to remain in the NWA. I also read that had Vince brought him in, he wanted to have him challenge Savage for the WWF title almost immediately. I'm tempted to ask several questions here, but I'll try to keep it brief. Looking at everything that took place in the WWF's main event scene from Summerslam '88 until, let's say Survivor Series '91, do you think that Flair would've been lost in the shuffle at a certain point, assuming he stayed with the company for longer than 1 year or so? For instance, would you put Savage over Hogan at Wrestlemania 5, build to a Savage vs. Flair main event at Summerslam '89, have Flair win there and possibly build to Hogan vs. Flair at Wrestlemania 6? Lots of possibilities here, plus Hogan would be all but clamoring for that rematch against Savage.
Survivor Series 1990
In one of your recent reviews of Survivor Series '90, you noted that in the “Grand Finale Match of Survival,” you would've had Warrior turn on Hogan to build to a rematch at Wrestlemania 7. What would you have done with this match to make it more memorable/exciting than what we got? And would you have kept the “grand finale” match as part of Survivor Series going forward or having it as a one time happening the better option?
Survivor Series 1991
This show has always been a guilty pleasure of mine, even with history showing this as a blatant commercial for “This Tuesday in Texas.” It's clear that Savage and Jake should've had some role in their respective matches instead of doing interviews to set up the match for TTIT. With this said, how would you have handled the booking in the 4 man tag? I've always thought about Savage and Roberts starting the match and brawling to a double DQ or double countout, or perhaps doing that in the middle of the match.
Question 1: Flair would have absolutely been lost in the shuffle and wanted to go home to the NWA, just like what happened with Dusty the next year. I don’t see Flair as a long term WWF guy even if he did come in closer to his prime in 88. I think Vince does the Savage match and Flair loses and moves to the midcard in the Dusty role as the C show headliner.
Question 2: I think the premise was flawed and it didn’t need to exist at all.
Question 3: Yeah Savage and Roberts doing a brawl to the back for a double DQ would work fine.