If Magnum T.A. Hadn't Retired...

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

In the 80's Jim Crockett Promotions was sweeping across the nation, at the same time Vince McMahon's empire was setting up camp and planning for the first ever WrestleMania. With stars like Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes captivating the wrestling world, there seemed to be no limit to their success. But there was one guy by the name of Magnum T.A. that everyone said was the "next big thing". Flair, Rhodes, Crocket, Jim Ross, and even VInce McMahon has mentioned how big a deal this guy Magnum was. And when you look at him, he looks exactly like an 80's heart-throb, so it's easy to see why he was on fire! And then his tragic car accident occurred, and retired the young star right before his first run at the World title.

So my question is: what would have become of wrestling had Magnum T.A. not been forced to retire? If the accident never happened, how would the history books be altered? Many of said that Magnum could have taken over the top spots, even surpassing some of the greats. Some said he would have gone to the WWF, and others say he would have ended up in WCW once it bought out Crockett promotions. I've heard it hypothocized that if he stuck around and went to WCW, guys like Sting would never have had the opportunity to get so huge. Flair may not have won the title 16 times, and Rhodes may have been a little less of a legend. Maybe not...but does anybody out there have enough knowledge of those times to talk on the subject? Anybody?

 

[SinCityBlitz]

Vince had a major hard on for the guy. IMO he would have eventually been in the WWF where Vince would have pushed him to the moon. But it didn't really matter if he went to WWF or stayed in the NWA he was going to be the next big thing. His time was coming and it's a shame that he didn't get the chance to fully shine.

Damn thinking about this brings back memories. I was thirteen when he got into that crash. I still remember feeling really sad when that happened. I was a full-blown mark at that point, LOL.

 

[KoC417]

Had Magnum not suffered his tragic accident then IMO his name would be right up there with Ric Flair, HBK, Bret Hart, Sting, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Undertaker, Hulk Hogan and others as the greatest of all time. He would have undoubtedly held MULTIPLE WWF Championships, WCW Championships and essentially any other major championship he wanted to. The man was without a doubt built to be a star. He had the looks, the body, the intelligence the charisma and the fans ate him up. He was every promoters dream. A guy who could draw but who clearly had an understanding of the business.

As far as Flair winning the championships I think he still would have won that many. The only difference is he would have probably traded them off several times with Magnum. And as for the Sting comment I do believe Sting would have still been thrust into the spotlight and would have been the same megastar he is today. There were just some things in wrestling that were inevitable. Flair winning that many championships was one of them.

 

[akrassikauda]

Terry Allan was good real good and he had the kids the women and the men following him. His popularity was not near his peak but I don't think he would've past Ric Flair or Hulk Hogan.

Terry Allan could've won many NWA/WCW and WWF world titles , that last one WWF yeah Magnum would've eventually went there too cause Vince had the money and that was the time of the no 90 day contracts.
When working with Flair and the Horsemen you looked good. Whether chasing Flair or Tully for a singles title or them chasing you was a great thing and Terry Allan who was already Popular doing that would've shot right next to Flair but not past him he was already a legend.

Now Hogan was different. When you look at the Hulkamania years it was Vince and Hogan who made sure nobody messed with the worldwide phenomenon that was Hulkamania. Look at Jake Roberts. Roberts never got the chance to work a program with Hogan. "I DDT Hogan on the stage and the crowd starts chanting Jake the snake, and Vince immediately pulled the plug on it" that's what Magnum would have had to deal with. The closest he would get would be Randy Savage. That's not a bad thing at all but we all know Savage was never allowed to be bigger or even close to Hulkamania.

 

[jbwphoto1]

Something similar was covered in a thread about two years ago.

http://forums.wrestlezone.com/showthread.php?p=792937#post792937

Yes, I think Magnum would have made his way to WWF as everyone did at the time. We could have seen him enter to save Hogan and then turn heel against him, get a big payday at a Wrestlemania and then return home a hero to NWA. Or, he could have attacked Hogan, joined with Piper/Orton/Orndorff, been attacked by them, saved by Hogan and teamed with Hulk at a Wrestlemania and returned home to NWA as a hero.

SinCityBlitz, I also remember hearing the news. It made me never want to own a Porsche. It also scared me because here was a man in top physical condition with money, fame and everything else, nearly killed because of something having absolutely nothing to do with who he was in a manner which could take any one of us. Mind you, by that time I only had a permit, but had been in several auto accidents with family members driving.

 

[MrMojoRisin]

Magnum was being groomed for the NWA title, but it's hard to say if he would have just been another transitional champ between Flair's reigns, or if Crockett would have actually gone with Magnum over Flair as his top guy.

I'd guess not because JCP preferred to have a heel champ with face challengers, and Magnum was their biggest face (arguably outside of Rhodes).

It's very possible that Dusty Rhodes would have turned Magnum eventually, but that would have more likely been to fight Rhodes himself instead of building him as the top heel champ.

I think definitely, we wouldn't have seen the great Flair/Windham series, as that happened pretty much at the time Magnum would have been going after the NWA belt for real.

I also think after Turner bought JCP, it's very possible that Magnum would have had the spot that eventually went to Sting. Sting would have still got over, but it would have happened later.

Would Magnum have gone to the WWF? Most likely at some point. Sting was the only one that didn't, so it doesn't make sense to believe that Magnum wouldn't have eventually gone as well. But he was a Mid Atlantic staple though, like Flair, Rhodes, Blanchard, Anderson, Luger and Windham... and while those guys all went North, none of them were there for long before heading back down south. I believe Magnum would have been the same.

 

[FlairFan2003]

You cant say what exactly would have happened with Vince, Flair, Sting, Luger, if Magnum hadnt been hurt. I was a huge fan in 85 and 86, I remember how big Magnum was, like a lot of guys all over wrestling he had "the look" but associating with guys like Flair & Rhodes he also learned how to talk and wrestle. His 55 minute match where he loses the US Title to Tully Blanchard is a classic, how WWE missed that when compiling matches for Horsemen DVD I'll never know. Everyone remembers his brutal Steel Cage "I Quit" Match w/ Blanchard from Starrcade. I also remember how good he did in his first run with Flair in 85 I think, as well as how huge his best of seven series with evil russian Nikita Kolloff was in 86. Fans were on the edge of their seats everytime they fought, although I never thought Nikita was that great in the ring.

I do think without the car accident Magnum would have had a great career. Everything else staying the same (Crockett's bad business decissions, Rhodes Firing, the whole Jim Herd mess) it's hard to say exactly how it would have gone. Jim Crockett was still bringing in Florida talent like Luger & Barry Whyndam regardless of TA's status. Sting had such a tremedous look and athleticism I cant see Crockett passing him up after the UWF aquisition just cause he had Magnum.

There was consideration of Magnum getting World Title run, possibly at Starrcade 86. We'll never know if that would have gone through, remember there was a lot of tension between Dusty and Flair back then with stories that Crockett wanted Flair as champ and Dusty, who had booking control, wanted the belt himself. Not sure how Dusty would have re acted had they asked him to book Magnum into a World Title run, especially if they wanted to give him a legit lengthy reign, not the usual feel good win and lose it back next week thing they did with Kerry Von Erich in 84 or Dusty himself in 86.

Regadless, Magnum had real talent, even without an early title run, like Sting & Luger he would have made a nice career for himself. I dont think it would have impacted Flair's career much, although if Magnum was on the roster and things were going well they may not have given such hype to signing Ricky Steamboat as a hot shot angle in 89, which would have deprived wrestling fans of probably the best main event world title matches of the last 3 decades.

Magnum certainly could have gone to WWE when things got crazy in WCW with Herd, etc. They were always looking to sign name talent from other companies back then, and with Von Erich's drug problems making him a liability, Sid Justice's un reliable nature, and all the problems with Ultimate Warrior and Steamboat's desire to stay an occassional part time attraction, TA could potentially have carved out a great career as WWE's Go To Fan Favorite behind Hogan - maybe they turn to TA as World Champ in 92 when they purged Hogan, Piper, and Sid for different reasons, the Warrior return flopped, Savage wanted time off, and Flair got injured. Brett Hart was the consistent, well known guy who they went to when all else failled and he took the ball and ran with it. Maybe that's Magnum TA instead ?