1990-91 WWE MVP

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

As we make our way back we enter the first year of the 90's which takes into account the day after Mania VI up to Mania VII. This one should be interesting as it is really a two man race.

For me the answer is Warrior. While I think he never got a fair shake as champ He was still the champ for pretty much this entire time period and was as over as one could be with Hogan still looming. He also ended the year strong with his program with Macho that culminated in the best match at Mania VII.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

I have to give this one to Hogan rather than Warrior. I just can't give it to a guy who fumbled the ball once it was handed to him on one of the biggest stages in wrestling history. Hogan, on the other hand, was the second man in that ring that night, and then went on to work a solid program with Earthquake before coming back to be the WWE's white knight against Sgt. Slaughter.

Hogan was still the top dog throughout the year, IMO.

My runner up would be Bret Hart -- The Hart Foundation's feud with Demolition really took off, and gave them their second World Tag Team Title. This was also when Hart started to build up the momentum that would catapult him into the next stage of his career as a singles competitor.

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

Hulk Hogan was the MVP of this 'season', hands down, IMO. Coming off the biggest match since Wrestlemania III, Hogan next feuded with Earthquake, who 'put him on the shelf' for a couple of months. He returned to beat 'Quake in a decent match at Summerslam (the first ppv I ever watched), then moved onto Survivor Series against 'Quake's team, before eliminating him to end the feud and simultaneously win the Royal Rumble, which effectively made him the number one contender before that was even a thing. His match against Slaughter wasn't all bad, saved by the no dq stipulation admittedly, and Hogan ended the season as WWE's first ever three time world champion.

Hogan was also instrumental in a couple of debuts, as Tugboat was brought in to be Hogan's 'cheerleader' when he was injured, and Hogan pushed for the Undertaker to be signed, who debuted at Survivor Series.

Warrior fell flat as his one major singles feud as champion was against old rival Rick Rude, then he moved into six-man tags with the Legion of Doom against Demolition, culminating in a poor elimination match at Survivor Series, where he had to share the spotlight as sole survivors in the never-repeated Final Survival match. He could never really step out of Hogan's shadow, even whilst carrying the belt on regular tv whilst a Hogan was away.

The mid card was solid but everyone had slumps, so for me the only choice is Hogan.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Warrior is a great shout for most people along with Hogan and UW did do a lot, but most of his "good work" was done the year prior... He's very much up there for 89-90, which no doubt we will get to shortly but he'd peaked the moment he won the belt and he needed others to make him look great and dominant.

The contenders for me are:-

Randy Savage - This was Randy's best year on the roster in a while, he was still the Macho King and not quite as featured as he had been, the work he did with Dusty Rhodes was excellent and repositioning him for the Warrior feud. The thing that stops him being MVP is that awkward absence from Survivor Series. There might have been an injury but Savage is a glaring omission on that card if he wasn't hurt. When he was back on TV he was positioning for that title shot from Warrior and when he didn't get it, took matters into his own hands ending his reign and being the crucial part of Warrior's best match.

Whatever happened in fall 1990 arguably led to his "retirement". It wasn't touched on in the recent DVD, but is post Liz split "funk" was, so perhaps this was a similar situation where Randy needed some "time out" or to try to "save his marriage". It's a shame cos Savage was rarely better than during that year in the ring.

Kerry Von Erich - Kerry was a replacement of a replacement for Summerslam 1990. Brutus Beefcake was due to win the IC title but his horrific accident put paid to that. The recently signed Davey Boy Smith was next, but he was also rehabbing injury and couldn't take the match. So they went with Kerry Von Erich upsetting Mr. Perfect instead... and while it didn't last into the following year, for those 6 months or so until Mania 7, The Texas Tornado was EXTREMELY hot with the fans and surprisingly good in the ring. You never realised he was an addict or had one foot. The wheels came off after Mania 7. With hindsight I guess once the initial push ended his motivation to stay "straight" dropped and his old demons surfaced. Not being there the full year stops him winning, like with Savage. But credit where due, Kerry was the first former NWA World Champion to cross over to McMahonland and be allowed to lift a title, something Harley Race, Dusty Rhodes, Terry Funk didn't manage.

The Rockers - I mentioned them in a prior thread over their final year and again, they get a mention this time. While the Hart Foundation were arguably the best tag team in the World at that time and LOD were on their way in, it was the Rockers who were doing the lions share of the work in the tag division. Helping to get new heel teams like Power and Glory and The Nasty Boys over in particular. History shows they jobbed the whole year, but that's not what was planned. This was the year the Rockers DID win the titles in that sadly ruined match where the rope botched. The Rockers were being given the ball, arguably because of Vince's financial problems with Jim Neidhart admittedly, but they were still being given that ball. Neidhart stayed and they got the belts back and history shows the Rockers never winning it, there's a strong case for the Harts being MVP's too but on balance, even without the titles the Rockers did a LOT of great work underpinning shows and got themselves majorly over. They were like modern Chris Jericho, valuable as plucky loses and as popular winners. This was clearly the period both guys earned the opportunities they were given later.

Rick Martel - Martel had split from Tito at Mania V and was clearly destined for a push when his wife became sick and he had to depart for a spell. When he returned at Mania 6 he picked up like he hadn't missed a beat and quickly became an important member of the roster. He wasn't the "top guy" but he was, like Honky Tonk Man, Greg Valentine, Rick Rude before him a heat magnet, strong worker and able to occupy upper mid card faces with strong feuds. His feud with Jake was a major, major part of that years WWF programme... while the end result was the disappointing Blindfold match, this period also saw Martel captain the first Surivor Series team not to lose a man and take part in the memorable Final match, getting some face time with Warrior, Hogan and a nice coda to his feud with Tito Santana. Rick was great during that whole "Arrogance" phase, while Jake played his part he was off-screen for most of the feud selling the blindness so it was Rick having to do the work of becoming more hated in his absence. He doesn't win it cos of who does... but he has a strong case.

The winner however for me is not up for question and I think most will probably agree once I'm done... It's technically 2 guys but as we're talking about wrestlers...

The winner is... Mr. Perfect w/Bobby Heenan.

This was Curt Hennig's banner year although he had shown flashes during his mini run with Hogan and feud with Beefcake to that point. With the Perfect record gone, one tweak was made that "rocket boosted him" They changed The Genius out and put him into the Heenan Family. Immediately his stock rose, Heenan was still the top manager in the game, even if he was reeling from Andre's turn on him at Mania 6 and this was reinforced when Perfect was the one to win the vacated IC title. Heading into Summerslam 1990 things looked extremely rosy in the Heenan Family, Perfect was the IC champ and Rick Rude was headed into his cage match against Warrior. This brought out the best in Heenan and thus Perfect benefitted a lot.

After Summerslam another shock had seen Kerry Von Erich defeat him and Rick Rude walk out of the company, furious at not being given his chance to headline Mania 7. Most agree with him, but it left Mr. Perfect as not only the crown jewel of the Heenan Family but the top heel below Slaughter and Savage as Earthquake and Ted DiBiase's pushes had stalled and Undertaker had yet to debut.

Rude's departure probably helped him regain the IC quicker than planned, but Perfect was put into the Survivor Series match just before this with Warrior and the newly debuted Legion of Doom. He was a strong, credible opponent for Warrior in that match, although not strictly his feud...

Once that was done, Perfect carried his second IC title strongly and began a feud with Davey Boy Smith at House Shows... WWF Magazine made a cover of the upcoming IC battle between them, but injury again derailed it and arguably is the main "blip" in an otherwise "perfect" year for Curt Hennig in WWE. The originally planned match for Mania with Smith had to be changed by a combination of Smith not being ready in time and Rude's departure. So he was put against Big Bossman... The match itself was fine, if not quite a classic... but Rude v Bossman and Curt v Davey at Mania 7 could have both been great matches. Curt soon was hurt and having to put over Bret at risk to his career... if he hadn't had such a great year in this period, WWE would have just taken the belt off him sooner and gotten it onto Bret another way, but because he had been their true MVP the year the rub Bret got by beating him could be seen as the turning point for the WWF... If Curt isn't MVP that year, Bret doesn't get over so quick, arguably Summerslam 92 doesn't happen and he never becomes World champ... if Curt doesn't get hurt... it's HIM getting Bret's push cos he was that MVP...

Good as Bret became, imagine Perfect in World title feuds with Ric Flair, Randy Savage, Bret, Davey, Ricky Steamboat...all off the back of that "perfect year".

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

The MVP is the Ultimate Warrior.

Hogan disappeared after WM6 until SummerSlam. How can he be the MVP? Ask any non-wrestling fan about a wrestler from this 1980s-early 1990's golden age. They will give you two names. Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior. Some will give Macho Man Randy Savage. But the most memorable mainstream wrestler from this time period outside of Hogan is Warrior, and it's because of this particular run.

I'd go even as far to say that Hogan shouldn't even have won the title back at WM7. Warrior should have carried it into WM7 and had a Title vs Career match as the main event vs Savage. Hogan/Slaughter still happens but as a co-main event, USA vs big bad foreign evil, but not for the title.

 

[SCrooked1]

I have to give this one to Hogan rather than Warrior. I just can't give it to a guy who fumbled the ball once it was handed to him on one of the biggest stages in wrestling history. Hogan, on the other hand, was the second man in that ring that night, and then went on to work a solid program with Earthquake before coming back to be the WWE's white knight against Sgt. Slaughter.

Fumbled the ball?!?

Hogan was the one that got the main event storyline after losing the belt. The first MSG show after WM was headlined by Hogan when the champion post WM usually headlined it back then.

Then during the Fall Hogan was barely on the road while the World Champion was thrown in the LOD/Demoliton feud because they didn't have anyone for him to feud with.

 

[SCrooked1]

The MVP is the Ultimate Warrior.

Hogan disappeared after WM6 until SummerSlam. How can he be the MVP? Ask any non-wrestling fan about a wrestler from this 1980s-early 1990's golden age. They will give you two names. Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior. Some will give Macho Man Randy Savage. But the most memorable mainstream wrestler from this time period outside of Hogan is Warrior, and it's because of this particular run.

Savage wasn't in the top 3 in the early 90's ('92 probably, but not 1990-91), but in the late 80's he definitely was.

 

[Goldie]

Warrior was a weaker than expected draw after Hogan. He didn't have the magic at the box office... live crowds were not as big with Warrior headlining as there were in 1989 when Hogan wrestled.
Arguably Warriors reign should have lasted longer, but by late 1990 Vince obviously wanted to put the title back on Hogan, which was done via Sgt Slaughter at the '91 Rumble to pass the baton.

Warrior is a logical choice for MVP, given Hogans layoff.... but I can't give it him to him based on his shortfalls as champ.
Even at WM6, Warriors crowning moment.... (as Hogan put in his autobiography)... "67000 fans in the Skydome watched a dejected Hogan leave the ring. Warrior held the title high and nobody cared".
Warriors nonessential interviews meant that he didn't have that mass media crossover appeal Hogan had.... sure the kiddies probably loved Warrior as his promos went over their heads... but Warrior wasn't that 'Hero' to the masses Hulk was.

Granted, there weren't many fresh challenges for Warriors title, the Rick Rude fued had been seen the previous year.... much of the 550,000 buy rate for Summerslam 90 was attributed to Hogans fued with Earthquake, after the devastating sneak attack where Quake broke Hogans ribs (storyline) on the Brother Love show.

Savage & Mr Perfect are honourable mentions as heels.... but the guy who was Vinces most valuable asset was still Hogan...despite the layoff after WM6.
Those days only had 4 PPVs a year... it would have been interesting to see the buy rates on a PPV with Warrior as champ that Hogan wasn't on.

I'm not saying Warrior wasn't a draw... he was... but he didn't have Hogans magic at the box office.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

Fumbled the ball?!?

Hogan was the one that got the main event storyline after losing the belt. The first MSG show after WM was headlined by Hogan when the champion post WM usually headlined it back then.

Then during the Fall Hogan was barely on the road while the World Champion was thrown in the LOD/Demoliton feud because they didn't have anyone for him to feud with.

They both got main event level storylines...WWF wasn't going to push Hogan to the background...that was never going to happen, nor should it have; they hoped to have two main event level talents much like they later had Austin and Rock. Warrior got Rude in a rematch for the World Title which "should've" been a money maker given their earlier chemistry.

The problem was that the Warrior wasn't very at ease in his new role as being the Face of the WWF. His own letter to McMahon betrayed that. He mentioned smiling, being the good soldier, doing the interviews...that's expected as the WWF Champion, but Warrior made it sound as if it was a huge burden that he felt saddled with. This translated into his promos and his ring work. It's one thing to be the wild man spouting nonsense before running full tilt to the ring, but it's another to be the supposed leader of the company doing that, and that was the mistake both Warrior and WWF made.

It's also not that they booked Warrior any differently in his matches either. He steamrolled DiBiase and Rude in the first half of his title reign, and then was switched to steamrolling Perfect and Demolition in the later half. The problem with that approach is that it sets up so few storylines if the best workers in the company aren't even allowed to have a fighting chance against your champ. Hogan, for all his faults, didn't do his invincibility thing til the end of the match. You could create a story around Hogan and his opponent. Warrior's only storyline was that he was a force of nature, and that storyline can only go on so long. The thing is...Warrior never had the talent to handle any other storyline.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

Kerry Von Erich - Kerry was a replacement of a replacement for Summerslam 1990. Brutus Beefcake was due to win the IC title but his horrific accident put paid to that. The recently signed Davey Boy Smith was next, but he was also rehabbing injury and couldn't take the match. So they went with Kerry Von Erich upsetting Mr. Perfect instead... and while it didn't last into the following year, for those 6 months or so until Mania 7, The Texas Tornado was EXTREMELY hot with the fans and surprisingly good in the ring. You never realised he was an addict or had one foot. The wheels came off after Mania 7. With hindsight I guess once the initial push ended his motivation to stay "straight" dropped and his old demons surfaced. Not being there the full year stops him winning, like with Savage. But credit where due, Kerry was the first former NWA World Champion to cross over to McMahonland and be allowed to lift a title, something Harley Race, Dusty Rhodes, Terry Funk didn't manage.

...

The winner however for me is not up for question and I think most will probably agree once I'm done... It's technically 2 guys but as we're talking about wrestlers...

The winner is... Mr. Perfect w/Bobby Heenan.

This was Curt Hennig's banner year although he had shown flashes during his mini run with Hogan and feud with Beefcake to that point. With the Perfect record gone, one tweak was made that "rocket boosted him" They changed The Genius out and put him into the Heenan Family. Immediately his stock rose, Heenan was still the top manager in the game, even if he was reeling from Andre's turn on him at Mania 6 and this was reinforced when Perfect was the one to win the vacated IC title. Heading into Summerslam 1990 things looked extremely rosy in the Heenan Family, Perfect was the IC champ and Rick Rude was headed into his cage match against Warrior. This brought out the best in Heenan and thus Perfect benefitted a lot.

After Summerslam another shock had seen Kerry Von Erich defeat him and Rick Rude walk out of the company, furious at not being given his chance to headline Mania 7. Most agree with him, but it left Mr. Perfect as not only the crown jewel of the Heenan Family but the top heel below Slaughter and Savage as Earthquake and Ted DiBiase's pushes had stalled and Undertaker had yet to debut.

Rude's departure probably helped him regain the IC quicker than planned, but Perfect was put into the Survivor Series match just before this with Warrior and the newly debuted Legion of Doom. He was a strong, credible opponent for Warrior in that match, although not strictly his feud...

Once that was done, Perfect carried his second IC title strongly and began a feud with Davey Boy Smith at House Shows... WWF Magazine made a cover of the upcoming IC battle between them, but injury again derailed it and arguably is the main "blip" in an otherwise "perfect" year for Curt Hennig in WWE. The originally planned match for Mania with Smith had to be changed by a combination of Smith not being ready in time and Rude's departure. So he was put against Big Bossman... The match itself was fine, if not quite a classic... but Rude v Bossman and Curt v Davey at Mania 7 could have both been great matches. Curt soon was hurt and having to put over Bret at risk to his career... if he hadn't had such a great year in this period, WWE would have just taken the belt off him sooner and gotten it onto Bret another way, but because he had been their true MVP the year the rub Bret got by beating him could be seen as the turning point for the WWF... If Curt isn't MVP that year, Bret doesn't get over so quick, arguably Summerslam 92 doesn't happen and he never becomes World champ... if Curt doesn't get hurt... it's HIM getting Bret's push cos he was that MVP...

Good as Bret became, imagine Perfect in World title feuds with Ric Flair, Randy Savage, Bret, Davey, Ricky Steamboat...all off the back of that "perfect year".

I have a different recollection of that time, in particular Perfect and Von Erich's feud from Summer Slam onwards. Von Erich came in fairly hot, but their match at Summer Slam was a dull affair that ended in 5 minutes. This was a great match on paper that I was really looking forward to, but the actual match was a disappointment. His matches against Boss Man at WM7 and Hart at SS91 were light years ahead of the match against Von Erich. I was utterly disappointed with Von Erich's showing (yes, I put this one more on Von Erich than Hennig) that I had to go back and watch some of his earlier matches to see if maybe I had just Von Erich's abilities back in World Class (I had...Kevin and David were the far more talented brothers).

That feud lasted all the way up to about December time frame. I frankly don't recall Perfect's matches with Bulldog though I can imagine they were good. But it's kind of tough to judge when it was never a featured match at a PPV of the time. Perfect's reign really didn't click for me UNTIL WrestleMania 7 where he went up against Boss Man.

I'd have a tough time giving him MVP for that period.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The booking for Summerslam didn't really change between Davey and Kerry... Remember this was the "big" Davey Boy with the dreads and Winston... so coming in and finishing Perfect in 5 minutes was something feasible and that would have worked well with him. With Kerry it wasn't quite as god, but he was still very over indeed for a "rookie" and was far better in the ring than later on, when his issues got to him.

As I remember it was a knee problem Davey was getting over, he just wasn't 100% and they made the change and the hangover from it meant the autumn/winter programme changed. When he returned the window had gone so they paired him with Warlord instead with a view to re-doing it later in 1991... Hennig's back injury put paid to it and thus it became about getting the belt onto Bret.

Perfect gets it over Kerry without doubt, but he is a contender for sure in that period.

 

[SCrooked1]

Warrior was a weaker than expected draw after Hogan. He didn't have the magic at the box office... live crowds were not as big with Warrior headlining as there were in 1989 when Hogan wrestled.
Arguably Warriors reign should have lasted longer, but by late 1990 Vince obviously wanted to put the title back on Hogan, which was done via Sgt Slaughter at the '91 Rumble to pass the baton.

Warrior is a logical choice for MVP, given Hogans layoff.... but I can't give it him to him based on his shortfalls as champ.
Even at WM6, Warriors crowning moment.... (as Hogan put in his autobiography)... "67000 fans in the Skydome watched a dejected Hogan leave the ring. Warrior held the title high and nobody cared".
Warriors nonessential interviews meant that he didn't have that mass media crossover appeal Hogan had.... sure the kiddies probably loved Warrior as his promos went over their heads... but Warrior wasn't that 'Hero' to the masses Hulk was.

Granted, there weren't many fresh challenges for Warriors title, the Rick Rude fued had been seen the previous year.... much of the 550,000 buy rate for Summerslam 90 was attributed to Hogans fued with Earthquake, after the devastating sneak attack where Quake broke Hogans ribs (storyline) on the Brother Love show.

Savage & Mr Perfect are honourable mentions as heels.... but the guy who was Vinces most valuable asset was still Hogan...despite the layoff after WM6.
Those days only had 4 PPVs a year... it would have been interesting to see the buy rates on a PPV with Warrior as champ that Hogan wasn't on.

I'm not saying Warrior wasn't a draw... he was... but he didn't have Hogans magic at the box office.

Drawing ability had more to do w/ how strong the matchup was then simply who was the champion. Hogan didn't have the belt during his program w/ Big Bossman and it didn't affect his drawing power at all.

The Warrior/Undertaker program drew crowds better than the Hogan/Slaughter title program did.

 

[SCrooked1]

They both got main event level storylines...WWF wasn't going to push Hogan to the background...that was never going to happen, nor should it have; they hoped to have two main event level talents much like they later had Austin and Rock. Warrior got Rude in a rematch for the World Title which "should've" been a money maker given their earlier chemistry.

The problem was that the Warrior wasn't very at ease in his new role as being the Face of the WWF. His own letter to McMahon betrayed that. He mentioned smiling, being the good soldier, doing the interviews...that's expected as the WWF Champion, but Warrior made it sound as if it was a huge burden that he felt saddled with. This translated into his promos and his ring work. It's one thing to be the wild man spouting nonsense before running full tilt to the ring, but it's another to be the supposed leader of the company doing that, and that was the mistake both Warrior and WWF made.

It's also not that they booked Warrior any differently in his matches either. He steamrolled DiBiase and Rude in the first half of his title reign, and then was switched to steamrolling Perfect and Demolition in the later half. The problem with that approach is that it sets up so few storylines if the best workers in the company aren't even allowed to have a fighting chance against your champ. Hogan, for all his faults, didn't do his invincibility thing til the end of the match. You could create a story around Hogan and his opponent. Warrior's only storyline was that he was a force of nature, and that storyline can only go on so long. The thing is...Warrior never had the talent to handle any other storyline.

Warrior-Rude was barely a storyline. Warrior pinned him in every match during their house show run and other than their SNME match and Summerslam match they had no face to face interaction w/ each other. The attendance would've been the same for those matches Warrior was in that year even if he didn't have the belt.

Rude walked because his Summerslam paycheck wasn't main event level despite co-headlining the show, they didn't treat him like a main eventer at all. If the Warrior-Rude match wasn't in a cage it's possible that Hogan-Earthquake would've went on last.

 

[Goldie]

The Warrior/Undertaker program drew crowds better than the Hogan/Slaughter title program did.

Even if thats true it falls outside the time MVP time period of WM6 to WM7.
Taker and Warrior feuded between WM7 and Summerslam 1991... as were Hogans rematches with Slaughter.

There is no doubt that Hogan was always the much bigger star than Warrior.
That doesn't even merit an argument.

 

[Goldie]

The booking for Summerslam didn't really change between Davey and Kerry... Remember this was the "big" Davey Boy with the dreads and Winston... so coming in and finishing Perfect in 5 minutes was something feasible and that would have worked well with him. With Kerry it wasn't quite as god, but he was still very over indeed for a "rookie" and was far better in the ring than later on, when his issues got to him.

As I remember it was a knee problem Davey was getting over, he just wasn't 100% and they made the change and the hangover from it meant the autumn/winter programme changed. When he returned the window had gone so they paired him with Warlord instead with a view to re-doing it later in 1991... Hennig's back injury put paid to it and thus it became about getting the belt onto Bret.

Perfect gets it over Kerry without doubt, but he is a contender for sure in that period.

Vince dropped the ball very quickly with Kerry. He was pushed and beat Perfect at Summerlsam... which was a big deal back then.... Hening was the best upper midcard heel on the roster.

However Kerry quickly lost the title back to Perfect.... and fell down the card alarmingly quickly. Within 6 months he was regularly jobbing by pinfall to the likes of the Mountie.... and was mixing it up with C-list superstars such as Dino Bravo, Bezerker, Skinner & Hercules.
He was placed on a similar level to that of El Matador.... jobber to the midcard heels.

Being IC champion meant something big in those days, and to be on the bottom rung of superstars in under a year, is quite a fall from grace.

As such I don't think Kerry is a contender for MVP

 

[thebarber]

Hogan was off filimng movies between April and August, hardly MVP material when he missed a third of the year. Warrior was champ the majority then had a major feud with Savage. Warrior was the MVOP of this time in WWE

 

[dd23beatlesfan1]

To me honestly, it only between three serious contenders. The Ultimate Warrior, Hulk Hogan, and Mr. Perfect.

I appreciate the other wrestlers being mentioned to "spice up" the conversation/debate, but if we're talking "MVP" for a year in the WWE, it has to be someone that's in a very top program, aka: the main event. The MVP has to be the most consistent performer, with the most success, and the most attention and notoriety. Rick Martel was probably the name that stood out to me as a good mention, as his heel work was phenomenal in this point, arguably the second or third best throughout a lot of 1990, only behind Hennig and Earthquake (a phenomenal monster heel, Hogan's most underrated opponent, IMO), but as great as Martel was in this period, he was a mid-card heel, nothing more. That can't be the MVP of the company.

Others mentioned like Randy Savage (who should always be in the discussion) and Kerry Von Erich were good mentions as well. But as has been pointed out, Savage did some good stuff (but sorry 1990 is arguably the weakest year of his WWE career where he was an active, full-time wrestler), but his stuff was mid-card material, and he wasn't around for the whole year, so he can't really be the top choice. Kerry Von Erich is a serious contender if you're just counting August 1990-December 1990. After that, he immediately is no longer in the conversation. A great first 3 month run, but after that he went downhill.

Tag teams, like the mid-card, to me can't really be considered, as by that point tag teams weren't really main eventing shows as much anymore, although if we're gonna throw tag teams into it, to me it's the Hart Foundation that wins with Demolition and the Rockers next in line. Remember, that Demolition were the tag champs for half of the Wrestlemania VI-Wrestlemania VII period, and then went from babyfaces to heels right in the middle of their reign which is a rare thing. But the Hart Foundation were the top team no doubt.

Also before I get to the true three contenders, I'd also like to throw out another name that hasn't been mentioned. The Undertaker. Sure he didn't have a big time feud until after WM VII with the Warrior, but from Survivor Series up to then, he was undefeated (other than the Rumble match), and was just absolutely demolishing people left and right. He was quickly getting over as a scary, monster heel. Yeah he's mid-card, but if we're gonna throw Rick Martel, Jake Roberts, Randy Savage, and Kerry Von Erich into the mix, why not the Undertaker too?


Anyways the three true contenders are Warrior, Hogan, and Hennig.

In-ring wise Hennig was obviously the real MVP, as he was pretty much the best in-ring performer the WWF had in 1990, even over Savage, Bret Hart, Dibiase, and Michaels and Jannetty. Hennig was the "best in the world" (WWE wise) in 1990. And many, like myself, that consider him to the be the greatest I-C champion of all-time, well. That's because of his run from April of 1990 to August of 1991. Keep that in mind. With the exception of a 2-3 month interruption from Summerslam 90 to shortly after Survivor Series 90, Hennig was the I-C champ for a year and a half. And he had one of, if not the greatest run with the I-C title in history during that period. That, right there is MVP material. That period in WWE history is almost the only period where many considered the I-C title to be the real top title in the WWE, even over the World Title. That's because of Mr. Perfect.

The new franchise of the WWE was the Ultimate Warrior. He was the guy in the main events, he was the champ, he was headlining the ppv's. Yeah he didn't do as well as Hogan, but until Stone Cold and Rock came along, who did? Obviously his title run was flawed, and it's very arguable that his character really showed his weakness once he reached the top. As he was demolishing all the top challengers, so I can see where fans got bored and tired of the act. That was a downfall. But ultimately, I don't really think it's anyone's fault it turned out that way. That's how Warrior's character was. It was very much like Goldberg. Once Goldberg beat everyone, who was left to pose as an interesting challenger? Same deal with Warrior. Even though his reign was not what Vince had hoped it would be, it was still a success, just not as big as they hoped. He still drew, he still had a banner year. It just wasn't Hogan or even Savage in 88 level.

Which brings us to Hulk Hogan. Hulk Hogan arguably had better booking and a better year, because he was still a huge focus of the WWF, and he had one thing Warrior didn't have, a hot feud to keep Hogan's character interesting. Hogan's feud with Earthquake is really the most underrated feud of Hogan's WWE career, as no one had ever put him "on the shelf" for as long. It was so well done, and the matches were pretty good for Hogan/monster heel type matches. And obviously, after the Royal Rumble in 91, Hogan takes Warrior's spot as the #1 babyface again. That should put Hogan ahead of Warrior. But there was that pretty long period between Wrestlemania VI and Summerslam, where Hogan wasn't around at all. That hurts his stature as the real MVP.

Because Warrior and Hogan both cancel each other out, and neither had truly outstanding years, I'm giving the MVP title to Mr. Perfect, who had the greatest year of his career, especially his WWE career. Unlike Hogan and Warrior who both had better years prior, Hennig was at his peak, and he elevated the I-C title more than anyone else that's ever held it. He made the I-C title mean more than the World Title, which has really not been done since, and will never happen again. That's a very special accomplishment. Hennig had the best year of anyone, both in the ring, and with his accomplishments.


Mr. Perfect is my vote. He had "the perfect year."

 

[SCrooked1]

Even if thats true it falls outside the time MVP time period of WM6 to WM7.
Taker and Warrior feuded between WM7 and Summerslam 1991... as were Hogans rematches with Slaughter.

There is no doubt that Hogan was always the much bigger star than Warrior.
That doesn't even merit an argument.

Much bigger star?!? Maybe outside the wrestling world but that's because Hogan's character was more presentable to the mainstream audience.

And in the 1991-92 MVP topic the majority voted Hogan too despite not drawing great as champion for most of that year, unfair biasness don't you think? Hogan didn't have the belt during his matches w/ the Big Bossman and the crowds he drew were exactly the same as they were when he was champion that year, judging someone drawing good or bad simply on who holds the belt is IMO overrated.

 

[SCrooked1]

Hogan was off filimng movies between April and August, hardly MVP material when he missed a third of the year. Warrior was champ the majority then had a major feud with Savage. Warrior was the MVOP of this time in WWE

Hogan was actually gone longer than that. He was still on the road the first month after dropping the belt. Wasn't on the road the next couple of months, was back on the road during the month of Summerslam, then was barely on the road again the next couple of months (Only 9 matches total for the month of the September-October).

He was back on the road working his usual schedule around the time of SvS.

So yeah, other than the buildup to Summerslam Hogan didn't have a whole lot of highlights after dropping the belt that year. SvS doesn't count IMO since the survivor tag match format what was drew the show back then.

 

[Goldie]

Much bigger star?!? Maybe outside the wrestling world but that's because Hogan's character was more presentable to the mainstream audience.
.

Of course. Why wouldn't he be? Hogan is the biggest name in the history of pro wrestling. He took wrestling into the modern era.
Warrior is generally regarded as flash in the pan.

Warrior created a good amount of short term interest from 1988-91, but was never at any point in his career more popular than Hogan. At his peak Warrior was the #2 biggest star in the WWE.... but the #1 was Hogan.

 

[SCrooked1]

Of course. Why wouldn't he be? Hogan is the biggest name in the history of pro wrestling. He took wrestling into the modern era.
Warrior is generally regarded as flash in the pan.

Warrior created a good amount of short term interest from 1988-91, but was never at any point in his career more popular than Hogan. At his peak Warrior was the #2 biggest star in the WWE.... but the #1 was Hogan.

So you're saying Warrior never got a better reaction than him?

When they announced the match around the house show circuit Warrior got the bigger reaction in most cities.

When Warrior has the belt Hogan was still considered #1 because he had a better program w/Earthquake but when Warrior/Undertaker was a more successful drawing program than Hogan/Slaughter Hogan is considered #1 because he had the belt? What kind of sense does that make?!? Warrior was at worst 1B in 1990-91, a #2 face is a face that is a few notches below the #1 face in crowd reaction and drawing ability. A 1B face is a face that is over enough to be the #1 face, but politics prevent that from happening.

 

[Goldie]

What about WM6? Edge himself was in attendance as a kid, and said that as a Hulkamaniac he couldn't align himself to Warrior on the principle of beating his hero.
The focus seemed more on Hogan losing the belt than people caring about Warrior celebrating.

It made business sense for Hogan to drop the belt at WM6 as he was off to film Subberban Commando. If Warrior was able to fill Hogans shoes so well, why did they take the title off him? They wanted it back on Hogan (with Slaughter used as the baton in between).

Hogan was still the top guy who made the most money. Did Warrior outsell Hogan in merchandise?

Warrior did not have the crossover mainstream appeal Hogan had as I mentioned. He was too cartoonish.... his interviews made no sense. The kids went crazy for Warrior as they wouldn't care about him making no sense. But Hogan reached out to a larger demographic of fans- the kids loved Hogan, the adults loved Hogan... the traditional wrestling fans probably hated them both!

At his peak Warrior was #2. Still a great achievement but he wasn't the undisputed face of the company.
Rock was a closer #2 to Austins #1, than Warrior was to Hogans #1.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

So you're saying Warrior never got a better reaction than him?

When they announced the match around the house show circuit Warrior got the bigger reaction in most cities.

When Warrior has the belt Hogan was still considered #1 because he had a better program w/Earthquake but when Warrior/Undertaker was a more successful drawing program than Hogan/Slaughter Hogan is considered #1 because he had the belt? What kind of sense does that make?!? Warrior was at worst 1B in 1990-91, a #2 face is a face that is a few notches below the #1 face in crowd reaction and drawing ability. A 1B face is a face that is over enough to be the #1 face, but politics prevent that from happening.

I'm kind of curious how you come to the conclusion that Warrior/Undertaker was a more successful draw than Hogan/Slaughter. Also, you're starting to mix your periods up...Warrior/Undertaker was 91/92. So while I can certainly picture people getting tired of Hogan/Slaughter post WrestleMania 7, that doesn't validate Warrior's title run in 90/91.

 

[SCrooked1]

What about WM6? Edge himself was in attendance as a kid, and said that as a Hulkamaniac he couldn't align himself to Warrior on the principle of beating his hero.
The focus seemed more on Hogan losing the belt than people caring about Warrior celebrating.

It made business sense for Hogan to drop the belt at WM6 as he was off to film Subberban Commando. If Warrior was able to fill Hogans shoes so well, why did they take the title off him? They wanted it back on Hogan (with Slaughter used as the baton in between).

Hogan was still the top guy who made the most money. Did Warrior outsell Hogan in merchandise?

Warrior did not have the crossover mainstream appeal Hogan had as I mentioned. He was too cartoonish.... his interviews made no sense. The kids went crazy for Warrior as they wouldn't care about him making no sense. But Hogan reached out to a larger demographic of fans- the kids loved Hogan, the adults loved Hogan... the traditional wrestling fans probably hated them both!

At his peak Warrior was #2. Still a great achievement but he wasn't the undisputed face of the company.
Rock was a closer #2 to Austins #1, than Warrior was to Hogans #1.

How Warrior was ever given a chance to "fill Hogan's shoes" when Warrior had almost no feuds as champion? For the middle part of his run they threw him in LOD/Demoltion feud for no reason, and this was when Hogan wasn't even on the road. They put the belt back on Hogan and Warrior outdraws him for 4 months until Vince suspends Warrior and has to bring Flair in to save Hogan's ass .

Look at the 1990 results on thehistoryofwwe.com and see when Hogan wasn't on the road during Warrior's reign.

 

[SCrooked1]

I'm kind of curious how you come to the conclusion that Warrior/Undertaker was a more successful draw than Hogan/Slaughter. Also, you're starting to mix your periods up...Warrior/Undertaker was 91/92. So while I can certainly picture people getting tired of Hogan/Slaughter post WrestleMania 7, that doesn't validate Warrior's title run in 90/91.

There were WON articles in '91 where Meltzer said Warrior-Undertaker was drawing better houses than Hogan-Slaughter.

I'll post what he said:

From 6/24/91:

Warrior-Undertaker seems to have surpassed Hogan-Slaughter as the top angle because it's drawing the better houses, although Hogan-Slaughter did draw almost 11,000 on 6/16 at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, it was several thousand less than Warrior-Undertaker did in the same building.

7/8/91:

However, the cruelest irony of the whole thing is that the majority of the public that demands the un-natural physiques, don't have any idea what it takes to get them. Many of Hulk Hogan's biggest admirers are now looking at him as some sort of a cheater and a hypocrite. More see him just the same, and always will, as long as there is a villain to fight. Hogan's matches the weekend before the trial (which he missed), drew crowds between 3,000 and 3,500--terrible by Hogan's standards, although part of this was due to weak walk-ups since the WWF got out the publicity in all cities on Thursday that Hogan wouldn't be appearing because of his neck injury. Hogan returned to action this past Friday night in Chicago, and his matches with Sgt. Slaughter drew approximately 6,500 paid in Chicago; 5,000 paid in Auburn Hills, Mich. and 4,100 paid in Providence, R.I. The Chicago crowd was the smallest I can recall for a Hogan appearance in several years. These small crowds are due more to the fact that Slaughter is dead as a challenger than anything in the news. Hogan's reaction among those who attended didn't change one oita, nor did anyone expect that it would, but clearly the numbers attending were significantly down. Nevertheless, the word around wrestling was that the advance sales for Hogan's future dates had "gone flat" this week, which would indicate there has been some loss of business. Sponsors of Hulk Hogan products have failed to return numerous phone calls from many different members of the media. This weekend, as irony would have it when one really thinks about it, Ultimate Warrior vs. Undertaker clearly became the No. 1 drawing issue in the company.

8/5/91:

FEUD OF THE YEAR - This year hasn't exactly been filled with the classics. The Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mitsuharu Misawa rivalry in All Japan has resulted in big crowds and classic battles, even with very subtle angles involved. Ultimate Warrior vs. Undertaker has been successful at the gate and matches have ranged from awful to very good. Forget Hogan vs. Slaughter because the feud has accomplished everything feuds aren't supposed to accomplish. Has WCW had a feud this year that has meant anything. Atsushi Onita vs. Mr. Pogo, for what it's been, has been very good considering neither of these guys would be confused for being a top wrestler. Aja Kong & Bison Kimura vs. Bull Nakano & Kyoko Inoue in the All Japan women rings is as good as anything I've seen. The best actual wrestling feud in terms of providing hot matches each night in this country may be Tom Prichard vs. Tony Anthony in the USWA.

I got one from 1992 too

7/20/92:

DM: Nobody is telling anyone that they can't do anything. But people certainly have the right to write their opinions if they believe something is in bad taste. And you've got to figure, judging from television ratings, that for whatever reason, an awful lot of people have made that choice not to watch it anymore over the past few years. But you're absolutely right that an owner of a company has the 100 percent right to do whatever he wants with his company so long as it is legal, and if exploiting bad taste makes him money, then he's got the right. And the people who like it have the right to their opinion as well. If it in the long run costs him money, he still has that right. And the people who don't like it, they've got the right to their opinion as well. Some exploitation in the future undoubtedly will make the companies money, some, like WCW's abortive Yamazaki Corporation gimmick a few years back with Hiro Matsuda, was so bad that nobody even remembers it today and at probably didn't hurt nor help during the time period other than mildly waste some television time. Another, like the 1991 Gulf War angle in the WWF was so well put together but timed so poorly that it achieved such a negative backlash that it cost the company millions of dollars. The Undertaker/Ultimate Warrior coffin skit, however, did make the WWF a lot of money that same summer. We can't expect wrestling promoters to have any morality, but there is something to be said about a certain amount of responsibility that children's programming should have and wrestling teaching a large audience of children outdated stereotypes.

In the 1991-92 thread a lot of the posts said "Hogan wasn't the draw as champion as he was in the past but he was still a bigger draw than anyone else that year, including the Warrior".