1992-93 WWE MVP

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

We now move back to a pretty major turning point in the WWE. This year which spans the day after WrestleMania VIII up till WrestleMania IX encompasses the transition from Golden Era to New Generation.

This is an interesting year as many of the guys who were in contention to begin the year (Macho, Flair and Warrior) would not finish out the year. Still cases could be made for any of them and I hope to hear a few, but for me the MVP of this time frame is Bret Hart. This year spans his rise from mid card to main eventer with the crowning achievement being not his 1st WWE Championship, but rather his loss at SummerSlam against Bulldog. It was this match that showed the WWE Bret had it and it wasn't long until they gave him the strap. His match with Bulldog is top 5 in WWE history and from all accounts Hart carried that match. He also had a fogotten classic against Shawn at Survivor Series, and I am very fond of his title defense at the Rumble as for me that match was really the first match I can think of that foreshadowed the coming change in style of matches that we would see later on in the 90's.

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

There is no other choice than Bret Hart for this 'season' - the closest was Shawn Michaels as he was the only one nearly as consistent.

Savage could have been but was hampered by the knee injury which cut his title reign short, and by the end of the year was predominantly used on commentary, as he was indeed at Wrestlemania IX.

Flair can't be considered as, despite transitioning the title between Savage and Hart, he just wasn't booked strongly enough, indeed his final ppv singles match in WWE was at Wrestlemania VIII, the day before this thread 'begins'! Extraordinary booking. Indeed (and I realise there were only 4 proper ppvs in this era) WMVIII was Flair's ONLY ppv singles match in WWE!

Davey Boy Smith had the match of his career at Wembley Stadium, but just two months later was caught out using HGH, in the midst of the steroid trial, so had to go, losing the Intercontinental title to Shawn Michaels on the way out.

Michael himself started off challenging Savage for the world title on the UK Tour just after Wrestlemania - nowhere near ready, so no one saw him as a legitimate threat, but they still made a decent match of it. Unfortunately he then got saddled in an awful feud/match with Rick Martel at Summerslam (it's worth noting the original plan was to hold Summerslam in Washington DC, with the IC title match being the long-teased Hart v Michaels) in which neither man was allowed to hit the other in the face, and it went to a double count out. One of, if not THE, worst ppv match in Michaels' career. Thankfully he rebounded, winning the IC title from Davey Boy before a classic match against Bret Hart at Survivor Series then a very good match with Marty Jannety at the Royal Rumble.

Michaels ended the season opening Wrestlemania IX against Tatanka, a late change as Jannety had left the company. A weak match thanks to a weak opponent, but one whom the WWE were really trying to push.

Tatanka was handed the longest undefeated streak in WWE history, at nearly two years. This included the entire 1992-93 season we are discussing. Sadly his matches largely sucked. Although he won a 40-man battle Royal in the summer, his ppv matches were against the Berserker and Rick Martel, which didn't exactly help.

So that only leaves the Hitman, who had the match of the night at 3 of the four ppvs, and the second best match (after the Steiners v Headshrinkers) at the fourth, plus defended his newly won WWE title 'more often than anyone before him' (though the calibre of challenger wasn't always high), usually dragging a watchable match out of them. There is simply no other choice: season 1992-93 was the year of Bret Hart

 

[Jonyboyuk2]

Hands down; Bret Hart.

Following his mega bout with Roddy Piper at WM8, he was a strong face to the WWF fans.

For the WWF home video release "Smack 'em Whack 'em" Bret took HBK on in a ladder match. It not only was a good strong match; it introduced the genre/idea to the WWF.

His bout at SummerSlam 1992 was one of the greatest main events in company history; and my personal favourite. Bret led that match and even though he lost; he really won. It was that bout that convinced Vince to put the WWF world title on him 6 weeks or so later.

Then his match with Flair was a good strong bout and it is just a shame it was not televised. Bret then went on to get the best out of mid-carders and curtain jerkers like Virgil, Papa Shango, IRS, Headshrinkers and others. His first PPV defense against HBK at Survivor Series 1992 was fun too.

Bret's further matches this year against Razor at the Rumble and other contenders made him the stand out star of WWF. His match against Yoko was not good at mania , but it was built well.

 

[FlairFan2003]

There is no other choice than Bret Hart for this 'season' - the closest was Shawn Michaels as he was the only one nearly as consistent.

Savage could have been but was hampered by the knee injury which cut his title reign short, and by the end of the year was predominantly used on commentary, as he was indeed at Wrestlemania IX.

Savage's title reign wasn't cut short by a knee injury. It was cut short because he requested to be taken off the road and ease his schedule post Elizabeth. There was an angle where Flair injured his knee at S-Slam to give him a face saving excuse in his subsequent title loss to Flair but the reason his own reign was cut short was because he wanted it to, he asked to be reduced.

HBK was pretty much a non entity till very late in 92 and was a mid carder at best even then. His initial push as a singles star started with a bang in late 91 and then stammered around very un-impressively till his out of nowhere IC Title win. Spending the summer wrestling jobbers and feuding with Rick Martel in a comedy feud over who the prettiest pretty boy was isn't a high light in his career. His IC Title win did move him up the ladder and he did get a World Title Match on PPV (S-Series) even if it played second fiddle promotion wise to star laden Tag Match (Flair/Hall vs Henning/Savage). He is not a legit contender.

U-Warrior was not used effectively early on, wasted on a mid card feud against a comedy act no one cared for or had heard of before (Papa Shango). It was clear going forward that WWE was banking on him at the end of the year, they milked the last dollars out of a rematch between him & Savage that they could get and then set up major feud with UW chasing Flair for the title, supposedly set to end with a Warrior win at S-Series. Warrior's continuing problems with other talent, his contract, and finally his causing Flair to be seriously injured and forced out of action pretty much doomed what should have been his return to the pinnacle of the company. After Flair was injured UW basically disappeared for WWE programming, returning briefly just to get punked by Flair & Hall on a SNME to explain his prolonged absence from WWE programming (and make Flair look strong in his return). Considering that he basically canned himself his own mega push and did little outside S-Slam 92 in the interim and had no value and barely any appearances after Mid Oct, he isn't a contender

Flair was an integral part of house show business and a major part of S-Slam 92's World Title Match. He wrestled in one of the most entertaining World Title Matches in WWE history and managed to win two Titles in one year, a rare feat, especially back then. Outside of an extremely long and drawn out feud with Savage however he didn't do much else with any other talent. He wrestled some entertaining matches vs Taker, helping to establish Taker's growing status as a fan fave. He was superb on the European Tour in title defenses vs Hart & Savage. He was the catalyst storyline wise that brought Curt Henning back inn active competition, and their RAW Loser Leaves Town Match in Jan 93 remains one of the most talked about RAW matches of all time. His planned feud with the Ultimate Warrior was cut short by injury. The injury wasn't his fault and he deserves major props for his willingness, despite the injury, to attempt and lose the title proper in the ring rather than just have the title be forfeited as he took a medical leave, definitely an old school take one for the team attitude. In the end I don't see him as the MVP during this period however, especially since he was done in early Feb 93.

Hart's IC Title win at WM VIII was impressive in a high profile match that was just a shade behind the double main event in terms of card importance and promotion. He was somewhat lost in the post Mania aftermath until his well promoted fued (and loss) against British Bulldog at S-Slam 92. Hart was seemingly out of the title picture when Warrior's self destruction necessitated someone step up and he, as a long time employee, loyal WWE lifer, popular fan fave, and hard worker was chosen. Sometimes being in the right place at the right time is the best way to be. As champ, Hart didn't hit his stride till after the new year, with too much attention on the returns of Flair and Henning and the continuing push of Hall, as well as the debut of Yokozuna. For awhile Hart was wasted on a meaningless run of matches against the ridiculous Papa Shango. By the beginning of 93 with a well promoted run of matches against both Flair & Hall Hart started taking center stage.

Savage's return to active competition and World Title Wins were the unquestioned high lights of 92. His performances at Mania & S-Slam and his hard work on the house show circuit were a major benefit to WWE. The fact he took himself out of the picture in late 92 and from then on never really got back in (how much of that was his fault and how much was Vince is conjecture but there are well documented stories and Vince not being happy when his champs ask for time off, just ask Ricky Steamboat circa 1987). Like Flair, if Savage had competed the entire time frame I would consider him better as legit contender. Since he was basically MIA from Sept on (save for token appearances at S-Series, R-Rumble, and Mania 9) it's hard for me to chose him over someone who was active the entire time.

So HBK isn't nearly important enough or contributed enough but he was active the entire time. Warrior was around for a brief period and left badly. Guys like Hall & Henning who I did not critique don't get mention since they entered the period so late and I feel even then others equaled or exceeded their contributions. Flair & Savage did quite a lot but still weren't active the entire time. Hart is the only one who can match Flair & Savage's contributions and was a major player almost the entire time, active the entire time. I also give him a bonus point for doing a good job keeping the WWE chin up after Savage begged off, Flair got hurt, and Warrrior was fired. It wasn't the ideal way to be given the ball but he ran with it none the less. Id give Hart my vote, a slight edge over Savage & Flair and clearly ahead of everyone else.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Hands down; Bret Hart.



Then his match with Flair was a good strong bout and it is just a shame it was not televised. Bret then went on to get the best out of mid-carders and curtain jerkers like Virgil, Papa Shango, IRS, Headshrinkers and others. His first PPV defense against HBK at Survivor Series 1992 was fun too.

.

The title win vs Flair wasn't very good. Flair was suffering from broken bones that had dislodged in his ear canal, disrupting his sense of balance, he couldn't drive and would awkwardly lose his balance at times when the bones shifted in the fluids in his ear. The fact he even wrestled was a minor miracle, at the time they were not sure exactly what was causing the loss of balance and vertigo, extremely risky (or stupid) to even agree to go in the ring "for the team". The fact the match is even watchable is itself a minor miracle.

Their title matches on the house show circuit, which included 60 Minute Iron Man Matches (the first time that concept was introduced into WWE) were much better.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The title win vs Flair wasn't very good. Flair was suffering from broken bones that had dislodged in his ear canal, disrupting his sense of balance, he couldn't drive and would awkwardly lose his balance at times when the bones shifted in the fluids in his ear. The fact he even wrestled was a minor miracle, at the time they were not sure exactly what was causing the loss of balance and vertigo, extremely risky (or stupid) to even agree to go in the ring "for the team". The fact the match is even watchable is itself a minor miracle.

Their title matches on the house show circuit, which included 60 Minute Iron Man Matches (the first time that concept was introduced into WWE) were much better.

On top of the broken back...so Flair was "miracle man" all round.

There is a BIG argument for Flair in that year but the reality is he was already on the outs by the time he lost to Savage at Mania. They'd scrapped the Hogan match, the main reason he'd come in, Vince had bawled him out for juicing at the event and it was clear Vince was not behind him in the way he'd been sold and he was basically the "stop gap" till Warrior got back. He did reasonably well considering his health issues and that soul sapping... it amazes me how much he "loves Vince" and "hates Bischoff" cos I don't see much difference then in how either treated him.

It's between Davey Boy, Bret and Savage in reality.

Davey Boy gets a mention because of how BIG Summerslam was... people forget how major that actually is, to draw that crowd outside the US, the 2nd biggest behind Mania 3 for many years, have an IC title match headline AND have a guy who could fill that arena AND put on a great match. Bret deseved credit for calling the match but Davey sold it... he gets taken out the running for the stupid firing... but he went straight to WCW and was powerslamming Vader on the concrete... he was over.... had he stated, he may well have been the guy beating Flair and then facing Bret at Mania...

In reality though Savage was the MVP of that period... he was on his "farewell" tour so to speak, and as above his split with Liz led to him needing some time, but like in 1989 he WAS the champ in that period he had it, he had the "big time" aura about him that Warrior and the like just didn't have and his matches were still in the top 2 on the card.

 

[Goldie]

Bret Hart.

I've chosen the Hitman several times in these MVP threads, if you look at 1992-97 as a whole, he was the MVP over this period as a whole.

Hart was already established as IC level, and became a 2 time champion at WM8.... it wasn't often Roddy Piper fell by pinfall in his WWE heyday!

There is a shout for Savage.... for the first 6 months of this period (WM8 to WM9), sure he was the early front runner.... but it was quite alarming how quickly he was phased down after he lost the world title to Flair.

Hart main evented 4 of the 5 PPVs of this snapshot era, Summerslam 92 (in a scorching main event and 80,000 people) Survivor Series, Royal Rumble 93, Wrestlemania 9.

In the post Hogan era, Vince needed to push a new star.... Savage was a grizzled veteran, but Vince needed a fresh injection to the main event scene... Bret was his man!

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

I imagine just how good this year could have been if Bret was allowed to work with some of the vets in big PPV matches.

Imagine Ric Flair 'C' vs Bret Hart at Survivor Series. Bret Hart 'C' vs Randy Savage at Royal Rumble. Bret Hart 'C' vs Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania IX. Getting big wins over these guys would have gone a long way in legitimizing Bret as a top main eventer before they all left for WCW.

For me it's a tie between the Hitman and Savage, but if I had to pick one my bias would go towards picking Bret.