How Do You Remember Tito Santana?

[The Brain]

If you were watching the WWF in the 1980s into the early 90s you saw a lot of Tito Santana. He may not have consistently grabbed your attention like some other stars, but he was always there. Tito had a long career and went through many different phases without ever really changing. I think he may be best remembered for his poor WrestleMania record. Tito wrestled in the first eight manias and had a record of 1-7 winning only at WM1. He even lost a dark match at WM9. I think his losing record on the big stage may have hurt his reputation which is a shame. A lot of people look at Tito as a decent wrestler but mostly a glorified jobber.

In the mid 80s Tito Santana was one of the hottest guys on the WWF roster. He was a two time Intercontinental champion and had some memorable feuds with guys like Don Muraco, Greg Valentine, and Randy Savage. It could be argued that during 1984/85 Tito was the second best draw on the roster behind only Hulk Hogan. He was a very very distant second to Hogan but second nonetheless.

By 1987 Tito was falling down the card a bit. He was still popular but was not being featured in high profile matches anymore. Mid way through the year he replaced Tom Zenk as Rick Martel's tag team partner. The Can Am Connection was out and Strike Force was in. It wasn't long before Strike Force won the tag titles from The Hart Foundation and Santana seemed to find new life in the tag division. Strike Force held the titles for five months before dropping them to Demolition at WrestleMania IV. Shortly after WM4 Rick Martel suffered a (kayfabe) injury and spent several months away from the WWF. Tito returned to singles action but it seemed as though his career was kind of put on hold while he waited for Martel to return. Martel returned in early 1989 but Strike Force did not reunite immediately. They wrestled their first match together in nearly a year when the wrestled The Brain Busters at WrestleMania V. During the match Santana accidentally hit Martel and Martel walked out. Santana and Martel would feud with each other for the next year without either one ever getting the clear upper hand on the other.

After the feud with Martel, Tito really started to fall down the card. He still wrestled regularly and got plenty of wins against no name jobbers but when it came to wrestling other guys on the roster Tito almost always found himself on the losing end. He would always make his opponents look good but he was used to put over guys like The Warlord, The Barbarian, Mr. Perfect, and The Mountie. Tito disappeared for a bit in 1991 before returning in the fall with a new gimmick. He was now El Matador. The good news was WWF didn't try to ignore his past with the gimmick change like they did with Ricky Steamboat that same year. The bad news was the gimmick change did nothing to help save his career. He was pretty much in the exact same position as before the gimmick change. He had new music, new ring attire, and a new name but he was the same guy. He just had new opponents to put over in Shawn Michaels, Papa Shango, and Razor Ramon before quietly disappearing in 1993.

How do you best remember Tito Santana? Do you remember the popular IC champion/contender that worked with the top heels of the time? Do you remember one half of the exciting tag team champions in Strike Force? Or do you remember a good wrestler that was used as a jobber to the stars? I think when discussing the top mid card faces of the Hulkamania era Tito Santana is usually overlooked. We quickly remember Roberts, Steamboat, Duggan, and Beefcake but Santana seems to be an afterthought. There was a time when Santana was hotter than any of those guys ever were in the WWF. Honestly, when I think of Tito Santana I think of the 1989-1991 Tito. That's nothing to be ashamed of but he deserves more recognition than that.

 

[Slash-LN]

I remember him as El Matador Tito Santana. I remember one of the color commentators often calling him Chico instead of Tito.

I never really cared for him as a kid. And as I got older I never had any desire to go back and watch his matches. If he was on pay per view I was watching I wouldn't skip his match by any means but him being on a pay per view was never a selling point to me. I should point out that I don't mean live pay per views because I didn't get those when I was little. I mean going to the video store and renting old pay per views on VHS.

He never stood out to me and it was probably just because of the stupid gimmick.

 

[klunderbunker]

I remember him in the white trunks and jobbing to almost everyone on the planet. This is the beauty of being a wrestling junkie with Youtube at my disposal.

Tito Santana is one of the most entertaining guys you'll ever find as he's just flat out talented. He could wrestle with anyone and almost never put on a bad match. He made Barbarian look interesting in 1990. Let that one sink in for a minute. Tito was one of the guys that could do almost anything from brawling to technical to fast paced and make it look easy. Watch his stuff with Valentine or Savage and you'll see how a guy with no chance could get a crowd into a match. That's real talent and so hard to find nowadays.

 

[Reflection]

I never got to watch the Attitude Era... The only way I know him is by Iron Sheik's tweets, where the latter keeps referring him as "that no good piece of dog shit"
Curious, I searched his name on Google, but he doesn't look too bad. Maybe he just got on Sheiky's bad side.
I watched a match of his on WWE: Vintage Collections, but I can't remember much about it.

 

[Pedigree1]

God I remember Chico Santana (As Jesse Ventura called him many of times).. Tito was a very solid in-ring performer a great IC champion.. He doesnt get enough recognition for his accomplishments.. He is grossly overlooked IMO.. Tito had epic battles against Muraco,and Valentine.. He even went toe to toe with Macho Man Randy Savage..

Its a shame that he is only 1-7 in his WM career as that is not a good record.. A former two time IC champion,tag team champion with Ricky Martel as Strike Force,Tito will always be a personal favorite of mine.. Iron Shiek disagrees,if you follow him on twitter he is always bagging on him

 

[Makaveli31]

By the time I started watching the WWF as a kid in 1991 Santana was way past his prime and jobbing to guys like Sgt. Slaughter. The first memory I have of him, is being stabbed in the groin area by Slaughter with the Iraqi flag on All-American Wrestling. Anyone remember that? Then of course his El Matador gimmick which never really caught on. I remember El Matador wrestling Shawn Michaels at WM 8.

I had acquired every WWF PPV from 1985-1996 and you're correct. Santana is a steady fixture from 1985-1992. Solid in-ring performer but never good on the stick. He would say some corny line and finish with "Arriba!

On the History of the Intercontinental DVD there two matches featuring Santana. A Lumberjack Match vs Greg Valentine from 1985 and a match vs Randy Savage from the Boston Garden in 1986. I'm looking forward to watching them!

 

[GameOver]

as a team player, hell of a nice person, always a tier 2 contender,
Matches weren't spectacular but he was reliable and in the early-mid 80's he was a joy to watch.

Personally think his best time was when he was battling for the IC title with Savage and Valentine and as part of Strike Force.

He's also one of those guys that could never be a heel he was just too damn likeable along with his fellow HOF'er Ricky Steamboat

Funniest moment, WrestleMania 8 Santata vs Shawn Michaels.
Bobby Heenan - Gorrilla that was his sister singing it's Ariba McIntyre WOO..
well something similar to that

 

[HeyYo]

My earliest memories of Tito Santana is watching he and Ivan Putski wrestle The Wild Samoans on TV for the tag titles. They were champs and lost the belts. Great match! Tito looked great even if he took the Samoan Drop and was the covered guy.

 

[HeenanGorilla]

He even lost a dark match at WM9.

He actually won that dark match, sandwiching his WrestleMania losing streak with victories.

I remember Tito Santana fondly. Very few memorable, Hall of Fame, legends from his era were good on the mic. Fortunately, that was an age of more wrestling and less soap opera; so, his mic skills didn't matter as much.

As stated, he had great feuds with Muraco, Valentine and Savage. Strike Force, of course, brought him more popularity as well. He was a great performer and a solid, reliable member of the WWF roster.

He did put over a lot of young talent towards the end of his run; however, the term JOBBER is --besides horribly overused on this forum--WAY OFF when describing Tito. Jobbers are the no-name, mullet-sporting, pale flabby bodies used on Saturday mornings to show off the Superstars' moves. Tito, and others like him--who were top names and great performers that happened to lose a lot towards the end--are NOT jobbers. Shame on anyone who puts such an incorrect and unacceptable spin on Santana's impressive career.

Great talent and a worthy WWF Hall of Famer.

I never got to watch the Attitude Era

Oh for crying out loud...

Yeah, it's a shame you didn't see the Attitude Era and all of Santana's matches within. You would have loved it! I remember Santana battling Triple H for the Hardcore title.

Other wrestlers from the Attitude Era that you missed out on were Andre the Giant, Ken Patera, Big John Studd, Junkyard Dog...a lot of larger than life characters. Damn you, Attitude Era for being before this guy's time!

 

[jacdnwarrior]

I remember Tito Santana as a great in ring performer who could work with the best of them. Loved his work with Savage and Valentine. He was too good to spend the rest of his career putting over talent after his tag title run. He should have gotten a third IC run or something. A good worker but he couldn't cut a decent/ interesting promo to save his life. If any one needed a title to make him more important, it was him. He didn't have the personality or charisma to be a the main event guy or to carry a feud.

Sad that the last thing people saw of him was that stupid Matador gimmick. I prefer to remember him as a great IC champion and mid card competitor not the wasted talent he became in the end.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

I will always remember Tito Santana as "Chico" thanks to Jesse Ventura.

I remember his IC title match against Greg Valentine inside a steel cage first and foremost. That was my personal favorite match of his. It was just a classic feud, and the ending with Santana kicking the cage door into Valentine's face was great.

If he eventually became a jobber, then he was truly a jobber to the stars or jobber royalty. By 1988 / 1989, he was the kind of guy who you figured would lose, but was also capable of pulling off the "upset" win and it wouldn't seem like a reach.

I think Santana's "shelf life" could've been extended or at the very least, he could've had one last great moment in the WWE had he and Martel been given a chance to blow off their feud on a good stage like WrestleMania 6 or Summer Slam. As it stood, the last big match I remember was against Ric Flair. Solid 15 to 20 minute match -- again never really a doubt that Flair would win, but it was nice seeing two great wrestlers who I never figured would get the chance to meet in the ring in a match.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

The first thing I think of is Jesse Ventura calling him Chico and Bobby Heenan calling his finisher the flying jalapeno because things like this were ok in the 80's and 90's. The thing I remember most about Tito was he was one of the most entertaining and talented job guys I've ever seen. I know he was IC and tag champ but it seemed like every time I saw him wrestle he lost (except in the 90 Survivor Series when he was in the Finale match). It never really mattered though, he still stayed over for the most part and I still loved watching him wrestle, even if it was on the losing end most of the time. Also, who can forget him announcing Del Rio to the ring at Old School RAW, that was awesome.

Overall I remember Tito very fondly, he was just a talented guy in the ring, I had fun watching him as a kid and even as a jobber he was still more over than 90% of the current roster. There's an old saying that you can't stop talent and you couldn't stop Tito from being an consistently entertaining watch.

 

[wrestler36]

When I started watching, 1990, I remember liking Tito because he was always full of energy and the crowd liked him too. Somebody said he was like Jericho, I would say he was more like Kofi. I remember him always having great matches with guys like Bossman, Perfect, Martel among others and always being on the losing end. He was actually in the final 3 of the Survivor Series 1990 with Hogan and Warrior and eliminated a few guys before being eliminated himself. I remember him as El Matador as well, and never really liked the gimmick.

 

[LBGetBack]

Good wrestler, good babyface, usually lost but won just enough to stay credible.

Very useful guy for putting on solid matches and getting young or new heels over. Always got called "Chico" by Jesse Ventura.

I don't remember his IC title days, I remember his Strike Force years and breakup and then later taking on the "El Matador" nickname and gimmick.

 

[Cena Is A Punk Rocker]

I remember Tito "Chico" Santana mainly from his feud with Macho. That was when I was first introduced to wrestling and Macho was my favorite. I always remember Macho mentioning Tito in his early promos and they had some wonderful matches as well. Of course I was only around eight years old at the time and may have the rose colored glasses on. I enjoyed him.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Right before wrestling in general exploded in 1985, Santana was having a very nice run as a popular upper mid carder in WWE. As the show became more cartoonish he became lost in the shuffle because while he was excellent in the ring he wasn't very good on the mic and didn't have a great charismatic character. He's probably best remembered for being the "name"guy who put over Randy Savage, his first big high profile singles win, when Savage (through blatant cheating) pinned him to win the IC Title (in almost the exact same way Tully Blanchard cheated to win The National Title in the NWA a few weeks earlier!) They had an entertaining feud going forward, building Savage as a legit star. Santana however faded afterwards, though he remained in WWE.

The Strike Force Tag team with former AWA World Champ Rick Martel gave him a nice push in 1987-88, although they didn't have a long run as a team. Again, I feel Santana's lackluster promo skills and character hurt him a bit. He might have done better going to the NWA but even there I cant see him being anything more than a consistent mid carder who occasionally gets to put over top guys because he can give them a great match. That's only a small step above where he was in WWE by 1990.

I also remember the horrible "El Matador" gimmick, WWE effectively making him look like a buffoon and poking fun at his character. Allowing yourself to be type cast in such a comedy role is the kiss of death for a wrestler (ask Terry Taylor who turned down the much more realistic, promotable, "Mr Perfect" heel character and wound up booked as the Red Rooster, pretty much killing his career). He had a few very good matches with Ric Flair right before he left WWE but they didn't have a feud and the bouts were just filler as he was booked in two feuds at the time he left (Brett Hart & Curt Henning). Probably his best moment in that silly incarnation was opening WrestleMania VIII against Shawn Michaels. Michaels had just split up the teeny bopper tag team The Rockers and turned heel by brutalizing his former best team mate Marty Jannetty. This was the very beginning of Michaels being pushed as an adult character, not a kid friendly tag team guy, the very beginning of the "Heart Break Kid". Like he did for Savage roughly seven years earlier Santana gave Michaels and excellent match and lost, elevating HBK's status and credibility going forward.

 

[spaldoni]

Tito was always one of my favorites. I will always remember him as a great IC champion. He was exciting to watch. He could go technical or brawl. His feuds with Muraco and Valentine were top draws. Vince put him in the opening match at WrestleMania for a reason, he wanted the fans to be jumping out of their seats. He knew Tito could do that. Great wrestler and a class act.

 

[thebarber]

Santana actually won his dark match against Papa Shango at Mania 9, he lost at Summerslam 92 in another dark match to Papa Shango.
Santana was huge in WWF from the early 80s, his IC Title reigns and fueds with Muraco and Valentine were heated and his 1989-1990 feud with Rick Martel was good also.
Santana never really was much of a personality. thus why he was not anywhere near the WWE Title. As during his entire WWE run, a face held the title for pretty much the entire time(Sheik, Savage for a month and Slaughter) were only caretaker champs and by the time he was El Matador, he was never going to challenge Flair.
What a lot of people dont know is Santana actually pinned Undertaker, handing him his first pinfall loss during a tour in `1991

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHJjXFY53mg

In the foreign markets, Santana was utilised, but he was always there to elevate heels who were moving along to the title picture or needed the push. Afgter the Martel fued he put over both members of Powers and Pian at consecutive ppvs. His effort to be in the final at Survivor Series was his last true moment on ppv, and that was solely to make Hogan and Warrior not look ridiculous in a 5-2 set up, thus Santana was eliminated pretty quickly once he got to eliminate one of the opposition.
I really enjoyed Santana, but once I read his book a couple of years ago I saw him in a different light. His claims that Vince promised him the WWE Title the same night Bret won the belt from Flair is fucking laughable. Vince would never have El Matador beating Ric Flair for the belt. Santana also bashing talent like Hart.....alot of healousy stemmed from his book. But overall, he was an excellent wrestler who had a good look and ability for the upper mid card but like all talent, once they have had their run, there job is to elevate the next batch of superstars. I wouldnt call him a jobber to the stars, but his relevance really finished in 1990

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Tito was always a constant, that's the best way I can describe him. He was pretty much in every WWE PPV from Mania I to about the time El Matador came into being and even then opened Mania 8. I think Jobber to The Stars was a term basically invented for him but it was because he was so good that he got those chances.

You think about it, to be on EVERY PPV in those days for any period, win lose or draw was an achievement and he probably made a lot of money from it. He sold a few shirts but not anywhere near the levels of others. Upper midcard sums him up... and it was his rightful place. Any talk of him winning the title is crazy, they all "coulda, shoulda, woulda" but if he was EVER going to do it he would have left the WWF and gone to feud with Flair (don't laugh, in 86 it could have happened, right off that hot IC title feud with Valentine) he was never getting the WWF belt in his, my or Vince's lifetimes.

Things I liked about him - Jesse's "jibes" at him, Chico Santana, the jokes about "not being normal for a week" after eating some of Chico's food... today they'd be unPC and probably cause complaints but they were a big part of enjoying WWF back in those days and they showed that Jesse had a lot of respect for him.

He was always good for putting someone over. I remember seeing him (more than planned) pinned by Flair at the Battle Royal at the Albert Hall, one of my first live events and getting blinded when Flair pulled the trunks... but Santana was a worthy "big win" for a guy like Flair the match was great.

To me the biggest tragedy for Tito was also the best thing... It was clear when Strike Force was created and then split at Mania 5 that the intention was to springboard both guys back into the singles ranks. Sadly Rick Martel's issues at the time (his wife was sick) pretty much stalled the feud and thus any chance of Tito really benefitting. They never really got a match out of it on PPV, only a 6 man tag and while the Model is a memorable character you can't help but feel Tito got the short end... but rather than mope about their bad fortune, every year without fail you got to see them go at it in the Rumble! Whenever Tito came in he'd go straight for Martel, and vice versa and it was one of the few times historical feuds really showed and was one of the things that made those Rumbles great... it's sorely missed in today's WWE... Will we see Ambrose and Rollins STILL going at it like that at Rumble 2017? probably not... but they should be.

To me Tito is the template for a lot of guys in todays WWE, guys who perhaps could have carried the ball if given a shot, but they were 4th 5th string so were never getting near it. It was telling that when they did a "Battle of Survival" with Hogan and Warrior that Tito was the guy "chosen" to go into that match with them... Sure Martel was on the other team so it made sense but it was more that Tito was respected and trusted to cover the flaws of those bigger guys and take the inevitable fall for them.

In return Tito was employed for a LONG time and kept on the shows, and working ALL the time...which in those days was the way you got paid, he was allowed a T-Shirt, the odd big win when a heel needed a "shock loss" or another face to cost them a match to enhance their feud it was normally Tito picking up that win cos he was credible.

If people didn't get so hung up on "Must be the Top guy" and having a World title then Tito is the role model to be, he was with the WWF from the late 70's to the early 90's... then went into the HOF and got out relatively unscathed. He didn't have to risk his health with crazy spots or worry about being politicked out of a spot. He knew his role, and did it well. He also never went heel... Today I call Kofi the "Tito" of the roster, he's in the exact same spot... they AND HE might want to look closely before they go with this stable/heel turn... cos once it's gone...

It's not the same role Jericho plays, he really IS A-List where Tito was always a B- but he was a borderline B so to speak...

 

[FlairFan2003]

Santana never really was much of a personality. thus why he was not anywhere near the WWE Title. As during his entire WWE run, a face held the title for pretty much the entire time(Sheik, Savage for a month and Slaughter) were only caretaker champs and by the time he was El Matador, he was never going to challenge Flair.
What a lot of people dont know is Santana actually pinned Undertaker, handing him his first pinfall loss during a tour in `1991

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHJjXFY53mg

I really enjoyed Santana, but once I read his book a couple of years ago I saw him in a different light. His claims that Vince promised him the WWE Title the same night Bret won the belt from Flair is fucking laughable. Vince would never have El Matador beating Ric Flair for the belt. Santana also bashing talent like Hart.....alot of healousy stemmed from his book.

Ive never read that but I do remember hearing something about it. That whole period in the Fall of 92 seemed like such a cluster with Savage basically quitting over Liz (not wanting to wrestle anymore). They went to such great lengths to start a Flair-Warrior feud which seemed like a certainty to end at Survivor Series (likely with Warrior winning the gold) but Warrior injuring Flair along with his other backstage issues effectively ended those plans. The whole Brett Hart thing initially was done on the fly, once Flair was hurt and couldn't stay on the road Vince needed a new champ and made the bold decision to go with Hart despite not having any time for a proper build up despite all the TV time spent on Warrior. Looking back now I can see that was the kiss of death for Warrior that he didn't get the belt then, it was no surprise looking back that he was gone shortly there after, his only contribution the rest of the year being beaten up by Flair (when he came back 6 weeks later) on TV to explain why he wouldn't be at Survivor Series. Hart really lucked out, but he proved his worth going forward. Warrior wouldn't have benefitted WWE as champ.

As for Tito I agree, having long since been a part of the top teir and stuck in a ridiculous gimmick I cant see where Vince would have promised him a win over Flair for anything, let alone the title, and with all the TV time going to Warrior-Flair before his injury when was this supposed to happen ?? Certainly if the long term goal was for Tito to be champ they would have just given it to him when Flair got hurt. Poor guy, not sure where that story came from.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Ive never read that but I do remember hearing something about it. That whole period in the Fall of 92 seemed like such a cluster with Savage basically quitting over Liz (not wanting to wrestle anymore). They went to such great lengths to start a Flair-Warrior feud which seemed like a certainty to end at Survivor Series (likely with Warrior winning the gold) but Warrior injuring Flair along with his other backstage issues effectively ended those plans. The whole Brett Hart thing initially was done on the fly, once Flair was hurt and couldn't stay on the road Vince needed a new champ and made the bold decision to go with Hart despite not having any time for a proper build up despite all the TV time spent on Warrior. Looking back now I can see that was the kiss of death for Warrior that he didn't get the belt then, it was no surprise looking back that he was gone shortly there after, his only contribution the rest of the year being beaten up by Flair (when he came back 6 weeks later) on TV to explain why he wouldn't be at Survivor Series. Hart really lucked out, but he proved his worth going forward. Warrior wouldn't have benefitted WWE as champ.

As for Tito I agree, having long since been a part of the top teir and stuck in a ridiculous gimmick I cant see where Vince would have promised him a win over Flair for anything, let alone the title, and with all the TV time going to Warrior-Flair before his injury when was this supposed to happen ?? Certainly if the long term goal was for Tito to be champ they would have just given it to him when Flair got hurt. Poor guy, not sure where that story came from.

Savage never wanted to stop wrestling, Vince sidelined him when Survivor Series 92 didn't draw with he and Perfect teaming, his eyes had been opened to the idea of other guys being able to carry the shows like Bret and at the time Davey (pre firing) and had just signed his new monster in Yokozuna.

Flair was already working notice once Summerslam was gone...as he wasn't on the show, he had an agreement where if he wasn't top 3 then he could walk... he wasn't in Vince's plans long term (arguably back to how he behaved with his blade job at Mania 8) and thus Vince kept the agreement and let him return to WCW and gave him the belt to job to Hart. Flair's behavior over jobbing to Hart was the final nail and he wasn't used prominently after that and Survivor Series... even his retirement match was on RAW.

Tito did get a win over Taker, I do remember it but it wasn't his first loss as I am pretty sure Hogan got that honor... but I might be wrong but it just reinforces that Tito was the Upper midcard guy like Kofi is today...

 

[The Brain]

As for Tito I agree, having long since been a part of the top teir and stuck in a ridiculous gimmick I cant see where Vince would have promised him a win over Flair for anything, let alone the title, and with all the TV time going to Warrior-Flair before his injury when was this supposed to happen ?? Certainly if the long term goal was for Tito to be champ they would have just given it to him when Flair got hurt. Poor guy, not sure where that story came from.

From what I've heard Vince was thinking about touring Mexico and expanding into Latin America and putting the belt on Tito would have helped in those new markets. Instead with the success of some European tours and SummerSlam in Wembley that year they decided to tour Europe more often and went with Bret as champ instead. Bret was always very popular in Europe. I don't know if there is any truth to this at all but I have heard that before.

 

[FlairFan2003]

[QUOTE=THTRobtaylor;4946009]Savage never wanted to stop wrestling, Vince sidelined him when Survivor Series 92 didn't draw with he and Perfect teaming, his eyes had been opened to the idea of other guys being able to carry the shows like Bret and at the time Davey (pre firing) and had just signed his new monster in Yokozuna.

Flair was already working notice once Summerslam was gone...as he wasn't on the show, he had an agreement where if he wasn't top 3 then he could walk... he wasn't in Vince's plans long term (arguably back to how he behaved with his blade job at Mania 8) and thus Vince kept the agreement and let him return to WCW and gave him the belt to job to Hart. Flair's behavior over jobbing to Hart was the final nail and he wasn't used prominently after that and Survivor Series... even his retirement match was on RAW.

Tito did get a win over Taker, I do remember it but it wasn't his first loss as I am pretty sure Hogan got that honor... but I might be wrong but it just reinforces that Tito was the Upper midcard guy like Kofi is today..."

First, it was well known that Savage wanted off the road once he and Liz were done. This has been published before. SummerSlam was set they way it was to A) Establish a long term program for Flair vs Warrior B) Try to make some remaining money from any interest in a Savage-Warrior rematch before Savage quit.

Flair wasn't on notice for leaving at Summer Slam, he didn't wrestle on the card because the storyline dictated as much (the whole Savage-Warrior match was predicated on ONE of them supposedly had chosen Flair & Henning to help them, but who....when Flair appeared mid match it heightened the anxiety fan wise...at that point you didn't even know he was there, when he appeared you immediately wanted to see if it was true and one of them had signed on with him. If he wrestled earlier in the evening then there wouldn't be as much suspense, everyone already knew he was there, it was just a matter of time till he interfered).

Certainly if Flair was on notice to leave he wouldn't have been given the World Title the very next night. Also, if Vince had wanted to put the title on Hart then why spend all summer building Flair-Warrior, do the whole Summer Slam thing, rave about how "Flair's Summer Slam plan worked to perfection" and he was champ again, and send him into a full on feud vs Warrior ???? Especially considering Hart's title win wasn't even a televised event ???

Flair-Warrior should have lasted till Survivor Series with Warrior winning but once UW injured Flair and forced him out of action that was killed. The fact Flair was willing to lose the belt in the ring before his medical leave and UW was bypassed in favor of Brett Hart shows more that Warrior was in the proverbial dog house and on his way out. Warrior barely appeared going forward, except to get beat up on Sat Night Main Event by Flair 6 weeks later when he returned.

After losing the title, Savage did a short tour vs Scott Hall, for about a month, then didn't wrestle the rest of the year except at S-Series. Savage didn't catch flak for S-Series drawing a lower buyrate than in 1991 because Brett Hart was World Champ and the assumption his match with a mid card Shawn Michaels wasn't near as good as draw as 91's Hogan-Taker encounter. Savage took himself out of commission though in 92.

According to Flair, it wasn't until December of 92 he and Vince talked about his future storyline, after he was back in full swing following his injury and touring the house show circuit putting over Hart. It was late Dec/early Jan when Flair & McMahon agreed to part ways.

Hart claims Flair "wasn't in" to their matches in Dec & Jan and claims Vince alluded to personal problems at home being the reason why, and Hart claims he didn't like the way Flair would call matches, switching the pace between slow & fast, with rest holds and running high spots, likewise Flair claims Hart was too repetitive and would be enraged anytime he tried to improvise, according to him every spot had to work in the exact same way every time with no variation. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle although Hart hasn't always been kind to many of his contemporaries, his vitrol towards Vince McMahon, Hulk Hogan, & HHH is legendary. Flair did put Hart over clean in every match, as he did for Savage before him as they toured in the spring/early summer of 92. Savage was known as "control freak" of sorts when it came to match planning but he could improvise on the fly to work the crowd.