More Potential: Outsiders or Flair in 91

[klunderbunker]

I was writing the intro for a Nitro review and I said that the Outsiders were probably the biggest story of the 90s in wrestling up to that point. This got me to thinking: were they? The only other option I could come up with was Flair coming to the WWF in 1991. In short, which was bigger? The Outsiders when they debuted, or Flair coming to the WWF in 1991 as the WCW/NWA World Champion. If not these two, what was the biggest on screen story of the 90s up until that point (June/July of 96).

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I am NOT talking about the NWO. When I say Outsiders, I mean Hall and Nash and their story/hype up until Hogan joined them. Do not mention Hogan in the Outsiders argument because that's totally not what I'm asking about.

 

[c71score]

I feel the Outsiders were the bigger story. It was sold as wwf invading. They hardly even alluded to Flair being NWA/WCW champ. They just called him "real world champion." Had the WWF played it different, it would have been a bigger story having a decade long franchise like Flair. Hall and Nash were relative newcomers to the main event scene. I think they should have immediately had Flair challenge Hogan in a pseudo unification match at SS. They could of had a double pin or something to hold the strap up and had Flair still win the RR. That way Flair would got his reign and Hogan could keep his ego. Doing that though, could have damaged the Undertakers monster push. Indirectly, Flair going to wwf may have been bigger, because the Undertaker was used to keep title changes down and give the Flair the belt without pinning Hogan.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

I'd have to say that Flair coming into the WWF was bigger. Flair was by far the biggest star in the entire NWA and he also came into the WWF along with the NWA title. That was a double whammy and a huge blow to the NWA. Hall and Nash were big stars but they were not the biggest stars in the WWF when they left. The illusion that they had come from the WWF to destroy the company did create a lot of intrigue but I do not think that it could have matched the mere shock of seeing Ric Flair on WWF TV along with the NWA title.

 

[Midnite Express 2009]

I say neither. I say the emergence of a young, brash & cocky Shawn Michaels was the bigger story with more potential. Between 1992-1996, nobody was hotter in the company than Shawn Michaels, dare I say, the business itself. You gotta remember, Shawn did it, primarily without the title. He won back to back Royal Rumbles, he headlined two WrestleManias, (WrestleMania XI, a bomb, but it wasn't his fault, he actually had the best match on the card, and of course WrestleMania XII and that classic 60 minute Iron Man match with Bret Hart). No single person in WCW during this period, even dating back to 1991, overall meant more their company than Shawn Michaels did. He had a few Intercontinental Title runs and lest us remember the other classic match of the era that involved Shawn Michaels, The first WWF Ladder Match at WrestleMania X against one of the persons you mentioned, Scott Hall (Razor Ramon). Do you honestly believe Hall would have been as big as he was, and as recognizable if it weren't for that match? Shawn could've had that match with anyone & he still would've gotten that person over. Razor's spots weren't all that great, IMO, but again, Shawn stole the show at WrestleMania and carved out his own legacy.

The Outsiders needed each other more than anything else, and they especially needed Hulk Hogan (as did Hogan need them) during their heyday. This can be proved by the horrific match in Jan. 1999 right after Nash "ended" Goldberg's streak only to fall to a finger poke by Hulk Hogan. Had Nash been playing his cards right, in his favor, he would've held the title longer, broken away from the group to be his own man (ala, Shawn Michaels when he broke up The Rockers) and been a Hall of Famer for sure. I don't think Hall or Nash are worthy of Hall of Fame merit right now, maybe as a team, but certainly not as individuals. The Outsiders were unique at the beginning, but a year or two into their run they became stale, even during a time where fans actually gave stars a chance to impress them over the long haul. I remember watching WCW Nitro less & less around the end of 1997 when---once again---Shawn Michaels became HUGE. The difference in Michaels bringing HHH along vs. Hall & Nash was that even when HHH broke away from Michaels, he still ended up a huge success and one of the best wrestlers ever. Hall & Nash will forever be tied together. In short, the potential to really big massive in WCW died a slow death under the weight of Hulk Hogan. They were never able to be as big in WCW as they should've been.

Now, as far as Ric Flair in 1991, I say he's neck and neck with Hall & Nash. In the WWF during the time, Flair really didn't seem like he belonged. It always seemed odd in a way, maybe because he had worked for Crockett and Turner for the better part of 10+ years. By the time 1991 came along, Flair had all the great matches & feuds he was going to have. He'd wrestled Dusty & Nikita & Luger & Steamboat, Windham & Sting. There was nothing left for him to do, and the potential to have a massive feud with Hogan in HOGAN'S backyard just didn't measure up. It was a dream match that was about 5 or 6 years too late. By then, the wrestling business was on the decline, pretty much everyone had gotten tired of Hogan's act & Flair just wasn't the man he was. Hell, he hadn't been THAT GUY since he last wrestled Ricky Steamboat and won the title back from him. That was Flair's last GREAT match. Everything else, even when Sting won his first title, went downhill (don't believe me, check The Black Scorpion angle. Flair would never have done that during the early to mid 80s. He didn't have to, he was THE MAN).

So in short, I don't believe neither Flair nor Hall & Nash really had much potential, especially over the red hot & controversial Shawn Michaels. Hall & Nash may have had a slight edge over Flair in 1996-97 compared to the Flair in 1991 since we seen all Flair could do, but we were just experiencing the NWO & The Outsiders, but week after week of the same thing got old & they lost their steam. Maybe Hall & Nash did have more potential, but I also think they had the bigger let down. Flair never cost everyone a company, but Nash (maybe not Hall) was somewhat responsible for the beginning of the end of WCW, even if it were unintentional. Ending the company's top draw's streak and then a week later, pulling that crap with Hogan turned off a lot of loyal fans (I was one of them) and it never would be the same again...

 

[TUFFY54]

The Oustiders by a mile. The stars aligned for that like nothing in the history of wrestling. The biggest factor was knowledge. The internet, while not what it is today, let fans know about something huge going on in wrestling for the first time. It was made public that they were leaving and even talked about in PWI. Everything about them was perfect. Hall coming in through the stands, and the announcers saying call security, while he just stopped a match. Hall saying "you know you who I am, but you don't know why I'm here". Nothing had ever been done like that in wrestling. People actually thought they were invading. The biggest moment came when Nash powerbombed Bischoff through a table. That was mind blowing. It has to be one of the top ten moments in 90's wrestling. Nothing like it had ever been done before. I can honestly say that I can't think of another thing in wrestling history that had as much buzz as who their third man would be at Bash at the Beach. People thought it could be anyone. Hell, Diesel and Razor Ramon just showed up. Their partner could have been HBK, Bret Hart, or the Undertaker. Thats what made them so important. They created an atmosphere in wrestling where fans believed that anything was possible.

Flair coming to the WWE in 91 just didn't work. He was the styling and profiling Nature Boy. He seemed totally out of place in the cartoon world of the WWE in the early 90's. On top of that, a lot of WWE fans either didn't know, or didn't care about him. Fans, especially the young audiance at the time, either watched WWE or WCW. Their was no where near the crossover you would get during the Monday Night Wars, or even today with WWE and TNA. You cant even blame the WWE for the bad promotion. Their was no RAW and only the occasional Saturday Night Main Event. The only way they had to introduce Flair was on a tapped segment that aired on Superstars in front of a little studio audience. You can't hype anything that way. Personally I think we would have a much different view of his time their if they had made Hogan vs. Flair the main event of Wrestlemania 8. However, as McMahon said, that match was just booked five years too late.

The Outsiders were a far bigger deal.

 

[relentless1]

outsiders for sure, they revolutionized an entire company, and while some say they were a huge cause of its downfall as well, wcw never had a better run than the one started by hall and nashs arrival, it was so out of nowhere and really was must see tv. flair on the other hand just seemed like another wrestler coming in, sure he had the big gold belt but it wasnt hyped enough, probably not wwfs fault tho seeing as how crockett was gonna sue, if they hadve done flair vs hogan it wouldve been better but still nowhere near the impact of the outsiders

 

[wrestling89]

I think the Outsiders were a bigger storyline.

But Flair coming in set up the biggest dream match of all time, Mr. WWF Hogan vs Mr. NWA Flair.

I mean when the Outsiders came in, it was different and fresh (this was after about 3 years of crap.) But they never really set the stage for a monster dream match.

I mean we already saw Hall AND Nash in WCW only 5 years earlier.

Flair coming in was just huge. NO one ever thought there would ever be a Flair-Hogan match, but when it happened, wow!

But like one of the posters above said, the WWF could have made that whole Flair thing much bigger. Woulda, shoulda, coulda, but it's all in the past now.

 

[relentless1]

@ wrestling89, flair and hogan never had a big money match in wwf which is precisely the reason that his impact wasnt as good there as it couldve been

 

[King Patrick Star]

In comparing Ric Flair’s 1991 WWE debut and the Outsiders’ 1996 WCW debut, I think they were about even. They both had so much potential.

Flair could have brought in the Four Horsemen, which I think would have been better than just having The Brain and Mr. Perfect in his corner. This would have made Flair’s Royal Rumble victory in 92 more believable having Stable-mates in the Royal Rumble match itself. Having the Brain Busters back could have helped out the Tag Team Division, which around this time, consisted of The Nasty Boys, Legion Of Doom, Money Inc., The Natural Disasters, and The Steiner Brothers. Mr. Perfect could have been the 4th Horsemen. This could have set up a Stable consisting of Hulk Hogan, Brutus the Barber Beefcake, Macho Man Randy Savage and the Ultimate Warrior, better known as the “The Ultimate Mega Maniac Powers” or something like that. So much could have happened here with little tweaks.

The Outsiders could have brought in more WWE Stars, which I think would have added to having Hollywood as their leader. You just didn’t know who was coming over from the North.

If I had to pick one, I’m going to go with Flair’s 91 WWE debut.