Summerslam 1992: A Retrospective Look

[Dagger Dias]

This summer I'll be looking back on each of the previous Summerslam events, one by one. Every few days I will submit a new topic until we reach 2014's edition of the 2nd biggest brand in WWE.

This thread will be for discussing.... Summerslam 1992!

Summerslam 1992 took place on August 29, 1992. It was held at Wembley Stadium in London, England. Here are the results of the matches from this show:



0. Jim Duggan and The Bushwhackers (Butch Miller and Luke Williams) defeated The Mountie and The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobs and Jerry Sags) (with Jimmy Hart) in a six-man tag team match for a dark match (12:33)

0. Papa Shango defeated Tito Santana in a singles match for a dark match (06:00)

0. Tatanka defeated The Berzerker (with Mr. Fuji) in a non-televised singles match (05:46)

1. The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) (with Paul Ellering) defeated Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster) (with Jimmy Hart) in a tag team match (15:10)

2. Nailz defeated Virgil in a singles match (03:55)

3. Shawn Michaels (with Sensational Sherri) faced Rick Martel in a match ending in a double countout where neither man was to hit the other in the face (08:06)

4. The Natural Disasters (Earthquake and Typhoon) (c) defeated The Beverly Brothers (Blake and Beau) (with The Genius) in a tag team match for the WWF Tag Team Championship (10:30)

5. Crush defeated Repo Man in a singles match (05:41)

6. The Ultimate Warrior defeated Randy Savage (c) by countout in a singles match for the WWF Championship (28:00)

7. The Undertaker (with Paul Bearer) defeated Kamala (with Harvey Wippleman and Kim Chee) by disqualification in a singles match (03:27)

8. The British Bulldog (with Lennox Lewis) defeated Bret Hart (c) in a singles match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship (25:40)




Now, here are some discussion questions concerning the event:

What was your favorite match on this show, and why did you like it the most? What about the worst match of this show, why did you like it the least?

If you could change a few things about Summerslam 1992, what would it be and why?

You may only use wrestlers who were available at the roster at that time or make changes that could have realistically taken place in August 1992. Please keep in mind the situations going into the show such as who could actually have been pushed into a title match, or what songs existed back then if you wanted to change the show's theme music, and so forth.

You may only discuss Summerslam 1992 in this thread. The remaining Summerslam events will be getting their own retrospective threads, any posts regarding other events will be considered spam and you risk getting an infraction.

Discuss!

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Ok this one is gonna be very nostalgic cos I was there and got to meet Davey, Bossman and a couple of the other guys... This and the Freddy Mercury concert were my 16th birthday present combined and the first things I went off to on my own, hotel stays etc...


Ok that out of the way the first thing is that the main event absolutely does not need to change. The match was as near to perfect as there has been and much as I love Bret and his honesty in his book, I don't quite buy that he had to carry Davey the whole way. That pop when he entered, with the music blaring would have jarred any guy awake and into the moment. As the match got on Davey blew up a bit and Bret had to take over but it's only watching it back to really notice. To this day it stands up and it its the biggest pop EVER at Wembley when he won... I'm a regular for England games and have never heard a reaction like that, even facing Germany or scoring against Holland in a minute in Euro 96...

The show itself in the main though continued the trend of B+ Summerslam's, they were fine of themselves but the booking stopped it being a "Mega" event from a wrestling standpoint. Having it in Wembley wasn't really a gamble financially, but it did upset a lot of American fans and to this day a big PPV has never been held in the UK again, this was before spoilers became an issue...the american fans just didn't want to share enough for WWE to continue to risk it.

When I say the booking didn't quite work it's things like Flair not wrestling (he'd evidently give notice that week and thus, was in the doghouse), Perfect could have wrestled if he could 3 months later... the Shawn v Martel match not quite working and Taker v Kamala which was Taker's worst PPV match until Gonzales and still his 2nd worst.

The rest of the card was ok of itself, seeing the LOD ride in on the Harleys was a big moment... Getting to see new talent like Tatanka, Nailz and even Berserker was a cool experience. I remember thinking it was a shame the guy I'd seen on tapes was made to look like a stupid Viking but on the whole the show was solid. But the biggest problem, as I mentioned in my previous threads was poor talent management in the year prior...

One year before we'd had Flair on the way in, Jake not used, 2 former NWA champions in Steamboat and Tornado, now gone... and even Sid and Jake all badly used and cast out... If all had been used better the prior year, they'd have been on this card.

So it let to the "other" main event which was on paper great, but just couldn't ever be... Warrior was not the same and we could see it, sure Savage as champion was working well but the Warrior seemed shoehorned in there along with Flair and Perfect... the whole title picture was messy and it was clear even then the Warrior wasn't sticking around, that his issue leaked onto Davey was bizzare but ahem ultimately Warrlor was a dead man walking before he ran to the ring.

A Flair/Savage rematch or even bringing Perfect back or Ramon in that little bit early to challenge would have created much more interest in the title and the match. Remember at this time Bret was NOT planned to get the World belt, it was only after this show it changed.

I remember the guy next to me saying how Flair was "fucking around" again... and that's my abiding memory of that period, they just used Flair so horribly that the excitment of seeing him at the Battle Royal at the Albert Hall (saw that one too) was now just "meh". Flair should have wrestled SOMEONE, even if it was a Duggan, Bossman or even Hennig. He didn't HAVE to have a title match but it was criminal not to use him, hell he could have put Tatanka or Shawn over if they were serious about not using him as a main guy.

Overall I love this show because of memories attached to it, not cos the show itself was amazing. The main event was and to me is still the best match in WWE history, better than Steamboat/Savage (another rematch we could have had if Vince had not been a dick to talent) cos this was clearly not rehearsed, the 2 guys left it all in the ring and you knew it meant the world to Davey to get that reaction... even Bret got a kick out of being the heel for the night. Perhaps the meh booking of the rest of the show was by design and putting faith in those 2 guys to deliver "THE SHOW" in one match... They succeeded... just a real shame that for one of them it was a short ride.

 

[rge2010]

A solid event, given a grade B by myself and a wonderful Main Event. However, to make this an A, here is my card.....

IC - Bret Hart vs British Bulldog
Stays the same. No reason to change it.

WWF - Macho Man vs Shawn Michaels
Shawn got a Title shot at Survivor Series, this would have been a great match.

Ric Flair vs Mr Perfect
Add this to the card. They could have started their feud a little earlier.

TAG - Natural Disasters vs Legion Of Doom
For the Tag Belts. Beverley Brothers sucked.

Ultimate Warrior vs Kamala
Warriors strength against Kamalas size would have been interesting.

Undertaker vs Papa Shango
These two could have had an interesting match.

Big Boss Man vs Nailz
Bring this feud forward. Virgil was simply appalling.

Battle Royal
Crush, Tatanka, Bezerker, Duggan, Nasty Boys, Repo Man, El Matador, Mountie etc etc. Have Crush win.

 

[dd23beatlesfan1]

This is another Summerslam even that I think is one of the best ppv's ever. Could the booking have been better? Sure, just as with any show.

Bret/Bulldog is one of the top 5 matches in WWE history off the top of my head. Absolutely perfect, no need to change. Anyone that thinks it should be changed is crazy.

Savage/Warrior was very intriguing actually. It definitely had a Hogan/Warrior vibe (to a lesser degree), because there was tremendous history between the two, were the two biggest babyfaces in the company, and everyone was dying to see a rematch between the two of their classic Wrestlemania VII match. And because of the cluster-fuck booking of the match (Flair and Perfect's involvement with the match), it's often forgotten but the match was actually very good and went on almost as long as Bret/Bulldog. I think it's one of the most underrated ppv matches of all-time actually, because it was a classic match. The problem with it was the ending and the involvement of Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect. It was just really confusing to follow and didn't make a long of sense. Like RobTaylor said, it was just really messy. But up until the end when Flair and Perfect get involved, it was an absolutely amazing match that is criminally underrated.

And I also agree that it made absolutely no sense that Ric Flair didn't wrestle a match. I was 7 years old when Summerslam 92 and, even then I didn't understand why Ric Flair wasn't wrestling. No wonder he left, lol. I would not be opposed to a Flair/Savage rematch, or even a Triple Threat between the two, although those types of matches didn't happen in WWE yet. It just made no sense that Flair didn't wrestle on the card.


I do also think the Natural Disasters deserved a much better team to face for the titles. The problem was at this point, the tag team division had peaked and most of the great teams from the 80's/very early 90's had split up or left the company by this point. The only three really good teams you had at this point were LOD, Money Inc., and the Natural Disasters. So picking a different opponent for the Natural Disasters off the top of my head is kind of difficult. I guess the best scenario would have been to put Money Inc. and the Natural Disasters again as they were switching the belts back and forth during that Summer, and maybe put LOD against the Beverly Brothers. I think a really cool scenario would've been if WWE could've brought the Steiners in earlier and keep the Disasters as heel champions and put the Steiners against the Disasters. That would've been an awesome matchup.


As far as Taker/Kamala, this was another example of how WWE just used Taker for the first 3-4 years of his run as a babyface. They put him against monster bad guys, and Kamala was the first one in that run. Did it result in a great match? No, but it is what it was. And Taker's entrance was the best of his young career. Seeing him come out in a hearse across Wembley was epic. The one improvement would've been to put Papa Shango against Undertaker, as a feud between the two seemed more natural with their supernatural characters, and the match would've been a bit better. It wouldn't have been a classic match (as Taker was still green and Shango definitely was), but the storyline and feud would've been much better.


As for Shawn Michaels and Rick Martel, it was an odd choice of a match, but I think it turned out really well and much better than anyone would've anticipated. It was a heel/heel match which is extremely rare and the two fighting to win Sherri's heart and affection was a really entertaining story to the match. Shawn could've probably had a better opponent like the Big Boss Man or perhaps Roddy Piper if he would've stuck around. But it turned out fine I think. Actually it was the third best match on the card in my book.


The event was one of the highlights of the first decade of WWE ppvs, because it produced two all-time great matches and had maybe the greatest crowd and atmosphere of any WWE ppv ever, so it's a bonafide classic event, even though WWE was definitely at a crossroads at this point. This event was maybe the final hurrah of the Hulkamania era of the WWE as many of the stars of that era were already gone (Hogan, Piper, Roberts) and within a few months many more would be gone, and many new stars would emerge (Razor, Yoko, Bam Bam, Doink, Lawler, Smoking Gunns, Steiners, etc.)

 

[Pedigree1]

By this time,the Ultimate Warrior belonged no where near the title picture.. I would have loved Shawn Michaels to go against Randy Savage for the WWF title.. That would have been a awesome Main Event IMO..

Warrior could have gone against Kamala,size vs size,it was clear that warrior wasn't sticking around after this Summerslam this would have been a okay match. If i was the booker i would give Kamala the rub here as Warrior was on his way out anyway..

Flair Vs Perfect was a missed Opportunity here IMO.. While a short feud they had,it was entertaining. Why not start it a little earlier? If booked this would have been a good match..

Big Bossman Vs Nailz,would have been great.. Again a missed opportunity,Cop Vs Criminal come on WWE how did you miss this one? nailz was a crazed Ex-Con and BBM was a corrections officer. Virgil was just simply abysmal and stayed past his time...

Taker vs Papa Shango,ehhh why not.. Would have been good alot better than the Kamala match was..

But this Summerslam match had the best ever IC match of all-time.. If you ever want to to be a pro-wrestler or show someone why we love this sport so much,i would recommend you show them thsi match over and over again

 

[The Brain]

SummerSlam 92 was pretty much a two match show, but the two big matches really delivered and the spectacular atmosphere at Wembley Stadium made this a great show. My favorite match was obviously Bret Hart vs. Davey Boy Smith as it is remembered as one of the greatest matches of all time. Randy Savage vs. The Ultimate Warrior deserves a mention too. It was overshadowed by the IC match and their WM7 match is more famous but this was a really good match too. I guess my least favorite match was Crush vs. Repo Man. Demolition wrestling each other under different gimmicks was a little weird and this filler match was probably the least significant on the card.

What changes would I make? This one is kind of tough. I have a couple ideas but I don't know that any of them would really improve the show much. It did seem a little strange that Ric Flair didn't have a match. I guess a rematch with Savage could have worked but I didn't think it was necessary since they just wrestled at mania. Putting them in a cage could have worked I suppose as the feud was definitely big enough for it. If that happened Warrior could have wrestled Papa Shango since Shango had a curse on Warrior at the time. Flair vs. Warrior could have worked too. Those are two big names that never got a big match together. The problem with that is Savage would be left without an opponent and he was champion. Ultimately I'm ok with Savage vs. Warrior. It was a great match and even though he didn't have a match Flair was heavly involved. The storyline with Mr. Perfect was interesting and I think it worked pretty well.

Undertaker vs. Kamala may not be a popular match in hindsight but it was par for the course for Taker in the early 90s. It wasn't a good match but I remember looking forward to it. It was a good choice for the time. I think it would have been nice to have Big Boss Man against Nailz instead of Virgil. I don't know what was going on with Boss Man. I know he was out for the summer selling the attack from Nailz but I don't know if he really needed time off and the attack from Nailz was a way to write him off tv for a while or if it was all just storyline. If Boss Man really needed time away then there's nothing you could do. If he was just selling the attack I would have brought him back for SummerSlam instead of waiting until Survivor Series for their first match.

One simple change that could have been made was the match between Shawn Michaels and Rick Martel. I'm not big on heel vs. heel but this match was ok. The change I'd make is getting rid of that stupid no hitting in the face stipulation. These were two of the best workers on the roster and they could have had a great match but instead that stipulation turned it into just a comedy match.

 

[Makaveli31]

If memory serves me correct Warrior was still very much in the WWF's plans at 'Slam '92 in fact was booked with Savage to face Flair and Razor at Series '92 and according to Bret (take it foe what it's worth) he was supposed to face Warrion at Rumbe '93 so it made perfect sense to have the Warrior v. Savage match end the feud between the wo and then have them team up at the Ultimate Maniacs or whatever their team was called.

As far as Flair, he was still feuding with Savage. The top heel picture was blown up by that point both Sid and Jake Roberts (who had been positioned for those top spots had left the company) leaving only Flair. We had already seen Flair v. Savage. I think Vince was trying to capture lightning in a bottle with a Savage v. Warrior face v. face. championship match much like Hogan v. Warrior at WM 6. I think he had lost faith in Flair as a top level main eventer by that point also.

'Slam 92 will always be known for Bret v. Bulldog. It's rare that you have an undercard match upstage the main event only in rare cases like at WM 3. I agree everything (for the most part) worked out.

The WWF was still transitioning. Guys like Bret and Shawn would be moved up within the next few months, guys like Flair, Savage, Warrior, LOD would be phased out. Taker would continue his "monster" run.

Guys like Razor, Diesel, Yokozuna, Crush, Luger came in and took the top spots in the company.

 

[spaldoni]

I liked this Summerslam but I would of made a few changes.

Randy Savage vs Ric Flair- Flair regained the title from Savage anyways so why not have him do it at a major pay per view? I just thought him and Perfect being used as distractions was ridiculous.

Ultimate Warrior vs Papa Shango- The feud was set up so I would blow it off here. Warrior gets a big win and pumps up the crowd.

Rick Martel vs Shawn Michaels- get rid of the gimmick and let these outstanding wrestlers put on a great match.

 

[Xfactor98]

I remember Watching This SummerSlam back in 92' and Thinking it was a Good one...I was only 12yrs old...But After watching it again and thinking about it some..I feel this was a a Summerslam wasted on some matches

There were alot of superstars on the roster not used that should have been..So here are my Changes in the order i would have might put the card in


1. World tag Title match- Natural Diasters(C) vs Legion of Doom
The LOD would go over and win the Titles and go on to Feud with Money Inc

2. The Big Bossman vs Nailz
Better match then with Virgil..Just move the Feud up

3. Rick Martel vs Shawn Michaels
Keep this match drop the gimmick it was Stupid

4. Papa Shango vs The Undertaker
Taker wins this Match and makes Papa shango go away..Such a bad Gimmick

5. Jim Duggan vs The Mountie
Just as a Filler Match

6. World Title Match- Randy Savage(c) vs Ric Flair
Rematch from Wrestlemania 8..Have Flair win the title Back

7. Tatanka vs Kamala

8. I-C Title- Bret Hart(c) vs British Bulldog
Keep this Match the same with same ending result

This is what i think it should have been...Kept the Ultimate warrior..just never really though he should have come back

 

[FlairFan2003]

I liked this Summerslam but I would of made a few changes.

Randy Savage vs Ric Flair- Flair regained the title from Savage anyways so why not have him do it at a major pay per view? I just thought him and Perfect being used as distractions was ridiculous.

Ultimate Warrior vs Papa Shango- The feud was set up so I would blow it off here. Warrior gets a big win and pumps up the crowd.

Rick Martel vs Shawn Michaels- get rid of the gimmick and let these outstanding wrestlers put on a great match.

RE: Savage vs Warrior - WWE wanted someone different to headline the PPV in the World Title Scene than Flair vs Savage, as Savage pretty much only faced Flair on TV and on the house show circuit all over the US post W-Mania. Here, WWE was trying to recapture and capitalize on the success of Savage-Warrior from a few years earlier, with the idea that Warrior already put Savage out once, could he do it again now that Savage seemed much stronger having beaten Flair.

The other issue is Savage wasn't going to wrestling much longer. He & Liz we done and he wanted off the road. After this match he wrestled a short series of house show matches vs Hall and basically became a specialty wrestler going forward, like HHH today. WWE didn't want to miss the chance to hit one last payday on Savage vs Warrior before Randy was done.

The next "money" feud was to be Warrior-Flair, another 80s dream match scenario. That was why Flair was front and center in the whole storyline from start to finish, including the actual match. This immediately kick started Flair-Warrior as the top fued and explained how Flair got the belt back (making Warrior chase him for the title) the night after the PPV. If Warrior didn't injure Flair on the house show circuit a few weeks later, sending Flair to The Mayo Clinic and off TV and House Shows for almost two months, we were headed to Flair-Warrior at Survivor Series. Warrior blew that up when he injured Flair (among his other problems at the time) and after Flair left you really didn't see much of Warrior at all except a brief re appearance after Flair returned basically just to let Flair punk him on TV and send him off, elevating him and Hall. Notice that when Flair was injured and had to drop the title before S-Series they didn't go with Warrior, and in fact didn't let Warrior anywhere near new champ Brett Hart on TV at all (Flair however got several matches vs Hart when he returned, chasing the title for two months).

In any event that is why they went the direction they did, Savage wanted out, WWE wanted to hit one last pay day with him vs Warrior, and kickstart a Warrior-Flair feud over the title. No one could have known that Warrior would screw up their plans but WWE was probably better with Hart as champ anyway because he was more reliable and a better wrestler.

 

[FlairFan2003]

I liked this Summerslam but I would of made a few changes.

Randy Savage vs Ric Flair- Flair regained the title from Savage anyways so why not have him do it at a major pay per view? I just thought him and Perfect being used as distractions was ridiculous.

Ultimate Warrior vs Papa Shango- The feud was set up so I would blow it off here. Warrior gets a big win and pumps up the crowd.

Rick Martel vs Shawn Michaels- get rid of the gimmick and let these outstanding wrestlers put on a great match.

As far as Flair not wrestling on the show (when he would win the World Title one night later) it made his appearance during the Savage match more unpredictable, you didn't see him at the show and didn't know for sure if he was there, which after how heavily he dominated the pre match storyline was curious, but it made you watch more. If Flair had beaten someone else on the show that match would have added a bit of appeal to the event but S-Slam already had enough going for it they didn't need him, and since they were building a big World Title feud for Flair-Warrior it wouldn't have made sense to shoe horn him into a mid card feud just to get him on the card, he needed to be a big part of Warrior-Savage, both to add interest into the rematch and to jump start his next World Title win and subsequent showdown vs Warrior. It made more sense for him not wrestle.

 

[FlairFan2003]

A solid event, given a grade B by myself and a wonderful Main Event. However, to make this an A, here is my card.....

IC - Bret Hart vs British Bulldog
Stays the same. No reason to change it.

WWF - Macho Man vs Shawn Michaels
Shawn got a Title shot at Survivor Series, this would have been a great match.

Ric Flair vs Mr Perfect
Add this to the card. They could have started their feud a little earlier.

TAG - Natural Disasters vs Legion Of Doom
For the Tag Belts. Beverley Brothers sucked.

Ultimate Warrior vs Kamala
Warriors strength against Kamalas size would have been interesting.

Undertaker vs Papa Shango
These two could have had an interesting match.

Big Boss Man vs Nailz
Bring this feud forward. Virgil was simply appalling.

Battle Royal
Crush, Tatanka, Bezerker, Duggan, Nasty Boys, Repo Man, El Matador, Mountie etc etc. Have Crush win.

Shawn Michaels was nowhere near Main Event level, let alone World Title material, at the time of this show. He had only one mid card feud vs Martel at this point and hadn't sniffed a title since he left the AWA years earlier. Having him jump directly from the tag team guy no one cared about who's now a jerk mid carder all the way to World Title Match in basically 4 months would have been a joke, no one for a second would have bought he had any chance to win.

At least by S-Series, after winning the fued vs Martell and winning a feud vs Davey Boy Smith that earned him the IC Title he was now perceived as a star on the rise, a legit star, not some novelty act or throw away mid carder. Even still his World Title match at that show, while he seemed like a solid candidate, was viewed as a throw away match and clearly overshadowed in the PPV build up by Flair/Savage in their tag match. No one watching S-Series 92 thought HBK could actually win the World Title, and he was much better positioned on the card and with fans at that point than he was at the time of S-Slam 92.

 

[Judah's Lion]

like some others have said, SummerSlam 92 was pretty amazing and certainly historic, if only because it was in London and had the most epic IC Title match in the history of the sport. i'm stuck on deciding whether this was a one-match show or a two-match show. still debating on the Savage/Warrior scenario...

here is my fantasy card, in no particular order:

1. HBK vs. Martel still happens. instead of the "no hitting in the face" stipulation, i would either make it a "hit in the face as often as possible to disfigure your opponent's pretty mug" stipulation (might need something more pithy than what i just offered there) or drop the stip all together and just let these two go at it in a real match for Sherri's affection and managerial services.

2. Boss Man vs. Nailz is the obvious choice for this night. Virgil's big moment happened the year prior, but he was otherwise forgotten. this would have made much more sense given their respective gimmicks.

Tatanka and Crush both deserved better matches, and a televised one in the case of the Native American.
3. i'd do Tatanka vs. Perfect and put Tatanka over in a big way. he had a pretty impressive undefeated streak, similar to Perfect, so that could be a pretty easy story to tell.
4. and then do Crush vs. Beverly Brothers in a Handicap Match. that would be a big way to sell the guy's very real strength and put him over to the upper mid-card. plus i'd love to see Crush put his Vice Grip on the Genius.

5. i'd debut Razor Ramon here and have him totally destroy Tito Santana. show off one of the coolest looking finishing maneuvers ever on this stage.

6. Natural Disasters vs. Nasty Boys would be kinda fun maybe, given that the combined weight of both teams would be like a metric ton. let these four big guys have a slug fest just because they can.

7. LOD vs. Steiner Brothers for the Tag Team Titles should have happened here. they had very few matches against each other in any organization and this was a big stage to see it happen. the Steiners were already on their way into the WWF. just bring them in a bit sooner and let this dream match happen on one of the most unique stages of all time in Wembley. either team can win the straps.

8. Hart vs. Bulldog was absolutely perfect and needed to close the show as it did.

as for the World Title, i'd mix it up. i totally understand what the WWF was trying to do in recreating the magic of Manias 6 and 7 with the whole face vs. face (Mania 6 with Hogan and Warrior) and Warrior/Savage history (Mania 7 in the Retirement Match). still, i'd change this match to add Flair to the card and give Taker a better match.

9. Warrior/Taker vs. Money, Inc. Taker was about to begin a lengthy feud with Dibiase anyway and he's got major history with the Million Dollar Man going back to his debut at Survivor Series. and Warrior just needs a match at this point.

10. Savage vs. Flair in either a Steel Cage or No DQ Match for the World Title. Flair was gonna win the belt back soon anyway, so it should have happened on the bigger stage. given their history, not just together in this specific feud but individually in both men's careers, a match with no rules would just make sense.

so there's my card. still, SummerSlam 92 was great and i look back on it fondly.

 

[FlairFan2003]

When I say the booking didn't quite work it's things like Flair not wrestling (he'd evidently give notice that week and thus, was in the doghouse), .

Flair was never in the "Doghouse" and in fact it wasn't until late in 92 that he decided to leave after Vince told him he wanted him to stay but didn't have any any main event fueds for him. WCW offered him slightly less money than WWE but a whole lot less travel even they initially didn't plan to use him as #1 guy either (that changed after a months).

Actually, Flair regained the title the next night after the PPV, S-Slam and his entire involvement in the Warrior-Savage storyline done to set up a big Flair-Warrior fued. They faced off on TV in various promos/segments several times in Sept & Oct of 92 and wrestled extensively on the house show circuit in the US (In Germany Flair defended against Savage & Brett Hart). All signs pointed towards a blow off match between the two at Survivor Series but then Warrior injured Flair in a house show match in Phoenix and he couldn't wrestle. Flair was off TV for about six weeks with a brief mention about rehabbing an injury (no mention of Warrior). Warrior was the one in the "Doghouse" at this point for a variety of reasons, injuring Flair and potentially screwing up S-Series just adding to the list. It's not a coincidence that when Flair agreed to try and do one more match to lose the title in the ring that they chose Brett Hart (who wasn't really in the title picture at all and had never had a run vs Flair, just a handful of individual matches). By the time Warrior dropped Flair on his head in Phoenix WWE & Vince were soured on him, if Flair wasn't going to be around (no one knew at the time how much time he would miss as the initial injury, broken bones in his ear ruining his sense of balance) WWE no longer trusted Warrior, plus Flair was legit injured and willing to work hurt just to drop the title they weren't going to risk his health further by placing him with a careless wrestler.

In the end, at the time of S-Slam 92 Flair hadn't given notice, wasn't in th doghouse, and in fact was short term through S-Series at least very much in WWE plans. Heck, even Warrior hadn't overstayed his welcome yet, although it could be argued that Savage was in the doghouse as he had given notice that he wanted off the circuit and out of the ring for awhile to deal with the aftermath of his break up with Liz (explaining why he dropped the title and wrestled so infrequently the rest of the year).