Best Of 1992: By Matthew Evans (26/10/02)
Still in shock after that disgusting angle on Raw this week, this time I've decided to take a look at the year where The Undertaker became a firm fan favourite, Hulk Hogan packed his bags and left the WWF (for a year, at least), and Bret Hart took the ball and ran as the new face of the WWF. Yes, the year is 1992.
Wrestler Of The Year: Bret "Hitman" Hart
Took some time off at the start of the year, but returned and beat Roddy Piper in a thrilling IC Title match at Wrestlemania 8. With The British Bulldog, knocked up the match of the night (and match of the year) at Summerslam, and beat Ric Flair for the WWF title later in the year. Truly the "Excellance Of Execution".
Babyface Of The Year: Macho Man Randy Savage
I can't give this to Hogan because he was gone after Wrestlemania 8 and didn't return for the rest of the year. The Ultimate Warrior didn't stick around long either. But Savage did, and had some fine matches in the process. After finishing his feud with Jake Roberts, Savage caught the attention of Ric Flair, who claimed that Elizabeth had been with him first. This led to a superb clash at Wrestlemania 8, where Savage won the WWF title, and the rivalry continued at Summerslam, where Savage fought The Ultimate Warrior in another great match.
Heel Of The Year: Ric Flair
Coming from WCW, and claiming to be "The Real World's Champion", Ric Flair was easy to hate. He also had Mr Perfect in his corner and he enjoyed playing with Randy Savage's personal life. Fans couldn't believe what they were seeing when Flair lasted 60 minutes in the Royal Rumble in January, and won the vacant WWF title in the process. 1992 was a prime year for Ric Flair the heel.
Gimmick Of The Year: The Undertaker
Another fine year for The Taker'. After preventing a Jake Roberts-steel-chair-attack on Macho Man and Elizabeth, The Undertaker was turned face and soon began feuding with his former ally, "The Snake". He took a steel-chair beating from him on an edition of The Funeral Parlour, but got his revenge at Wrsetlemania 8.
At Summerslam, he fought Kamala in a decent encounter and at Survivor Series he "put him to rest" in the first ever Coffin (later Casket) Match. True, The Taker's matches were hardly "Match Of The Year2 contenders, but as with 1991 it was the character that was most important. Few will forget his macabre entrance at Summerslam 92'.
Tag-Team Of The Year: The Legion Of Doom
A great year for Hawk and Animal. Their match with The Natural Disasters at Royal Rumble was rather good (despite the cheap count-out finish). Oddly left off the Wrestlemania card, they fought and beat Money Inc in a fine bout at Summerslam. Unfortunately, I believe they parted ways with the company later in the year (as they were not at Survivor Series and had definately left by 1993), but there's no denying their success and popularity in 1992.
Match Of The Year: Bret "Hitman" Hart VS The British Bulldog
(Summerslam 92')
Wrapping up a superb wrestling show, the two brother-in-laws put on a great wrestling matches that had all the makings of a classic. The Bulldog was naturally the favourite with his home-country crowd at Wembley Stadium while Bret Hart was receving the jeers. The Bulldog escaped from The Sharp-shooter and "The Hitman" kicked out of The Running Powerslam. The finish (where The Bulldog countered a sunset-flip into a pin) was superb and having Bret's sister and Bulldog's wife in the crowd was a good touch that added emotion to the match. Bulldog won the match and the IC belt, but soon left the WWF on bad terms (he returned in 1994).
Feud Of The Year: Randy Savage VS Ric Flair
Again, Savage had the best feud of 1992 IMO. By involving his wife Elizabeth, the WWF ensured that it was very emotional and Flair's un-sanctioned blade-job at WM 8 added to the drama. Unfortunately, the feud might have worked TOO well, as Elizabeth left the company after WM 8 and got a divorce from Savage.
Angle Of The Year: Naliz Jumping The Big Bossman on WWF TV
This storyline was so OTT that it was actually quite funny. Naliz, an "ex-convict from The Big Bossman's Jail" came into the WWF looking for revenge. At a WWF tv taping, he jumped out of the crowd and beat Bossman with his night-stick while he was hand-cuffed to the ring ropes. Bossman took a few months off to sell his "injuries" and the feud climaxed with a Night-Stick On A Pole Match at Survivor Series.
Card Of The Year: Summerslam 92'
(August 1992, Wembley Stadium)
While business was less healthy than usual in the US (largely due to the tasteless Gulf War storyline and the "exposure" of the WWF), Vince did BIG business over in the UK, especially at Summerslam. Held at Wembley Stadium, in front of around 80,000 fans, the card turned out to be the best of the year, even better than Wrestlemania. There wasn't a bad match on the show, and the the top-liners really delivered the goods. Plus, the show had a special feel about it as it was the first US PPV to be broadcasted live from Great Britain.
Most Abysmal Match Of The Year: Owen Hart VS Skinner
(Wrestlemania 8)
I mean no disrespect to the late, great Owen Hart by this, but this match was awful. I don't blame Owen or even Skinner for a ridiculously short insult of a match. The blame should be put on the bookers who arranged for the match to last that long. Speaking of poor matches, I didn't choose one for 1991 because I couldn't. Wrsetlemanai 7 was loaded with so many stinkers that I just couldn't narrow it down to one.
Promotion Of The Year:
WWF
Another fine year for Vince and co. A memorable Royal Rumble, a superb Wrestlemania and a scorching Summerslam (I haven't seen Survivor Series by the way).
Coming soon- Monday Night Raw debued on the USA Network, Marty Janetty returned to get revenge on Shawn Michaels, Lex Luger joined the WWF, Crush did some clowning around, and British Bulldog showed up in WCW. The year? 1993, of course.