If I live to be a million years old, I will never, ever forgive Vince McMahon for depriving us of the first ever Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair match at WrestleMania VIII. It was the dream match fans had wanted to see forever, and we got nonstop magazines asking the question: who is the REAL world champion? Was it Hogan, who had torn apart ever challenger to come his way for years in the WWF? Was if Ric Flair, who put on countless clinics defending the NWA world title? When Flair left the NWA in 1991 (while he was still world champion mind you!), the WWF was given the ultimate dream match and hardcore fans like myself were chomping at the bit for it.
It started out so great, with Bobby “The Brain” Heenan showing up holding the title on a completely random Wrestling Challenge episode with the NWA title, while Gorilla Monsoon and Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart looked on completely perplexed. Heenan explained that comparing the title he was holding to the WWF championship was like comparing ice cream to horse manure. And that was also the case when talking about the men holding those belts. “You want to compare them? Fine. Then let’s compare Hulk Hogan to Ric Flair.” THAT was the ultimate mic drop. The stage was set. No doubt this was THE WrestleMania match to end all WrestleMania matches.
And it never happened. As the story goes, they did a run of quickly slapped together house shows and Vince was unhappy that they didn’t draw what he was expecting and thus he scrapped the idea of Flair vs. Hogan at Mania. And get this – not only did it never happen at WrestleMania, the two never had a nationally televised singles match in the WWF AT ALL (they did show up on MSG Network, but c’mon now). They never wrestled a singles match on a WWF PPV. Never did on any WWF TV show either. It never, ever happened and within a couple years Flair would be back in WCW.
Of course, Hogan would follow Flair to WCW shortly thereafter and WCW – WCW!!!! – showed Vince the folly of his ways, as the two did huge PPV numbers for the companies many times. It’s honestly shocking that the WWF let this completely slip through their fingers with basically nothing to show for it. All of which no doubt has you, my dear reader, asking “Wait…you said this induction was about their first WWF televised match, and they never had one? What gives?” I’m playing a bit of semantics here, but the two would eventually square off under Vince’s umbrella when it became WWE.
And it happened a grand total of ONE TIME. The answer to this particular trivia question would be May 13, 2002, on some completely random episode of Raw. Flair was the GM/co-owner or whatever of the company at the time, and he controlled the show, so he decided to book himself vs. Hogan for the WWE title. You may not even remember Hogan being the champ at that point – his reign only lasted 28 days. But yes, this was the one and only time the two ever had a singles contest on any WWF/WWE television.
And what is the first thing we notice here? Well, they look very old. Sure, they wrestled for YEARS after this, but seeing how they both looked in their prime ten years earlier, when we could have had that match on TV for the very first time? And maybe it’s not that they look old but both Hogan and Flair just look…well…tired? Maybe a bit paunchy? And it just makes me so sad.
As for the match itself, well, it’s Flair bouncing around like a ping pong ball of course for the Hulkster. Run into Hogan, fall down. Throw Hogan into the rope, stand there like a tackling dummy as he plows through you again.
Seeing that things are going just as well as they always do for him in these matches, Flair takes off to the outside to grab a chair. He’s thwarted by referee Charles Robinson and takes a bump for him too.
Naturally we get Hogan no selling the chops and ascending to do a ten count punch before Ric gives us another Flair flop. I will say this: although Flair was five years older than Hogan (53 vs 48), he looks so much more spry. I was really worried Hogan was going to fall off the ropes when he went up for those punches.
SPEAKING OF FALLING OFF THE ROPES, youbetcha we get this as well. Was there ever a Flair match that did NOT happen in? I guess you don’t mess with the classics.
Flair is eventually able to take over with a shot right to the Hulkaroos. Like I don’t know if Hogan actually called is testicles that in real life, but if he didn’t, that’s a shame. Maybe one of you could take up that mantle.
We get some mighty punches from the Nature Boy at this point, so mighty in fact that they knock the bandana off Hogan’s head. The fact we are eight minutes into this and that just now happened kinda shows you how much effort the Hulkster is exerting here.
So we go outside and Hogan once more no sells Flair’s offense, beating him hither and yon before tossing him back into the ring. We get a BAAAACKKKK body drop as Ric starts fading fast.
Finally Flair is able to get some offense in and Hogan prone on the mat and goes for his patented knee drop. Hogan is having none of that however and grabs Flair mid air, and locks him into a figure-four leglock of his own. And while it doesn’t look great, in comparison of some that he had applied to Flair back in the WCW days it’s a masterpiece.
Big ol’ suplex from Hogan next, but he misses a wacky elbow drop. You know who had a better elbow drop than that one?
His old nemesis Mr. Wonderful! Whenever I am having a bad day I always bust that one out to cheer me up.
All of this leads to your usual finishing sequence, with the head shaking no and the finger point. Big boot and the finish seems academic as Hogan drops the leg…only to see the pin broken up by…X-PAC???!!! Yes kids, this historic first ever televised WWF Hogan-Flair match is interrupted by the 1-2-3 Kid.
Hogan is livid of course, and gives us the biggest Popeye punch ever, one that sends Waltman flying in the wackiest bump this side of…
…Scott Hall taking a stunner. Say what you will about the Kliq, but they were Picassos in that part of the art of pro wrestling.
So Big Show comes in and he gets taken out by Bradshaw as this thing turns into a complete fiasco. I mean this match wasn’t great per se, but at least you could sense a tiny bit of the old magic which is flushed straight down the crapper at this point.
And it all ends with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin coming out, hitting a stunner on Flair (who doesn’t take anywhere near the bump Razor did. Hogan then hits a second leg drop and scores the pin. And that…that was it. That’s the first – and LAST – Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair televised WWF/WWE singles match. And all I can do is shake my head.