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Fantasy Fights: World Wrestling Federation vs. National Wrestling Alliance
By Justin Ballard
Aug 31, 2008 - 7:44 AM

Hey everyone, what's up?   Welcome to the 4th edition of WWI Fantasy Fights!   This week's bout will be a little different.   We'll be turning the clocks back to 1989 with a winner-take-all 5-on-5 elimination tag team match between Vince McMahon's WWF and Ted Turner's recently purchased NWA.   The top five stars of each promotion will team up for the ultimate battle for wrestling supremacy.  Who was better in 1989, the WWF or the NWA?   Read on!

WWF:

Randy Savage: stands 6'2" and weighs 239 pounds...current WWF Champion, former I-C Champion

Hulk Hogan: stands 6'8" and weighs 302 pounds...former WWF World Champion

Ultimate Warrior: stands 6'2" and weighs 275 pounds...current I-C Champion

Demolition: Ax stands 6'3" and weighs 280 pounds...Smash stands 6'2" and weighs 290 pounds...current WWF World Tag Team Champions

NWA:

Ric Flair: stands 6'2" and weighs 243 pounds...current 5x NWA World Champion

Lex Luger: stands 6'5" and weighs 275 pounds...current US Champion

Sting: stands 6'2" and weights 260 pounds...current World TV Champion

Road Warriors: Animal stands 6'1" and weighs 300 pounds...Hawk stands 6'3" and weighs 280 pounds...current NWA World Tag Team Champions

Teddy-Come-Lately

"Guess what, Vince!" piped a jolly Ted Turner on the other end of Vince McMahon's phone line one Sunday morning.  

"What, Ted?" croaked Vince.   Ugh, I can't stand this putz, he thought to himself, wincing over what Turner's bombshell was going to be.  

"I'm in the rasslin' business!"   Cringing, Vince forced out a half-hearted "congratulations" before hurrying Turner off the phone so he could polish off his Belgian waffle.   Ted Turner had just purchased World Championship Wrestling, the primary promotion in the National Wrestling Alliance, from Jim Crockett.  

The company had been bleeding to death for months, following several poor attempts by Crockett to compete on a national level with Vince's World Wrestling Federation.   In Crockett's defense, Vince hadn't exactly given him an even playing field, having nearly crippled the NWA's first PPV event with his "carry Starrcade and you can't have Survivor Series" ultimatum to cable providers, and countering the second NWA PPV outing with the inaugural Royal Rumble on free cable TV.   Crockett fired back the day of WrestleMania IV by airing the first Clash of the Champions on TBS, but with two disastrous PPV buyrates to his name, the damage had been done.

Enter Ted Turner, whose seemingly empty pockets would more than furnish his new company with enough marketing firepower and TV time to be able to compete with the WWF juggernaut.   This was precisely the kind of thing Vince did not want to see happen.   His company had snowballed into an unstoppable monster in the business, singlehandedly killing the regional promotion system that had endured for decades.   With the near-death of WCW, he was looking forward to kicking back and enjoying unchallenged power over the pro wrestling industry.   Now this wrestling-illiterate media mogul was about to step up and try to tear down the empire that Vince's family had spent generations building.   Over Vince's damn dead body.....

The Big Question

Turner called a meeting with all the top brass in WCW - including booker Dusty Rhodes, VP of production and head commentator Jim Ross, and a hotshot young TV producer just imported from the Minnesota-based AWA, Eric Bischoff – and posed the following question: “What do we have to do to compete with Vince McMahon?”

An awkward silence followed, finally broken by Rhodes.   “Well, gee Teddy, what exactly d’ya mean by ‘compete’?”

“I mean what would it take for the NWA to be the number-one rasslin’ company in the world?   What can we do to knock Vince off his perch?”

Each of the meeting attendees had differing viewpoints on both the proposed mission statement, and how to achieve it.   Rhodes, ever the old-school booker, suggested they abandon the idea of trying to expand nationally like the WWF had.   After all, Jim Crockett’s attempts were all futile.   Besides, the NWA had a rich, regional history that the WWF could never match – a direct competition with Vince was beneath the NWA.   Jim Ross was more receptive to Turner’s idea, offering, “Our talent is so far ahead of theirs it’s ludicrous.   If we had their marketing ability and the funds to attract and manufacture new stars they’d be sunk.”   Bischoff’s take on the matter was simple: “We go on national television and challenge them to a fight.”

Many of the older-generation execs were outraged by Bischoff’s suggestion.   The NWA would never publicly acknowledge a three-ring circus like the WWF on the air.   As long as the company projected a successful image on television, the fans of the NWA would always regard them as number-one.   The WWF was a fad; a pop culture phenomenon that would soon run its course, leaving true wrestling fans to return to the NWA’s more traditional, athletic product.   In the long run it would be the NWA that would endure.

“Fellas,” Turner replied.   “I appreciate your expertise, but I think I like the kid’s idea.   But first let’s get the kind of audience we need for that kind of announcement.”

Making Changes

The meeting started a chain reaction of sorts – Turner began eliminating the old-school management contingent and hiring younger, fresher minds to help shape the company’s future.   He replaced Dusty Rhodes as head booker and put Jim Ross in charge of the talent-related aspects of production, while Eric Bischoff was appointed Executive Producer.

Ross was charged with heading up a new talent initiative, which included the signing of stars like The Great Muta, Sid Vicious, Owen Hart, and Curt Hennig.   Each of them would be groomed as potential challengers to Ric Flair’s World Title, in an effort to mix up the championship picture.

Bischoff turned the TV production approach on its ear.   The gloomy, cavernous look of NWA televised events gave way to a slicker, more colorful, and brightly lit setting.   The overall look of the ringside area was set up more like a high-profile boxing event, with ring girls and a smaller aisle around the ring to bring the fans closer to the action.   But the most notable change was that the NWA’s flagship program, World Championship Wrestling was moved from Saturday afternoons to Tuesday nights at 8pm on TBS.   It was moved from the tiny TBS studios in Atlanta to the more camera-friendly Disney studios in Orlando.   And one other thing – going forward it would be broadcast live.

Debut

WCW Tuesday’s first episode was given PPV-level hype on all of Ted Turner’s networks.   The undercard consisted of a successful tag team title defense by the Road Warriors against Mike Rotundo and Kevin Sullivan, a Sid Vicious squash, Sting vs. Ivan Koloff, and Lex Luger vs. “Dr. Death” Steve Williams.   Then came the main event: a World Title defense by Ric Flair against the newly signed Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat.   The match was a breathtaking display of wrestling acumen.   At the 25-minute mark, Flair reversed a Steamboat small package to retain the title.  

The broadcast was met with unanimous praise by fans and critics alike, and drew record cable ratings.   The product featured enough colorful characters to draw in the young WWF crowd, and enough solid wrestling to please the older wrestling fans.   The NWA had seemingly overnight become the hot brand in pro wrestling.

Vince’s Reaction

Vince McMahon watched the show alone, in his Stamford, CT office.   When it was over, he sighed, picked up the TV, and launched it across the room like a shot put.  

He picked up the phone and called his Executive Producer.   “Kevin?   Did you see it?   Yeah, what are we gonna do about this?   Well now they’re giving away pay-per-view matches on free TV, for Chrissake!   We can’t do that, our house show revenue’ll dry up.   They can get away with it because they’re in the same arena for TV every week.   Find out which of their guys we can steal, for starters.   If they’re set on taking away our audience, we’ll take away their talent.”

As Vince found out the next day, that plan was easier said than done.   “You mean to tell me Turner signed all of them to guaranteed long-term contracts??” McMahon bellowed.   “Who the hell does he think he is?”  

“Actually, Mr. McMahon,” replied Horace White, the WWF’s head of Talent Relations, “we were able to extend offers to Eddie Gilbert, Butch Reed, and Russian Assassin #2.”

Vince didn’t even blink.   “Get out of my office.”

Former WWF Champion Hulk Hogan interjected.   “Vince, why don’t we just challenge them to a match?   If we can get a bunch of their guys in the ring and show everyone how second-rate their wrestlers are, the buzz over this new show will disappear and they’ll be back where they belong – at number two.”

The Challenge

The following Tuesday, Bischoff and Ross were in the midst of putting together episode 2 of the new show, when the phone rang in the production truck.   It was Turner: “Put on NBC, quick!”

They were met with the image of Vince McMahon at a press conference podium, delivering the following statement:

“Ladies and gentlemen, today is an historic one in the long and glorious tradition of sports-entertainment.   For the first time ever, the World Wrestling Federation is issuing a public challenge to the Atlanta-based organization known as World Championship Wrestling, a division of the National Wrestling Alliance.

“The WCW promotion, recently purchased by Ted Turner, has made clear with their latest promotional tactics their intention to take over the sports-entertainment industry from the WWF.   Now that they are funded by a conglomerate, we feel this situation could escalate to inequitable levels, given the limitless spending potential of Turner Broadcasting.

“Rather than endure years of hostility between our two companies which would almost certainly cripple our business, the WWF would like to challenge WCW and the NWA to a one-night series of wrestling matches to determine which company will be the nationally sanctioned pro wrestling organization.   The terms and stipulations are open to negotiation.   We await your response.   Thank you.”

“Looks like they beat us to the punch,” said Ross.   Bischoff’s eyes glimmered.   “This’ll be easier than I thought.   We’ll go on the air tonight and accept.”

The Answer

With anticipation simmering over whether the NWA would accept, the second episode of WCW Tuesday received double the rating of the debut.   The company wisely saved their response for the end of the show, but kept viewers interested with a Midnight Express-Fantastics tag team melee, Luger vs. Hennig for the US Title, and a dazzling Sting vs. Great Muta showdown.   In the final segment, Ric Flair made his way to the ring and took the microphone.  

“I’ve been asked by NWA management to be the spokesman for the company as I have so many times, and deliver the answer you’ve all been waiting so patiently for tonight.   Earlier today, Vince McMahon and the World Wrestling Federation held a press conference to challenge the NWA to a winner-take-all battle for wrestling dominance.   The idea is apparently to establish once and for all which company has the right to call themselves the number-one wrestling promotion in the world.   As far as I’m concerned, and as far as all the NWA fans who pay their hard-earned money each and every night to see the best athletes in this sport are concerned, there’s no question about which company is number one.   The NWA’s been around since 1905 and it’s not goin’ anywhere, baby!   We don’t need a head-to-head contest to tell us that!   But if that’s what it’s gonna take to prove to everyone out there watching; if the WWF ain’t gonna be happy until we send ‘em packing, back to their circus tent in Connecticut, then dammit, WE ACCEPT!!   WHOOOOOO!!!!”

The Stips

The card would take place on April 2^nd, the scheduled date of both WrestleMania V and Clash of the Champions.   Since the WrestleMania name was more established it was decided that the show would be called WWF/NWA WrestleMania.   As a compromise, the card would be held at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, a fairly neutral site.

The stakes were as follows: besides taking a 70-percent share of the profits, the winning promotion would become the one nationally televised wrestling company; the loser would be relegated to a regional promotion and would be forbidden from broadcasting outside their home territory for a period of five years.   In addition, the winners would be entitled to draft three wrestlers from the loser’s roster.   The World Champion of each company would have draft immunity however.

The spoils would be determined by the outcome of the main event – a 10-man elimination tag team match.   Each company would select their 5 top stars to compete.   Two referees would be assigned to the contest, one from each promotion.   There would also be a series of interpromotional undercard matches, however none of them would count towards the stakes.

The Hype

The WWF held a special live edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event which showcased their entire team in 5-on-5 action.   Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Ultimate Warrior and Demolition made short work of their opposition, The Big Bossman, Akeem, Rick Rude, and the Powers of Pain.   Demolition in particular made an example of Road Warrior clones Warlord and Barbarian by spray-painting “Animal” and “Hawk” across their backs as they lay beaten and unconscious post-match.

The following Tuesday, WCW’s show featured a similar matchup, as Ric Flair, Lex Luger, Sting, and the Road Warriors trounced the team of Rick Steiner, Mike Rotunda, Ron Simmons, and the Samoan Swat Team.   After the match, Hawk got on the mic and barked, “Hey fellas, you’re not gonna be dealing with the fake Road Warriors in Dallas!!”

The weekend of the event, each company held their own separate rally in different locations in Dallas.   Both events were plagued with disruptive fans from the other side.   Eric Bischoff was hit in the head with a soda bottle and received a mild concussion, but that was the only rally-related injury.

That week’s episode of Saturday Night Live was co-hosted by Hulk Hogan and Sting, who got into a melee midway through a Church Lady sketch.   Building security separated them and ejected them both from the premises.

‘Mania

64,000 fans poured into the stadium for the unprecedented event.   The building sold out in a matter of hours once the stipulations were announced.   Pay-per-view buyrates reached staggering figures, and closed-circuit venues around the country were packed.

Ringside announce team Jim Ross, Gorilla Monsoon, and Jesse Ventura called the action, very capably masking their professional differences.   For each match the WWF ring entrances would be announced by Howard Finkel, the NWA entrances by Gary Cappetta.

In the opening bout, fans were treated to a non-stop aerial display as the Rock n’ Roll Express took on their WWF counterparts, The Rockers.   The WWF gained early momentum as Shawn Michaels pinned Robert Gibson at the 14-minute mark, following a splash off the top rope.

The NWA fired back in the second match, as Curt Hennig defeated “Ravishing” Rick Rude with a small package.

The Great Muta won the second consecutive match for his company with a moonsault on Jake Roberts, following red mist to the eyes.

The largest men in each company squared off next, in a six-man tag pitting Andre the Giant, Akeem, and the Big Bossman against Sid Vicious, Dan Spivey, and “Dr. Death” Steve Williams.   The brawl took place in and out of the ring, and was eventually thrown out when Williams and the Bossman wouldn’t stop bashing each other with the television monitors.

The WWF contingent battled back in match 5, when Brutus Beefcake ducked a Terry Funk chair shot, leaving Funk to bounce the chair off the ropes and into his own head.   Beefcake won at the ten-minute mark with a high knee.

The most technical match of the evening was next, as Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat took on Ted Dibiase.   This bout nearly stole the show and ended with Dibase submitting to Steamboat’s double chicken wing at the 16-minute mark.

Second-to-last on the card was the Hart Foundation against the NWA US Tag Champions, the Midnight Express.   Two of wrestling’s all-time great tag teams matched each other tandem hold for tandem hold, inventing new combinations along the way.   After 19-minutes of brilliant tag team wrestling, the Harts took the duke with a Hart Attack clothesline off the top rope.

For All the Chips…

Team NWA made their way down to the ring as a unit, Flair leading the way.   Each member of the team ignored the crowd, instead focusing on the battle in which they were about to engage.

The WWF faction entered the ringside area separately, each to his own entrance theme.   Hogan’s entrance was saved for last, and once he joined his partners at ringside they all climbed into the squared circle.

Referees Dave Hebner and Tommy Young conferred in the corner as all 10 participants shed their excess ring attire.   It was nearly time to begin.

At the bell the ring exploded into a wild brawl.   Demolition pounced on the Road Warriors; Luger tackled Hogan into a corner of the ring; Sting and the Ultimate Warrior traded brutal forearm shots; Savage jumped on Flair’s back and both men toppled over the ropes to the outside.

The officials struggled to restore order, and gradually, one at a time, the wrestlers either left the ring or were tossed out until only Hogan and Luger remained.   The two blond giants pummeled each other with punches that would have decapitated a normal man.   Luger bounced off the ropes and shoulderblocked Hogan.   The latter hardly registered the move.   Hogan took his turn and rammed Luger with all his weight.   Luger shook his head in defiance.   The two men ran to opposite sides of the ring, bounced off, and leveled each other with clotheslines.   Both men lay prone on the mat.   The match was three minutes in.

As the referees counted the men down, both Luger and Hogan inched toward their respective corners.   At the count of six, Luger reached Hawk’s outstretched arm.   Hawk vaulted over the ropes and charged at Hogan, who just in the nick of time tagged out to Smash.   Hawk and Smash bloodied each other almost instantly with punishing blows to the face.   Hawk spit a wad of crimson into Smash’s face and whipped him into the ropes.   He launched himself into the air and turned Smash inside out with a lariat.   Smash landed in a heap on the mat and Hawk covered him.   Smash kicked out at two.   Hawk pulled him up by the hair and pressed the 290-pounder into the air with the strength of a bull.   Smash raked Hawk’s face, scraping off a handful of facepaint.   Hawk collapsed under his weight.  

Smash tossed him into the WWF corner and tagged in Ax.   Demolition pounded Hawk’s head and chest with sledgehammer-like fists.   Ax took over, stomping him relentlessly, gauging the flesh from his back.   Ax tagged his partner back in and they repeated the routine.   Four more times Demolition made quick tags, isolating Hawk and allowing them five seconds at a time to double-team the Road Warrior.   Finally Demolition whipped Hawk into a neutral corner and charged.   Hawk lifted both feet into the air.   Ax and Smash slammed their faces into Hawk’s outstretched boots, simultaneously breaking both their noses.   They tumbled to the mat, blood pouring out of their faces in gory synchronicity.

Hawk dove toward his corner and tagged in Sting.   The young lion charged at both members of Demolition, flooring them both with a flying tackle.   Ax flopped through the ropes and Sting went to work on Smash, jarring his larger opponent with a series of dropkicks.   Smash withstood a dropkick to the shoulder and lurched toward his corner, tagging the Ultimate Warrior.

The Warrior took to the ring like a madman, bouncing off all four sides.   Sting ducked two clotheslines but met with a pulverizing haymaker from the Warrior.   The impact dislocated Sting’s jaw and sent him toppling through the ropes.   Luger helped him to his feet on the outside and after several moments Sting climbed into the ring, his jaw dangling grotesquely.   Sting turned to Tommy Young, made a “time-out” gesture, and with both hands popped his injured jaw back into place, making both referees and all 9 other wrestlers cringe.

“Hey moron,” Sting said to the Warrior, “Whaddya say we try this again?”   Sting held up his right hand, challenging his former tag team partner to a test of strength.   Warrior grasped Sting’s hands and pushed with every ounce of his monumental power, his massive deltoids seemingly ready to rip through the skin.   The Warrior’s knucklelock brought Sting to his knees, but the TV Champion rolled to his back, monkeyflipped the Warrior over him, and kipped up, diving to his corner to tag Luger.

Warrior regained his feet and Luger knocked him senseless with a running forearm to the head.   Luger picked him up, whipped him into the ropes, and crushed him with a snap powerslam.  He covered the Warrior but only got two.   Luger positioned the Warrior for a superplex but the Warrior fought the move, dazing Luger with three shots to the jaw.   Warrior shoved Luger off the second rope, stood up, and dove off the top turnbuckle with a giant splash.   This unusual tactic from the Warrior would’ve been good for a three count had Flair not run in to break up the pin.

The Warrior picked Luger up by the hair and tagged in Savage, who clubbed Luger with a double axehandle off the top.   Luger’s legs folded under him and Savage bloodied the US Champ with a kneedrop.   Savage ascended the top rope again, diving elbow-first toward his fallen opponent.   Luger rolled out of the way at the last second, leaving Savage to crash to the canvas.   Savage clutched at his injured elbow as Luger pulled him up.  

Luger applied the Human Torture Rack, bending Savage’s spine backward.   The referees looked for a submission from the WWF Champion, but Savage held on.   Savage grasped a handful of Luger’s blond locks and drove his elbow square into Luger’s forehead.   Luger fell forward, dropping Savage into his corner to tag a waiting Hulk Hogan.

The crowd erupted as Hogan tagged into the bout, well-rested and full of aggression.   Hogan unleashed a barrage of punches to Luger's chiseled face, each one landing with a splat.   Luger reeled as Hogan's massive fists found their mark.   Hogan whipped Luger into the ropes and met the US Champ with a huge boot to the head that split Luger's lower lip wide open.   Luger fell to the mat, near-unconscious, and Hogan dropped the leg across his sternum.   The resulting pinfall was academic.

The WWF had scored the first fall and now enjoyed a 5-on-4 advantage.   Hogan had hardly stood up to celebrate when Animal clobbered him from behind with an axehandle.   The blow doubled the former WWF Champion over and Animal ricocheted off the ropes, flattening him with a flying shoulderblock.   Animal stomped Hogan's chest repeatedly and then dropped a stiff elbow across his skull.   Hogan kicked out of a pin attempt and crawled to his feet.   Animal tagged Hawk and the Road Warriors executed a brutal double clothesline that should have snapped Hogan's neck like a piece of kindling.   Hogan fell to the mat and the Warriors each dropped a blunt fist on him.   Hawk covered him to no avail.  

Hawk powerslammed the 300-pounder and ascended the ropes.   He leapt into the air with a legdrop, but the Hulkster evaded the move.   Hawk writhed in pain as Hogan made the tag to Smash.   The WWF Tag Champion unleashed a series of crushing blows to Hawk's back.   He tagged in his partner Ax, and the two men pressed Hawk into the air, dropping him face first on the canvas.   Ax climbed to the middle rope as Smash held Hawk in place for the Demolition Drop.   Ax jumped but Hawk twisted his body out of the way at the last second, leaving Ax to collide elbow-first with his partner.   Smash's crouched body seemed to bend in half, his legs twisting beneath him like a pair of pipe cleaners.   As Ax tried to help Smash back to his feet, Animal came from behind seemingly out of nowhere, and hoisted him on his shoulders.   Hawk catapulted to the top turnbuckle and nearly beheaded Ax with a flying clothesline.   Ax's body flipped a hundred-eighty degrees and Hawk covered him for the pin, evening the sides at 4.

Hawk then dragged Smash's broken body to center-ring and fell on top of him for the second consecutive pin.   The NWA now had the upper hand, 4-3.  

Hawk tagged in Ric Flair as the Ultimate Warrior stormed into the ring.   Warrior began charging back and forth, arms flailing wildly.   Flair rolled out of the ring to wait for him to cool off.   The Warrior jumped through the ropes to chase Flair on the outside.   Flair rolled in, bounced off the ropes, and bashed the Warrior with a running kneelift.   Warrior fell to the mat but instantly stood back up.   Flair hammered him with elbowsmashes.   Warrior shook them off and began galloping around the ring, as though possessed.   Flair bounced off the ropes again and the Warrior pressed him over his head.   Flair yelped as his body thumped to the mat, face-first.   Warrior rebounded off the ropes twice and leapt for a splash.   Flair turned over at the last moment and drove his knees into Warrior's impossibly cut abdomen.   The Warrior flopped around the mat, clutching at his injured stomach.   Flair rolled to the corner and tagged Sting.  

The TV Champion lifted a series of knees into Warrior's gut.   Warrior shoved Sting off and tried to reach his corner.   Sting spun the Warrior around, battered him with lefts and rights, and swung him to the opposite corner.   The Warrior smacked into the turnbuckles and Sting crushed him with a corner splash.   Warrior's body buckled to the mat and Sting slapped on the Scorpion Deathlock.   The Warrior roared in pain as Sting bent his legs back.   Then with the boundless strength of a psychopath, the Warrior planted his hands on the mat and slowly pushed against the hold, straightening his legs.   With one last shove, Sting was propelled head over heels all the way across the ring.   He shook his head in astonishment, then sprinted to his corner to tag Animal.  

The Warrior rose to his feet and beat his chest, leaving fist-sized welts on his own body.   Animal locked up with him and the two men jockeyed for position for what felt like minutes.   Warrior muscled him to the ropes, cranked him across the ring, missed a clothesline, and was met with a spear that nearly snapped him in half.   The force of the maneuver sent both men careening through the ropes and crashing to the floor.  Both men were knocked cold from the impact, and the referees counted them out.

The match was now 3-on-2: Flair, Sting and Hawk vs. Hogan and Savage.

Savage vaulted into the ring and met Hawk with several quick jabs.   Hawk shook off the blows and returned a series of his own.   Savage bounced off the ropes and took his adversary down with a quick elbow jab.   Hawk popped back up as Savage ran to the ropes again.   Hawk leapfrogged him and knocked the air out of Savage with a lightning-quick hip toss.

Hawk made the tag to Sting, who floored the Macho Man with a leaping cross chop.   Sting elbowdropped Savage, kipped up, and dropped a second elbow.   Sting went for the cover but Savage kicked out.   Sting lifted Savage up, tossed him to the corner, and dove at him.   Savage raised his feet into Sting’s chest, stunning the blond warrior, and tagged Hogan.

The Hulkster punched away at Sting and whipped him into the WWF corner.   Savage held him from behind as Hogan softened him up with kicks.   Just then the former MegaPowers managed to find their old rhythm, making quick tags in and out.   Savage utilized hit and run tactics and would then tag Hogan in to lower the boom.   A Hogan boot to the face spun Sting to the canvas and Hogan tagged off to Savage.   The WWF Champion soared through the air and devastated Sting with a flying elbowsmash.   Three seconds later the sides were even again.

Hawk climbed back into the ring and yanked Savage up by the wrist as though he were a small child.   He pulled Savage toward him and cut him down with a short-arm clothesline.   Hawk held onto Savage’s wrist and pulled him up again.   Hawk pressed Savage over his head with disturbing ease, and sent him sprawling to the mat like a bag of cat litter.   Hawk splashed Savage and covered him.   Hogan ran in and kicked him off.  

Hawk whipped the Macho Man into the ropes and snared him in a vice-like bearhug.   Savage’s lungs struggled to find oxygen as Hawk slowly crushed him.   Savage wriggled, hoping to slip free, but the movement just allowed Hawk to get a tighter grip.   Savage lowered his head and bit Hawk’s cheek, tearing the skin like an orange peel.

Hawk released the hold as Savage made the tag.   Hogan launched himself off the ropes and buffeted the lone Road Warrior with cinderblock-like right hands.   Hawk flailed about as Hogan’s knuckles created a whole family of fresh wounds.   Hogan picked Hawk up over his head and drove the air out of him with a grueling powerslam, which was good for another three-count.

Ric Flair was now outnumbered 2-to-1, but at this moment was only mildly concerned.   He had saved himself for the later stages of the match, knowing that while his opponents had been busy wrestling all night, Flair would be fresh, and ready to go a full hour if necessary.

Hogan went after Flair, all guns blazing, rocking the NWA Champion with jackhammer fists.   Flair absorbed them all and fell back to his corner.   Hogan refused to abate, and whipped Flair into the opposite corner.   Hogan swung with a running clothesline that should have annihilated Flair.   Hogan went for the pin but Flair kicked out at 1.   Hogan pulled Flair up and bodyslammed him, bouncing the Nature Boy off the canvas like a basketball.   Hogan dropped an elbow but met only mat.   Flair crawled to his feet, shook off the haze and barked, “Is that all you got, big man?   ‘Cause I’m just gettin’ started!”

Hogan lunged but Flair ducked a punch and dazzled the Hulkster with a series of knife-edge chops, lacerating the blond giant’s chest in several places.   Hogan hunched over in pain and Flair came from behind with a vicious chop block.   People in the first row later claimed they heard the pop of Hogan’s knee being blown out.   Regardless, Hogan rolled on the mat in utter anguish, his knee swelled up like a softball.   Flair smelled blood and immediately clamped on the Figure Four leglock.   Hogan gasped and wailed as the hold sent shards of pain directly into his torn ligaments.   The agony was so complete that Hogan didn’t notice his own shoulders being counted down for three.

The epic battle had finally come down to two men.   Fittingly, they were each the best in their respective organization.   Ric Flair and Randy Savage circled each other, their eyes locked.   The excitement was palpable.   The future of the wrestling industry rested on the shoulders of these two men.

They grappled.   Flair took the advantage with a side headlock.   Savage drove a forearm into Flair’s ribs.   Flair held on.   Savage tossed him to the ropes and Flair bounced back with a shoulderblock.   Savage dropped to the mat.   Flair ran to the ropes again.   Savage armdragged him and clamped on a painful armlock.

Flair bellowed as Savage applied pressure, leaning back toward the mat at a 45-degree angle.   Flair somersaulted backward, stood up, and pounded Savage in the face.   Savage fell to the canvas and Flair stomped him repeatedly.   Flair backed up to the turnbuckle, measured Savage, and clipped him in the forehead with a kneedrop.   A cut opened above Savage’s eye.   Flair went for the cover but only scored two.

Flair went to his usual gameplan, isolating Savage’s legs.   He clamped on various holds and hit Savage’s legs high and low with a barrage of strikes.   Flair went for the Figure Four but Savage kicked him off, sending Flair hurtling shoulder-first into the corner post.   An unsightly bruise formed on Flair’s right bicep.

Savage limped to his feet and clocked Flair with an axehandle.   Flair lumbered around the ring in a daze and Savage hopped to the top turnbuckle.   The WWF Champion battered Flair with a top-rope axehandle, which was good for a broken nose and long two-count.   Flair rolled toward the ropes but Savage stopped him dead with a knee to the back.   Savage pulled Flair to his feet and Flair stunned him with an eye poke.   Both referees admonished the NWA Champ.

Flair brushed them aside and kicked Savage’s legs out from under him.   Savage buckled and Flair rolled him up from behind, putting his own feet on the bottom rope.   Tommy Young began the count, but Dave Hebner saw the illegal maneuvering and kicked Flair’s legs off.   As Flair berated Hebner, Savage came from behind with a high-knee to the back, sending Flair crashing into Hebner in the corner.   Hebner slinked to the mat, dazed, and Flair flopped on his face.   Savage rolled him over and ascended the turnbuckles.   He dove off with an elbowsmash but Flair raised both feet at the last moment, blocking the move and cracking two of Savage’s ribs.   Savage spiraled to the mat, snarling in pain, and Flair cradled him for the pin at 44 minutes and 27 seconds.

Aftermath

WWF management protested the final fall, as the WWF’s official Dave Hebner had been incapacitated and did not see the pin.   However the Texas Athletic Commission upheld NWA referee Tommy Young’s decision and awarded the match to the NWA.

Eric Bischoff was promoted to NWA President.   The NWA drafted Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, and Shawn Michaels.   Hart and Michaels were both immediately pushed as singles stars and enjoyed much success over the next five years.   Hogan’s NWA run was frought with mediocrity until he recruited two midcarders named Vinnie Vegas and Diamond Studd and attacked Flair, Luger and Sting one summer evening at a PPV event.   The New World Order, as the trio would come to call themselves, unleashed turmoil on the company over the next few years.   This eventually took a major financial toll on the NWA, as Hogan and his henchmen assimilated or injured half the roster.

Vince McMahon took his promotion and retreated to the northeastern quadrant of the country, rebuilding his roster and grooming a new generation of wrestlers.

At the end of the five year period, the WWF, led by a young rogue named Steve Austin, thrust itself back into the national spotlight, gaining a whole new fanbase that had grown tired of the Hogan-imprisoned NWA.   The WWF reinvented itself and rose to new levels of popularity and athleticism.