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PWINSIDER Q&A: INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE TOURNAMENT, WHAT IF RIC FLAIR NEVER BECAME CHAMPION? AND MORE

Answered on 9/19

First off, I love the site, keep up the good work! My question(s) is about a WWE Intercontinental title tournament in the early 90's...May of 1990 I think. Mr. Perfect beat Tito Santana to become new IC Champ (which had been vacated by Ultimate Warrior) in the finals of the tournament. Question: Who where the other Superstars that where in the tournament? What did the brackets look like? Was it a one day tournament or in the span of a couple of weeks?

It was a simple eight-man tournament, that thanks to the finishes in the first round, only went five matches.  It was held at three television tapings in April, and aired over several weeks on WWF television.  On April 4, 1990, two first round matches were held, with Tito Santana defeating Akeem via countout by knocking him out of the ring with a flying forearm and Mr. Perfect defeating Jimmy Snuka by using the ropes for leverage. On April 23, 1990, a first round match between Dino Bravo and Brutus Beefcake ended in a double countout, and the finals of the tournament were held, with Mr. Perfect defeating Tito Santana to win the title with a cradle after Perfect's new manager, Bobby Heenan, came out and distracted Santana.  On April 24, 1990, Roddy Piper vs. Rick Martel in a first round match ended in a double-DQ, eliminating both men from the tournament.  That's right, WWF actually taped the finals of the tournament before they were done taping the first round. 

What is the latest on the young man who was in the car along with Hulk Hogan's son when it crashed into a tree in Florida? I read he was in a coma. Has any criminal charges been filed against Hogan's son?

No criminal charges have been filed at this point, although the Hogan's have hired legal representation.  John Graziano is still in critical condition and is in a medically induced coma at this time. 

I've noticed during TNA matches when the referee would fall down onto the mat to count the pin, he seemed to almost slide out of the ring. What kind of reaction would he get if that were to happen? I think it would be funny. Humiliating, but funny. What do you think?

That's just part of the style of the referee, and I doubt he would ever slide all the way to the floor by accident.  I suppose it would be funny if the referee, in an attempt to get in position to count a pinfall, slid all the way out of the ring, but it would depend on the type of match.  In a mid-card comedy match, it could be a funny spot to do intentionally, but in a main event or title bout, it would probably just be annoying.  

In regards to Ric Flair becoming World Champion for the first time 26 years ago, who would have been chosen to get the belt if Flair had gotten hurt in an accident similar to the one that ended Magnum TA's career?

That's a pretty tough hypothetical question to try and answer.  I think the most obvious answer is that Harley Race would have gotten the title back from Dusty Rhodes, and continued to be the traveling NWA World Champion, trading the belt with Rhodes and other top territorial guys (like Tommy Rich) or International stars (like Giant Baba) for short periods of time, until the NWA decided on who the torch would be passed to. As for who would have gotten "Flair's spot", it could have ended up being anyone from Tully Blanchard to one of the Von Erichs to Ricky Steamboat to Barry Windham.  There are a lot of possibilities. 

Everyone is talking about Ric Flair retiring from the WWE but no one has thought of what he will do after he retires so I came up with  this scenario. HHH is Champion having beaten Orton who beat Cena.  Cena is now involved with grudge matches with William Regal who blames him for losing his job back to Coachman. Hunter has defeated  everyone on the Raw roster and has accepted open challenges from the  other two brands. One person in particular has petitioned to cross over from Smack Down to Raw to face HHH. The following week Hunter is given an envelope at the beginning of RAW. It is a wrestling contract. Later that night while wrestling in a squash match Flair's music hits as JR says we haven't seen the Nature Boy since Wrestlemania. Flair comes to the ring microphone in hand. "Hunter, allow me to introduce your next opponent". The Animal's music hits as Ric produces a pen and an envelope from his back pocket. I see this as an interesting main event since Shawn Michaels could be in Hunter's corner. In fact both rosters could start taking sides in this feud and mini-feud on their respective brands.

Want a job with WWE Creative?  Seriously, I don't know if WWE would go down that road, and the scenario you suggest pretty much demands a Flair & Batista vs. Triple H & Michaels tag match at some point, but I will say that I think fans would love the angle, since it involves wrestlers that they have an emotional attachment to. 

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