An angle that was over a year in the making was cut completely when the World Wrestling Federation was forced to pivot in late November 1992, leading to Ultimate Maniacs Vs Ric Flair and Razor Ramon.
Literally days before, the highly anticipated tag team match between the Ultimate Maniacs Macho Man Randy Savage and The Ultimate Warrior vs Ric Flair and Razor Ramon at the annual PPV Survivor Series was facing chaos.
Warrior had left the company. Savage was left without a partner. That was until the Perfect Partner was chosen in the form of Mr. Perfect.
What makes this even more intriguing was that Mr. Perfect, Curt Hennig, was the Executive Consultant to Flair and Ramon. In prob the best night on Prime Time Wrestling, Mr. Perfect joined forces with Macho Man.
Many say that this was a better match than the one originally planned. Me included. However, let’s look at why this match never happened.
Savage vs Warrior
To look at the dynamics of this match, you have to go all the way back to WrestleMania VII. At the time, Macho King, Randy Savage, and The Ultimate Warrior were bitter enemies.
After months of madness, Savage put his career on the line against the Warrior. A highlight of that match is when Savage hits Warrior with several elbow drops. Warrior ended up winning, sending Savage into exile. Ironically enough, Warrior also left the company.
Savage was reinstated and eventually earned a shot at Ric Flair at WrestleMania VIII. Macho Man won the WWF title, thus defeating Ric Flair.
Mr. Perfect was highly instrumental in making Savages life a living hell. After the match, Flair kissed Miss Elizabeth, Savages wife, throwing gas on an already unpredictable fire.
That same night, the Ultimate Warrior returned to the WWF. It was only a matter of time before the two superstars would cross paths.
At SummerSlam 92, Macho Man Randy Savage would defend his title against The Ultimate Warrior. To add to the mix, Mr. Perfect and Ric Flair would wage mental warfare on Macho and The Warrior.
Perfect claimed he was in each man’s corner, causing paranoia. Flair and Perfect would just sit back and pick up the pieces.
Years later, the Ultimate Warrior praised Macho Man
” I learned so much from Randy. Then there was the Ultimate Maniac program we never got to do. He was the real deal.”
At SummerSlam, Mr. Perfect appeared to be helping both Savage and Warrior. You could not tell where his loyalty was aligned.
However, at the end of the night, it was revealed that Perfect was playing mind games and was not in the pocket of either. The match ended with a win for Savage.
Warrior helped savage to the locker room. From that point on, Savage knew he had an Ultimate partner in the Warrior.
The original plan was for Warrior to turn heel, but he was not interested. The two formed a bond similar to Savage and Hogan years before. Calling themselves the Ultimate Maniacs, they were a threat to any team.
At Saturday Night’s Main Event, the team took on the WWF Tag Team Champions, Money Inc. They came within an inch of taking the titles.
The match ended with a DQ after Razor and Flair attacked both Savage and The Warrior. After that match, Bobby Heenan started planting seeds for the Warriors’ departure, saying the Ultimate Maniacs might not survive to reach Survivor Series.
Say Hello to the Bad Guy
A newcomer by the name of Razor Ramon arrived in the WWF. Razor wasted no time in targeting the Macho Man. He felt his machismo would be the perfect spoil to the madness.
It turns out Razor was correct. He targeted Savages already injured knee. This was enough for Ric Flair to defeat Macho for the WWF Title. Savage now had an axe to grind with Flair, Perfect and now Razor Ramon.
Bruce Prichard, WWF Executive, explained the appeal of Razor Ramon, aka Scott Hall: “It was his time. He was a big guy with a lot of talent, great gimmick.
If you bring a guy in on top, he’s the top guy. It was then up to him to hold that top spot.” The year prior to that, the debut of the Undertaker was done the same way.
Ultimate Maniacs Vs Ric Flair and Razor Ramon
– Change of Plans
A Flair vs Warrior Storyline was scheduled after the European tour but was subsequently cancelled in favor of Bret Hitman Hart vs Ric Flair.
Hart was extremely over in the European market, and WWF wanted to go another direction. Warrior was not the answer like the company thought.
A match was set for that year’s Survivor Series. It would be the Ultimate Maniacs vs. Flair and Razor Ramon, with Mr. Perfect in their corner.
However, this match would not survive till the Survivor Series PPV. In an unexpected twist, Flair lost the WWF Title to Bret “Hitman” Hart.
In an even more unexpected twist, Ultimate Warrior had a falling out with the company. He failed a drug test. The sports world was full of headlines about steroids.
Even though WWF was predetermined, it still affected it. Some say Warrior and British Bulldog, who was also let go, were made an example of. Now Macho Man Randy Savage was left without a partner for the third biggest PPV of the year.
The Perfect Partner
Savage appeared on WWF Primetime Wrestling, a weekly TV show that showcased highlights of the past week. Mr. Perfect, Flair’s consultant, hosted the show with Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan, Gorilla Monsoon, and Rowdy Roddy Piper.
Perfect was the perfect color commentator. Bobby Heenan was Mr. Perfect’s former manager and Flair’s confidant.
When Savage appeared and said he might very well have the perfect partner, the panel was astonished he meant Mr. Perfect. Behind the scenes, Curt Hennig knew he was going to have a comeback.
He was rehabbing his injured back, waiting for the perfect moment. Never once was there any rift between Perfect and his cohorts.
According to Sean Mooney, a Superstars announcer, Perfect was not ready. He was not cleared of the back injury. It was out of necessity. He was a player.
They needed him, and he stepped right up. He took a chance that he may have hurt himself permanently for the business.
At first, both Mr. Perfect and Heenan laughed at Savage’s gullibility. However, at the end of the night, Heenan wasn’t finding anything funny. Perfect finally accepted. Heenan slapped him.
Mr. Perfect did not like this one bit and grabbed Heenan, pouring a pitcher of water on him. He called his ex-manager a “wet weasel”. The Match was signed. Bobby Heenan was all wet. It was a perfect Prime Time episode.
Angry at the betrayal, Flair and Razor were upset. Razor kept telling Perfect he was going to carve him up. The match showcased all four stars.
Including a returning surprise in Mr. Perfect. Perfect was in the perfect place at the perfect time. The match ended with a Double DQ to protect all involved.
On Something To Wrestle, Bruce Prichard’s recalls the perfect angle
“The DQ was necessary because who are you going to have lose? You need to protect everyone.
Razor just showed up, Flair is Flair, Macho is one of the biggest faces of all time, and Perfect just made a return.”
Would Mr. Perfect have helped Flair and Ramon topple the Ultimate Maniacs otherwise? Would Savage and Warrior have gotten even with the dastardly duo?
We will never know. What we do is that Survivor Series 1992, as good as it was. For some, this was the best Survivor Series.
The stories were there, and you had the best storytellers ever.
