15 Biggest Political Power Plays By WWE Talents
5. The Honky Tonk Man Refuses To Drop The Intercontinental Championship
Of all the names that have appeared on this list, the Honky Tonk Man may come as the most surprising. The real-life Wayne Ferris was far from a political mastermind, but that didn't stop him from making one demand that changed the course of wrestling history.
Honky's deal with Vince McMahon was one that Ferris took to understand that he would not suffer any pinfall defeats on free television. So when McMahon wanted Honky to drop the Intercontinental Championship to Randy Savage at The Main Event taping (eventually be seen by over 33 million people on NBC), Ferris refused.
At the same taping, an angle would take place that resulted in the WWF Championship being held-up. For the upcoming WrestleMania IV, the vacant title would be awarded to the winner of a 16-man single-elimination tournament, penciled-in to be Ted DiBiase.
Honky's refusal caused all plans to change and McMahon came up with a solution that would appease both Ferris and Savage, though not so great for DiBiase.
McMahon decided that Honky would lose the Main Event match by countout, but remain Intercontinental Champion. As for Savage, he was now scheduled to win the WWF Championship at WrestleMania IV defeating the original winner, Ted DiBiase, in the finals of the tournament.
The political move by Honky allowed him to keep his belt for another six months before losing it to the Ultimate Warrior at the inaugural SummerSlam.