Ranking The Biggest Rivalries In Wrestling Every Year 1990-2020

30. 1991 - Hulk Hogan Vs Ric Flair

Shane McMahon Hangman Page Kenny Omega
WWE.com

...sort of.

Ric Flair's WCW exit (and subsequent WWE arrival) was by far wrestling's biggest story of the year. When Ted Turner's JCP purchase neatened the war narrative between two leading organisations, a long-established dream match reached mythical proportions. Proportions begat expectations, but those were more than met when Bobby Heenan left Gorilla Monsoon and millions of television viewers flabbergasted at the sight of the iconic 'Big Gold' belt during a 1991 edition of Wrestling Challenge.

The title defined Flair's dominance and foreshadowed his arrival, and an attempted SummerSlam confrontation by 'The Brain' made it clear that he was coming directly for this organisation's Champion.

The dream was becoming a reality! Until it didn't. McMahon programmed the two to be at odds with one another on television (and in action on house shows and at the end of television tapings), but couldn't and wouldn't wholeheartedly commit to it completely before effectively distracting Flair with Roddy Piper and Hogan with The Undertaker. And then again with Randy Savage and Sid Justice respectively.

Their time would come, but not on McMahon's watch.

 
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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett