“Macho Man” Randy Savage and Mr. Perfect vs. “Nature Boy” Ric Flair and Razor Ramon
We come to the final PPV of 1992 and to say that things have changed since the Royal Rumble back in January would be an understatement as when we started the year, Ric Flair had won the WWF Title and now 11 months later, he was in this tag match. He had spent the whole year feuding with Savage and had Perfect by his side before being joined by newcomer Ramon in September, but now in a twist Perfect has turned face and became Savage’s new partner after the Ultimate Warrior was let go. It was interesting that this match was in the middle of the show which was also very different as there was only one Survivor style match on this whole show, and given who was in the main event showed that the company was going in a completely different direction from where it had been.
As mentioned, the feud between Savage and Flair has been ongoing since Savage defeated Flair for the WWF Title at Wrestlemania and after Summerslam, Flair would defeat Savage on 9/1 to win the title back thanks to the debuting Razor Ramon. Savage would officially form the Ultimate Maniacs with Warrior who had been named Number One Contender and the two teams would cut promos on each other, and Savage and Ramon would feud on the house shows while Warrior and Flair worked different programs. On the 10/10 Superstars, it was announced that the Maniacs would face Flair and Ramon and the next week, footage was shown of Flair losing the WWF Title to Bret Hart with the Maniacs congratulating Hart on his win. On Saturday Night’s Main Event, the Maniacs defeated Money Inc. by DQ and were attacked by Flair, Perfect, and Ramon, and then it was announced that Warrior had been released for failing a drug test. On the 11/16 Prime Time Wrestling, Savage appeared and shocked everyone when he asked Perfect to be his new partner, and at the end of the show Perfect accepted the offer as Bobby Heenan slapped him in the face and Perfect poured water on him. It was interesting how quickly they flipped the switch on Perfect turning face and taking Warrior’s place, but you figured that it would still lead to a good match between the two teams.
Both teams cut good promos before the match and Savage and Perfect get a good pop from the crowd while Flair and Ramon were pretty hot as heels. Perfect starts off the match with Ramon and he slaps Ramon in the face as Ramon tosses his toothpick in Perfect’s face, and they lock up with Perfect going behind Ramon and he avoids a shot as they lock up again with Ramon shoving Perfect into the corner. Perfect avoids a shot and pounds on Ramon before hooking a headlock only for Ramon to knock him down, and Ramon hooks a headlock as Perfect whips him off and hits a drop toehold as he rides him and slaps him in the back. Perfect steps outside to regroup and taunts Flair until Ramon grabs him by the hair and pulls him back into the ring, and he backs him into the corner only for Perfect to knock Ramon down and he gets a shot in on Flair. Flair tags in and Perfect knocks him down twice before pounding on him in the corner and he whips him into the other corner, and he hits a backdrop on Flair before hitting a dropkick and a pair of clotheslines as he pounds on Flair in the corner. He whips Flair inside out in the other corner and Flair lands on the apron as Savage knocks him to the floor, and he throws Flair back into the ring and tags in as he goes up top and hits an axehandle on Flair before hooking a headlock. He knocks Flair down and slaps him in the face before pounding on him and knocking him down as Ramon comes in and Savage knocks him down, and he pounds on both men until Flair gets a kick in only for Savage to duck a shot and he hits a hooking clothesline on Flair. He hits a clothesline on Ramon and hits another clothesline on Flair before hooking a headlock as Flair whips him off and Ramon knees him in the back from the apron, and Ramon tags in and pounds on Savage before tripping him up only to miss the elbow though he trips Savage up again. Savage shoves him away and Ramon hoists him up in a choke before slamming him to the mat and he stomps on him, and he hooks a front facelock and tags Flair who holds Savage from behind as Ramon pounds on him. Flair whips Savage hard into the corner and pounds on him as Ramon knees him in the back from the apron, and Ramon tags in and pounds on Savage’s back before hooking an abdominal stretch on while Flair provides leverage from the apron. Savage manages to escape the hold with a hiptoss and he gets a shot in on Flair only to miss an elbow on Ramon, and Ramon stomps on Savage and sends him into the corner before tagging Flair who pounds on Savage and he tosses him over the top to the floor. Ramon rams Savage into the steps and sends him back into the ring as Flair gets a pair of two counts and he drops a knee on Savage, and Ramon comes in and stomps on Savage before hooking a half Boston crab on as Perfect starts to head up the aisle. Ramon chokes Savage on the ropes as we see Savage is busted open and Perfect returns to the ring, and Ramon slaps Savage in the face repeatedly and stomps on him before getting a shot in on Perfect which draws him in. Flair comes in and holds Savage from behind as Ramon pounds on him and Flair gets a two count before pounding on Savage, and Savage blocks a hiptoss attempt and hooks a backslide for a two count as Ramon breaks it up. Ramon stomps on Savage and drops an elbow on him for a two count before hitting a chokeslam for a two count, and Savage surprises Ramon with a small package for a two count as Flair tags in and he tears at Savage’s face. He pounds on Savage in the corner and whips him hard into the other corner before whipping him back into the other corner and he hits a clothesline, and he goes up top only for Savage to grab him and toss him to the mat as Perfect gets the hot tag and he fires up on Ramon. He tosses Ramon to the mat by the hair and he hits a neck snap before pounding on Ramon and he hits an atomic drop, and he knocks Ramon down and hits a kneelift as Flair comes in and Perfect kicks at him before hitting a kneelift. Flair rolls outside and Savage goes after him only for Flair to rake the eyes and he grabs a chair as he hits Savage in the head with it, and Perfect rams Ramon into the buckles repeatedly as Flair rolls back into the ring and Perfect pounds on him. He whips Flair into the other corner and hits a backdrop before clotheslining Flair over the top to the floor, and Ramon nails Perfect from behind and Perfect ducks a shot only to run into the ref who gets knocked to the outside. Ramon gets a shot in and hoists Perfect up for the Razor’s Edge only for Perfect to use the ropes to flip over and he hits a backdrop on Ramon, and Perfect hits the Perfect-Plex on Ramon as a second ref gets in the ring and Perfect gets a two count as Flair breaks it up. Perfect nails Flair and hits the Perfect-Plex on him as the first ref counts two until Ramon breaks the pin up, and Ramon stomps on Perfect and Flair shoves the two refs away which draws the DQ and Perfect and Savage win the match. After the match, Flair hooks the Figure-4 on Perfect as Ramon goes outside and brings a chair into the ring, but Savage gets in the ring and takes the chair from Ramon as he nails him and hotshots him on the top rope. Ramon falls over Perfect and Flair as Savage hands Perfect the chair and he hits Flair in the head to break the hold, and Perfect hits Ramon and Flair with the chair as he sends them to the outside and they head to the back as Savage and Perfect celebrate in the ring. Later in the night, Savage and Perfect cut a fun promo taunting Flair, Ramon, and Bobby Heenan by presenting two turkeys and a chicken to mock them.
The match itself was good as both teams worked hard and put on a solid tag match though it was a bit disappointing given who was involved in the match. It did feel like the feud between Savage and Flair was on fumes by this point which is why Ramon was added and Perfect was turned face, and they clearly wanted to transition Flair from Savage to Perfect while having Ramon and Savage feud going after this. While the feud did lose a little bit of juice with Warrior being let go, Perfect turning was a good shot in the arm for it as the crowd quickly got behind him even after he had been a heel since he debuted back in 1988. Given that the match was almost 17 minutes, it seemed like they didn’t get to the next level to really put the match over and it was wise to have it in the middle of the show and not the main event. It was also weird that they had Perfect almost walk out in the middle though it wasn’t really played up much by Vince and Bobby, and the ending was a bit weak though they didn’t want either Flair or Ramon to job given what was coming. The crowd was pretty hot for the match and did pop for Savage and Perfect when they won. Savage and Perfect get the win over Ramon and Flair by DQ, but these issues aren’t over yet.
Final Grade: ***