NWA World Title Rumor (possible spoiler)

[The Boss]

I recently read a HUGE rumor regarding the NWA World title.

Once again this is only a rumor I have heard a few times. I have yet to find and information to confirm or deny it so take it for what it's worth.

According to the rumor, Ric Flair will face NWA World champion Blue Demon Jr and win the title in late October or early November.

He will then defend the title and ultimately drop it to HOLLYWOOD HULK HOGAN in late November in Australia.

HOLLYWOOD HULK HOGAN will then defend the title through out not only the Australian tour, but all over the world (he is currently negotiating more dates in China, Spain and Europe).

The reasoning behind this decision (according to the rumor) is that the NWA wants to piggy back the title on the tour in order to get more exposure for the championship and the NWA. The feeling is that with all the media coverage HOLLYWOOD HULK HOGAN is getting (plus the fact that he is the most famous wrestler of all time) they would benifit from it by having him carry the NWA World title belt on all of the shows he goes on.

Plus the fact that this is a world wide tour (not just in North America) aided in this decision. The NWA wants to regain their reputation as a true WORLD title. Piggybacking the belt on HOLLYWOOD HULK HOGAN will help accomplish this plus give them huge media coverage.

I personally think this would be a great idea. The NWA has been in desperate need for exposure since TNA pulled away from them. This - if true - would be a tremendous opportunity for them. Add to it that Ric Flair's career would have come full circle by winning the 10 pounds of gold once more makes this all the more worth while. And who wouldn't want to see HOLLYWOOD HULK HOGAN and Ric Flair (the two greatest of all time) going at it for the oldest prize in professional wrestling today?

 

[King Patrick Star]

I love this idea!! I hope this rumor is true. Do you have a link to back it up?? I do however would rather see Flair and Hogan trade the Title back and forth as oppose to Flair just jobbing. Maybe have Flair resort to his old ways and bring in some Horsemen and maybe have Hogan resort to his old ways and bring in some N.W.O. members. They could switch between Champion and Challenger / Face and Heel and everything else in-between. I’m not going to be able to make the trip to Australia, Asia, and Europe, but I will certainly make the trip to my computer and pre-order a DVD, if they make one.

 

[The Boss]

While I no longer have a link to where I read the rumor, here is a little piece of evidence I found possibly supporting this:

Flair has signed with NWA Mid-Atlantic

http://www.midatlanticwrestling.com/macw_home.html

Another reason why this would be great is because it would mean that Flair's comeback would not be for nothing. By winning the NWA World title he not only will have won another World title, but he would have brought his career full circle, and he would also have set a new record by being the first 60+ year old champion.

I think that would make his comeback worth while.

 

[joseph_creed_superstar]

Flair and hogan have already battled all over the world.....To make this believable, I feel, promoters would have to come up with a new concept for the two legends...such as: Blue Demon remain in the hunt, or someone like Adam Pearce battle as well....the NWA has been trying to, and successfully focusing its product around the newer, younger, faces of the National Wrestling Alliance.

 

[The Boss]

Flair and hogan have already battled all over the world.....To make this believable, I feel, promoters would have to come up with a new concept for the two legends...such as: Blue Demon remain in the hunt, or someone like Adam Pearce battle as well....

HOLLYWOOD HULK HOGAN and Ric Flair won't be the only ones wrestling for the title. While Flair is the only one schedualed for the four dates in Australia I'm sure there will be other opponents as the tour moves to other parts of the world. In fact on his website HOLLYWOOD HULK HOGAN is taking a poll asking who else on the tour fans would like to see him face.

the NWA has been trying to, and successfully focusing its product around the newer, younger, faces of the National Wrestling Alliance.

Yes but they have also been falling deeper and deeper into the relm of obscurity. While it's always good to focus on young talent, sometimes you need to do something to shake things up and get people's attention.

No matter how young or great the NWA wrestlers might be, or if they had the greatest match of all time, it means nothing if nobody is watching. This is merely an attempt to get some attention for the NWA. And I think a very good choice as well. Then once the younger guys get the title back more people will be following it again.

 

[PEP3]

While Flair is one of if not the greatest of all time, having a 60-year-old man as your World Heavyweight Champion puts the relevance of your title in question as well. Sure, right now the NWA title might be obscure and held by a performer 99.9% of the wrestling world has never seen in action, but it's also better than turning it into the Shady Pines Retirement Community Championship. I wish there was someone younger with similarly high-end name recognition to incorporate into this scenario. Or, at a minimum, at the end of this tour (and potentially at spots along the way) Hogan/Flair/both should have to put over the NWA's choice of "next generation" champion cleanly. That way they raise the title's visibility, have a belt to trade on stops around the world, then return it to its rightful owner with a new luster at the end of the tour.

 

[The Boss]

While Flair is one of if not the greatest of all time, having a 60-year-old man as your World Heavyweight Champion puts the relevance of your title in question as well. Sure, right now the NWA title might be obscure and held by a performer 99.9% of the wrestling world has never seen in action, but it's also better than turning it into the Shady Pines Retirement Community Championship. I wish there was someone younger with similarly high-end name recognition to incorporate into this scenario. Or, at a minimum, at the end of this tour (and potentially at spots along the way) Hogan/Flair/both should have to put over the NWA's choice of "next generation" champion cleanly. That way they raise the title's visibility, have a belt to trade on stops around the world, then return it to its rightful owner with a new luster at the end of the tour.

Whomever has the title at the end of the tour will have to drop it to someone. While I agree that a 60 year old man as your champion could leave some wondering if he holds it for a while. Being that it's Ric Flair, I think most believe that he is still capable of pulling off that big victory. Plus I don't think either he or HOLLYWOOD HULK HOGAN (who also is still more than capable of pulling off the big win) will hold it for long. Therefore I don't think it will hurt at all. In fact all parties involved can only benifit from this.

 

[OhTheHorror1]

This is a joke. Sorry but this is just a perfect example of not being humble and giving it up when you know your years and years past your prime. Flair is spitting on Shawn Michaels and what WWE did for him at WM 24 and The Raw after. I dont even want my Flair DVD nomore, well I wont watch The Raw celebration at least and part of Flair/HBK is ruined now. Hogan though im not surprised he's a greedy douche. Good for what's left of The NWA I suppose lol.

 

[The Boss]

This is a joke. Sorry but this is just a perfect example of not being humble and giving it up when you know your years and years past your prime. Flair is spitting on Shawn Michaels and what WWE did for him at WM 24 and The Raw after. I dont even want my Flair DVD nomore, well I wont watch The Raw celebration at least and part of Flair/HBK is ruined now. Hogan though im not surprised he's a greedy douche. Good for what's left of The NWA I suppose lol.

How are these guys greedy? They both recently went through messy divorces that left them owing thousands of dollars. They are getting back into the ring out of nessessity.

Also from what I understand, the NWA came to them, not the other way around. So to call this golden opportunity an act of greed is rediculous.

The whole retirment ceremony was not for Flair, it was to put Shawn Michaels over as the man who retired him. So the ones who are upset about Flair's return (Shawn Michaels fans) are the ones being selfish.

 

[PEP3]

As much as I understand both Hogan and Flair have recently gone through bitter divorces, I somehow doubt those left either destitute and in desperate need of money. These are both guys that have made MILLIONS of dollars a year for the better part of the last 25 years. Unless they really just blew through that cash, they're probably not hurting enough to be FORCED into this tour out of financial necessity.

To me, at least a significant portion of this tour is about pride and ego, not wanting to give up the ghost of their glory days. Both realize that, despite an inability to carry off their A-game performances of even just a few years ago, both (especially together) remain major draws around the world. This will allow them to relive some of that excitement.

Anyone who thinks that these men aren't adrenaline junkies hooked on the high of performing for a crowd are nuts! That's what they thrived on for a quarter-century or more. To leave that cold-turkey and move on to a life of relative obscurity is a really, really hard pill to swallow! I'm sure they enjoyed being out of the spotlight for a second, then it probably became overwhelmingly boring! Just ask any retiree.

As for these guys giving the current NWA title picture some rub, I agree completely that both Flair and Hogan are legendary enough, revered enough that either could "pull off the big one" one more time. I'd personally love to see someone like Ken Anderson thrown into the title mix, too.

Not only would he get to work a program with two legends, he could perhaps even return to NWA as the champ for a while. I know he's waiting for WWE to call him back, and this would definitely seem to make him a little more valuable up in Stamford. (They've always loved stealing away other groups' champs.)

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

This match is 20 years too late. Hulk Hogan with the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Title is just a case of Hogan trying to stroke his ego once more. Hogan's never been NWA World Champion. So this would be a case of Hogan using this tour to add to his legacy and make him feel better about himself. Fair enough.

The possible matches after he's done possibly wrestling Flair would be pretty good. You have Kennedy, Umaga, and Gangrel as credible opponents, too. This could be a success and it'll have to be in order to help Hogan's ego.