WWE Royal Rumble 1993

When you look at the WWE at the beginning of 1993 you are seeing a promotion in the midst of an enormous period of change. The most obvious example of this was the debut of Monday Night Raw (a review for which you can read here) a new prime time television show on USA Network that was conceived to be grittier and more dramatic than what had come before which required not only a change to the overall presentation and booking of the show, but also came with a relatively hefty logistical price, as (at least at first) WWE committed to providing a live broadcast once a fortnight (something they had never done before). While they were getting to grips with this new format and schedule, the company were also attempting to overhaul their main event picture as a number of their top stars had either left, or were about to leave, the company. Toward the end of 1992, Ultimate Warrior and Davey Boy Smith had been released for being found to be in receipt of shipments of Human Growth Hormone then, Ric Flair decided that after 18 months in the company, he was ready to return to WCW, so the wheels were set in motion to write ‘The Nature Boy’ out of WWE’s storyline (which would culminate the following night where he would face Mr Perfect in a loser-leaves-WWE match).

WWF Madison Square Garden December 1982

If you were a wrestling fan at the end of 1982 it is likely that you had no idea what was about to become of the pro wrestling business in the coming years. As Christmas came and past, and WWE put on it’s regular show from Madison Square Garden, the business didn’t appear to be changing significantly from what it had been during the previous 2 decades, at least outwardly. The NWA was still the chief governing body of the sport in America and, with the exception of the American Wrestling Association, which had ceded from the NWA in the 1950’s, all the major promotions were still affiliated with the Alliance (yes, even the WWF, that had crowned Buddy Rogers as it’s first World Champion in 1963, was still part of the NWA, having quietly re-joined the organisation in 1971). What’s more, the territories system that was such a defining feature of the period, was almost entirely untouched by this point- there had been some alterations to the boundaries over time due to certain promotors going out of business, or contracting in order to maximise the business from a smaller area, but in general the affiliates kept themselves to their small corner of the country. To fans as well, the infrastructure underpinning pro wrestling looked the same- the McMahon’s were still in control in New York, Texas was home to the Von Erichs, Verne Gagne had control of the AWA and the Crockets were the custodians of Mid Atlantic.