1992: The Year in Pro Wrestling: All the WWF, WCW and LPWA supershows

by Nick Temple

1987: The Year in Pro Wrestling now available for pre-order"The best independent wrestling author I have read by a long shot." (Amazon review)To some 1992 was the year Ric Flair won the Royal Rumble in the single greatest performance the wrestling world had ever seen. To others it was the year SummerSlam was held in front of 80,000 at Wembley Stadium. Then again, you might remember it as the year Jake Roberts forced a snake to bite him in the face in the hope that no one would notice he was doing the job, or the year Shawn Michaels and Rick Martel had a match where they promised not to hit each other’s faces, or the year the LPWA pre-emptively copied WWE’s idea for an all-women’s pay per view. Hogan was in, then out; Sid was in, then out; Warrior was out, then in, then out; Jake Roberts was in, then out, then in, then out of it, then out entirely; and Papa Shango was late out, then in, then so far out it briefly made the Warrior look like the normal one.Meanwhile, Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels climbed the ladder, step by step, and quietly laid the foundations for the next five turbulent years. We’ll see the future Diesel/Kevin Nash cut a nonsensical, rambling promo while the future Raven sits in a chair with lipstick and blusher on, and Diamond Dallas Page rubs his shoulders. We’ll also see HBK be totally upstaged by Sensational Sherri’s backside, Ultimate Warrior design wrestling attire that makes him appear to have nothing but muscle where his Little Warrior should be, and Razor Ramon strongly imply that he killed a man.I'm going to tell the story of the year through every PPV, Saturday Night’s Main Event and Clash of the Champions broadcast (as well as a few side steps and archive rarities). The matches, the angles, the interviews and the talent - it's all here along with a healthy dose of humour. I’m going to book a WCW Royal Rumble and a WWF Battlebowl just for the fun of comparing rosters, as well as delving into archive results and classic newsletters for added context and information. Forget star ratings - this is a lapsed fan enjoying some frequently awful pro wrestling and gaining a new understanding of a year that never really decided what it wanted to be, nor had the stability to make the most of what they had.

400 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 31, 2021

Reviews

[Chris]

I started my life as a wrestling fan in 92. This is a retrospective of the year and has some well researched info. There's sadly some cruel attempts at humour here and too many insulting comments from the writer. Without them, this would have been better, for me at least.

[Adam Wilson]

Mr. Temple does its again.

Through considerable wit Mr. Temple has once again explained to us how wrestling both goods and bad in the early '90s.

I have yet to be disappointed ands cannot wait for the next volume.