Heading into SummerSlam and a WWE Championship match between two of its most popular stars, WWE considered an explosive heel turn for the challenger.
However, the challenger shot that idea down.
That sounds like a potential future episode of WWE Unreal about this year’s SummerSlam match between champion CM Punk and Cody Rhodes
.Instead, that’s what reportedly happened 34 years ago, when the Ultimate Warrior challenged Randy Savage at SummerSlam.
The Perfect Angle
In 1992, WWE announced that SummerSlam was leaving North
America and heading to Wembley Stadium in London, England. One of the card’s marquee matchups was the renewal of an old rivalry as then-WWE Champion “Macho Man” Randy Savage defended his title against the Ultimate Warrior.
A year earlier, Savage cost Warrior the WWE title at the 1991 Royal Rumble. That March, they squared off in a retirement match at WrestleMania VII, which Warrior won.
But following SummerSlam that August, WWE suspended Warrior after a business dispute with then-owner Vince McMahon. Savage, now a babyface, was later “reinstated” that fall. He went on to win a second WWE Championship, defeating Ric Flair at WrestleMania VIII in 1992.
That same night, Warrior made his surprise return, rescuing Hulk Hogan. Although he and Savage were now fan favorites, the bad blood between them was as alive as ever, giving WWE a ready-made story for their SummerSlam rematch.
But complicating matters were Flair and his “executive consultant,” Mr. Perfect, who were inserted into the rivalry. Flair manipulated both Savage and Warrior by claiming the other was trying to secure Perfect as their corner man at SummerSlam, adding another layer of distrust to an already volatile situation.
During the match, it became clear neither man was in cahoots with Perfect. Instead, it was Flair and Perfect’s way of causing chaos as part of Flair’s plan to regain the title.
But what played on-screen wasn’t in the original script.
Warrior Says No
According to James Dixon, author of Titan Shrinking: How Wrestling’s Muscle Lost Its Power, which chronicles WWE’s turbulent year in 1992, the plan was for Warrior to turn heel.
“It’s my understanding, based on some things I heard, read, seen, and a bit of logic, that Vince’s initial plan was for Warrior to turn and side with Perfect and Flair,” Dixon revealed in a 2025 appearance on Shut Up And Wrestle with Brian Solomon.
“That was his original plan,” he continued. “But as soon as it was broached with Warrior, it was completely dismissed.”
Dixon cited later lawsuits between Warrior and the company, saying Warrior believed that McMahon was intentionally trying to “destroy his character.”
But the reality, according to Dixon, was that Warrior flopped at the box office.
Warrior’s return at WrestleMania VIII coincided with Hulk Hogan’s departure from WWE. McMahon had hoped that Warrior would fill the void left by Hogan. Instead, Warrior underperformed.
“House show attendance wasn’t good with Warrior on top,” Dixon said, adding that Savage’s B-shows were outdrawing Warrior’s A-shows. To shake things up and create new matches with a fresh dynamic, he said McMahon wanted to turn Warrior heel.
Yet, it wasn’t to be.
“It was never going to happen because Warrior was never going to agree to it,” Dixon said.
What Might Have Been
A heel Ultimate Warrior remains one of WWE’s most intriguing missed opportunities and could have provided a spark during the company’s down year of 1992.
Four years later, Hulk Hogan’s heel turn in WCW helped usher in a new boom period and push the company to unprecedented heights. In 2025, John Cena’s turn to the dark side added fresh layers to old rivalries with former foes like Randy Orton and CM Punk.
With the roles of hero and villain reversed, a rogue Warrior tormenting someone like The Undertaker — who had locked Warrior in an airtight casket in 1991 — could have jolted audiences out of their doldrums. A heel Warrior might even have been the perfect antagonist for Bret Hart, who was entering WWE’s main event scene.
But where it would have unraveled was with Warrior’s subsequent release that fall.
A&E’s 2021 Biography: Ultimate Warrior revealed that WWE fired Warrior shortly before Survivor Series for failing a drug test. At the time, federal investigators were looking into whether McMahon had illegally distributed steroids to his wrestlers.
“I remember having a conversation with Vince, and he was afraid of certain things that were going to happen to him,” Warrior said in footage filmed before his passing in 2014. “It just got so bad that he needed a couple scapegoats,” he added, referring to The British Bulldog, who was also let go at the same time.
Given the public’s reaction to steroid use at the time, a scandalous departure by a reigning WWE Champion may have proved disastrous for WWE and possibly the industry. As compelling as an “evil” Warrior sounds, the ramifications might have been too great to overcome.
