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Pro Wrestling Forever Podcast

What If Ric Flair Joined WWF in 1988? | Into the Wrestleverse #1

Ep. 6

Welcome to the debut episode of Into the Wrestleverse, a new Pro Wrestling Forever series where Professor Degree and Blade Daily explore the biggest alternate-history scenarios in professional wrestling.


This episode tackles one of the most fascinating "what if?" questions ever discussed by wrestling fans: What if Ric Flair had left Jim Crockett Promotions and debuted in WWF at SummerSlam 1988? With Ted Turner's purchase of JCP looming later that year, a move by Flair could have dramatically altered the future of the wrestling business. Would WCW ever have been created? What happens to Sting, Lex Luger, Dusty Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat, and the Four Horsemen? Could Hulk Hogan's WWF have become even more dominant, or would Flair have changed the company's direction entirely?


Join us as we trace the ripple effects across wrestling history, classic wrestling, the NWA, WWF, WCW, WrestleMania, the Monday Night Wars, and beyond. If you love wrestling nostalgia, fantasy booking, deep analysis, wrestling trivia, and exploring how one decision can reshape an entire industry, this is an episode you won't want to miss.


Topics discussed:

  • Ric Flair's rumored 1988 WWF jump
  • Jim Crockett Promotions and Ted Turner's purchase
  • The future of WCW without Flair
  • Sting, Lex Luger, Dusty Rhodes, and the Four Horsemen
  • Hulk Hogan's WWF in an alternate timeline
  • WrestleMania and the changing landscape of wrestling
  • Long-term effects on the Monday Night Wars
  • Fantasy booking wrestling's biggest alternate universe


Pro Wrestling Forever celebrates wrestling history, classic wrestling, vintage wrestling nostalgia, legendary promotions, wrestling fandom, analysis, debate, collectibles, trivia, and the stories that shaped professional wrestling across every era.


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