What went down at SummerSlam 1992 and Survivor Series 1992??
Flair & Warrior did work several house shows together but there were stories Vince wasnt happy with Warrior's performance. When Warrior screwed up the press slam spot and seriously injured Flair, his time was about to run out. At that point Flair didnt look like he could make it to Survivor Series, the logical point to lose the belt to UW, and Warrior was falling out of favor with Vince. Different stories where either Warrior wanted a raise because Flair & Savage were making more than him or drug problems (remember this is the beginning of the federal investigation into steroids, Vince had or was in the process of purging Tully Blanchard, Kerry Von Erich, Marty Jannety for drug issues and Hogan & Piper were sent packing due to their involvement with sterioids) have surfaced over the years. Either way his poor performances and some combination of the drugs and/or money lead to his release. Injuring Flair was the last straw for Warrior.
With Flair injured and needing time off Vince decided to switch the title ASAP. Brett Hart had not been a legit contender to be Champ up to this point, he was not a serious contender. However, Vince was increasingly uneasy with Warior, Savage was not about to come back full time still reeling from his divorce, recently arrived Scott Hall, aka Razor Ramoan, was not a big name yet in the industry even though he'd had runs in the AWA and WCW previously, simply put there wasnt much star power on the roster at the time to create a legit champion. Guys like Taker & HBK were not established stars, they had no credibility, guys like British Bulldog were career mid carders. Brett was a dedicated company guy, he worked hard in the ring, he had exhibited much better behavior than Warrior, was around much longer than HBK & Taker, was above guys like Bulldog in popularity and acceptance, and unlike Hogan in his time Hart would work the house show circuit, as much if not more than Flair & Savage had.
Once Vince made the switch, he decided to move in a younger direction. Some will say this was the worst period ever for WWE, The "New Generation" era, although it should be noted that Vince was liklely preoccupied with the steroid scandal and possible jail time, might not have been at his promotional best. The New Gen era did elevate Taker & HBK to star status, as well as Kevin Nash, so it wasnt without high points. Flair was given the option to stay although Vince repotedly told him he wouldnt be in the title picture in the foreseeable future. At that point WCW offered Flair comparable money to what he was getting paid in WWE, with much less travel, although still no guarantees about being in the title picture. In order to travel less and be closer to home with his kids Flair left, though he apparantly stayed on good terms with Vince.
Warrior as we know was non existant on WWE TV for nearly two months after Hart got the belt and Flair was off recuperating. When Flair returned they decided to used him as a spring board to get Curt Henning back in the ring after a two year layoff with injuries, thus creating "The Perfect Tag Team" where Henning would agree to come out of retirement and help Savage in a tag match at SS vs Flair/Hall. Originally Warrior was advertised for that spot, continuing his feud with Flair from before the injury but this was just a plot device. Warrior was last seen geting the daylights beaten out of him by Flair on Sat Night Main Event, afterwhich it was announced he could not wrestle.
In essence, what happened was WWE knew Savage was taking time off due to the divorce and depression, they elevated Warrior into the top contender spot and put the belt on Flair with the idea of Warrior chasing him till Survivor Series and then winning the title. Warrior's issues with Vince and his injuring Flair at a house show lead to Vince changing plans RE: Warrior as champion, and he turned to Hart who wasnt in the the title picture and didnt look like he would be anytime soon although he had to rush the title change due to Flair's injuries and his needing time off. When Flair returned Vince decided to give Hart a chance, and used Flair as the plot device to get Henning back in the ring and explain Warrior's absence (in fact he was fired). Flair could have stayed with Vince but with no guarantees of staying in the main events, he took a simlair deal with WCW with the benfits of less travel and a lighter work schedule. Vince moved further away from the 80s guys as the steroid scandal picked up steam, and although the New Generation Era in WWE is often panned for being bad it did give rise to Taker, HBK, & Nash as main event stars, plus Hart proved that wether he was lucky or not to get the belt he was a worthy champion.
The real question is "If Warrior hadnt run afoul of Vince and injured Flair, would they have have gone through and made him champion at Survivor Series and how would that have impacted Brett Hart's rise through the company?"
Another big "What if" is had Flair stayed, eventually he likely would have been moved back into the main events, especially since ratings were down, and he if he doesnt return to WCW Hulk Hogan never goes there (why would he, the draw was the ream Match with Flair). Flair in fact was the one who recruited Hogan to come to WCW. In essence, Warrior's issues really lead to the beginnings of massive changes in the wrestling landscape, elevating Hart as champion, Flair & Hogan in WCW which kick starts the Monday Night Wars, the newer, edgier, WCW product dominating the ratings leading to the start of "Attitude Era" - If Warrior doesnt screw up a lot of things might have been different for Hart, Flair, Hogan, WWE, & WCW - It really makes you think...
Of course, being in the right place at the right time does have its benefits. While Warrior's self destruction may have caused an early end to Flair's WWE Title run, and inadvertantly lead to Hart out of nowhere getting to be champion, Flair himself was not supposed to main event Starrcade 93 a year later, instead booked in a tag match vs Harlem Heat. However, the Sid Justice stabbing incident in England lead to him being fired just as he was set to main event vs Vader for the championship and WCW turned to Flair to save the show, kind of like Vince turned to Hart a year earlier.
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