Man was I ever excited for this release! Following the huge success of the WWE’s Unreleased 1985 – 1995 collection, they’ve been continuing to satisfy us older hardcore fans by slowly opening up the vaults and presenting more and more treasures in the form of the weekly Hidden Gems releases on the network and these more traditional DVD sets dedicated to individual superstars.
Over the past year I watched the first two Macho Man collections, both of which were absolutely phenomenal. I simply can’t get enough Savage matches! When this set was announced, the thought of seeing these rare and truly unreleased matches filled me with tremendous joy. I resisted ripping open the packaging as soon as I got the DVD, as I wanted to wait for the perfect time to soak in and enjoy these unreleased matches. I finally cracked it open at the end of May and have been slowly making my way through the entire set at a leisurely pace, only completing it a few weeks ago. I really wanted to savour and enjoy these matches and not rush my way through this collection.
This three disc set was so fucking cool. It was a mixed bag of unique stuff – TV matches, rare international broadcast matches, and truly unreleased matches from the archives. I absolutely loved the stuff from 92 and 93 the most, and the WCW era was almost all new to me.
The one criticism I have with this set does lie with the match selection. This is only a minor complaint, but there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the matches picked. It’s not a big deal, but there were a lot of random squashes and throwaway TV matches, especially from the WCW era. I was excited to see a lot of these weird and rare matches, but two minute TV squashes weren’t exactly all that exciting. I’m sure there were far better and more interesting curiosities than some of those selected.
In addition to the matches, there were also discussion segments featuring a panel. That tool Corey Graves acted as the host and moderator and was joined by Sean Mooney, Diamond Dallas Page, and Bayley. What an odd and random choice of guests to speak on the career of the Macho Man! DDP was the most interesting, sharing a lot of personal stories on Savage and especially opening up on his WCW days. Sean Mooney represented the Federation days and talked mainly in general about the Macho Man, but did share a few behind the scenes opinions. I love Mooney, but it’s weird having him on here, as he wasn’t exactly one of the boys. Why not have someone like Ted Dibiase instead? Bayley was the worst. She contributed fuck all. It was a token representation of someone who “grew up” watching Savage on TV, but she’s too fucking young to really know his career. Her stories added nothing, other than the fact that she stole a ton of gimmicks from Savage. Her opinions were bland as shit and she showed zero personality. Why not have Charlotte Flair on here instead, considering her dad and Savage wrestled a billion times together?
The panel appeared now and again between matches, talking about various eras of Savage’s career. It would have been nice if they discussed some of the actual unreleased matches on the set, maybe providing some backstory, but nope. So the whole presentation was kind of disjointed. But no one bought this set for the panel! The matches are what this set is all about, so let’s get to it!
DISC 1
The panel kicks things off with an introduction on the Macho Man, talking about all his classic trademarks and personality traits. As I type this, I realize there’s not much point in providing my thoughts on these panel segments, so I’ll only comment on the most interesting ones.
1) Randy Savage pinned Aldo Marino following two flying elbowsmashes at 2:45; Bobby Heenan, Mr. Fuji, Freddie Blassie, Jimmy Hart, & Johnny V were at ringside for the match trying to scout Savage and congratulated him after the bout
(Championship Wrestling • July 6, 1985 • Poughkeepsie, NY – Mid-Hudson Civic Center)
The first of many squash matches on disc one. This was an important one though, as it was Savage’s televised debut in the WWF. And man did he look like a superstar right away. He was a wildman with unmatched charisma, and they immediately put him over as one to watch. Savage showcased a lot of tenacity in this quick match, and I loved the storyline of all the managers scouting the hottest new free agent.
2) Randy Savage pinned Mario Mancini at 3:06 with the flying elbowsmash
(Championship Wrestling • July 27, 1985 • Poughkeepsie, NY – Mid-Hudson Civic Center)
It was definitely cool seeing these ancient TV matches, all taped in small buildings like the classic Mid-Huson Civic Center, which was such a staple WWF location. Nice to see Savage getting a little extra time to show off in these early squashes. It’s amazing how much you could learn about a character from quick showcases like this.
3) Randy Savage pinned Paul Roma with the flying elbowsmash at 2:04
(Championship Wrestling • August 3, 1985 • Poughkeepsie, NY – Mid-Hudson Civic Center)
Fun to see Savage matched against a more competitive young Paul Roma. They’re still teasing the free agent angle at this point, but were only weeks away from debuting Miss Elizabeth. It’s hilarious that there was no entrance way in these early tapings; the wrestlers simply entered from a regular door at the back of the building lol.
The panel discuss Miss Elizabeth and the importance of her role in getting Macho Man over as a top tier superstar. Bayley of course puts over her love of seeing Miss Elizabeth on TV. That’s funny, considering Bayley, according to my two second wikipedia search, was born in 1989. So what era of Elizabeth and Macho Man was she watching exactly? NWO Liz in 1997?
4) Randy Savage (w/ Miss Elizabeth) & Jesse Ventura defeated Mario Mancini & Mike Rice at 1:55 when Savage pinned Rice with the flying elbowsmash
(Championship Wrestling • September 28, 1985 • Poughkeepsie, NY – Mid-Hudson Civic Center)
Wow! What a weird rarity this is! Loved seeing Savage team up with Jesse Ventura for this simple squash. Ventura constantly put Savage over on commentary until his face turn, but I had no idea that they ever teamed together. Savage and Ventura both berate Elizabeth at points and put her in place. Villains! Ventura was of course terrible in the ring, but all eyes were on the Macho Man at this point.
5) Randy Savage (w/ Miss Elizabeth) pinned Tony Atlas at 6:08 after reversing a powerslam attempt into a cradle
(Prime Time Wrestling • December 17, 1985 • Boston, MA – Boston Garden)
Finally a more competitive match! Really interesting pairing of styles and a battle between a guy who was on his way up against a guy on his way out. Macho was still doing more of the Memphis stalling at this point, so there wasn’t a whole lot to this. Gorilla Monsoon is already disgusted with Savage and his treatment of Elizabeth, calling him the “Not So Macho Man”. You really have to appreciate how far these little touches went in building the character. Savage outsmarts Atlas for the quick pin.
6) Randy Savage (w/ Miss Elizabeth) pinned SD Jones at 2:27 with the flying elbowsmash
All( American Wrestling • December 8, 1985 • Brantford, ON – Civic Centre)
I love the weirdness of the WWF occasionally taping in these small hockey arenas around southern Ontario. More of the same in this one, as Savage easily bests SD Jones and puts him away with the already impressive flying elbow.
7) Randy Savage (w/ Miss Elizabeth) pinned Scott McGhee at 6:18 with the flying elbow drop
(Prime Time Wrestling • February 3, 1986 • Landover, MD – Capital Centre)
I love the look of the Capital Centre. I haven’t seen too many matches taped in the former home of the Washington Capitals, but the building definitely has a unique look and feel. McGhee was a longtime NWA veteran who was brought into the WWF in 85 in a “putting guys to the test” kind of role. He wasn’t treated as anything more than a jabroni, but was usually given more offense. This was a really fun match, the highlight being Macho Man coming after Gorilla Monsoon at ringside for calling him the “Not so Macho Man”.
8) Pedro Morales defeated WWF IC Champion Randy Savage (w/ Miss Elizabeth) via count-out at 7:19 after getting back in the ring just before the 10-count after blocking Savage’s attempt to use a chair
(Prime Time Wrestling • September 16, 1986 • New York City, NY – Madison Square Garden)
This was cool to see – former IC champ against current IC champ. Pedro seemed like such a dinosaur by 86 and it’s weird that he was purely a jobber to the stars by this point, despite having so much success in the 70s and early 80s. The fans in MSG are still solidly behind Pedro though. I was expecting a little more from this match, but it was a pretty good short and spirited brawl. Pedro gets counted out for who knows what reason.
Macho Lifestyles
September 10, 1986
This was a GREAT segment, featuring Mean Gene visiting Macho Man poolside at his palatial estate! Macho Man brags about the life of the IC champ, and puts over his lifestyle and wealth. Savage was just tremendous here, as was Mean Gene setting him up for great lines.
9) WWF IC Champion Randy Savage (w/ Miss Elizabeth) pinned Troy Martin with the flying elbowsmash at 2:09
(Superstars • September 13, 1986 • Providence, RI – Civic Center)
Another squash match. I supposed they chose this because it features a young Troy ‘Shane Douglas’ Martin getting mauled by Savage. The Macho Man even gets a little extreme, taking things to the floor, tossing Martin over the barricade into the front row. He convincingly destroys Martin in a fun jobber match.
10) WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan & Ricky Steamboat defeated WWF IC Champion Randy Savage (w/ Miss Elizabeth) & the Honkytonk Man (w/ Jimmy Hart) via disqualification at around the 11-minute mark after Savage threw the referee out of the ring after bringing the timekeeper’s bell into the ring
(International Wrestling Challenge • January 5, 1987 • East Rutherford, NJ – Meadowlands)
HOLY SHIT!! Now this is the kind of amazing and crazy stuff I was most excited for on this set! Wow, what an INSANE match! Look at these weird ass teams! This is from an international version of Wrestling Challenge. Can’t believe a match like this never made it to an old Coliseum Video. The amount of garbage they filled those Best Of The WWF tapes with, yet left true gems like this out – unreal. It’s totally bizarre seeing Savage and HTM as a tag team against the equally bizarre pairing of Ricky Steamboat and the Hulkster. Wow, just wow. And the match itself is fantastic. Totally solid battle that could easily have been on an SNME. I loved the ending, as Savage went for his go-to weapon – the timekeeper’s bell – but the Steamer caught him in time. Fantastic fucking match!
11) Ricky Steamboat & Billy Jack Haynes defeated WWF IC Champion Randy Savage (w/ Miss Elizabeth) & Hercules via disqualification at 11:51 when Savage hit a double axe handle on Haynes from the top rope as Haynes had the full nelson applied on Hercules
(Wrestling Challenge taping • March 22, 1987 • Phoenix, AZ – Veterans Memorial Coliseum)
HOLY SHIT PART 2! Actually I’ll be saying HOLY SHIT a lot throughout this set. Another crazy tag team match leading up to Wrestlemania III, this time combining feuds from two entirely different worlds. I absolutely loved the weirdness of these teams. This is a true dark match, and again, I’m left in disbelief that these types of quality matches were left off of Coliseum Videos. WTF were they thinking?! Solid back and forth action, and Savage and Hercules worked well as a team. The DQ finish was suuuuuuper lame, as Savage just crashes down with a simple axe handle to break the full nelson, but the ref DQ’s them for some asinine reason. Should have just went for the ring bell again.
12) WWF IC Champion Ricky Steamboat pinned Randy Savage (w/ Miss Elizabeth) at 10:57 after Savage accidentally hit himself in the head with the timekeeper’s bell after missing Steamboat and hitting the turnbuckle instead
(Houston, TX, Sam Houston Coliseum • May 15, 1987)
Savage and Steamboat continued to battle on house shows throughout the spring following Mania III. One of the earliest Apter mags I had featured pictures from a bloody Savage-Dragon steel cage match. Too bad they couldn’t dig up footage of one of those matches. Instead this was a regular rematch, from a taped house show in Houston. Still a good match, with excellent wrestling, but it of course pales in comparison to their Wrestlemania epic. Steamboat actually pins Savage in this one, with Savage accidentally smacking himself in the head with the ring bell. Kind of a goofy finish, but still a good match.
The panel spends some time discussing Macho Man’s world title win. I absolutely love this era of Savage!
Inspiration
Superstars • April 9, 1988
Fun promo from Savage putting over Elizabeth and his world title win. Let the year-long reign begin!
13) WWF World Champion Randy Savage (w/ Miss Elizabeth) defeated Ted Dibiase (w/ Virgil) in a steel cage match at 12:31 by escaping over the top after ramming Dibiase and Virgil’s heads together as he fought with them at the the top of the cage
(Philadelphia, PA • September 24, 1988 • Philadelphia, PA – Spectrum)
Savage and Dibiase had some absolutely tremendous matches following Mania, tearing down the house throughout the country for months. The Savage-Dibiase MSG cage match is absolutely phenomenal and has been featured on a number of releases. I was excited to see this Philly cage match and how it compares. It’s another classic between them, but lacks some of the intensity of MSG. The fans are still rabid for Savage, but not quite at the New York level. They still beat the hell out of each other, leading to the same finish as the MSG match with Virgil climbing the cage, and Savage ramming his and Dibiase’s heads together before escaping. Classic stuff.
14) WWF World Champion Randy Savage (w/ Miss Elizabeth) defeated Akeem via disqualification at 10:13 after Akeem threw referee Tim White out of the ring
(Prime Time Wrestling • November 8, 1988 • Paris, France – Bercy Stadium)
A weird match from that wacky arena in Paris, France. Even the shittiest of matches is automatically cooler in this crazy arena. Savage and the One Man Gang had some great title matches following Mania, but the Akeem gimmick seemed to suck away his ability to work. Savage brings a lot of energy and I love Akeem’s goofy selling, but this match isn’t anything too special, and ends in a cheap DQ when Akeem just heaves the ref out of the ring. Surely they could have dug up a better title defense than this.
15) WWF World Champion Randy Savage (w/ Miss Elizabeth) defeated Andre the Giant (w/ Bobby Heenan) via disqualification at 6:59 when Heenan ran around the ring and grabbed Savage’s boot
(Madison Square Garden • October 24, 1988 • New York City, NY – Madison Square Garden)
The first disc concludes with Savage defending the title against one of his most hated foes, Andre the Giant. By all accounts, the Giant truly hated Macho Man. There are tons of stories out there about the Giant making Savage’s life miserable, and torturing him during their matches. Yet, they still had a really great chemistry in the ring. Savage was just awesome against larger opponents. His selling was second to none and it always looked like he was desperately doing anything just to survive in the ring. The Giant was so limited at this point, but Savage sure tried hard to make him look like a threat. The DQ ending was super lame, but I still enjoyed this.
DISC 2
The panel kicks off the second disc. I shouldn’t be so hard on them. DDP and Sean Mooney both tell some interesting stories.
16) WWF World Champion Randy Savage defeated WWF IC Champion the Ultimate Warrior via count-out non-title match at 7:51 after Savage came off the top to the floor with a double axe handle as Warrior had Rick Rude, who appeared ringside mid-way through the match, lifted in the air choking him
(WWF Superstars taping • March 7, 1989 • El Paso, TX – Convention Center)
This is now the fourth or fifth match from this Warrior-Savage early 89 run that I’ve seen. This was mind-blowing the first time I came across it, but they ran this same formula for two months leading up to Mania V, so it’s lost some of its luster for me. I still enjoyed it, but they followed the exact same formula with Rude coming out and the DQ finish. The MSG match was by far my favorite of this series.
A Sensational Manager
Superstars • April 15, 1989
I was pumped to see the promo where the Macho Man introduces Sensational Sherri as his new manager! Man this was awesome! I was happy that the panel spent some time putting over the Savage-Sherri pairing and just how great it was. I was never a huge Macho King fan, but his two year alliance with Sherri was fucking fantastic.
17) Randy Savage (w/ Sensational Sherri) defeated WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan via count-out at 10:15 after Sherri jumped on Hogan’s back with Savage then jumping Hogan from behind and sliding back in the ring
(Toronto, Ontario, Canada • April 23, 1989 • Toronto, Ontario – Maple Leaf Gardens)
The initial Savage-Hogan rematches were far better than their cartoony battles later in the year, which were still kind of great in their own right. Poor Savage, did he ever get a pinfall win over the Hulkster? This was a pretty intense war in the historic Maple Leaf Gardens. Savage was really taking it to his former partner and the fans were red hot for the Hulkster. Exciting stuff! I love how Savage got the countout win thanks to Sherri’s interference. I wish they had continued to book Savage strong throughout the year, but numerous losses to Hogan and the lame feud with Duggan really knocked him down the ranks.
18) Brutus Beefcake defeated Randy Savage (w/ Sensational Sherri) via disqualification at 4:54 when Sherri interfered and hit Beefcake with his bag of shears as he had the sleeper applied on Savage
(Wrestling Challenge taping • May 17, 1989 • LaCrosse, WI – LaCrosse Center)
Savage-Beefcake was a fun secondary feud, and even main evented the Winnipeg Arena card I saw that summer. This was the main event of one of those long ass sets of TV tapings, so it’s blazingly short. Absolutely nothing to this, but I love dark matches, so I was still thrilled.
19) Randy Savage (w/ Sensational Sherri) pinned Hercules at 10:54 after hitting him with Sherri’s loaded purse as Sherri distracted the referee
(Survivor Series Showdown • November 12, 1989 • Wichita, KS – Kansas Coliseum)
Solid TV battle, taken from the 1989 Survivor Series Showdown. Lots of back and forth action, with Hercules dominating Savage at points, and of course tons of interference from Sherri. The last few minutes were really good, with Hercules looking to have Savage on the verge of defeat, before Sherri nails him with the purse leading to Savage getting the pin.
20) Dusty Rhodes & Sapphire (w/ Miss Elizabeth) defeated Randy Savage & Sensational Sherri (w/ Brother Love) at 7:42 when Sapphire pinned Sherri after Elizabeth interfered and hit Sherri with her own loaded purse, as she was about to use it on Sapphire
(Wrestling Challenge taping • July 17, 1990 •Des Moines, IA – Veterans Memorial Auditorium)
Groooooooan…. why the fuck did this feud dominate 1990? The involvement of Brother Love and Elizabeth was a nice touch and added some more excitement to this dreck. This was terrible, yet somewhat entertaining, despite my hatred of this feud.
21) Randy Savage pinned Koko B. Ware at 2:44 with the flying elbowsmash
(Superstars • December 22, 1990 • Rochester, NY – War Memorial)
Cool! It’s the Birdman! Koko always makes me happy, as he always brought a lot of energy and excitement to his matches, even though by this point he was barely above jobber status. I was hoping this would be given a few more minutes, but nope, it’s pretty much a straight squash. Too bad, as these guys no doubt could have put on something thrilling. Nice to see Savage going over for a change in 1990.
The panel discusses Savage’s retirement at the hands of the Warrior, then go in depth with some great stories on his feud with Jake the Snake Roberts and the infamously terrifying snake bite angle from Superstars. DDP does an amazing Jake the Snake impression. One of the better panel segments in the set.
Reinstate!
Superstars • November 16, 1991
This was a classic interview with Savage, demanding to be reinstated. Damn, it’s too bad he wasn’t added to Survivor Series. What a moment that would have been.
22) Randy Savage, Roddy Piper, & Jim Duggan defeated Ric Flair (w/ Mr. Perfect), Jake Roberts, & the Undertaker (w/ Paul Bearer) at 8:52 whe Savage pinned Flair with the flying elbowsmash
(Wrestling Challenge taping • December 2, 1991 • Corpus Christi, TX – Memorial Coliseum)
Okay… NOW we’re getting into the heart of this collection. Get ready for a lot of HOLY SHITs, beginning with this insane six man tag!!! I’ve read the results of these dark matches for years, and I had to rub my eyes while watching this – I truly can’t believe we’re finally getting to see some of these truly crazy dark matches! This is the first of several absolutely BATSHIT INSANE matches on this set! I so wish this was given more time because it was fucking awesome and weird. We get some awesome brawling with Savage and Roberts, and Flair and Piper. This was just tremendous, and again, I have to ask, why oh why was this never included on a Coliseum Video release?!? Most surprisingly of all, Savage pins Flair CLEAN! Wow, this was nuts.
23) Randy Savage (w/ Miss Elizabeth) pinned the Barbarian at 2:56 with the flying elbowsmash after the Barbarian missed a splash off the top
(Prime Time Wrestling • December 2, 1991 • Austin, TX – Frank Erwin Center)
What in the ever loving fuck?! I was looking forward to seeing this odditiy, but it was nothing more than a squash. What the hell happened to the Barbarian? This was an absolute nothing match, and I have zero idea why it was included.
24) Hulk Hogan & Randy Savage defeated Jake Roberts & the Berzerker (w/ Mr. Fuji) at 8:04 when Hogan pinned Roberts with a roll up after Roberts had attempted to leave ringside but was stalked back to the ring by the Undertaker & Paul Bearer
(WWF Superstars taping • January 28, 1992 • Amarillo, TX – Civic Center)
Okay, here it is – the absolute jewel of this collection – the totally random re-uniting of the Mega Powers, and one of the rarest oppositions in WWF history. When this set was first announced my jaw hit the floor when I saw this in the match listings. I couldn’t fucking believe my eyes! This is some kind of insane dream match straight from my imagination. This was a dark match from a Superstars taping, and the video quality isn’t as hot as the other matches on the set. Doesn’t fucking matter, as this is the only released Hulk Hogan-Jake the Snake match EVER! They only wrestled a handful of times and who the fuck knows if any of the other matches even exist on tape. Plus, it always features the equally rare meeting of Hulk Hogan and the Berzerker! Between 1990 and 1993, Hogan wrestled the same handful of opponents. Very rarely did he ever wrestle anyone else, and here he is against both the Berzerker and Jake. HOLY FUCK! The match itself is truly fantastic, a super fun battle. Jake teases leaving the match, but its blocked by the Undertaker and forced back to the ring. I couldn’t believe my eyes as the Hulkster brawled with the Snake, and even pinned him with a roll up. I loved this so much that I immediately watched it again right after! HOLY FUCK! HOLY FUCK! So awesome!
25) Randy Savage pinned Jake Roberts at 3:50 with a roll up
(Wrestling Challenge taping • March 9, 1992 • Biloxi, MS – Coast Coliseum)
If you read the results from this era, you’ll see that Savage and Jake fought a ton of times. Surely there were some classic battles during this time. Unfortunately by March this feud was completely out of steam. With Jake pissed off at the company he simply stopped caring or trying, and it shows here, as this was a nothing dark match. Jake doesn’t even give half a shit and Savage pins him with a quick roll up. Too bad.
26) WWF World Champion Randy Savage & the Undertaker (w/ Paul Bearer) defeated Ric Flair (w/ Mr. Perfect) & the Berzerker (w/ Mr. Fuji) at 12:39 when Savage pinned the Berzerker with the flying elbowsmash after Taker dropped Berzerker with the tombstone
(WWE on Tele5 • August 28, 1992 • Portland, ME – Civic Center)
Okay, get ready – another HOLY SHIT! This weird ass tag team match was shown on a European version of Superstars. These tag team matches are just mind blowingly weird and amazing. Ric Flair teaming with the Berzekerer?!?! That’s just bananas!! I love this kind of shit so much! This combines two spring/summer feuds and is great battle. I love the finish as the Undertaker buries Berzerker with a tombstone and Savage finishes him off with a flying elbow. Man, even typing up this review is getting me excited to go back and re-watch these bizarre matches.
27) Razor Ramon defeated Randy Savage via count-out at 9:52 when Savage failed to get back into the ring after hitting the double axe handle off the top, but hurting his injured knee in the process; after the match, Razor further attacked the knee
(Superstars [Italian Version] • October 28, 1992 • Louisville, KY – Louisville Gardens)
Man… here’s another match I was so excited to see. It’s such a shame that the awesome Razor-Savage feud just fizzled out. Really, this should have been a match at Wrestlemania IX, with Savage putting over the newcomer and passing the torch. What a lost opportunity. This was excellent, with Razor slapping around Savage and targeting his hurt knee. Savage gets in some fantastic offense and the crowd is just nuts for him. Savage is so hell-bent on hurting Ramon, that he stupidly flies off the top with an axehandle to the floor and further hurts his knee, allowing Razor to slide in for the countout win. Fuck, this was great!
28) Randy Savage pinned Terry Taylor at 9:44 with the flying elbowsmash
(Prime Time Wrestling • December 14, 1992 • Erie, PA – Civic Center)
Talk about another hidden gem! I recently reviewed this match, as it was featured on the Wrestlefest 93 tape, but had to watch it again. It’s highly competitive and exciting, with a tremendous sequence of near falls. Fantasic wrestling match to end the second disc.
DISC 3
Hahahahahaha! Disc three begins with the Speaking From The Heart music video! This immediately brought back a million memories from grade six and seven, when Matt and I laughed about this song till we nearly puked. The panel talks about Speaking From the Heart and we get to see some outtakes from making the music video. Macho Man is such a super guy, and it really shows in some of this candid footage.
The panel also discusses Savage’s transition from the ring to being an ambassador for the WWF, a role in which Savage excelled, yet he still yearned to return to the ring and tear it up.
29) Yokozuna (w/ Mr. Fuji) pinned Randy Savage with a belly to belly suplex at 6:37 after Fuji hit Savage with his flag pole, behind the referee’s back, knocking Savage off the top rope
(March to WrestleMania IX • March 28, 1993 • Fayetteville, NC)
This is the one match on the set I skipped over. I just watched March to Wrestlemania a couple months ago, and didn’t feel like seeing this again. Definitely a great and enjoyable battle. Truly a shame that Macho wasn’t on the card at Mania IX. There were so many possibilities for him, and the event truly could have used a Macho Man match.
30) Lex Luger pinned Randy Savage at 9:51 with a forearm to the head after referee Earl Hebner had been knocked down and Luger removed his protective forearm pad
(WWF Superstars taping • June 15, 1993 • Huntington, WV – Civic Center)
WOAH!! This was taped for Coliseum Video, but never released. Have I clearly articulated just how much I LOVE THIS SHIT!!! I can’t get enough of these crazy weird dark matches! Seeing Savage against the Narcissist in a match taped for Coliseum Video – fucking awesome!! The match itself was pretty great, though I know lots of fans hate this era of Savage, where he would just take a beating all match before making a quick comeback. I could care less, these Savage matches are still great. Luger cheats to win, defeating the man that in just a few weeks would be celebrating with him on the deck of the USS intrepid.
31) Randy Savage pinned Mr. Hughes (w/ Harvey Wippleman) at 4:24 with a roll up after Hughes accidentally hit Wippleman in the head with the Undertaker’s urn on the apron when Savage moved out of the way
(Superstars (German Version) • September 13, 1993 • Utica, NY – War Memorial)
Another weird ass match! This was a German Superstars exclusive, but like all the internationally broadcasted matches included in this set, they cut out the commentary. Coolest thing though – this was another match taped for Coliseum Video, but never made it. This wasn’t much of a match and somewhat surprisingly Macho gets the win over Hughes. I wonder what their plans were for Hughes? It seemed like they were building up him and Taker for Summerslam, yet he lost a lot of matches.
32) Mr. Perfect & Randy Savage defeated Giant Gonzalez & Mr. Hughes (w/ Harvey Wippleman) at 7:13 when Perfect pinned Hughes with a small package
(Wrestling Challenge taping • August 18, 1993 • Lowell, MA – Memorial Auditorium)
Ummmm….. HOLY FUCKING SHIT! This might be the weirdest match ever released by the WWF!! It’s fucking awesome seeing Perfect and Savage team again after Survivor Series. This is another match taped for Coliseum Video. This shit would have blown my mind had it been released back in the day. I absolutely love the total weirdness and randomness of this match. Apparently Perfect was replacing the Undertaker in this match. It was beyond weird to see Perfect and Gonzalez in the same ring together. Once again Hughes does the clean job, getting small packaged by Perfect for the loss. It seems like the WWF knew by this point that both Gonzalez and Hughes were total losers and booked them as such.
33) Randy Savage pinned Fatu (w/ Afa) following the flying elbowsmash after knocking Afa off the apron
(Monday Night Raw • December 13, 1993 • Poughkeepsie, NY – Mid-Hudson Civic Center)
Sadly there’s nothing included from 1994, and Savage’s last featured WWF match is this random Raw match. Not my favorite on this release. It was a decent TV match, from Savage’s return to the ring, but was nothing overly special. I like that Savage went over strong as he was embroiled in his war with Crush.
I found the panel most interesting when they reached the WCW portion of Savage’s career. DDP had tons of great stories on Macho Man, many of which he was repeating from the previous Macho Man DVD set. Some great stories from DDP and some cool context for Savage’s awesome late career resurgence.
Welcome to Atlanta
December 3, 1994
This is the infamous interview where Macho Man appeared on WCW Saturday Night and immediately put WCW on notice that he was here to wrestle and win the title. It’s the classic interview where he said he would show up at Starrcade and either shake Hulk Hogan’s hand or slap him in the face. This is also the exact moment I started hating that traitor Macho Man. I hated him for showing up in WCW. The WWF Magazine right before this had an interview with Savage where he talked about his loyalty to the WWF and how he would be in the company forever. In my mind he was a liar and a turncoat and from this point forward I was totally biased towards him and couldn’t care less about his WCW career. Too bad I was so strong in my opinions, because his WCW career was actually pretty awesome.
34) WCW World Champion Hulk Hogan (w/ Jimmy Hart) & Randy Savage defeated the Butcher & Kevin Sullivan at at 12:10 when Hogan pinned Butcher with the legdrop after Butcher sustained Savage’s flying elbowsmash
(Clash of the Champions XXX • January 25, 1995 • Las Vegas, NV – Caeser’s Palace)
This match was just recently inducted by WrestleCrap, and rightfully so, this is an epically ridiculous cartoon. One of the stupidest matches of the era. Savage and Hogan were now the super lame “Monster Maniacs”. Sounds like something I would have named a tag team of He-Man figures when I was six years old. This match is full of over-the-top selling and total cartoon nonsense. One of the stupidest moments is when Macho Man has to “revive” Hulk Hogan by dropping a big elbow on him. This is infamous in its sheer and utter stupidity. The match continues after the reviving elbow and is just awful. Of course Hogan pins the Butcher with the big leg drop. And then proceeds to no-sell Vader’s powerbomb, effectively killing off the challenger before the feud even really gets going. Fuck this was all horrendous!
35) WCW US Championship Tournament Quarter-Finals: Randy Savage pinned Steve Austin (w/ Col. Rob Parker) at 2:19 with a bodyslam and the flying elbowsmash
(WCW Saturday Night • May 27, 1995 • Atlanta, GA – Center Stage Theatre)
I was sooo excited to see this rare and weird match, but it was an epic disappointment. I think this was Austin’s last WCW match and he was completely buried and squashed by Savage. Austin was being built up throughout 1994 as a top level talent, but was kicked down the card once Hogan rolled into town. I suppose this all worked out well for everyone in the end lol.
36) WCW World Champion Randy Savage defeated Ric Flair (w/ Jimmy Hart) via disqualification at around the 20-minute mark when Lex Luger ran out and attacked the champion
(WCW Monday Nitro • December 25, 1995 • Augusta, GA – December 18)
Wow! A gritty and grueling battle, shown on Christmas day. I love how initially Nitro was booked in these small buildings, filled with rabid fans. These kinds of settings just made these shows feel like something special. Savage and Flair’s renewed WCW feud was tremendous, and this was a classic. Just a grueling war. In true Nitro fashion, the match abruptly ends in a DQ when Lex Luger runs down. Oh well, it was great up to that point.
37) Randy Savage defeated Kurasawa
(WCW Pro • March 23, 1996)
WCW Pro is one of the more rare TV shows, and I can’t find any info on this weird ass match. Like the Austin match, I was really excited to see this bizarre rarity, but it was a total squash. Hulk Hogan is at ringside, which is also fucking crazy, and him and Savage basically cheat to defeat Kurasawa in a couple minutes. Crazy to see this! Makes me want to dig up and watch all of Savage’s televised WCW matches.
38) Randy Savage defeated Earl Robert Eaton
(WCW Monday Nitro • April 15, 1996 • Charleston, WV – Civic Center)
Man, I can’t enough of these weird WCW matches! But unfortunately, they’re almost all squashes and quick TV battles. Imagine how great an NWA Savage-Eaton match would have been. Eaton was a jobber to the stars by this point of his career, and was still doing the Blue Bloods gimmick. Ah well, still cool to see Savage steamroll him.
DDP shared tons of great stories on his feud with Macho Man that tore down the house throughout 1997. I remember Matt and myself loving this feud and becoming huge DDP fans, as he seemed like the one WCW star that would could aid Sting in finally topping the NWO. Of course that didn’t happen, but DDP was just on fire in 97 and Savage helped bring him to that superstar level, something Dallas is forever grateful for.
39) Randy Savage (w/ Elizabeth) defeated Curt Hennig via disqualification at around the 5-minute mark when Diamond Dallas Page jumped Hennig
(WCW Monday Nitro • August 11, 1997 • Denver, CO – Coliseum)
Ehhh… sadly the set limps to finish as these Nitro matches get progressively worse. Could they not have dug up some better treasures from this era? This is a whole lot of nothing, and just leads to DDP and the NWO running in. Surely there are some true WCW gems left in the vault. Some of these choices are real head-scratchers.
40) Randy Savage pinned Lex Luger with the flying elbowsmash
(WCW Monday Nitro • December 22, 1997 • Macon, GA – Coliseum)
Ugh, this is the main event from the infamously horrible NWO Nitro that tanked Bischoff’s aspirations of Nitro becoming an exclusive NWO only show. Seriously, who the fuck would have watched that garbage? This is a decent enough match for the era, but it’s full of all grating NWO banter on commentary. Hilariously though, Ravishing Rick Rude is on commentary, having freshly jumped to WCW weeks earlier after the Montreal screwjob. He snarls at Schiavone and Zybszko, while Heenan sucks up and grovels to Rude and the NWO. I was most surprised by the clean finish.
41) Randy Savage & Madusa defeated Ric Flair & Charles Robinson
(WCW Monday Nitro • May 17, 1999 • Cedar Rapids, IA – Five Seasons Center)
Hilariously they include one match from Savage’s “mid life crisis” era. The whole “What Up Mach?” era is pretty horrendous. I forgot about the wretched angle of Charles Robinson becoming Little ‘Naitch and actually teaming with Flair. This kind of shit is just fucking awful. Savage kills him with the big elbow.
Wow, what an awesome, weird, and fucking insane DVD collection! The word “eclectic” truly doesn’t do this set justice. What a crazy ride through the career of the Macho Man. Obviously I loved the WWF stuff the most, especially from 91 – 93, but the WCW stuff was really interesting as well. I cannot even begin to understand the thought process that went into selecting these matches. Some of the most truly oddball choices imaginable! Highly recommend this DVD for anyone who loves curiosities and bizarre combinations as much as me!
the RepoDan Wrestling Institution 