The SmarK DVD Rant for Randy Savage Unreleased

The SmarK Rant for Randy Savage Unreleased – Unseen Matches of the Macho Man

By popular demand, I picked this one up from my local DVD store since it was only $20 and people are recommending it. That being said, sweet merciful crap are they getting cheap with the DVD releases now. Instead of the nice gatefold cardboard custom sleeve that they’d been using for multiple disc sets, it’s now a plain DVD case with a piece of paper for an insert, and all three discs stacked on one side. Clearly physical media is no longer their priority, which makes it all the more mystifying as to why they don’t just release it in digital format like iTunes. I don’t actually have any computers with DVD drives on them anymore, because IT’S FUCKING 2018, so I had to jump through some hoops and rip this one into digital format myself so I could review it.

Also, I still find it trippy that they spent so long ignoring the legacy of Savage, and then all of a sudden I have multiple DVD sets celebrating his life on my shelf. Wrestling is weird, man.

Your host is Corey Graves, along with Sean Mooney, Bayley and DDP.

Randy Savage v. Aldo Marino (06.17.85)

This is Savage’s WWF TV debut on Superstars, before Elizabeth. Immediately all the big managers swarm to ringside looking to recruit him, and Macho gets some armdrags before Marino gets a sunset flip for two. Savage nails him with the hooking clothesline and the necksnap on the top rope, then he pops to the top for the double axehandle and tosses him. Double axehandle to the floor as Savage is just giving us all the greatest hits from the get-go, and back in for a pair of flying elbows to put this poor geek out of his misery at 2:42. Now THAT was a squash! 1 for 1.

Randy Savage v. Mario Mancini (07.09.85)

This is the next appearance on TV. Now, you know me, I’m not one to be pedantic, but if the first two matches were broadcast on national TV, that’s not exactly “Unseen”. Savage has the rare yellow-on-yellow color scheme here, which he didn’t typically bust out. Savage hammers him with shoulderblocks in the corner and then hits him with a high knee to the back for one. Mario gets tossed and Savage follows with a double axehandle, and back in for two. Savage goes back to the top and Mancini decides to get up, so a pissed off Savage has to jump off the top in mid-move and tackle him down again, then drops the NASTY elbow for the pin at 2:29. I bet they had words afterwards. 2 for 2.

Randy Savage v. Paul Roma (08.03.85)

Savage is now “Wrestling’s #1 Free Agent” according to Finkel and Savage announces his choice of manager soon. Savage works the arm while Vince confirms that Arnold Skaaland is just not interested in someone who uses the tactics that Savage does. Roma gets a quick sunset flip for two and slams him for two, but Savage fires him to the floor and follows with the double axehandle. “Good golly Moses!” declares Vince. Such salty language. Back in, wham bam elbow at 2:02. At least Roma had the good sense to stay down, unlike Mancini. Macho wants Hulk Hogan, and boy would he ever get him. Another fun destruction. 3 for 3.

The panel discusses Savage’s relationship with Elizabeth, and DDP admits that he stole most of his act with Kimberly from them.

Randy Savage & Jesse Ventura v. Mario Mancini & Mike Rice (09.09.85)

Well there’s a combo for ya. Elizabeth has now been added to the act, and Randy makes her hold the ropes open for the team. I’m not sure what bizarre tag team match this was building towards on the house show circuit, but HOLY SHIT I have to see it now. They take turns beating on Rice in the corner, and Savage drops the big elbow at 1:30. Unfortunately, scanning through http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/85.htm reveals that there was never a payoff. 3 for 4.

Randy Savage v. Tony Atlas (11.05.85)

Off to Boston, just a couple of nights after the Wrestling Classic. Atlas overpowers him to start and they trade poses, and Atlas continues to be too much muscles for Savage to handle. An atomic drop sends Macho to the floor and we get some stalling, but Savage takes over with his own atomic drop. They fight on the floor and Savage runs him into the bizarre wooden barricade at ringside. Back in, Atlas makes a comeback, but he tries a slam and Savage rolls him up for the pin at 6:10. Nothing much to this one. 3 for 5.

Randy Savage v. SD Jones (12.01.85)

This has Gorilla on commentary from a non-descript arena, so I’m assuming this was whatever the B-Show was in 1985. All Star Wrestling still? SD gets a bodypress for two and headbutts Savage into the ropes while he gets his offense, and can we please talk about Savage’s god-awful pea-soup green tights and kneepads combo? Because it’s like the Dino Bravo of Savage outfits. Savage escapes and Jones gets a backslide for two, so Savage takes a break. Back in, SD misses a charge like an oaf, and Savage finishes him with the flying elbow at 2:54. He gave him a SPECIAL DELIVERY of a flying elbow right to the chest, yeah! Also, the replay shows he held the tights just to be a dick, so I award this a point. 4 for 6.

Randy Savage v. Scott McGhee (01.18.86)

We’re in the Cap Center for this one, and Savage has words for Gorilla before the match. I always thought that Landover shows looked great on TV, a really big well-lit arena unlike the dingy Boston Garden. They fight for a lockup to start and Savage elbows him down and drops the knee for two and he stops to yell at Gorilla while holding a facelock. McGhee escapes with a suplex for two and Savage retreats. Look, Gorilla keeps referring to Savage as “the not so Macho Man”, so he deserves whatever abuse Savage gives him. #WordsHurt McGhee misses a charge and Savage uses the POPCORN OF DOOM on him in the corner, but McGhee fights back with his own popcorn box and makes the comeback with an atomic drop for two. Scotty with a rollup, but Savage blocks him, and McGhee gets a small package for two instead. Savage cuts him off with the clothesline, and he’s done fucking around, and finishes with the flying elbow at 6:19 just to make sure McGhee doesn’t surprise him again. What a great little 6 minute match! 5 for 7.

Intercontinental title: Randy Savage v. Pedro Morales(08.25.86)

Jumping far ahead now, Savage is the IC champion and we’re in MSG. I wanna say this was on some other Network collection or DVD set, but it might just be something I saw on Prime Time Wrestling when I was reviewing one of those. Pedro gets a slam and Savage grabs a chair, but Pedro steals it away from him and Savage retreats to the floor and then retrieves a foreign object from his trunks and nails Pedro to take over. To the floor, where Savage runs him into the railing and stops to yell at Elizabeth. Double axehandle to the floor and he suplexes Pedro back in for two. Savage goes up and Pedro nails him on the way down and makes the comeback with his punches for two. O’Connor roll out of the corner gets two, and a small package gets two. Backslide gets two and they brawl to the floor, where Morales runs him into the railing and beats the count at 7:19. 6 for 8.

Macho Lifestyles (09.10.86)

Mean Gene is visiting the palatial estate of the Macho Man and Elizabeth, and they all hang out by the pool and chat. Savage brags that he is “very great at the wrestling” and likes to be alone. Some people might call him paranoid, he supposes. Hulkamania is dead, but Macho Madness is more seductive than SEX. Liz reluctantly agrees. Gene keeps asking her questions, so Savage gets all riled up until a “national women’s publication” interrupts via phone call, offering him half a million dollars to pose in their centerfold. That’s more than Burt Reynolds got! Then, some promoter from Japan calls offering half a million to fight three guys over there. Savage wants NONE OF THIS because it’s not a title shot at Hulk Hogan. A plane goes overhead and Savage isn’t in on it. You know why? NO TITLE SHOT. Awesome. 7 for 9.

Randy Savage v. Troy Martin(11.12.86)

Oh man, skinny rookie Shane Douglas is about to get SQUASHED. Savage rides him down to the mat and gives him a clean break on the ropes, then elbows him down, but Martin gets a rollup for two. Savage tosses him and drops the double axehandle on the floor, then beats on him in the audience and sends him back in for the double axehandle in the ring. Flying elbow sends Troy back to Pittsburgh at 2:40. 7 for 10.

Randy Savage & Honky Tonk Man v. Hulk Hogan & Ricky Steamboat (01.05.87)

Huh. Ricky should have been out with the throat injury at this point, so I’m assuming this was a dark match from Superstars or something wacky like that. While we’re on the subject, what is the damn holdup in releasing the throat-crushing match somewhere? We’re at, what, three Savage DVD sets now and it still hasn’t been on any of them? Honky, still wearing his initial gear with the stupid suspenders, gets pinballed by the babyfaces in the corner to start and Ricky runs him into Hulk’s boot. Finally Hulk brings Honky to his own corner and dares Savage to come in, so Randy walks away from the fight. Hey, he’s the MACHO MAN. He’ll tag in on his own terms, jerk. Hogan tosses Savage into the ring, so Randy tags out to Honky again and the babyfaces continue double-teaming him. Steamboat goes to a chinlock while a paranoid Savage stays far away from Hogan. Hulk slugs away on Honky and gets the corner clothesline, and Steamboat comes in with a sleeper, but Savage hits him with a knee from the apron. The heels take over and Honky gets the flying fistdrop, and Savage cuts off a Steamboat comeback with a masterfully timed hair-pull from the apron, just being a complete dickwad about it. They beat up Steamboat on the floor and Hogan can TAKE NO MORE and hauls Savage in, but the ref escorts Hulk out and Savage runs away again while Honky clobbers Steamboat from behind to retain control. Dragon and Honky collide and Savage decides to come in and strike while the iron is hot, but it’s HOT TAG Hogan and he’s had enough of this nonsense. Big boot for Savage and now Steamboat gets to make his comeback with chops on Macho, and he goes up with the flying chop. He goes up to finish, but Honky pushes him off the top and everyone is brawling until Savage beats up the ref and grabs the bell. Hogan stops that and Steamboat grabs it and tries for his revenge, but Savage runs away one last time and it’s a Sports Entertainment Finish at around 11:00. You would not believe how molten the crowd was for this whole thing. A tremendous tag team match! 8 for 11.

(Technical note: Because this whole thing is going to be one big review when it’s done, I’m just gonna carry on with the points from the first part for this disc)

Our panel discusses the famous Savage-Steamboat match at Wrestlemania. DDP relates how he stole pieces of that match for his feud with Johnny B. Badd in WCW early on. He also points out that he gets a lot of heat for laying out matches in advance, but Savage was even more obsessive than he was!

Randy Savage & Hercules v. Ricky Steamboat & Billy Jack Haynes (03.21.87)

Looks like some kind of dark match from a Challenge taping, but Gorilla and Bobby are on commentary for it. Herc overpowers Steamboat to start and goads him into a test of strength, but Steamboat rolls out of it and throws the chops. Over to Billy Jerk, and Hercules immediately runs away and brings Savage in. Bobby notes that this is standard strategy for his family members: If you think you’re going to be double-teamed by two or three guys, take a walk. Haynes throws Savage around, but Macho hits him with a knee to the back when he turns around and Hercules comes in for the heat. Bobby: “He’s even dumber than I thought!” There’s no way Steamboat doesn’t play face in peril here anyway, so of course Billy makes a quick comeback and presses Savage, then clotheslines Herc out of the corner and gets cut off before the hot tag. Interesting dynamic, because you’d think Haynes would be the natural hot tag guy. Savage cuts off the ring with the facelock and then throws him over the top rope so Herc can abuse him outside. Back in, Herc slugs away, but Billy manages to clothesline Savage and it’s HOT TAG Steamboat. Everyone gets chopped and Ricky goes up with the flying chop on Macho, but Savage manages to run him into the post and Steamboat goes over the top on the bump. He tries a sunset flip on Hercules, but Savage breaks it up and the heels beat on him in the corner. Now all is right with the world. As usual, Gorilla is DISGUSTED with the low quality of the refereeing tonight. Steamboat gets a bodypress on Savage for two and makes the hot tag to Haynes, and he presses Hercules and drops an elbow for two. The heels are whipped together and they toss Savage, which sets up the full nelson on Hercules. However, Savage saves with the double axehandle and it’s a DQ at 12:02. 12 year old Scott would have been losing his mind watching this. In fact I’m pretty sure I saw a match very close to this as the main event of a house show in Vancouver at the time. 9 for 12.

Intercontinental title: Ricky Steamboat v. Randy Savage (05.15.87)

No idea where this is from, although it originates from Houston at a house show and there’s multiple cameras shooting it. I guess maybe it’s a bonus match from one of the Prime Time Wrestling tapings? No commentary, though. So weird to have Steamboat DEFENDING the IC title! Savage elbows him down to start and chokes him out on the ropes for two, and then tosses him. He stomps on poor Ricky as he tries to get into the ring and slams him back in, but Steamboat does the famous rollup for two. Savage springboards out of the corner with a bodypress, but Steamboat rolls through for two. New trick from Savage! Macho with the clothesline out of the corner and he goes up with the double axehandle and elbows Steamboat down for two. Ricky comes back with chops and Savage gets tied in the ropes, so Steamboat beats on him and hangs him in the Tree of Woe for more abuse. Steamboat fights back out of the corner and gets a chop for two, as these ropes are looser than the slot machines in Mr. Burns’ Casino! Savage goes up and Steamboat nails him on the way down and gets a sunset flip, but Savage punches him for two. Steamboat with a rollup for two, but Savage necks him on the middle rope while kicking out. He charges and gets hung up on the ropes, and Steamboat catapults him into the turnbuckles, but Savage goes to the eyes. Steamboat heads up with the flying chop for two, but Savage runs him into the corner and they collide for the double down. It’s RINGBELL TIME, but Steamboat dodges him and Savage hits himself in the head with it on the rebound, and Steamboat gets the pin to retain at 10:50. Crazy that they were running at 80% efficiency and still had a **** match. 10 for 13.

So we skip ahead to 1988 now, with Savage as World champion, and DDP talks about how Savage was self-conscious about his lack of height, so he wore lifts in his boots and made sure to be on his toes all the time. Sean says that Savage’s work ethic was such that he felt personally obligated to put on a performance for fans who paid their money to see him.

Cage match, WWF title: Randy Savage v. Ted Dibiase (09.24.88)

Dibiase attacks to start and makes a quick climb of the cage, but Savage pulls him down, so Dibiase elbows him and climbs again. Savage slams him off the top this time and gets a bodypress, but Dibiase clotheslines him and climbs again. Savage elbows him down and they ram each other into the cage, but Savage tries to climb and Virgil nails him to put him down again. Dibiase takes over with the fistdrops, but Savage gets a suplex and climbs the other corner. Virgil cuts him off and Dibiase brings him down again and pounds away, and they race up either side of the cage until Dibiase changes his mind and hauls Savage down again. Dibiase drops more fists as the offense has been pretty lazy and one-dimensional here, but this is WAY past the expiration date for this feud anyway. Savage sends him into the cage with an atomic drop, but Virgil slams the door on him to prevent his escape. Dibiase tries to crawl out next, but Savage pulls him back in by the hair and runs him into the cage. They fight on the top rope and Virgil tries to interfere again, so Savage rams them together and climbs out to retain at 12:32. An OK match, good enough for a point but nothing I’d watch again. 11 for 14.

WWF title: Randy Savage v. Akeem (10.07.88)

We’re in Paris for this one. Now I KNOW this was on Prime Time Wrestling, so this is really stretching the definition of “Unreleased”. Like, yeah, unreleased on DVD, but definitely available previously. Perhaps “Rare” would have been a better title? Akeem tries to power him into the corner, but Savage uses the beard to necksnap him and goes up with a flying bodypress for two. Akeem puts him down with a clothesline and gets an atomic drop, and a suplex gets two. Akeem with the bearhug and he slugs away, and he drops the leg for two. Savage makes a dull comeback and slugs away in the corner, then dumps Akeem and follows with the flying axehandle. Back in, another axehandle is blocked and Akeem hangs him in the Tree of Woe and chokes him down. The ref complains about that, so Akeem throws him out and it’s a DQ at 10:19. What a lame match. They couldn’t have booked a clean finish against AKEEM? 11 for 15.

WWF title: Randy Savage v. Andre the Giant (10.24.88)

From MSG, and again, this was broadcast on MSG Network. The entire show will probably end up on the WWE Network eventually, in fact. Not that I’m not enjoying the DVD so far, but it’s definitely not what it’s advertised to be. The last match between them ended with Savage getting counted out, so this has a stip where Savage loses the title if he’s counted out. That’s a weird way to book a babyface. Then Finkel informs us that if Bobby Heenan and/or Elizabeth leave their corner, then their man gets DQ’d as well. OK, any MORE stipulations to pile on here? Two referees? JJ Dillon in a cage suspended over the ring? Andre immediately headbutts Savage out of the ring and then chokes him out in the corner and continues choking him in the middle of the ring. Savage comes back and slugs away in the corner, but Andre punches him in the kidneys to take over. Andre kind of hooks Savage’s arms for a half-assed submission move, like a reverse full nelson. Savage fights back and Andre gets tied into the ropes as usual, so Savage hits him with a double axehandle and goes up with the flying elbow, which misses. Andre bails to escape, so Savage follows with another axehandle out there, and Bobby leaves his corner to interfere and gets DQ’d at 6:47 as warned. Jesus, no wonder Savage couldn’t draw, he was booked like a complete chump at this point. 11 for 16.

And that’s the first disc finished! Next time: Savage’s heel run in 1989.

Disc 2

Randy Savage v. Ultimate Warrior(03.07.89)

Dark match from Superstars here, and it appears to be non-title even though both guys are champions at this point. No commentary, which means this is ACTUALLY unreleased! Warrior quickly blitzes him and shoulderblocks him out of the ring, and Savage runs away for a bit. Back in, he catches Warrior with a kick to the jaw and goes up, but gets caught and hung in the Tree of Woe, allowing Warrior to go to work on him. The referee protests this course of action, so Warrior puts him gently on the top rope and continues beating on Savage until KARMA strikes and he misses a blind charge. Savage puts him on the floor with a high knee and follows with a double axehandle. Man, you can just tell that after months of selling for the Akeems and Andres of the world every night, Savage was just chomping at the bit to go out and heel it up again. Back in, he drops a knee and goes to the chinlock, but Warrior immediately uses the power of the gods to fight free, so Randy puts him down with a clothesline for two. To the top for another flying axehandle that gets two, and Warrior hulks up. He beats on Savage in the corner, but Rick Rude comes out for the distraction and Savage gets a handful of tights for two. Warrior comes back with the big splash, but hits the knees, and Savage gets two. Warrior engages the powers of beyond to reenergize again, but goes after Rude outside and gets counted out like a dope at 7:50. Obviously they weren’t beating either guy going into Wrestlemania. Warrior and Savage had FREAKY chemistry together and if Warrior had these kinds of matches in 1990 after winning the title, he might have gotten over. Tremendously entertaining, with molten heat. 1 for 1.

A Sensational Manager (04.15.89)

From the Brother Love show, Savage introduces Sherri as his new manager. This aired on free TV! How does this even vaguely fit the “Unreleased” description?

The panel talks about the new dynamic with Sherri and Savage and Sean points out that Sherri could take bumps and do all this stuff that Liz couldn’t do, and she was basically “one of the boys”.

WWF title: Randy Savage v. Hulk Hogan (04.23.89)

Off to Toronto for the Wrestlemania rematch and Savage has NUCLEAR heat. From both sides! Gorilla makes a very valid point related to the one made by the panel: When Savage used to hide behind Liz, she didn’t know how to react or what to do. Sherri knows EXACTLY what to do. Hulk immediately tries to cheat by pulling Savage’s hair, so he responds in kind because wrestling has taught me that two wrongs do make a right. To the top for the double axehandle and he buries Hogan in his robe and hits another one. Amazingly, Hulk is smart enough to escape this trap, and comes back with an atomic drop and fires away with his blatantly illegal closed fists. And this man is the CHAMPION and a role model for children? Maybe children who cheat constantly and tan too much. Disgusting. Hulk throws him over the top rope, which should have been an immediate DQ win for Savage based on Toronto’s long history as an NWA territory, and Hulk rams him into the table. Back in for the running elbow and he catches Savage’s kick and chokes him out. WHERE IS THE REFEREE’S COUNT FOR THAT? Hulk goes to sexually harass Sherri and Savage valiantly defends her honor and knees Hulk out of the ring. #MeToo, bitch. Sherri tries to give Hulk a back scratch (who doesn’t love a good back scratch?) and he reacts badly, but that allows Savage to hit him from behind and choke him out. TWO WRONGS MAKE A RIGHT. Sherri adds some extra choking to make sure they’re extra right. Savage drops the knee for two and goes to the sleeper, and Hogan tries to pull the hair to escape. Don’t fight like a girl, Hulk. #BeAMan. Hogan is clearly out and Hebner still checks the arm, but that allows Hulk enough time to break free and make the comeback. Sadly, he clumsily trips coming off the ropes and Savage necksnaps him to take over again. Savage goes up and allegedly uses a foreign object on Hulk, but no proof is evident. #FakeNews. Hulk makes the comeback and throws more illegal closed fists, but Savage bails and pulls him out for the brawl on the floor, where Hogan ILLEGALLY throws him into the post. Sherri protests all this cheating and Hulk clumsily trips and falls into the railing, likely overcome by his own guilt, and Savage wins by countout, getting the moral victory over that scoundrel. Immortal Hulk? More like IMMORAL Hulk, am I right? 2 for 2.

Randy Savage v. Brutus Beefcake (05.16.89)

Dark match from Challenge this time, again with no commentary. Savage immediately takes a walk and then returns to clobber Beefcake from behind, but that goes badly for him and he stops for some advice from Sherri. That advice: “No matter how mad you are at someone, a rap album is never the answer.” Solid advice. She trips up Beefcake and Savage tosses him over the top to take over and Sherri gets her shots in. Back in, Savage with the double axehandle for two, but Brutus is in the ropes. Another try, but Beefcake hits him on the way down and makes the comeback, resulting in the sleeper in the middle of the ring. Sherri goes to assist and the ref kicks her hand away, so she just runs in for the DQ at 5:00. Beefcake threatens her with a forced haircut, which is a tad on the rapey side if you think about it, but Savage saves her and they live to cheat another day. 3 for 3.

Macho King Randy Savage v. Hercules (11.01.89)

We are of course now into the royalty period for Savage, as we discover who wins between a King and a god. Well, I guess Hercules was only a demi-god, so that makes it more of a fair fight. Savage stalls and runs away to start. I have to say, Savage’s pastel-trunks-and-white-boots period was an underrated fashion time for him. Once he went full-on Macho King with the long tights, less so. Herc works the arm, but Savage slugs free, so Herc press slams him after four reps. Macho bails to escape and gets some advice from Sherri. That advice? “Please don’t let your last match be with TNA.” Sadly, he didn’t listen to that one. Hercules goes after her and she beats on him to allow Savage to take over, and he hits a double axehandle to the floor. Sherri adds an impressive shot with her shoe and people are just SCREAMING at her from ringside (“Halloween’s over, take off the mask!”) That’s just mean. Back in, Savage elbows him down for two and necksnaps him for two. Sherri tries singing “Macho Man” to further annoy the crowd and Savage goes up and misses the flying elbow, allowing Herc to make the comeback. Clotheslines and punches are the order of the day, and Savage tries a sneak attack and lands on the floor. Herc suplexes him back in, but Sherri trips him up and Savage lands on top for two. Macho bodypress, but Herc catches him ala Warrior and slams him for two. Herc keeps obsessing over Sherri and then hits some clotheslines, but she pulls down the top rope and Herc lands on the floor. Herc pulls him out in turn, but Savage suckers him in for the LOADED PURSE OF DOOM and gets the pin at 10:22. This gets a point for Savage enthusiastically putting his crown back on after the win. 4 for 4.

Randy Savage & Sherri v. Dusty Rhodes & Sapphire (07.17.90)

Brother Love and Elizabeth are in the respective corners for MAXIMUM SHENANIGANS and Sherri is wrestling in a dress. Sherri bumps for Sapphire to start, but comes back with some shots. Over to Dusty and Macho and MAN is the bald spot getting evident on Savage now. Dusty elbows him down, but turns his back and gets sent to the outside for some abuse from Brother Love. Wait a second, it just occurred to me that he doesn’t actually love anyone at all! That should call him, I dunno, Brother Hate. Savage goes to a chinlock and heads up for the axehandle, but Dusty nails him on the way down and gets two. Savage slugs away, but misses a charge and Dusty gets his own sleeper. Sherri goes after Sapphire to distract the ref while Brother Love comes off the top rope to break it up. Sherri comes in, but Sapphire takes her down with a fireman’s carry of some kind for two. Everyone brawls and Sherri gets the purse ready, but Liz steals it and knocks her out, and Sapphire gets the pin at 7:43. Complete junk. 4 for 5.

Randy Savage v. Koko B. Ware (12.22.90)

So this is from Superstars, again totally flying in the face of “Unreleased”. This set is a bigger liar than Hulk Hogan. Savage goes to badmouth the BIRD because he’s an awesome heel, but Koko rolls him up for two. Birds are assholes anyway; don’t even get me started on crows. Savage gets a cheapshot and chokes Koko down to take over, but he comes back with a neckbreaker and then completely whiffs on a bodypress. Macho sends him to the floor and follows with the double axehandle into the railing. Back in, he drops the big elbow, oh yeah, dig it, and finishes at 2:42. Back to the Macho of old here. 5 for 6.

Kingdom of the Madness (03.23.91)

Macho and Sherri do a promo leading up to the retirement match with Warrior.

The panel talks about the snake-bite incident, and DDP does an amazing impression of Savage relating his paranoia about getting bitten by the snake. I mean, rightly so.

Reinstate! (11.16.91)

From Challenge, Savage and Liz do an interview and Savage begs Jack Tunney to be reinstated. The President’s job is to serve the people! But what about…no, never mind, not worth the crazy.

Randy Savage, Roddy Piper & Jim Duggan v. Ric Flair, Jake Roberts & Undertaker (12.02.91)

DAMN. Where’d they dig this one up? A dark match from Challenge, apparently. I would’ve been happy with Savage & Piper v. Roberts & Flair. Jake has his new ominous remix for his music, but he’s using his old babyface tights instead of the badass heel gear. Piper torments Flair to start and chases him to the floor, so Jake comes in. Piper: “You want Savage? YOU’RE STUPID!” So indeed Macho comes in and blitzes the Snake while Piper yells de-motivational slogans at him. Next up, Hacksaw and Undertaker, and that goes badly for Duggan as you’d expect. He comes back and clotheslines him to the floor, however. Can you imagine being around as a fan at this time, and then taking a few years off from watching and returning in 2000 to see Undertaker suddenly running around as a biker but still playing the same character in continuity? Wrestling is weird, man. Duggan gets worked over by the heels, but manages to bring Piper back in for a kneelift on Flair, but Ric goes to the throat and Piper goes FLYING, clearly having a blast working with Flair again. Taker and Flair take turns choking Piper on the ropes and Jake adds an atomic drop. See, now Piper and Jake was a dynamic we never got to explore and that would have been a HELL of a match, I bet. Flair tries a pin on Piper and uses the ropes, but Piper comes back and they do a pinfall reversal sequence to set up the hot tag to Macho. It’s BREAKING LOOSE IN TULSA and Savage drops the big elbow on Flair for the pin at 8:51. This was good fun, and the babyfaces won clean to send the crowd home happy. Can’t hate on that. 6 for 7.

Randy Savage v. The Barbarian (12.30.91)

OK, now this is getting random. This must be some kind of Coliseum Video deal because Mooney and Lord Alfred are on commentary. Ballbearing attacks to start and pounds away in the corner. Savage’s outfit looks like a roving gang of flamboyant abstract artists spraypainted a zebra and then skinned it to make wrestling gear. Barbarian misses a charge and Savage drops the big elbow at 2:00. Savage was clearly into his lazy “sell for 2 minutes and then drop the elbow” phase. 6 for 8.

Randy Savage & Hulk Hogan v. The Berzerker & Jake Roberts (01.28.92)

Squint and it’s almost like Bruiser Brody for the most awesome dark match main event in history. This one has the tizzime count on the screen so it’s a TRUE Unreleased hidden gem. Hulk clotheslines Berzerker out of the ring a few times, and Savage slugs away in the corner, but quickly falls victim to getting punched in the head and starts selling. Berzerker chokes away in the corner and gets a flying clothesline for two, and it’s time for the chinlock portion of our program. I am SO not a fan of 1992 Randy Savage outside of the really big matches. I mean, people who bitch about Bret Hart phoning it in should have to watch a marathon of Savage selling for midcard geeks and then winning in 4:00 with the big elbow and get back to me. Berzerker with a piledriver for two and Jake pounds away with elbows in the corner. Berzerker misses a kneedrop and Hulk gets the hot tag and cleans house on the heels, and Savage chases Jake all the way to the back with a double axehandle, but Undertaker appears and chases him right back. The Megapowers team up for a big boot and Hulk rolls up Roberts for the pin at 8:08. NOBODY was giving any more fucks than contractually obligated in this one and Savage was basically Hulk’s little buddy again. Barf. 6 for 9.

Randy Savage v. Jake Roberts (03.10.92)

Another Challenge dark match and nearing the end for Jake, so this likely won’t go long. Jake quickly attacks and lays out Savage with the short clothesline before going to the chinlock. Another short clothesline and he’s ready to finish, but Savage cuts him off and blue balls his DDT boner. Elbow out of the corner and he goes up with the double axehandle, but Jake bails to escape. Savage runs the arm into the post and they head back in, where Savage tries another axehandle and gets caught coming down. DDT in the middle and people are FREAKING, but Jake decides to stop and savor the moment, and Savage rolls him up for the pin at 3:48. SEE WHAT I MEAN ABOUT SAVAGE IN 92? 6 for 10.

This one is on a Blue Jays-style losing streak and the closer is still suspended for domestic abuse for another month, so I don’t know if it’s gonna pull out a victory from behind like Savage in 92.

Two time WWE Champion (04.08.92)

Savage does his post-Mania victory interview on Superstars. You know, it really bugs me when they have to retcon the title into “WWE title” because of all their branding bullshit. It was called the WWF TITLE, dammit! You don’t need to change it, even for legal reasons!

Randy Savage & Undertaker v. The Berzerker & Ric Flair (07.21.92)

Seriously, enough of the Berzerker already. We’re not even into the WCW disc yet, I don’t want to give up on this set prematurely. BE BETTER, RANDY SAVAGE DVD SET! Anyway, this is yet another dark match main event from Challenge. You know what would be awesome? Stuff like Savage’s run as USWA champion from around 93, or some of the early outlaw promotion stuff pre-Memphis. Just completely off-the-wall crazy things you’d never expect instead of all this lazy thrown-together footage with guys mailing it in. Or at least concentrate heavier on the 85-87 era when Savage was at his peak. Anyway, Savage and Flair half-ass work off a hammerlock and basically do nothing for FOUR MINUTES and then Savage tags in Undertaker and he destroys Ric. He even does a pair of press slams, which you never see from him, and it’s over to the Berzerker portion of our program. Taker gets booted to the floor and pulls Berzerker out for a quick brawl, which results in Berzerker getting run into the stairs a few times. Back in, the babyfaces double-team him and Savage gets two, but he immediately starts selling and the heels beat on him in the corner. Berzerker chokes him out with the Nash Choke in the corner and the managers get some shots on him from outside while Flair yells at a lady at ringside. Berzerker pulls up the mats and slams him on the concrete in the least-dangerous version of that spot you’ll ever see, and back in Savage gets tied in the ropes and beat on some more. Finally Randy escapes and it’s hot tag Undertaker, tombstone for Berzerker, and the big elbow finishes at 13:32, good night. Literally, this boring match put me to sleep. 6 for 11.

Randy Savage v. Razor Ramon (10.28.92)

OK! Intriguing! This could be a win, let’s hope for the best. As usual, our old friend the Challenge dark match main event. Razor hitting on Mike McGuirk while she gives him a disgusted expression is a good start. Ramon was pretty hot leading into Survivor Series so you’d assume he goes over via screwjob of some kind here. So the battle of Macho v. Machismo is engaged, and Razor immediately beats him down until Savage knees him into the corner and chokes him out on the ropes. And then Razor kicks him in the knee and starts working on that to get the heat. Blind charge misses, but he recovers with choking and works on the knee in the corner. Razor with a half-crab and he works the knee and works the knee and works the knee some more. Savage fights up and Ramon keeps kicking him in the knee to put him down again, and finally he decides to put him away with a spinning toehold of some kind, but Savage shoves him off and they fight on the floor. Macho with the double axehandle to the floor, but Razor beats the count at 10:04. What a flat finish. This was literally Scott Hall working the knee for 9 minutes. 6 for 12.

Randy Savage v. Terrific Terry Taylor (12.14.92)

This is from Prime Time Wrestling in the dying days of the show, and it’s apparently a “feature matchup”, which is really stretching the definition of that phrase. This was such a bizarre run for Taylor, as he got turfed from WCW during the Watts era and ended up back in the WWF in a JTTS role and occasional announcing role. The commentary from Gorilla is already talking about Savage in the past tense, like he’s Pedro Morales, with the announcers waxing nostalgic about his time as WWF champion and all the charitable work he does now that those days are gone. You know, those days of SIX MONTHS AGO. Savage works the arm and they get into a shoving match which ends with Taylor getting clotheslined to the floor. Taylor gets a jawbreaker back in the ring and chokes him down to take over, and a backbreaker gets two. Atomic drop gets two. Dropkick gets two. Savage comes back with a sunset flip for two, but Taylor gets a sleeper. Savage escapes, but Taylor takes him down with a spinebuster for two. Another dropkick misses and Savage rolls him up for two. Backslide gets two. Taylor puts him down with another clothesline for two. Savage misses a blind charge and hits Taylor’s elbow, but Terry decides to go to the top rope for the first time in his career and he lands on Savage’s knees. Savage comes back and necksnaps him, then pops up with a double axehandle for two. Atomic drop into a backdrop suplex gets two. Taylor misses a blind charge and hits boot, and Savage ends this disc on an up note with the big elbow at 9:43, oh yeah. 7 for 13, both guys were working hard and it paid off. “A great champion of the past!” declares Alfred Hayes. OUCH.

Disc 3

And we kick off the third disc with “Speaking from the Heart”, aka the Macho Man’s contribution to Wrestlemania: The Album. Complete with background singers who pronounce “Macho” as if it was spelled “Matcho”.

Corey then introduces some outtakes from the video, complete with Randy talking in his “normal human being” voice and being pretty funny. Sean Mooney reminisces about how hard it was to get into Savage’s private space, but how great of a person he was once you got there.

So now we move into the phase of his career where he was a commentator first and a wrestler second, mostly acting as an ambassador for the WWF. Corey tells the story about how Savage used to be involved in Steve Keirn’s training school via FCW, where he’d hang out with Keirn and just randomly show up at school to help pick up Steve’s kids. And Keirn’s kids were like “Oh, it’s just my dad’s friend Macho Man” but the other kids at school would of course lose their minds and Savage would make sure to play Macho Man Randy Savage for them and give them all the whole experience. That’s pretty awesome.

Randy Savage v. Yokozuna (03.28.93)

This is from the “March to Wrestlemania” special that doesn’t appear to be on the Network at this point. Big stall from Yoko to start while Heenan speculates that Bret Hart paid Savage to “go after the knee or arm or something” and prevent Yoko from making it to the show. Seems sound. Savage tries a headlock and that goes badly for him, as Yoko tosses him and then powerslams him back in the ring. Yoko chokes away, but misses a blind charge and Savage makes the comeback with a double axehandle to put him down on one knee. Back up, but FUJ THE STOOGE nails him with the flag, and Yoko puts him away at 6:36. Savage got nothing here, but really he shouldn’t have anyway. 0 for 1. Vince makes sure to put Savage in the past tense, calling him “one of the greatest former champions of the past”.

Randy Savage v. Lex Luger (06.15.93)

Whaaaaaaaaat? This is a thing that happened? I mean, aside from the million shitty matches they had in WCW later on. It appears to be an unused Coliseum Video exclusive judging by the banners. I’m assuming it was scrapped due to Luger’s babyface turn meaning that this match no longer fit their narrative. Luger does the deal where he’s forced to wear the protective arm band and freaks out about it to kill time, and they do a chase outside the ring for more stalling before Lex attacks and pounds away in the corner to take over. And he sloooooooooowly works Macho over and hammers away in the corner while yelling, until a blind charge misses and Savage makes his comeback with the necksnap and a knee to put him on the floor. He follows with the double axehandle, but Lex puts him down with the STAINLESS STEEL FOREARM OF DOOM and pins him at 9:45. Insomnia cure in a bottle. And they made Luger into the top babyface like a month later! 0 for 2.

Randy Savage v. Mr. Hughes (07.18.93)

Another deleted Coliseum exclusive. Hughes pounds away on Savage to start and clumsily manages to mess up a charge into the corner, but catches him with a backbreaker for two. He tosses Macho and runs him into the post. Back in, we get a weird spot where he tries an irish whip on Savage, but then grabs him by the hair on the way by and takes him down. Just looked disjointed. Savage makes a quick comeback with the double axehandle and Hughes charges him, hits Harvey, and Macho gets the fluke rollup for the pin at 5:23. Total mess. 0 for 3.

Randy Savage & Mr. Perfect v. Mr. Hughes & Giant Gonzalez (08.17.93)

Well this is certainly a unique match, again courtesy the cutting room of Coliseum Video. The heels quickly cut off Mr. P and slowly work him over in the corner, and Hughes goes to a facelock, but Savage gets a hot tag and then IMMEDIATELY gets double-teamed and choked out by the Giant. Gonzalez uses the CLUBBING FOREARMS because that’s about the extent of his offense, but Hughes comes in and misses a blind charge, and it’s back to Perfect. He gets cut off immediately as well, but Savage hits Hughes with a double axehandle behind the ref’s back, and Perfect rolls him up for the pin at 7:14. Another terrible one with a dead crowd. 0 for 4.

Randy Savage v. Fatu (12.13.93)

This is from an episode of RAW for no particular reason. Fatu immediately elbows him down and goes to work, no-selling a faceplant and superkicking Macho out of the ring. Savage tries to run him into the stairs, but Fatu no-sells that and superkicks him again. Back in, that gets two. Savage mounts a comeback and gets backdropped to the floor on a charge attempt. Back in, Fatu gets two. Afa distracts the ref and Fatu uses the SHRUNKEN HEAD OF DOOM for two and goes up, but Savage crotches him and hits him with the double axehandle, then drops the big elbow to finish at 5:50. Usual later era Savage formula. 0 for 5.

The panel discusses Savage’s jump to WCW, and DDP talks about how Savage told him to tone down the flashiness a bit. DDP’s like “MACHO MAN is telling me to tone it down?” The panelists were all sad when he jumped, but WWE needed the kick in the pants, so it was for the best. But they’re all disappointed that we never got that Savage-Michaels feud.

Macho Man Snaps into WCW (12.03.94)

Randy Savage debuts on WCW Saturday Night to what sounds like a very subdued reaction. Is that because they had to overdub the music? A lot of people think he’s a TIME BOMB, yeah. But regardless, he’s here to confront that Hulk Hogan fella, but Gene informs him that Hulk isn’t exactly there. So Savage decides to wait for an opening in Hogan’s schedule, which is Starrcade ’94 in this case. And either he’ll shake his hand, or slap his face.

Kevin Sullivan & The Butcher v. Hulk Hogan & Randy Savage (01.25.95)

Come on, this is from the Clash of Champions! You can literally turn on the Network and watch this show. Also, why the fuck would they even pick this godawful match? Regardless, Michael Buffer declares the Megapowers to be the “one of the newest and most exciting teams in the world”. You know, the team that started as a team in 1987 and have a combined age of 170 or so. But they don’t like a day over 168. Anyway, this has one of the most famously awful spots in history, and both Vader the recently retired Ric Flair watching at ringside. Vader in particular is looking resplendent in his suit jacket and jock strap mask. Hulk throws some laughable punches at Butcher in the corner to start and the camera zooms in so we can see how much space there is between the fist and his head, and the faces double-team Butcher as Savage runs wild. Hulk with a big boot on Butcher for two, but he walks into the SLEEPER. NO! NOT HULKAMANIA! He might kill the man! Unfortunately, the evil plan is foiled due to Butcher being a complete fucking moron, as he releases the hold and the idiot heels celebrate. So Savage thinks fast and goes up, dropping the big elbow on Hogan to wake him up. Yes, it’s the famous REVIVING ELBOW. Like, on what level is that supposed to make the least bit of sense? That’s like something out of a Vince Russo wet dream, where you’re booking a spot as a wink to the fans who know that Hulk traditionally kicks out of Macho Man’s finish. But why deliberately kill someone’s finisher for such a stupid throwaway spot? Even though you can’t possibly top that as a finish, the move continues regardless, with the moron heels throwing Savage over the top rope to get the heat and Kevin Sullivan beating on him on the floor. As usual, Hogan’s little buddy Savage does all the work while Hogan stands on the apron and gets paid $100 / sec to work TBS. Good deal if you can get it. Back in the ring, they beat and beat and beat on Savage, but it’s hot tag to the Orange Racist Goblin, big boot, legdrop, and big elbow on Butcher to allow Hogan to finish at 12:04. Well they killed off that Starrcade main eventer in record time. Poor Macho doesn’t even get to score the pin in his big Clash debut. 0 for 6. Oh, and then Vader attacks Hogan and Hulk no-sells the powerbomb, because Hogan.

Randy Savage v. Steve Austin (05.27.95)

So this is a thing that happened very late in the WCW career of Austin, as a part of the US title tournament. Tony starts talking about how angry someone is, and I immediately assume he’s referring to Austin, but no, it’s Randy Savage. Because who would pay to see an angry Steve Austin out for revenge? Savage elbows Austin down and chokes away on the ropes, but Austin puts him down with a kneedrop and goes up, missing a flying splash. They fight outside and Savage rams him right into the SLIM JIM RINGPOST and finishes with the big elbow at 2:15. Really? That’s it? 0 for 7.

WCW World title: Randy Savage v. Ric Flair (12.25.95)

From the Christmas Nitro, two days before Starrcade ’95. Random great character touch with Jimmy Hart I noticed in the closeups during intros: Presumably Hart makes big money as a manager for the big stars, but he still makes sure to wear crappy cheap sunglasses because he’s basically a skeevy used car salesman at heart. That’s pretty cool. Flair goes with the eyepoke to start, but misses the kneedrop and Savage goes to work on it right away. Figure-four and Flair makes the ropes with the help of Jimmy Hart, as that deal immediately pays dividends for him. Savage pounds away in the corner and Flair drops him with an atomic drop, but Savage reverses the figure-four into a small package for two. Flair tosses him and Jimmy gets the cheapshots in. And we take a break and return with Savage grabbing a chair out of the front row, but Flair clotheslines him on the top rope on the way in. Bischoff clarifies that Hogan is “basically suspended for the rest of 1995.” Wow, six whole days, that’s harsh. Flair pounds on the taped arm to take over and works on a hammerlock, but Savage makes a brief comeback before Flair puts him down with a low blow. And we take another break and return with them slugging it out as my wife notes that Savage looks like he’s wearing “those furry mops they sell on TV” on his boots. If that’s the worst thing about Savage’s wardrobe choices in 1995, we’re lucky. Savage with a sleeper, but Flair counters with a kneecrusher as Bischoff notes that everyone is leaving the WWF and coming to WCW. In a related note, WCW was supposed to tape every other week following this show, but Turner higher-ups were apparently so delighted that WWF was in a death spiral that they actually OK’d live shows every week just to fuck with them. Bet it didn’t feel so good for Vince being on the other side of that kind of thing. Flair with the figure-four, but Savage makes the ropes and slams Flair off the top to make the comeback. Flair goes to the knee again, however, and tries a sleeper, but Savage runs him into the corner to break and gets a small package for two. Flair with a piledriver, but Macho backdrops out for two. Double axehandle gets two. Jimmy trips him up and they slug it out off that, but Lex Luger runs in for the DQ at 21:52 to trigger a giant brawl to end the show. So yeah, they basically gave away the Starrcade main event two days before the show, but it was a HELL of a match. 1 for 8.

Randy Savage v. Kurasawa (03.25.96)

This is from WCW Pro, so you KNOW nobody watched it the first time. Kurasawa was the very “creative” name for Manabu Nakanishi in his WCW run. Savage jumps him from behind and Dusty makes a boo-boo and says “Megapowers”. Bet that cost someone some money. Kurasawa throws some chops in the corner and some nice kicks to take over and Savage proceeds to selling. Kurasawa goes after Savage’s blatantly taped arm and locks in the Fujiwara armbar, but Savage makes the ropes. Kurasawa goes up no adequately explored reason and misses an elbow, and SURPRISE, Savage makes the quick comeback and drops the big elbow at 2:45. This could have been something cool and different and it just wasn’t. 1 for 9. Chris Cruise describes this as a “grueling match” for Savage.

Randy Savage v. Earl Robert Eaton (04.15.96)

Eaton attacks and gets backdropped to the floor, and Savage drops an elbow for two in the ring. Eaton tosses him to take over, and puts Savage in a figure-four, as the night of shitty figure-fours continues. Savage reverses out and chases off Wildcat Willy or Jeeves or whatever he was being called here, and finishes with the big elbow at 4:00. Savage keeps dropping the elbow on Eaton because he’s really mad at Ric Flair. 1 for 10.

Next up, DDP talks about his feud with Savage, and we jump to 1997 for an interview with Page from Nitro, which is interrupted by EVIL MACHO and his “bimbo”, Liz. Liz playing a sneering bitchy heel is an awesome twist that I can’t believe Vince never thought of trying because she kills it just standing there. Macho questions if Page is “some kind of gem-ologist” and feels like DDP has no family jewels. Fine wordplay there. 2 for 11.

Randy Savage v. Curt Hennig (08.11.97)

From Nitro, also. Lot of that on this “Unreleased” DVD. They immediately brawl on the floor and we take a break, and return with Savage selling in the ring. I’m immediately confused about who was doing what at this point, but really, who cares? I think Savage was the heel and this was just before Hennig turned nWo? DDP runs in for the DQ at 2:20 before I can develop enough of an opinion to care one way or the other, and then Scott Hall comes in for the nWo beatdown on DDP. And then Hennig disappears and Luger makes the save and it’s all a big schmoz. 2 for 12.

Randy Savage v. Lex Luger (12.22.97)

From the legendary disaster that was nWo Nitro. How blessed are we to get TWO Savage v. Luger matches on this set? SO BLESSED. Lex attacks and whips Savage around the ring, and then stomps away. I should note that the commentary, with Tenay, Rick Rude, and Bobby Heenan, is like knitting needles in my earholes. Rude going WAAAAAAAY over the top as the evil heel is just ridiculous. And then Savage gets the heat on Luger and the nWo announcer starts randomly playing over the PA and the crowd is whatever the opposite of molten is. Super-cooled steel? They fight on the floor and Lex makes the comeback with his dizzying array of clotheslines, but the ref is bumped. And what do you think happens next? Did you guess “nWo run-in”? Because you probably should have. Savage drops the big elbow after the beatdown for the pin at 6:00. This was 40 pounds of bullshit crammed into a 5 pound bag. As they say. 2 for 13.

Randy Savage & Madusa v. Ric Flair & Charles Robinson (05.17.99)

Oh lord, I remember this. We’re into the Giant Shrapnel Logo era for WCW now with the company rapidly falling apart and Savage in the midst of a massive midlife crisis with his harem of women. Madusa starts with Little Naitch, who is clearly having the time of his life as the son David should have been. Charles gets a couple of armdrags, but she blocks another attempt and Charles has a Flair-like freakout about it. They trade armbars and Robinson stops to strut, so Madusa clotheslines him and we get a Ref Flop. Over to Savage, who slugs away on Flair in the corner, giving us a Flair Flop. Flair goes low behind the ref’s back and Little Naitch goes to work on Savage, but that goes badly for him. Madusa comes in to bat cleanup and piledrives him for two, but he’s in the ropes. Flair comes in and she’s all over him as well and chops him in the corner, but Flair puts her down with a backdrop suplex and that draws HEAT. Flair drops an elbow on her and goes to work on the leg, but she cradles to reverse the figure-four, and then rolls him up for two. Flair suplexes her again and NOW, WOO, WE GO TO SCHOOL, but Randy has seen enough and breaks it up for her. Madusa goes low with ZEAL and it’s hot tag Savage, and he proceeds to bulldoze the Flair Twins, then slams them both off the top in turn, giving us a pair of Flair Flips afterwards. And inevitably, Charles takes the big elbow and gets pinned with one foot at 8:55. They got Savage hugely over as a babyface here again and then immediately fucked it up. Like, record time. Because WCW. 3 for 14.

And DDP finishes by tearfully talking about Randy Savage finally getting into the Hall of Fame. Everyone talks about what Macho means to them. Corey starts asking Bayley “What kind of mark…” and then they all crack up at the unintentional wordplay. Sean tells the story about Randy wanting the entire Poffo family to go into the Hall of Fame, but ultimately Lanny realized that Randy was too big of a star to deny everyone that moment over something like that.

And we finish with Savage giving a talk at an elementary school, and he’ll see us down the road. Dig it!

The Pulse

So yeah, the WCW stuff at the end completely went off a cliff, but that mixed tag and Flair match were highlights at least. Third disc is pretty terrible, but I’d call it a recommendation for $20.

Hmm, I’ve also got this Blu-Ray downstairs called “Macho Man: The Randy Savage story”. Maybe we’ll check that out…