Views from the Hawke’s Nest: Macho Madness – The Randy Savage Ultimate Collection Disc 1

Matt Striker and Maria are the hosts of the DVD. Striker does a decent Savage impression.

July 9, 1985
Prime Time Wrestling

Randy Savage vs. Rick McGraw
This was Savage’s WWF debut.

Macho was heeling it up. He was billed as a big free agent. Savage controlled the match, and the match was very boring. McGraw hit an airplane spin/Samoan drop combo, but Savage came right back. McGraw got a nearfall with a backslide, and Savage ran to the floor. Savage then got back control of the match. This match is sinfully boring. Macho hit the axe handle to the floor. The crowd liked that. Savage then hit a suplex on the floor. McGraw eventually made a comeback. Savage caught him with a lariat out of the corner and then the diving elbow: 1…2…3

As I said in the recap, this match was sinfully boring. There were a few moments that the crowd popped for, but this should only be seen for historical purposes.
Match Rating: 1/2*

Striker and Maria discussed how Savage was courted by various managers. However, Savage decided to hire Miss Elizabeth.

December 7, 1985

Randy Savage (w/ Miss Elizabeth) vs. Ricky Steamboat
Steamboat dominated the match early by going after the left arm. Savage finally came back by sending Steamboat to the floor and hitting the double axe handle. Savage was in control after that. Steamboat came back after he avoided the diving elbow. They started going back and forth. Savage hid in the ropes at one point. The referee pulled Steamboat off him. That allowed Savage to hit Steamboat with some sort of object: 1…2…3

Steamboat tried to reveal the illegal object after the match. He managed to get it from Savage, but the decision did not seem to be reversed.

This was just a taste of what they could do with each other. I liked Steamboat’s work on Savage’s arm, but it didn’t end up going anywhere. The finish was obviously unsatisfying as well.
Match Rating: **1/2

December 30, 1985

Randy Savage (w/ Miss Elizabeth) vs. Hulk Hogan(c) [WWF Championship]
This was a main event in Madison Square Garden.

Hogan was running through Savage early on, but Savage eventually cut him off. Savage was in control for only a few moments before Hogan came firing back. Elizabeth begged for Savage’s life, but Hogan gently moved her away. Savage managed to connect on the diving elbow pretty much out of nowhere, but Hogan kicked out. Hogan accidentally tackled he referee. Savage then hit the axe handle with the belt. Savage got the referee to count out Hogan.

Savage put the belt on his waste, but he obviously did not win the championship. Savage was outraged when the ring announcer said that.

This was a hot brawl for a while, but the finish was obviously quite weak. Hogan and Savage had a great dynamic in the ring, as Savage was able to bump around a lot to make Hogan look strong.
Match Rating: **3/4

February 8, 1986

Tito Santana(c) vs. Randy Savage (w/ Miss Elizabeth) [WWF Intercontinental Championship]
Savage was stalling a lot. Santana finally took the fight to Savage, and he ran through the Macho Man a bit. Savage cut him off with a eye rake and then worked Santana over. Santana started to come back after he rammed Savage’s head into a ringpost. There was an accidental ref bump which cost Santana because he caught Savage in a small package. Savage hurt his left knee, and Santana went after it. Santana applied the figure four, but Savage got to the ropes. Savage avoided another figure four and pulled something out of his tights. In the same spot as the Steamboat match, he missed the first shot with the object. Then he hit Santana in the face when Santana went for a back suplex: 1…2…3. Same finish as the Steamboat match. New champ!

This match was pretty fun. It was simple old face/heel stuff until the end with the knee injury. Simplicity is not an insult though.
Match Rating: ***

January 3, 1987

Randy Savage(c) (w/ Miss Elizabeth) vs. Bruno Sammartino [WWF Intercontinental Championship]
This is quite the battle of the different generations.

Savage tried to hide behind Elizabeth, but Sammartino caught him. Holy shit, the opening minutes of this were fucking hot as Sammartino tore into Savage. Savage managed to cut him off on the floor after hiding behind Elizabeth again. Savage then worked him over. Bruno had to hit a desperation eye poke to slow Savage down. Bruno came back. They brawled some more. This match is still pretty hot. Savage hit him with a chairshot on the floor and then got back into the ring to win via countout.

Bruno attacked Savage more after the match. Bear hug!

I loved this! Bruno’s physical appearance was not great, but he looked absolutely motivated to have the best match possible in the six minutes they had. The crowd was hot for pretty much the whole thing, and it left me dying to see a rematch. Savage was awesome here, as he bumped around as much as possible to make Bruno look good.
Match Rating: ***

1987
Wrestlemania

Randy Savage(c) (w/ Miss Elizabeth) vs. Ricky Steamboat (w/ George Steele) [WWF Intercontinental Championship]
Much like their Boston Garden match earlier on this set, Steamboat started the match by going after Savage’s left arm. Savage cut him off pretty quickly though and then worked him over. Steamboat started to fight back, but Savage cut him off again. Steamboat finally started to come back after a back body drop to the floor. Steamboat got some nearfalls with a series of pinning combinations. There was an accidental ref bump. Savage hit the diving elbow, but the ref was still out of it. Savage went to get the ring bell, but Steele prevented him from using it. Savage went for a scoop slam, but Steamboat got a small package: 1…2…3

I know I’m being an asshole by “underrating” this beloved match, but I’ve never related to the idea that this is a timeless classic. That being said, I can understand why this match was held in such high esteem at the time. There was a ton of athleticism here, which probably stood out even more in the WWF at the time. I also can understand that if you were a fan at this time, I’m sure this match was very important to you. It’s still a really fun match for sure though. They had a great character and in-ring dynamic, and the crowd was into this whole thing. It just never reached the peak for me that it did for some people.
Match Rating: ***3/4

February 5, 1988
The Main Event

The Honky Tonk Man (c) (w/ Jimmy Hart & Peggy Sue) vs. Randy Savage (w/ Miss Elizabeth) [WWF Intercontinental Championship]
Honky Tonk said he was going to retain the title and win over the girl.

The crowd is RED HOT for this matchup. Savage was mostly running through Honky early on until a Jimmy Hart distraction allowed Honky to hit Savage with the megaphone. Honky worked Savage over after that, and Hart sporadically attacked him as well. Honky Tonk man got distracted by Miss Elizabeth. Honky and Hart had her trapped, but Savage made the save. Savage then made a big comeback. Savage went to attack Hart, but Honky accidentally took him out himself. Sleeper from Savage! Both men went to the floor again. Savage sent him into a ringpost and then won via countout.

Honky tried to attack Savage with a guitar after the match, but Savage stopped the attack and destroyed the guitar. Savage and Elizabeth posed in the ring after the match.

What a battle! The heat here was so off the charts, and the dynamic was just perfect face/heel stuff. I’m not a really a fan of the damsel in distress spots with Elizabeth. However, at least Honky Tonk man was portrayed as a scumbag for being a scumbag.
Match Rating: ***1/4

March 27, 1988
Wrestlemania

Randy Savage (w/ Miss Elizabeth) vs. Ted DiBiase (w/ Andre The Giant) [WWF Championship]
Do I need to recap the reasons why there was a tournament to crown a WWF Champion at this Wrestlemania? Everyone reading this should know about it by now, right?

Andre interfered early, and the crowd cheered for Hogan. That’s a good sign for Savage. Andre interfered for a second time. He was so awesome in how casual he was with his interference. The crowd was very cold to the match. Andre protected DiBiase from the double axe handle. Savage sent Elizabeth to the back. Elizabeth brought out Hulk Hogan. DiBiase was working over Savage. Andre attacked Savage, and Hogan attacked Andre. Savage tossed DiBiase off the top rope and went for the diving elbow, but DiBiase avoided it. DiBiase got the cobra clutch, but Hogan hit him with a chair. Stupid. Diving elbow from Savage: 1…2…3!

This match was pretty boring when it was just Savage and DiBiase to be honest. The interference stuff were the only aspects of the match that the fans cared about until the finish. As for the finish, Savage needing Hogan’s help to deal with Andre was fine. Savage needing Hogan to cheat to win was very, very stupid.
Match Rating: **

June 25, 1988

Randy Savage(c) (w/ Miss Elizabeth) vs. Ted DiBiase (w/ Virgil) [Steel Cage Match for the WWE Championship]
They started brawling right away. DiBiase made a few climbing attempts early, but Savage always stopped him. Savage seemed to have DiBiase stuck in the ropes, but Virgil prevented Savage from escaping. Both men then took turns crawling out the door. Walking out the door to win a cage match has always been one of those cage match tropes that I find so stupid. I don’t blame someone for having that idea. I blame everyone else for copying it. In a weird moment, both men started to climb. Virgil knocked Savage down, and DiBiase then stopped climbing. Savage hit an atomic drop and went to crawl out, but Virgil slammed the cage in his face. Savage went to climb, but Virgil and DiBiase climbed to stop him. Savage bashed their heads together and dropped to the floor to retain the title.

That was a fantastic finish to an otherwise stupid match. The crowd seemed to genuinely believe that DiBiase could win, which created an enjoyable environment. That covered for a lot of the stupidity in this match. Obviously, cage matches meant a lot more back then and crawling out the door got over the brutality of the cage. However, it still comes across as very stupid. That may just be a modern eyes bias against it though. DiBiase also clearly had an opportunity to win and just jumped off the cage for no reason. I’m not sure if it was a timing issue, but regardless of the reason, it looked really stupid.
Match Rating: **1/2

The special features on the first disc cover the Savage/Elizabeth marriage proposal and wedding.

Check out some free Randy Savage matches!
Randy Savage vs. Ted DiBiase
Randy Savage vs. Jake Roberts
Randy Savage vs. Jake Roberts

Thanks everybody for reading! You can send feedback to my Twitter or to my email address: [email protected]. Also, feel free to check out my own wrestling website, FreeProWrestling.com. Check out a full/organized list of all the wrestling show reviews I’ve done at 411mania.

The 411: Two more discs to go!
Final Score:  9.0   [  Amazing ]