411’s WWE Rivals: Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage Report

-GREATEST RIVALS EPISODE EVER! Wait, I guess I should watch the episode first, sorry. So, of all the episodes this is the one that is going to bring the most nostalgia and just make me so happy. These are my two favorite pro-wrestlers of all time. I grew up on this rivalry and it is in my DNA at this point. I started doing Retro Reviews from 1989 just because of this rivalry. This is going to be glorious. Let’s get to it!

-Gabriel Iglesias is our host now and is joined at the table by Cody Rhodes, Kevin Nash, Natalya, and JBL.

-THEY HAVE SEAN MOONEY AS A TALKING HEAD! Rollins compares it to The Avengers with Cap meeting Iron Man! The tease before the intro has me losing my mind. I LOVE PRO-WRESTLING!

-Cody notes Hogan and Savage changed WWE forever and Nash says that Savage was the perfect foil for Hogan. JBL says Hogan is the expression “be larger than life so people in the cheap seats can see you,” and he did it magically. Why he was so good at Stadium Shows!

-Hulk Hogan says in 85 it was all cylinders go and they were breaking doors down all over the country. HHH puts over Hogan’s look, and charisma. He credits Hogan’s psychology in the ring and how he could look bigger than everyone, but knew how to play the sympathetic babyface. “He really was the show-biz side of what we do.”

-We see Hogan in Rocky III, The Dolly Parton Show, Arsenio, The Tonight Show. Sean Mooney calls Hogan the ultimate good guy and you needed someone to challenge him.

-Enter The Macho Man! Memphis footage and it’s glorious! That man was a star from the second he showed up on our screens in Memphis. We get some background on Savage and his family. They ran an outlaw promo in Kentucky and tried to move in on Lawler’s territory. Savage cutting a promo on Lawler’s dead father is amazing! We get the story of Superstar Dundee allegedly pulling a gun on Savage, who took the gun and pistol whipped him. Savage has always said there are lots of versions to that story.

-Savage makes his WWF debut in June of 1985. Waltman talks about how insane it was seeing Savage wrestle on TV with his wild style and flying off the top rope to the floor. Hogan says he didn’t know Savage existed until he showed up to TV in New York. “He was kind of a smaller wrestler, but my first question was, who is the girl with him?” OH MAN, THOSE EYES HAD LUST FROM DAY ONE!

-Miss Elizabeth and as I have noted, she was the crush of every wrestling fan at Hutchinson Elementary School. Miss Elizabeth debuts in September and Hogan is told that she is Savage’s wife. “If they are together, this will work.”

-Alexa Bliss talks about Miss Elizabeth and the dynamic she had with Randy. Nattie wanted to grow up and be like Elizabeth. Prichard notes they were married in real life though it wasn’t mentioned on TV. Hogan says Liz didn’t take any crap from Randy and Randy admired her for that. Nattie talks the contrast she had to Randy and how he was so overprotective of her on and off camera.

-We talk Savage intensity and here’s The Honky Tonk Man to add to that discussion. We jump to Sept 28, 1985 as Savage and Hogan meet for the first time on Spectrum Wrestling. Sam Roberts says you can make the argument this is the greatest rivalry in the history of WWE. Hogan notes once the bell rang, the chemistry was a constant flow. He says they were a perfect match as they were both all about business and they both knew what to do in the ring. He calls Randy a perfect opponent. Hogan wins the first match, but Macho takes Hogan out after the match.

-Commercials!

-Randy debuted in 1985 and was immediately thrown in the ring with Hogan which showed they had all the faith in the world with him. Hogan notes that Randy was organic and natural as a performer that understood the art form. He says the problem was before they got in the ring and there were many times Randy called him at 4 AM to discuss a match. He tells a story of Randy calling him before they wrestled at MSG and he just didn’t want to get off the phone. Liz thanked Hogan for taking the call and talking to Randy through the night.

-The talking heads noted each man helped elevate the other as Hogan took Randy higher up the card while Randy made it so Hogan had to increase his intensity. We get more great footage of them working at house shows and in this case, Savage beats Hogan at MSG by count-out. Hogan says there were egos involved until they stepped through the ropes and then it was all business.

-Lanny Poffo is here and says what made Randy great was he would give everything he had to entertain people who bought a ticket. CREAM ALWAYS RISES TO THE TOP! Hogan does his impression of Savage doing the promo and he calls Randy brilliant with his ability to take a prop and ad-lib. Cody says it is a given that a Macho Man promo is going to be outstanding.

-SNME: Oct 1987: Hershey, PA: Randy Savage faces The Honky Tonk Man for the IC Title and this is the night Savage was finally turned face. The Hart Foundation and HTM beat the tar out of Savage and Liz tries to save, so Honky SHOVES HER for the ultimate heat. Liz goes and gets Hogan who isn’t sure what to do until he sees evil forces attacking a man on his own. Hogan makes the save and WE GET THE GREATEST HANDSHAKE IN WRESTLING HISTORY AS THE MEGA POWERS ARE BORN! Vince: “We could be seeing the meeting of the Madness and The Mania.” Great call! This was awesome, but we all knew something was going to go wrong.

-Commercials!

-The table discusses the famous handshake and how they always milked it for all it’s worth. Rollins with his Avengers comment as we see Hogan and Savage winning matches and having each other’s backs. Jimmy Hart says that Hogan loved Randy. Hogan says a day without Randy was like a day without air as he was always a joy to be around.

–WrestleMania IV: Randy Savage famously wins 4 matches in one night to become WWF Champion. Such a brilliant character touch for Savage and Liz to have different outfits for each match. Andre is there with Dibiase, so Liz gets backup for Randy in the form of Hulk Hogan. Lanny says that night elevated Randy to Superstar status and he was living his dream.

-Survivor Series 1988: The cracks are showing as Savage starts to see Hogan getting too touchy with Liz during celebrations and Cody says that you knew immediately where this was all going. Everyone knew Randy was possessive and jealous of Liz and now Liz is managing Hogan as well. Jesse Ventura was there to stir the pot on commentary. Jimmy notes that the angle became real to Randy. Hogan says it got a little weird and it was the first time he thought Randy might be uncomfortable with him and Liz being friends.

-Paris, France: Oct 1989: Savage wearing The WWF Title in all his gear with press around by The Eiffel Tower is fantastic! Hogan told this story before on Austin’s podcast (I have a review of that here) but let’s hear it again. They were working together in Paris and the ring didn’t have steps, so Hogan picked Liz up to put her in the ring. The ref had to get between Hogan and Randy as Randy started freaking out, claiming Hogan touched Liz’s breasts. Hogan denies, but Randy calls bullshit.

-SNME: Jan 1989: My review can be found here! Hogan faces Boss Man with Liz in his corner while Macho watches in the back on a monitor. Hogan gets attacked by Akeem and Boss Man, but Savage only makes the save when Liz was in danger. This is all amazing! Prichard notes it was easy putting Liz in the story and was simple story telling. Hogan notes he would do all he could to add gas to the story by holding the ropes for Liz, or put her on his shoulder, or give her an extra hug. He notes that did make things ugly and he understands. “You either bring your wife in and go all out or don’t bring her in at all.”

-The Main Event II: My review is here! I LOVE THIS SHOW SO MUCH! Hogan and Savage take on The Twin Towers and in the chaos Liz takes an insane bump as Savage is thrown to the floor and wipes her out.

-Commercials!

-We see the bump again and Cody notes it was a pretty solid shot. “It was sacrilege to touch her.” Hogan says he remembers the spot and he was shocked by it. Mooney puts over how great Randy was at making sure it looked great, but did so without really hurting her. HOGAN’S ACTING IS THE GREATEST THING EVER AS HE TAKES LIZ TO THE BACK. Hogan finally returns once Liz is talking and he wants the tag, so Randy SLAPS THE PISS OUT OF HIS MOUTH! Hogan finishes the match and gets the win, which people debate, but Hogan wasn’t losing just a few months away from Mania.

-With 20 million people watching on NBC, it finally happens: RANDY CUTS THE GREATEST PROMO OF HIS LIFE! The intensity is off the charts between them and SAVAGE BLASTS HOGAN IN THE HEAD WITH THE TITLE. Hogan says Randy made serious contact with that belt. Gene tries to talk to Hogan, but he is pissed and storms down the hall and attacks Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart. Shawn over-selling Hogan’s push was tremendous.

-Terry Taylor says a lot of this was built on truth. JBL notes they are wrestlers and not trained actors, but the realism helps the talent. We see Randy cutting a promo and wanting to do another take as he didn’t like it as it was Hulk Hogan’s idea. Savage tells Gene he is having trouble with it, but was a pro and was going to tell the story that needed to be told. That was great stuff there as when Savage is done cutting the promo, the director/producer is heaping all the praise and Gene looks so happy. Somewhere Vince had all the dollar signs in the world in his eyes.

-Mooney talks about Savage’s promos before WrestleMania V and how great they were. Liz decides to be in a neutral corner to support both men. THE MEGA POWERS EXPLODE AT WRESTLEMANIA V. Cody says that if Liz wasn’t there, that rivalry might not happen. Another outtake of Savage cutting a promo where he wasn’t sure of himself.

-It seems Randy injured himself before Mania V as he suffered a laceration that became infected. Hogan notes Savage busted his bursa sac and the fluid would move up his arm. He was in the hospital and checked himself out against doctor’s orders. The producer tells Savage they can stop filming promos if he isn’t feeling well, but he wants to go on. “I can’t feel a thing.”

-Commercials!

-WrestleMania V: My very old review from nearly 16 years ago can be found here. JBL notes you want a nice button on story lines that last a year. Lanny says Savage wrestled that match in crazy amount of pain due to his elbow injury. Hogan says that Savage was an intense as ever and he knew it would not be a night off. I love this match so much and I know the cool thing is to crap on it because Hogan won, but it’s one of my favorite matches of all time. I know they made more running in Atlantic City again, but this match deserved a Stadium crowd. Hogan gets the clean win and becomes a two-time WWF Champion. Hogan says it felt magical, but he didn’t realize how special it really was.

–WrestleMania VII: RANDY AND LIZ REUNITE AND I STILL CAN’T HELP BUT SMILE EVERY TIME I SEE IT! Sadly, once they were officially official on TV, the relationship was falling apart behind the scenes. Hogan tells the story of them all on a boat and Linda had the idea to invite Liz to stay for a few days. Hogan: “That’s when everything exploded.” Liz told Linda that she was leaving Randy as she could not handle what was going on. Hogan says they had a suite in Miami and Randy was heading out on the road and he goes to the pool and sees Liz hanging out with a tennis pro. He didn’t know that Liz left Randy a note that she was leaving. Three days later, Hogan gets out of the shower and hears Randy screaming to know where Liz was at. They went to Liz’s room and Hogan hauled ass. Hogan isn’t sure what happened in the room, but he knows there were cops called. Randy then blamed Hogan for the end of his marriage.

-Commercials!

-Randy and Liz get divorced and then Hogan and Randy both end up in WCW. Hogan says Eric Bischoff came to him and asked if it was cool to bring Randy in. Hogan: “If there is money to be made, bring him in.” That’s our Hogan! Eric then reaches out to bring Liz into WCW and Hogan tells him that’s a personal thing between her and Randy. Randy gave Eric the green light and Liz was back on our screens and she still looked gorgeous! Jimmy Hart says they mended fences as far as being able to work together.

-We jump ahead as Mooney notes WCW was bought by the WWE and Hulk Hogan got another chapter that Randy never got. Randy did get Spider-Man though and we get footage of Bone Saw vs. Peter Parker! Randy then did a rap album where he dissed Hogan with a track called “Be a Man.” We hear Randy from 2003 calling Hogan a prima donna during a radio interview.

-Tragedy strikes as the world loses Miss Elizabeth in May of 2003. Hogan knows that Randy loved Liz until the day she died. Mooney gets emotional thinking about Liz and says her story was tragic. He could see the connection between Liz and Randy. Someone asks Randy about Liz’s passing and he says he feels bad for her family. Mooney doesn’t doubt for a moment that Randy always loved her.

-Hogan says Randy hated his guts for eight years and the twelve years before that they were best friends. He tells the story of being at a heart doctor and while on the table, Randy comes over with a “Hulkster.” Hogan told Savage he looked great and they had time to talk. He told Hogan he married his high school sweetheart and they buried the hatchet. They talked several times on the phone and were planning a barbecue.

-The world then loses Randy at 58. Hogan says it feels like he is still here. “It feels like he should still be here. He had everything. The look, the gimmick. He understood the art form and storytelling. He was the perfect wrestler.”

-Nash says that Randy’s presence made it feel like a spectacle and JBL puts over Hogan’s depth as he gets sucked into the Randy/Liz story and it made magic. Gabriel says when you think of the 80s it will always be Hogan and Macho. Hogan says they were in the ring for a reason because it just worked. Hogan says it was nice to bury the hatchet and get back on the same page as he starts to get a little choked up.

-I loved this so much if you couldn’t tell. Again, we all have our triggers of nostalgia and things that make us feel like kids again. This is all that for me and more. Easily my favorite episode of this series and I want more! They didn’t even touch on WCW in any real depth and kind of glossed over the falling out. There was even drama in TNA if I remember correctly. To people who didn’t see this happen in real time, it is hard to explain how amazing this feud was and how successful it was. It’s the closest thing I can think of to Austin/Rock as far as having two megastars occupy the same space and time. Highest recommendation even if things may have been glossed over as just the old footage and promos is enough for me. I need to go watch WrestleMania V again now. Thanks for reading.