Right Move/Wrong Move 4.30.10: Ultimate Warrior Defeats Randy Savage at WrestleMania VII

RIGHT MOVE/WRONG MOVE

Looking back at the history of Vince McMahon’s decisions and the fallout – both good and bad!

Before you assume that this is another “fantasy booking” segment, let me be CLEAR that it isn’t.  This article is intended to look at some of the past decisions made by the WWF/WWE and whether it was ultimately the RIGHT MOVE or WRONG MOVE. Most of the topics discussed will range from kayfabe storylines (Why did Wrestler X turn on Wrestler Y?), but could contain an occasional off-screen decision (Why Superstar A was suspended).  I will take a look at the fallout of said decision(s) and, by weighing both the positive and negative outcomes, determine if they made the RIGHT MOVE or WRONG MOVE. Of course, hindsight is 20/20, but it sure is fun to critique isn’t it?!

Ultimate Warrior defeats Randy Savage in a Career Ending Match at WrestleMania VII.

Well let’s start by setting the stage for this classic encounter.  The time was 1991, the place was Los Angeles, California – the LA Sports Arena to be exact and the event was WrestleMania VII.  The most anticipated match on the card was “Macho King” Randy Savage vs.The Ultimate Warrior in a Career Ending Match.  Their feud couldn’t have been more personal containing months of build-up.  Savage did everything he could think of to try and gain a title shot in the previous months, but to no avail. The Ultimate Warrior was riding high as WWF Champion, but refused to give in to the Macho King’s demands and would not accept his challenge.  The rivalry came to a boiling point at the 1991 Royal Rumble when Savage would cause the Warrior to lose his title to Iraqi sympathizer and #1 contender, Sgt. Slaughter.  With the help of his manager, Sensational Queen Sherri, the Macho King had managed to interfere multiple times in the contest without drawing the referee’s attention.  Just when it looked like the Champion would overcome the odds, Savage blasted him with his royal scepter, instantly shattering the Ultimate Warrior’s championship reign.  Due to the outcome of this match, Jack Tunney had announced that both men’s careers would be on the line when they clash …at WrestleMania VII.

Unfortunately, we’ve come to look at “Career Ending Matches” in an extremely skeptical fashion.  If wrestling history has taught us anything, it’s that these matches are rarely the loser’s last match.  In 1991, however, this was not thought to be the case, and this match was not ruined by the threat of empty promises.  In fact, it was the first of its kind in the World Wrestling Federation; therefore, it was one of the most anticipated matches of 1991.

We all know the outcome.  In one of, if not THE greatest match of the Ultimate Warrior’s career, he defeated the Macho King ending their feud and in theory, the storied career of Randy Savage.  Moments after the match had ended, Savage would reunite with his longtime manager, Elizabeth, which immediately turned Savage babyface.  The Warrior would continue on with the WWF after this match, but the two would travel down much, much different paths.

PARTICIPANT #1

Let’s first look at Randy Savage…

After reuniting with the lovely Elizabeth, Savage, in a reversal of roles, held the ropes open for his lovely manager to exit the ring.  There was only one thing left to do for Randy – climb the turnbuckles, point to the sky and say goodbye.  Blowing kisses to the crowd, Savage gracefully bowed out of the spotlight for what many fans thought would be the end.  He even cut a promo in the back with Gene Okerlund claiming the Kingdom of the Madness had been “cracked in half” by the Ultimate Warrior, whom he was now showering with respect and praise.  It seemed to be a storybook ending for the once-evil Macho King, whom had seen the light and was prepared to ride off into the sunset with his beautiful woman by his side…

until SummerSlam 1991 changed it all…

On the night the man once-and-again called Macho Man took his vows with his manager Elizabeth in A Match Made in Heaven, The Ultimate Warrior was heavily advertised as part of the tag team main event. We all know the story, and I will expand on this huge component when we look at the Warrior’s career post-WM7.  For the moment, though, let’s just deal with the fact that following SummerSlam 1991, the Ultimate Warrior was no longer part of the WWF.  Plans had to be changed.  The WWF just lost, arguably, its top babyface without warning and needed to fill the void left by his termination.  Vince had a high profile angle involving Warrior that created an even greater heel in Jake Roberts, but needed a top babyface to take the Warrior’s place.  Enter Randy Savage.  Instead of the newly-turned-mega-heel Jake “The Snake” Roberts feuding with the Ultimate Warrior, he would be feuding with a newly reinstated Macho Man.  Randy Savage would have to endure his wedding reception ruined, weeks of being antagonized, and a violent King Cobra gnawing on his arm before then-president Jack Tunney would reinstate him.  Ironically, it was the Warrior’s departure that resurrected the Macho Man’s wrestling career.Skip ahead a few months to February of 1992 and Vince McMahon found himself once again in dire need of filling a void at the top of the card.  This time it was Hulk Hogan who was leaving and WrestleMania VIII was teased as Hogan’s potential last match.  Instead of the originally announced main event of Hulk Hogan vs. WWF Champion Ric Flair, plans were changed and it would be Randy Savage who Vince turned to once again.  Savage was thrust into a major angle with Flair which centered on his “history” with Elizabeth.  The Macho Man would also take Hogan’s place as #1 contender and would wrestle Flair for the championship at WrestleMania.  And in a sight thought unfathomable just one year before, in the Hoosier Dome, Randy Savage raised the Heavyweight championship belt high as he was announced the winner, and once-again World Wrestling Federation Champion at WrestleMania VIII.

In another surprising twist, the Ultimate Warrior made his return to the WWF on that very same evening in Indianapolis.  Now that Hogan was going on what would prove to be semi-retirement, Vince called upon the Ultimate Warrior to solidify the main event scene.  Although his return in the Hogan/Justice main event was a shocker and had the stadium rockin’, the Ultimate Warrior wasn’t able to capture the same level of stardom upon his return.  Randy Savage was once again on top of the WWF as both champion and top babyface.  WrestleMania VIII at the Hoosier Dome would be Savage’s last big hurrah as he would soon after be relegated to color commentator for various television programming.  Before this was to happen, however, he would have one last major title defense.  His opponent? Who else but the Ultimate Warrior!

SummerSlam 1992 was held in Wembley Stadium in front of a record 80,355.  The main event was a rematch from WrestleMania VII and it ended in a countout victory for the Ultimate Warrior.  Many rumors circulate as to what the original plans were, but regardless of what was pitched, this would be Savage’s last Pay Per View as champion.  Shortly after this event, he dropped the strap to Ric Flair in Hershey, PA and his in-ring appearances began to be more sporadic.  The Macho Man appeared in the 1993 Royal Rumble and had an impressive showing.  In the rumble match, he was the first man to take the mighty Yokozuna off his feet, but in a major mistake, attempted a pinfall and was pressed over the top rope.  He was the last participant eliminated and would not wrestle on PPV for nearly a year.

During most of 1993, Savage was used as company spokesperson, making many personal appearances, but his days as an in-ring competitor seemed to be behind him.  Occasionally, he would step between the ropes, but never for an extended run and usually as a special attraction.  He also settled into the role of color commentator on the brand new Monday Night Raw live television show from the Manhattan Centre.  In the fall of 1993, he began a feud with Crush and competed at the Survivor Series replacing an injured Mr. Perfect.  Their feud culminated in the first ever “Falls Count Anywhere Match” at WrestleMania X, which saw Savage leave MSG victorious in his final WrestleMania appearance to date.  He would be even less active in the ring in 1994 and left the WWF in the fall of that year.Many insiders have stated that Randy Savage was not happy with his role in his later days in the WWF and this drove his departure.  Vince was pushing a newer product around this time, calling it the New Generation.  Fresh off a trial that saw Vince indicted on federal charges, the WWF started to distance itself from the freakish muscleheads that ruled the 80s.  Bret Hart had become the face of the company and guys like Razor Ramon, Shawn Michaels and Diesel had become superstars.  It was a different time and the company had gone in a different direction, while its major competitor, WCW, started to resemble the 1980s scene that made Savage a star.

PARTICIPANT #1 WRAP-UP

After the Career Ending Match at WrestleMania VII, the Macho Man would go on to regain the WWF Championship, play a major role in 6 more main events and be an active part of the in-ring roster for another 3 years. 

PARTICIPANT #2

Now let’s take a look at how the Ultimate Warrior’s career progressed (or regressed) after March of ’91…It was another big-time victory on the biggest stage against one of the WWF’s biggest names.  Just one year after accomplishing the unthinkable – a clean win over Hulk Hogan for the heavyweight championship at WrestleMania VI – the Ultimate Warrior had done it again.  He retired Randy Savage.  How much higher could this man go? How much bigger could he get? The last two WrestleManias were now remembered for classic moments involving the Ultimate Warrior reigning victorious.

The sky was the limit.

Immediately following WrestleMania VII, the Ultimate Warrior began a feud with The Undertaker which saw the two compete in bodybag matches all across the country.  This feud, although never having a true PPV blow-off match, helped elevate The Undertaker as a legit main event threat, and helped keep the Warrior in the forefront of the fans’ minds. Throughout the summer of ’91, a series of vignettes aired that showed a cunning Jake Roberts befriend the Warrior with tips on how to embrace and defeat the “Dark side”.  They led to Jake turning heel and setting up a feud with the Warrior, but the events of that year’s SummerSlam would change all that.

As mentioned earlier, Warrior was set to tag with WWF Champion Hulk Hogan to battle the Triangle of Terror (Sgt.Slaughter, Colonel Mustafa, General Adnan) in A Match Made In Hell.  The bout was heavily advertised as the main event of the evening and Madison Square Garden was sold out.  While the broadcast went on as planned, the scene backstage prior to that match was anything but normal.  Depending on who you believe, the Warrior “held up” Vince McMahon, or demanded compensation for previous work, the alleged sum of $500,000 or he refused to work the main event.  According to Vince McMahon via the Self Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior DVD, he begrudgingly agreed to the Warrior’s terms so that the WWF could present the card as advertised.  Warrior worked the match and was terminated immediately upon returning to the dressing room.  The decision by Warrior to take such a stand in that fashion would be a severe blow to his career that he would never truly recover from.

The next few months were confusing to fans since one of the company’s top stars over the past 4 years had just vanished without a trace.  No mention of the Warrior was made on television or in the WWF Magazine, because to discuss such a thing, and break kayfabe, was taboo at the time.  There was a large void left by his disappearance that disappointed and bewildered the fans. 

When he eventually did make his return at WrestleMania VIII, he was noticeably smaller in size and had shorter hair leading many fans to question whether or not this was the “real” Ultimate Warrior.  Stories began spreading, rumors were rampant and the fans began to wonder.  Rumors ranged from the “real” Warrior having died, to the possibility of Kerry Von Erich portraying the “new” Warrior.  In actuality, it was indeed the same man who had been the Warrior all along, Jim Hellwig – just without the steroids (or less steroids) and a new haircut.  While the Warrior was indeed a popular superstar, this run seemed to lack the “magic” that helped catapult him to the height of the industry just two years before.  He was immediately thrust back into the upper card and was granted a title shot at Summer Slam 92 in Wembley Stadium.More speculation surrounded the Warrior at this point, because it was rumored that he was asked to turn heel, but refused.  Storyline-wise he failed to capture the WWF title, and shortly thereafter was terminated for a second time, according to McMahon, for failure to pass a drug test.  Another PPV main event was once again changed, as the scheduled match of Ric Flair & Razor Ramon vs. The Ultimate Warrior & Macho Man was changed to Mr. Perfect & Macho Man.
This second sabbatical would further hurt his popularity as he began to get the reputation, regardless of reason, of a superstar who wouldn’t be around long.  It would be nearly 4 years before the Ultimate Warrior would be seen again in the WWF. During the same time that Randy Savage left for WCW, Vince was pushing newer, younger stars.  The New Generation was in full swing by 1996 and enough time had passed that Vince had decided to bring back the Warrior in hopes to win back fleeing fans.  The business had lost many viewers and was no longer the spectacle of mainstream entertainment it once was.  Vince was hoping that by bringing back a major star of the past in Warrior, and mixing him up with the younger guys, the WWF would once again be on the path to success. And so, at WrestleMania XII, at the Arrowhead Pond, the Ultimate Warrior returned to defeat a young Hunter Hearst Helmsley in under a minute.  Two lackluster PPV matches later (with an injured Goldust and announcer Jerry Lawler), Vince decided it was time to bring the Warrior back into the main event scene.  The July In Your House PPV was scheduled to be a six-man tag with The Ultimate Warrior teaming with Intercontinental Champion Ahmed Johnson and WWF Champion Shawn Michaels against The British Bulldog, Owen Hart and Vader.  It was during the buildup to this event that the Warrior had no-showed several events.  Again, depending on who you believe, it was either because of the death of his father, or a breach of contract by the WWF regarding the Warrior’s intellectual properties.  This was the final straw for Vince McMahon as he once again terminated the contract of the Warrior and it was announced on TV that the Warrior had been suspended indefinitely for failure to appear at several live events.  Regardless of the reason, the Warrior was once again gone from the WWF, this time for good.

PARTICIPANT #2 WRAP-UP

In the 5 years that followed WrestleMania VII, The Ultimate Warrior wrestled in two main event matches, but
was advertised in four.  He made two high profile “returns” but failed to recapture any gold.  Upon returning in 1992 and 1996, he did not “pass the torch” or “give the rub” to any fellow wrestlers and caused many original plans to be scrapped. 

REVERSED DECISION