Views from the Hawke’s Nest: Macho Madness – The Randy Savage Ultimate Collection Disc 3

Matt Striker and Maria are still the hosts of the DVD.

April 19, 1992

Randy Savage(c) (w/ Miss Elizabeth) vs. Shawn Michaels (w/ Sensational Sherrie) [WWF Heavyweight Championship]
Savage was running through Michaels early. Sherrie started attacking Elizabeth, which distracted Savage. HBK then cut him off and worked him over. Savage came back with a slingshot into the turnbuckle. Savage made a big comeback. HBK cut him off again with an excellent reversal of a hip toss into a lariat. HBK worked him over some more. Just as Savage looked to be coming back, there was an accidental ref bump. Savage hit the diving elbow, but there was no referee. Sherrie attacked Savage, but that did not work. Sherrie tried to interfere, but Elizabeth returned to attack her. Savage caught HBK with a crossbody: 1…2…3!

This did not have the heat that a lot of Randy Savage classic matches from this time had from bell to bell, but they made up for it with a great in-ring effort. The crowd also got very into it down the stretch, which is a sign of a job well done. Michaels didn’t really stand a chance for winning the title here, but Savage made him look strong and a worthy main eventer. Michaels was not close to the total package of a performer that he would become; he just did not have the presence that would help him later on in his career.
Match Rating: ***1/2

July 20, 1992

Randy Savage & Bret Hart vs. Ric Flair & Shawn Michaels (w/ Mr. Perfect & Sensational Sherrie)
They took their time to settle in. Eventually, Savage got cut off and worked over. Sherrie and Perfect did plenty of interfering. Savage was worked over for a long time. He eventually tagged out to Hart who made a big comeback. Savage shoved HBK into Sherrie to knock her to the floor. Savage then rolled up HBK: 1…2…3

You know how tag matches can break down towards the end that make it hard to tell who the legal men or women are? Because there’s usually an extended closing sequence, it never really seems to matter. Well, this match broke down, and it was super obvious that Randy Savage was not the legal man when he won the match. Bobby Heenan even called attention to that as it started to happen. I hate being a nitpicker, but that really took me out of the match. The match itself had a very underwhelming structure as it was to begin win. The opening stuff was fine, but not great. The majority of the match was Savage getting beaten down. The finishing stretch after the beatdown was very quick and had the person who was worked over picking up the win. I do not know. This match was average when it seemingly should have been much better.
Match Rating: **3/4

February 28, 1994
Raw

Yokozuna(c) (w/ Mr. Fuji) vs. Randy Savage [WWF Heavyweight Championship]
Savage actually got an early nearfall with a lariat. Yokozuna quickly cut him off after that and then worked him over. Savage avoided a splash and then made a big comeback. Jim Cornette ran down to the ringside area. There was a commercial break. Cornette distracted the ref and Savage, and Yokozuna was able to cut Savage off again. Back in the ring, Randy fought back with strikes and a diving axe handle. Flying crossbody from Savage: 1…2…NO! Savage got another nearfall with a schoolboy. Yokozuna came back and squished Savage with a corner splash. Yokozuna set up for a big legdrop, but Savage avoided it! Fuji gave Yokozuna a bucket while Cornette distracted the referee. Savage took the bucket and nailed Yokozuna though! They both collapsed. Savage eventually crawled over for a pin: 1…2…NO! Savage punched out Cornette and hit the diving elbow: 1…2…CRUSH RAN IN! BOOOOO!

Bret Hart ran in for the save, but Yokozuna stopped him. Lex Luger then ran in and saved the day.

This was awesome, but that finish was absolutely atrocious for this match. I understand the reasons for doing it. However, it made this match really unsatisfying in a frustrating way.
Match Rating: ***1/2

July 16th, 1995
Bash at the Beach

Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair [LIFEGUARD Match]
It’s a PPV at a beach, which is awesome. A Lifeguard match just means a lumberjack match. They were going back and forth for a while. The lifeguards did their job several times. After a surprisingly long time, Flair finally cut Savage off and worked him over. Flair went after a leg to set up the figure four. He applied it! Savage reversed the pressure, but Flair escaped right after. Savage started to fight back, and Flair tried to run away. The lifeguards brought him back to the ring, and Savage made a comeback. Some shenanigans from Arn Anderson allowed a poke to the eye from Flair. Anderson then hit a DDT: 1…2…NO! Savage fought back and hit a diving axe handle. He then hit a picture perfect diving elbow: 1…2…3!

The beach was both a blessing and a curse for this match. It’s hard to create a hot environment at a beach, but wrestling is so much cooler on a beach! Flair and Savage were great at conveying intensity together, and that really added a lot to their matches. I enjoyed this.
Match Rating: ***1/2

January 22, 1996
Nitro

Ric Flair(c) (w/ Jimmy Hart) vs. Randy Savage [WCW Heavyweight Championship]
Hulk Hogen came out to wish Savage the best of luck in his match. He said he wanted the first title shot after Savage won. Savage was accompanied by a number of women. One of the women was Woman. Flair confronted her before the match, but Woman slapped him.

Savage and Flair started brawling on the floor. Flair sent him into a barricade and then worked him over. Savage fought back and went for the diving axe handle, but he crashed into the barricade. There was a commercial break, and Flair was working him over back in the ring. Savage fought back and was building some momentum, but Flair cut him off with a shinbreaker and then applied the figure four. Savage survived and then fought back with a series of diving axe handles. Hart provided a distraction so that Arn Anderson could interfere. Anderson accidentally hit Flair though, and Hogan then showed up to take out Double A. Diving elbow from Savage: 1…2…3! New Champ!

Much like the last match, their ability to convey intensity added so much to the proceedings. It’s another worthy match in their lengthy series during the first six years of the nineties.
Match Rating: ***1/4

June 15, 1997
Great American Bash

Randy Savage (w/ Miss Elizabeth) vs. Diamond Dallas Page (w/ Kimberly) [Lights Out Falls Count Anywhere]
Kimberly came out when DDP’s music hit, but that was just a distraction so that DDP could jump Savage from behind. Hashtag babyface. DDP wiped Savage out with a Diamond Dallas Pescado. DDP sold his injured ribs after that, but he was still in control. DDP and Savage fought through the crowd. Savage managed to cut DDP off by crotching him on the guardrail and then sending him into some chairs. Savage undid the bandage on DDP’s ribs and went after the injury. The crowd wanted Sting. El oh el. The referee was scolding the Macho Man. Savage gave him a piledriver for his troubles. They made their way back to the stage. DDP used plunder from the stage to come back. DDP was in control, as they made their way back to the ring. Savage sent him into the stairs and then went for a piledriver on the floor. The referee stopped him, which caused Savage to attack that referee. He then attacked a photographer and destroyed the camera. DDP cracked him with a chair. Back in the ring, Savage went for a suplex, but DDP reversed it into a Diamond Cutter. Scott Hall ran down to the ring to attack the referee who started to recover. DDP punched out Hall, but Savage then used Hall’s belt to hit DDP. Hall then hit him with a Razor’s Edge. Savage hit the diving elbow: 1…2…3!

This was a really well-executed midcard brawl. Scott Hall’s involvement was obviously not ideal for this match, but this was a middle chapter in a longer story. That makes this match less satisfying obviously (but that’s not the end of the world). DDP and Savage had tremendous chemistry, and DDP was probably Savage’s last great feud/opponent.
Match Rating: ***1/2

July 11, 1999
Bash at the Beach

Kevin Nash & Sting vs. Randy Savage & Sid Vicious [WCW Heavyweight Championship]
Kevin Nash’s WCW World Heavyweight Champion is on the line. I think whoever picks up the victory will win the title. I’m not even sure if Vince Russo is booking the company at this point. Let’s find out…nope! He was still in the WWF at this time. It’s like the booking team was trying to channel his spirit though.

Savage’s body is really depressing to see here. He looks like a giant PED abuser. Before the match, Gorgeous George walked from Savage’s corner to Nash’s corner. Savage was not a happy camper. At least Savage’s abusive/possessive character was consistent throughout his career. The distraction allowed Sting to get the advantage on Savage. Sting was eventually isolated and then worked over. No one in this match cared at all. The effort so far is abysmal. Sting made his own comeback and tagged out to Nash. Sting went for a Stinger Splash with a guardrail, but he crashed and burned. Sting was then worked over. Sting fought back and tagged out to Nash. Nash made a comeback. Ms. Madness and Madussa tried to interfere, but they failed. Sting gave them Stinger Splashes. He then gave one to Savage and Nash (the latter ate one by mistake, presumably). Sid gave Sting a chokeslam. The crowd chanted for Goldberg. Gorgeous George gave Nash a low blow. Sid gave Nash a scoop slam, and Savage then hit a diving elbow: 1…2…3.

This has to be one of the worst matches that I’ve ever seen. I guess they wanted to show Savage’s last world title win, but this was a depressing way to end a compilation on one of the greatest wrestlers ever.
Match Rating: DUD

Disc 3’s special features section has a ton of Savage promos. They’re all worth checking out, obviously.

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: As a performer, Randy Savage is absolutely timeless. His charisma, athleticism, and ability to generate emotion make him a wrestler that would be incredible in any era that he worked in. I cannot overstate how much fun it is to watch him (pre-1998). However, if there is one thing about him that does not age well at all, it's his relationship with Miss Elizabeth. Whether heel or babyface, Savage came across on the screen as an overprotective asshole at best, and a potential psychologically and physically abusive monster at worse. This wasn't helped by the fact that Miss Elizabeth's "character" felt like an object the majority of the time (or possibly someone suffering from Stockholm Syndrome). The point is that their relationship came across as very disturbing at times and occasionally took me out of the great performance that Randy was usually putting on. With that bit of negativity out of the way, this was one of the most enjoyable DVD sets that I have ever watched. I had seen a number of matches from this set, but there was something awesome about watching highlights from Savage's career in this format. It really told a story of his growth as a performer (and even the eventual decline at the end).

Final Score:  9.0   [  Amazing ]