The Contentious Ten 08.02.10: Top 10 Randy Savage Matches

First of all, a very special thank you to Ryan Byers, both for covering for me last week and for posting quite a list that I enjoyed tremendously. My one complaint would have been providing information concerning Bam Bam Bigelow’s weight in the column itself; I certainly never would have guessed he was billed at a lower weight than Kamala.

Today I’m taking a request from one of our readers. This list was both very easy to do and very hard to do. The top five came to my head immediately, but after that, it became considerably harder to fill out. As it turns out, Randy Savage doesn’t have nearly the collection of great matches on tape that I thought a worker of his caliber would have. Perhaps he’s a victim of his time, or perhaps he’s just like Keiji Mutoh (The Great Muta to the xenophobes who might remember his work in WCW), who could have a great match when he wanted to but usually just hits his spots and goes home.

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Randy Savage vs. Jake Robertssize=6>
Intercontinental Championship Match, Saturday Night’s Main Event,
November 29, 1986size=4>


Randy Savage was anything but a closet wrestler, ducking no challenge and facing all comers. And when he was the Intercontinental Champion, that occasionally meant blurring heel and face lines. Neither Jake Roberts nor Randy Savage was a crowd favorite at this time, but the rare heel vs. heel match showed that the fans would be willing to cheer one of them, in this case Roberts, who would become a babyface shortly after this. Savage and Roberts had a much more famous rivalry, including a great segment also involving Miss Elizabeth at Tuesday in Texas, but this was probably the best match they had against each other.

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Randy Savage vs. Shawn Michaels size=6>
WWF Championship Match, April 19, 1992size=4>


One of the first challengers for Randy Savage’s WWF Championship when he won it for the second time was a young Shawn Michaels, who had only recently broken out as a singles star. Now, Shawn in his prime versus Savage in his prime would be a dream match, but that isn’t quite what we got here. Savage was just past his prime and Shawn had yet to hit it. But they were able to have quite a good match here, and for any of you who haven’t purchased Randy Savage’s DVD set, this is a match I wanted you to see, so it is here.

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Randy Savage vs. Ted DiBiasesize=6>
WWF Championship, Madison Square Garden, May 1988size=4>

One of several good matches that Savage and DiBiase had throughout the spring and summer of 1988. This is probably my favorite of the bunch, atrocious commentary aside. For me, the most satisfying part of watching it is seeing the crowd so electric for everything Randy Savage did. Madison Square Garden and the New York Fans have a lot of power in the WWE, and their support of Savage in the absence of Hogan was a good sign for the future of the company. DiBiase and Savage never quite lived up to the talent potential, due to the typical booking of the WWF at the time, but their matches blew away most of what Hogan did.

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Randy Savage vs. Tito Santanasize=6>
Intercontinental Championship Match, February 8, 1986size=4>


Savage’s first truly big victory in the WWF, winning a title that he would hold for over a year. Savage is considered by many to be one of the greatest Intercontinental Champions of all time, and it started, appropriately enough, with a great match. Tito Santana is one of the most underrated workers of all time, and had several good matches over the course of his career. Savage was on another level entirely though, outclassing at least 80% of the roster during the mid-1980’s as far. While many had talent (Steamboat, Bret Hart, The Bulldogs), Savage had a unique charisma to go with his talent that set him apart. It’s little wonder he was giving the title so quickly.

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Randy Savage vs. The Ultimate Warriorsize=6>
WWF Championship Match, Summer Slam 1992size=4>




I actually watched this match for the first time doing my research for this column, and all I’ve got to say is “Wow!” I’d heard mixed reviews of this match, and admittedly, the overbooking is a bit of a downer, but Warrior and Savage put on a match so good that I can overlook that. Easily Warrior’s third best match and a highlight of Randy Savage as a babyface. This is one of those matches where the champion and challenger hold nothing back and just try to win the title. Sure, there’s some intrigue based on the storyline, but when it gets down to it, you have two huge stars in there fighting over the top prize in wrestling. Even with it being a babyface vs. babyface match, they don’t do a nice, friendly scientific match (thank goodness), they just beat the heck out of each other. Great match.

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Randy Savage vs. Bret Hartsize=6>
Saturday Night’s Main Event, 11.28.87size=4>


This is something of a cult classic among internet wrestling fans. It isn’t the most amazing technical showcase or the wildest brawl, and Bret in particular has had about a dozen matches better than this, but it is one of the finest examples of how to tell a story. Savage could sell an injury better than almost anyone, and that gives the match tremendous drama. You won’t even notice how short the match is because they waste no time in making sure they deliver. Hogan’s rescue of Savage here would be the officially face turn for Savage, and he would be WWF Champion within the next half-year. If you haven’t seen it, watch it now, because it is a tremendous contest.

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Randy Savage vs. Ric Flairsize=6>
WWF Championship Match, Wrestlemania VIIIsize=4>



The replacement for Flair vs. Hogan, and while it isn’t nearly the big money match that would have been, we almost assuredly got a better match out of the deal. Flair and Savage are both great workers who are able to mix it up. Savage was a great brawler and flier, but could wrestle when he needed to. Flair preferred a more technical, scientific approach with liberal cheating, but was no slouch in a brawl. They mixed wonderfully, giving Flair arguably his best WWE match and giving Savage a mostly clean title win that wasn’t tainted with Hogan’s interference. This was the icing on the cake for Savage’s WWF career, a well deserved second run at the top of the promotion.

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Randy Savage vs. Hulk Hogansize=6>
WWF Championship Match, Wrestlemania Vsize=4>


Jesse Ventura said on commentary that this is what the words “main event” were meant for, and he couldn’t be more right about that. People make much ado about Hogan vs. Andre, Hogan vs. Warrior, Hart vs. Michaels, Austin vs. Rock, and Cena vs. Triple H as “Big Fight” Main Events in Wrestlemania history, but this is right up there. This is pretty easily the best match Hulk Hogan ever had on North American Soil, and a large part of that is due to just how good Randy Savage was when he was given the time and the freedom to work. Great wrestling, great psychology, great storytelling, a wonderful side plot with Miss Elizabeth…what more could you ask for? Well, maybe a Savage win, but hey you can’t have everything. One of my favorite matches of all time.

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Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboatsize=6>
Intercontinental Championship Match, Wrestlemania IIIsize=4>



And I can already hear people flaming. To this day, there are many fans who hold this up as the Greatest Match of All Time. I do not share that opinion, but when you are talking about a match that was on the same card as Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant and wrestling fans talk about another match on the card as a show-stealer, you’ve done something right. It was certainly the best WWF match to that point, and paved the way for a faster, more athletic style that men like Bret Hart, Curt Hennig and Shawn Michaels would bring to the forefront in the early 1990s. The simple fact that a WWF match from 1987 is even in the discussion is testament to the match’s quality. It has never been my all-time favorite, but it is probably the best wrestling match that Randy Savage has been involved in.

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Randy Savage vs. The Ultimate Warriorsize=6>
Retirement Match, Wrestlemania VIIsize=4>

I have been anything but kind to The Ultimate Warrior in my columns, but I do give him a world of credit for this performance. Not that he was a considerably better worker in this, but he gave a ton of effort in it, and really, that’s all I ask. Also, as I always do when talking about this match, I give credit to the fantastic Sherri Martel; this is one of the greatest performers of a manager ever, in my opinion. But the match for me always goes back to Randy Savage. Savage hadn’t exactly had a lot of success after losing the WWF title to Hulk Hogan, whether you want to talk championships and big wins or having great matches. But on this night, he was possessed by the Randy Savage of 1987 and gave the single greatest performance of his career. Whether on offense or selling Warrior’s offense, Savage was on point for the entirety of this outstanding contest.

In the end, the Warrior won, but the aftermath was all about Randy Savage. Sherri’s betrayal and Elizabeth’s return, Savage’s initial reaction to Liz being in the ring and then finally reuniting with her, was one of the best soap opera moments in wrestling history. It was the culmination of years of booking and character development, the kind of thing that is almost entirely absent in today’s wrestling world. Creating a moment like this is very difficult, because you have to have characters that the audience genuinely cares about or it will be schmaltzy. And yeah, I get that not every man loves this sort of thing, but I certainly believe there’s room for great storytelling along with great wrestling. This was the pinnacle of Savage in my opinion. It’s more than just a great match; it is proof that wrestling can, in fact, be a true performance art.