The greatest faces in WWE history – No. 8

Randy Savage

As a kid growing up, professional wrestling was a huge part of my childhood, and is the same case with millions of others around the world, especially in the United States, where the fathers would take their children to the ‘circus’ whenever it came into town.

All of us were spellbound by these behemoths; these larger than life characters, lifting other big men at will and throwing them around in a spectacular show of strength and brawns.

Back in the 80s, everyone was familiar with Hulk Hogan, as Hulkamania was taking shape. All the kids used to listen to him as he told them to ‘take their vitamins, say their prayers and drink their milk’. But when Hogan became too boring, there was one other individual slowly climbing the ranks in the World Wrestling Federation.

“He’s the only guy we could pass the belt to, and we wouldn’t lose money…things would stay the same, or get better.” – Hulk Hogan on Randy Savage.

This certain individual stood out from the rest of the pack. For the first time, you had a character donning bright colours, coming out to an outlandish theme song, and having a completely different aura about himself. He was none other than ‘The Macho Man’, Randy Savage.

Savage was a unique individual, and it is safe to assume that he brought a completely new dimension to the world of professional wrestling. When everyone was tired of the same monotonous storylines and gimmick of Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage gave the fans an alternative, and more than that, he was one of the best workers in the company. Randy Savage was destined for greatness, and that soon became evident to the WWF management and the fans.

Randy Savage’s career wouldn’t have been as impactful if it wasn’t for the ‘First Lady of wrestling’, Miss Elizabeth. Elizabeth personified everything good about professional wrestling, and when she became a valet of Randy Savage, he was destined for greater things.

Randy started out in the WWF as the hottest free agent in the wrestling circuit, and soon won the prestigious WWF Intercontinental championship, and lost it to Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat at WrestleMania 3, at the Pontiac Silverdome in a match which is acclaimed as one of the greatest wrestling matches of all time! The match was voted as the Match of the Year by Wrestling Observer, and fans and his peers alike witnessed the class of “The Macho Man”.

“Savage is the greatest WWF Intercontinental champion of all time, bringing a higher level of credibility to the title through his amazing in-ring performances.” – WWE

Savage then won the King of the Ring tournament in ’87, and then won the WWF championship for the first time in his career during a 14 man battle royal at WrestleMania 4. This was the beginning of the ‘Mega Powers’, a union between two of the biggest names in professional wrestling, Savage and Hogan. The team disbanded at WrestleMania 5 when Savage dropped the title to Hogan, and was then involved in other top tier feuds.