Few wrestlers are as beloved or respected in wrestling history as the late Randy “Macho Man” Savage. WWE and WCW each booked Savage to be a top star during pivotal times in their respective companies. Everyone will talk about Savage’s great match against Ricky Steamboat or unique promos from playing such a colorful character for unquestionable success.
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However, there have been some things that fly under the radar or serve as reminders that Savage wasn’t a perfect performer. Each step of his career featured noteworthy moments that sometimes are viewed in a grey area. The moments in question will shine a light on the following harsh realities for fans of Savage.
8 Disappointing WWE Commentator
WWE tried to make a huge change to Randy Savage’s career when Vince McMahon viewed the New Generation Era as a time to get younger. Savage was moved from a main event wrestling spot to the commentary table as a new career path due to Vince’s vision for slowing down on pushing veterans.
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The early years of Raw saw Savage as a top color commentator, but he wasn’t great at the job. Savage often made obvious points or talked too much from a character perspective despite not having much of a payoff in the plans. The unhappiness in that role inspired Savage to leave WWE for a strong run in WCW.
7 Had The All-Time Dumbest Royal Rumble Spot
Randy Savage found an unlikely path into Royal Rumble infamy for the worst possible reason. WWE came up with a spot so bad that it remains relevant over three decades later as arguably the dumbest kayfabe decision by a wrestler ever in a Rumble match.
The 1993 Royal Rumble match ended with Yokozuna and Savage as the final two. Savage hit his elbow drop finisher and attempted to pin Yokozuna, even though the point of the match was to throw your opponents over the top rope. The strength of Yokozuna saw his kick out forcing Savage over the top rope to make Macho Man look like the biggest fool in wrestling.
6 Team Madness Faction Flopped
WCW showed a lot of faith and trust in Randy Savage when they had him return in 1999 from an extended absence with his own faction. Team Madness was the name of the tag team act of Savage and Sid Vicious with Macho Man’s valets of Gorgeous George, Molly Holly and Madusa.
The New World Order ending shortly before this run saw Savage getting a huge push as the top heel with this unit behind him. Savage did win the WCW Championship again, but the overall run of Team Madness flopped. WCW split Sid from Savage and slowly moved Macho Man out of the title scene.
5 Weak End To His Career In TNA
Every legend hopes to end their careers in grand fashion, but Randy Savage showed that it doesn’t always work out that way. WCW featured a lackluster end to Savage’s run there many months before they went out of business. WWE didn’t seem like an easy return since there was apparent bad blood with Vince McMahon.
Most fans forget that the final match of Savage’s career actually came in TNA. The trio of Savage, AJ Styles and Jeff Hardy defeated Jeff Jarrett, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall in a forgettable six-man tag match. Savage’s TNA run is barely remembered to show weak of an ending he had to an iconic career.
4 Wasn't Among Most Important New World Order Members
One would assume that Randy Savage was on the top tier of New World Order members since he was a former world champion and generational success story. The group was already established before Savage joined with Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall as the main members starting things off.
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Eric Bischoff becoming part of the NWO added another name above Savage in the pecking order. Savage did have arguably the best WCW vs NWO singles feud against Diamond Dallas Page, but he was at best the fifth most important member of the faction.
3 Better Intercontinental Champion Than WWE Champion
The Intercontinental Championship becoming known as the first title a wrestler held before moving into the WWE Championship scene saw Randy Savage as one of the first names to perfect that path. Savage had an underrated all-time great run as the second-longest Intercontinental Champion ever holding it for 414 days.
WWE eventually trusted Savage to win the WWE Championship twice, but neither reign was as effective as his time with IC gold. The first reign saw Savage spending too much time in tag matches with few singles rivals. Savage’s second stint was a transitional one during his feud with Ric Flair.
2 Crossed The Line During Torrie Wilson Segment
The strangest moment of Randy Savage’s wrestling career came in WCW during an equally strange storyline concept. Babyfaces Kevin Nash and Torrie Wilson somehow validated abducting Savage’s girlfriend Gorgeous George to upset him. Savage was livid all show trying to find her as Nash further taunted him.
WCW cameras were live when Savage arrived backstage to find Torrie alone and slapped her across the face. Wrestling promotions typically strayed away from moments like that between men and women. Savage crossed the line by doing this on the fly and feeling it was no big deal to slap Wilson.
1 Was Always #2 To Hulk Hogan
The harshest reality involving Randy Savage focuses on his time in wrestling always peaking behind Hulk Hogan. Both scripted and real-life stories showed Hogan and Savage going back and forth between being best friends and bitter rivals. A story like this is easier to make sense of when seeing said names competing over the same top spot.
Savage winning the WWE Championship didn’t stop him from feeling like Hogan’s sidekick more than vice versa when they teamed up. WCW used Savage the same way as he always felt like a secondary main eventer to Hogan as the face of the industry.
