"Macho Man" Randy Savage

I was stunned like everyone else to find out about the death of "Macho Man" Randy Savage last week. He was one of my all-time top 5 favorite wrestlers and he will truly be missed. I always thought his athleticism and intensity always brought a little a realism to the art. Here are some of my favorite Macho Man moments:

- The Introduction of Miss Elizabeth: Savage joined the WWF in 1985. He wrestled for a few weeks, winning squash matches, back when they had such things. They did an angle where all of the managers of the day like Mr. Fuji, Bobby Heenan and Jimmy Hart were trying to sign him. Finally one week he decided to announce who his manager would be. He praised all of the heel managers but then brought out the stunning Miss Elizabeth. This was so great because the announce team of Vince McMahon and Bruno Sammartino made such a big fuss over her ("what is she; a movie star or what?"). Jimmy Hart tried to hold the ropes for her to enter the ring, but Savage was having none of it, thus starting the dynamic of Savage being mean to Elizabeth, which drove the fans crazy.

- Randy Savage vs. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat at WrestleMania III: Everyone came to see Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant, but it was Savage vs. Steamboat that stole the show. It was perhaps the best WWF match of that era. I remember seeing this match at the Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis in the dying days of closed circuit TV. I think even my Dad, who is not a wrestling fan at all, enjoyed it.

- Megapower Meltdown: Who could ever forget the night that the team of Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage fell apart? They had built for this for months with Savage showing slight signs of being jealous that Hulk Hogan was friendly with Elizabeth. It came to a head on a Friday night on NBC when Savage slapped Hogan across the face to tag him into a match, then destroyed him in a backstage skit. I just remember how intense Savage was. I believed he was really mad. I always remember him saying to Hogan "you make me so sick, I can't even stand to look at you".

- Savage vs. Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania VII: This match always gets overlooked for some reason when people talk about great matches of the 80's. Despite the Warrior being involved, this was a great, dramatic match. The ending with Savage and Elizabeth reuniting at the end was a great moment. People were even crying in the audience.