Instalment number three in our Fantasy Warfare series sees WWE’s Straight Edge Saviour go toe to toe with his idol and hero, Macho Man Randy Savage. Yet another Wrestlemania quality encounter which we were just one generation too late in seeing. Which would have their hands raised when the final bell rings and will the ‘Savage Elbow’ be able to stave off the ‘Go To Sleep’?
C.M. Punk
Biggest Victory
The Pipe Bomb Promo
Some reading this may be puzzling over the choice. Especially when inserted into this space is usually a victory in an actual match. However those who saw the Pipe Bomb promo and who were around WWE in 2011 will know that not only did the promo come out of nowhere and was completely unexpected, but it also injected some life into an otherwise lifeless business.
In July 2011, WWE’s main event scene wasn’t only as scarce as it is today but WWE were doing the whole John Cena / C.M Punk thing for the first time. Sadly it wouldn’t be the last. Over on Smackdown, Randy Orton and Christian were holding up their end of the deal by delivering blistering matches in the feud of the year but Raw was severely lacking behind. Not just where the main event was concerned. The Raw undercard was everywhere and WWE couldn’t decide on who to give what spot to.
For those who listened to the grapevine will know that in July 2011 WWE and C.M Punk couldn’t come to an agreement over a new contract and Punk was ready to walk away from WWE unless they promised him something truly sensational to get his teeth into. This wasn’t just the a storyline which WWE rolled out to hype the Money in the Bank pay per view event, Philip Brooks was ready to walk out of WWE’s doors and possibly seek employment elsewhere. In order to keep him, Vince McMahon had to guarantee Punk a memorable feud and a red hot storyline. For once, McMahon delivered on every level.
Over one year later it still isn’t clear whether the whole pipe bomb promo was a work of Punk’s frustration towards WWE or something partially overseen by McMahon himself. Knowing the inner workings of WWE I strongly doubt Vince would hand Punk a microphone and say “Do your worst.” There are a lot of things in WWE which no one who works backstage wants to get into the public domain, so it’s doubtful Vince would have taken the chance of Punk leaking those details live on air. Plus had it been scripted for Punk then why can’t WWE script all promos to be as good as that one was? The other niggling doubt that besets the reasons for spontaneity is that at the end of the promo, before Punk could tell everyone about McMahon being a bully, the microphone was cut off. If Vince was so against this tirade on himself and his company wouldn’t Punk have been cut of ten seconds into the promo, before he could have done any real damage? Be it partially scripted or genuinely off the top of Punk’s had there is no denying what came out of C.M Punk’s mouth that night was pure magic and stands alone as one of the greatest and finest promos in wrestling history.
Sitting cross legged at the top of the stage, Punk reeled off insult after insult which those who knew what WWE were capable of, also knew were one hundred percent correct. Punk went above and beyond to generate heat and interest for his match with Cena at Money in the Bank 2011, which emanated from his hometown of Chicago. Punk shocked the world that night and even did something which was looked down on by the higher powers. Named other wrestling promotions including New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring of Honor – where he informed the WWE Universe that he may go and defend the WWE Championship after he defeated Cena at Money in the Bank and walked out of WWE on the night his contract expired. Unusually, the crowd, who would have tried to lynch any other talent who talked about going elsewhere were right behind Punk. Because even though a decent percentage of the WWE Universe wouldn’t know a good match if it piledrove them into the floor, people are intelligent enough to know the truth when it hits them.
The promo led to the encounter at Money in the Bank 2011, which is one of the best WWE Pay per views of the last ten years. Most people expected another routine John Cena match and granted, Cena didn’t make any special effort that night. Had it not been for Punk carrying the then WWE Champion the match would have stunk. However, because Cena had an opponent as talented as Punk the match was a blistering effort from both men. The crowd were almost solely on Punk’s side and it’s the only occasion I can remember where the crowd were on the side of the man threatening to walk out of WWE with the companies top Championship.
The event was made even more exceptional by the fact that Punk was fighting his supposed final WWE match in his hometown. If you want to hear an extreme reaction then you must watch this match. It’s an unmissable piece of no holds barred, wrestling history which names and shames wrestlers such as John Cena, the Rock and Hulk Hogan.
Even though the whole storyline was only to last two weeks after Punk defeated Cena on the night and walked out of WWE with the WWE Championship, and the WWE Champion came back a fortnight later citing he’d decided to sign a new contract, the pipe bomb promo and the Money in the Bank pay per view which proceeded it were a special time in WWE history. For that reason and on the basis that it was one of the first times Vince McMahon willingly took a chance on the reputation of his company being spoken about in public – risking the death of kayfabe, the pipe bomb promo will always be C.M Punk’s biggest victory in WWE.
For those who missed the Raw episode and haven’t heard the promo below is the entire monologue in full. Enjoy...
“John Cena, while you lay there, hopefully as uncomfortable as you possibly can be, I want you to listen to me.
I want you to digest this because before I leave in 3 weeks with your WWE Championship, I have a lot of things I want to get off my chest.
I don’t hate you, John. I don’t even dislike you. I do like you. I like you a hell of a lot more than I like most people in the back.
I hate this idea that you’re the best. Because you’re not. I’m the best. I’m the best in the world. There’s one thing you’re better at than I am and that’s kissing Vince McMahon’s ass.
You’re as good as kissing Vince McMahon’s ass as Hulk Hogan was. I don’t know if you’re as good as Dwayne though. He’s a pretty good ass kisser. Always was and still is.
Whoops! I’m breaking the fourth wall!
(Punk waves to the camera)
I am the best wrestler in the world.
I’ve been the best since day one when I walked into this company. And I’ve been vilified and hated since that day because Paul Heyman saw something in me that nobody else wanted to admit. That’s right. I’m a Paul Heyman guy. You know who else was a Paul Heyman guy? Brock Lesnar! And he split just like I’m splitting. But the biggest difference between me and Brock is I’m going to leave with the WWE Championship.
I’ve grabbed so many of Vincent K. McMahon’s brass rings that it’s finally dawned on me that there just that, they’re completely imaginary. The only thing that’s real is me and the fact that day in and day out, for almost six years, I have proved to everybody in the world that I am the best on this microphone, in that ring, even in commentary! Nobody can touch me!
And yet no matter how many times I prove it, I’m not on your lovely little collector cups. I’m not on the cover of the program. I’m barely promoted. I don't get to be in movies. I’m certainly not on any crappy show on the USA Network. I’m not on the poster of Wrestlemania. I’m not on the signature that’s produced at the start of the show. I’m not on Conan O’Brian. I’m not on Jimmy Fallon. But the fact of the matter is, I should be.
This isn’t sour grapes. But the fact that Dwayne is in the main event at Wrestlemania next year and I’m not makes me sick!
Oh hey, let me get something straight. Those of you who are cheering me right now, you are just as big a part of me leaving as anything else. Because you’re the ones who are sipping on those collector cups right now. You’re the ones that buy those programs that my face isn’t on the cover of. And then at five in the morning at the airport, you try to shove it in my face and get an autograph and try to sell it on EBay because you’re too lazy to go get a real job.
I’m leaving with the WWE Championship on July 17th. And hell, who knows, maybe I’ll go defend it in New Japan Pro Wrestling. Maybe…I’ll go back to Ring of Honor.
(Punk looks at the camera and waves)
Hey, Colt Cabana, how you doing?
The reason I’m leaving is you people. Because after I’m gone, you’re still going to pour money into this company. I’m just a spoke on the wheel. The wheel is going to keep turning and I understand that. Vince McMahon is going to make money despite himself. He’s a millionaire who should be a billionaire. You know why he’s not a billionaire? Because he surrounds himself with glad-handed, nonsensical, douchebag (censored) yes men, like John Laurinaitis, who’s going to tell him everything he wants to hear, and I’d like to think that maybe this company will better after Vince McMahon is dead. But the fact is, it’s going to be taken over by his idiotic daughter and his doofus son-in-law and the rest of his stupid family.
Let me tell you a personal story about Vince McMahon alright. We do this whole anti-bully campaign...”
C.M Punk’s microphone was cut off at this point.
Victorious Moment
Proving That Independent Wrestlers Are As Good As WWE Wrestlers
Vince McMahon has a real bee in his bonnet that the wrestlers from the independent scene are not as good and will never bee as good as his WWE Superstars. Ignoring the fact that the Indi wrestlers have travelled the world, learnt different types of wrestling and fought some of the very best opposition around the globe, winning plaudits galore for their fine matches and expertly crafted performances. Still, Vince McMahon insists that anyone who hasn’t been trained the WWE way could never make it in his company.
If you look at the littered battle field of failed wrestlers in WWE, then a good percentage of them have come from the independent circuit. People with talent such as Colt Cabana and even those who WWE had a thing for like Rob Van Dam have fallen by the roadside because of Vince McMahon’s blatant disregard for anyone who hasn’t come through WWE’s system. It’s a pathetic notion that if you haven’t been taught the WWE way then you have no chance of making it, when in the 80’s the territorial wrestlers Vince brought into WWE wrestled their way and the company was better off for it.
Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, Randy Savage, Curt Henning, all those names came straight from their respective territorial regions and were put straight onto the marquee of WWE’s events. None were sent to development to learn to wrestle the WWE way because no such thing existed back then. It was a joy to behold each wrestlers distinct wrestling style which gave WWE an edge over WCW. Now though everyone who signs with the biggest wrestling company in the world has to be put through years of rigorous training to learn to wrestle Vince McMahon’s way. Vinnie Mac has yet to realise that if everyone wrestles the same way and is taught by the same people all you are going to get are a line of manufactured drones who are identical in style and execution. There’s no variety because each wrestler who comes off of the production line has nothing distinctive about them.
C.M Punk came to WWE from Ring of Honor and was immediately farmed into WWE’s development system, with the company citing that Punk didn’t have the goods to make it big in their company wrestling an independent wrestling style. Anyone who saw Punk’s matches and style of wrestling in Ring of Honor and the other independent companies he plied his trade for could see that Punk’s different style of wrestling would have set WWE on fire and set him apart from the rest. Luckily Punk resisted the changes WWE tried to force upon him and kept most of his wrestling style. Seeing that Punk wasn’t going to conform Paul Heyman convinced Vince McMahon and the other heads of WWE that Punk was ready for a run as ECW Champion and the rest is history.
You might not know it now but in a company which is so adamant that no one can step foot in their ring without WWE’s style of training, C.M Punk is a trailblazer. Can you image if Sting left TNA for a short stint in WWE. Do you think Vince McMahon would tell Sting he’d have to crawl his way through development? I think not. C.M Punk stood up for himself and refused to cut away his move set and image just to please WWE. The juvenile side of McMahon may have cost Punk his rise in 2008 when the CEO couldn’t resist punishing and ridiculing Punk for his look and straight edge lifestyle, through Michael Cole and other wrestlers of course but in the end it is Philip Brooks that had the last laugh.
Without C.M Punk in 2012 WWE would have been in serious trouble. The mammoth WWE Championship reign which is still in tact as I write this has been the most interesting thing in wrestling in 2012 and without it I can only shudder at the thought of what McMahon and co may have wheeled out in its place. By standing on top of Vince McMahon’s mountain for so long C.M Punk has proven that wrestlers who come fully formed with their own ideas and style of wrestling are just as good if not better than those moulded and hand crafted by WWE’s development system. Punk has paved the way for wrestlers such as Antonio Cesaro, Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins who have both followed Punk from Ring of Honor. C.M Punk has opened the door and jammed a wedge into Vince McMahon’s pathetic little ideas. It’s made all the more sweeter by the fact Vince pays Punk millions of dollars just to keep carrying the company forward.
Becoming one of the most successful former independent wrestlers to make the transition to the big time, the man born Philip Brooks has paved the way for future generations to leap from the small time to grand stage, and given them hope that no matter how far they’re buried or no matter how many years they have to spend in development waiting for their crack at the spotlight, the impossible dream of holding that WWE Championship aloft isn’t actually that impossible after all. And for a guy born in Chicago, who trawled his way through the independent circuit with little to no money before finally becoming a millionaire who stands as one of WWE’s greatest success stories, that is one if not the biggest victorious moment of C.M Punk’s life.
Greatest Match
Vs Daniel Bryan – Over the Limit 2012
Can there be any doubt about this one? Yes, I suppose so. I have to add here that what is included is only for WWE. His encounter against Daniel Bryan at Over the Limit 2012 stands out head and shoulders above the rest as Punk’s very finest WWE match. If you saw it then you will know why.
C.M Punk had just come out of his so and so feud with Chris Jericho which culminated at Extreme Rules in a far better match than the two had at Wrestlemania 28. It was important that WWE chose a superior opponent for Punk otherwise the momentum he came out of the post Wrestlemania period with would dissipate and the resultant months remaining on the year would plod with uncertain ease towards their closure. Had WWE chosen someone like Big Show to feud with Punk until after Money in the Bank then I’m pretty sure WWE would have been forced to change their plans to keep the gold around Punk’s waist and seek out an alternative route to carry WWE through 2012.
Handpicking the man who had lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Sheamus in under ten seconds on the grandest stage of them all was a shrewd move by the company. Bryan needed the lift of a great feud after his sacrifice to Sheamus and Punk needed a shit hot encounter to inject the life back into his WWE Championship reign. Without Vince or the WWE Universe really knowing it, there was a hell of a lot riding on the match at Over the Limit 2012. Even if the rest of the card stank which it came close to doing, the WWE Championship Match had to outshine everything else around it. WWE knew the pair could put on a show because they had done so in Ring of Honor.
In Vince’s mind he was taking a huge gamble on the match. Both C.M Punk and Daniel Bryan had come through the independent circuit together and even though both had been through and shrugged off the WWE Developmental system in favour of going it alone with what brought them to the dance. I’m pretty sure that Vince thought that match would be a total mess and failure at the box office. In fact I will go as far as to say that the match was booked to fail. Call it Vince McMahon’s way of trying to stick it to the fans who wanted to see guys like Punk and Bryan and top and to whatever future wrestlers come from the Indi circuit. Before the bell rang you could almost hear Vince screaming from the back; “You wanted this! And when it flops John Cena will be back on top and we’ll go back to never listening you again!”
If I could have chosen to be anywhere in 2012, apart from in bed with Karen Gillan, then I would have chosen backstage at Over the Limit. Just to watch Vince McMahon’s red face implode when Bryan and Punk contested the best match of the year. There was no report from backstage at the pay per view, no one dared come out in public and say that Vince’s plan backfired hideously on him but we all knew it and those around McMahon at the time were thinking it. Instead of getting an all out brawl, with minimal wrestling moves which had become the normal in a WWE Championship match up to the previous year, what Punk and Bryan did was stick two fingers up at McMahon and gave us a wrestling classic.
Both men matched the other move for move, hold for hold and for the longest time, thanks to the thrilling near falls and submission manoeuvres both men had in their arsenal, it looked like Daniel Bryan would walk out of the arena with the WWE Championship. I can’t imagine Vince being thrilled with the match because the man has lost the art of great wrestling. The match was an outstanding piece of work which yielded two rematches at No Way Out – in a triple threat match involving Kane – and at Money in the Bank. Whilst the Money in the Bank encounter was as close as the pair would get to outdoing their Over the Limit effort it was still second best.
I urge WWE to make their current and future developmental talents to sit down and watch this match at least once a month. Because apart from being a shining example of what wrestling should be, it’s also a great bar raiser in what those just breaking through should be aiming for. If Punk and Bryan can learn to wrestle like this then there is no excuse as to why WWE can’t allow others to thrive under this kind of style.
C.M Punk and Daniel Bryan should have been permitted to continue the feud into the Summer because it would have been miles better than what the WWE Champion got served up when the pair had dealt their blows. Still, we always have this match to look back on now and it’s something Punk and Bryan can be extremely proud of for the rest of their careers. Bravo.
Will Be Remembered For
Being WWE’s Straight Edge Saviour
It was scoffed at when C.M Punk proclaimed that his lifestyle was ‘Straight Edge’. No alcohol, no drugs, just a clean and healthy lifestyle. WWE even went as far as to mock Punk suggesting to the audience that alcohol and drugs should be a part of life. That message on a PG rated programme should never have been allowed to be suggested. WWE should have been supportive of Punk, but I digress from the point.
Not only being ‘Straight Edge’, when Punk proclaimed himself the ‘Straight Edge Saviour’ he couldn’t have known how true those words would become. Every match Punk had stepped into the ring and contested, the man has given his all in. Even house show matches Punk makes sure the crowd go home satisfied and feeling like they have their money’s worth. Without C.M Punk on their roster WWE would have been in a lot of trouble with a lot of storylines. I don’t know any other wrestler who could have carried off the ‘Straight Edge Society’ angle or gotten such an entertaining feud out of Rey Mysterio – a man who has fallen so far in WWE. There’s certainly no one on WWE’s roster that could have maintained a WWE Championship run for a year plus and can stand tall and say that whilst the new ECW was alive he was the only man on the card that made people actually want to watch the bastardised brand.
C.M Punk’s skills in and out of the ring surpass and eclipse all those around him. There is a reason that he’s been labelled with the moniker ‘Best in the World’. It’s not by chance that he’s maintained that name. Every night, be it against someone as talented as Bryan and Ziggler or talentless as Cena and Ryback, Punk outshines them all and is currently the best wrestler on WWE’s books. The pipe bomb promo cemented how good Brooks is on the mic and his matches against Bryan established him as one of the most gifted athletes in the world today.
C.M Punk can look back on his WWE career and say with pride that he was the best in the world. Punk can take a long look back on an outstanding career when he’s old and wrinkly and say that he was WWE’s saviour in a time of turmoil. It’s one thing to be recognised as the best today but it’s a whole different kettle of fish to be able to say that you will be remembered as the man that stepped up and saved a company when they needed it the most. Without C.M Punk WWE would have been a shell in 2011 and 2012 and you can bet that the buy rates for pay per views wouldn’t have been as high if we’d have to sit and watch another John Cena WWE Championship reign.
C.M Punk is better than John Cena. C.M Punk is better than Triple H. C.M Punk is better than Randy Orton. For all the things that one could be remembered for, then being the man that saved a company, an ailing business when it had no one else to turn to is a badge of honour that even eclipses being the best in the world.
‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage
Biggest Victory
Vs Million Dollar Man – Wrestlemania 4
If you asked a wrestling fan in the 1980’s, who was the figured head of the wrestling industry, be it WWE or WCW, then the answer that would have come back every time would have been Hulk Hogan. As much as I can’t stand Hulk, it’s an accolade that is deserved for everything the Hulkster put into the company – even though he took twice as much out.
There wasn’t a person in wrestling who didn’t know that Hogan was a lousy wrestler in the ring, yet it always seemed to be about Terry Boela. Underneath Hogan a storm was brewing and that storm was named Randy Savage. Throughout Savage’s career he had many sparkling matches and many victories that people could call his biggest. When you look at wrestling’s history you can stick a pin in Wrestlemania 4 as the day wrestling changed for the better. Instead of Hulk Hogan dominating the WWE Championship picture, Vince McMahon plumped for a changing of the guard.
Randy Savage, with Elizabeth at his side was becoming hotter than Hogan. The fact that Savage could wrestler instead of just over power his opponents lent to the fact that Savage was the next logical choice to replace Hogan as the man on top. When the WWE Championship was vacated, due to the Million Dollar Man hiring Andre the Giant to win the Championship for him, the belt was held up and a new Champion was crowned in the biggest tournament of the time, at Wrestlemania 4. Looking back on it now, the winner was always sign posted from the moment Hogan and Andre eliminated other. There was no one else that could have logically carried the gold. With Savage’s stock on the rise and a rumour of the imploding friendship between Hogan and Savage to come, the Macho Man entered the final to face his opponent, ‘the Million Dollar Man’ Ted Dibiase.
For the time, it was a great match. Dibiase was always a solid worker even if he didn’t appear to be WWE Championship material. What Dibiase brought to the match was his conniving and evil genius mind. Dibiase could hand out a beating and then with one smirk at the audience the whole arena would want to jump the barrier and beat him down. That is a skill that very dew people had back then or have today. Bobby ‘the Brain’ Heenan was the only other man in WWE at that time who could get that reaction from an audience. Randy Savage brought the vulnerability element which all good faces should have. The only other face I’ve ever seen in wrestling that could sell an injury or move as well as Savage and get the audience to feel sorry for them was Shawn Michaels.
When Savage pinned Dibiase – with Hogan at ringside of course. Hulk couldn’t allow Savage to have all the spotlight – the reaction was huge. Not just because the Macho Man had ascended the mountain and won his first WWE Championship at Wrestlemania, but because it was someone other than Hogan. A breath of fresh air gusted around the halls of WWE after Wrestlemania 4 and Savage held the Championship for a whole year before dropping it back to Hogan at Wrestlemania 5 in a top notch encounter.
I understand that there will be people reading this who have only been wrestling fans for two or three years. There will be people reading this who have never seen a Randy Savage match and there will be people reading who were there watching the night Savage pinned Dibiase. If you are one of the people who have never seen a Savage match or just want to see him at his best then I implore you to get yourself a copy of ‘Macho Madness’ the Randy Savage DVD. It’s one of the best ever made and every match on the card is either good or better.
People and wrestling historians can debate this until the end of time should they so wish, but Randy Savage’s biggest victory in WWE will always be at Wrestlemania 4. Not just because he’d worked for it or deserved it, which he had and did, but because he became the new face of WWE pushing Hulk Hogan to the side. And if winning your first WWE Championship at Wrestlemania in a great match and then replacing the phenomenon that was Hulk Hogan isn’t good enough to be classed as your biggest victory, then you’re asking the wrong man as to what is.
Victorious Moment
Winning the War Against Vince McMahon
Bret Hart, Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior. All these names have at least one thing in common with Randy Savage. It wasn’t that they all held the WWE Championship, which they did, but the connection I’m referring to is that of the feud they had with Vincent Kennedy McMahon.
Randy Savage and the Ultimate Warrior and the only names out of the above to never have settled their feud with the boss properly. Whilst Warrior to this day still refuses to speak or negotiate with WWE, there is still a chance that at some point the two parties will reconcile. However that option is out of the window for WWE and Randy Savage. The strange thing is, that no one knows quite why Savage and McMahon hated each other so much in the end. Hulk Hogan and McMahon’s rivalry comes from the fact that Hogan testified against McMahon in a drugs trial and then jumped ship two years later to WCW. Bret Hart’s gripe with McMahon was the infamous Survivor Series 1997 screw job. Warrior and McMahon came to blows over Warrior’s erratic behaviour and his refusal to perform at numerous shows unless Vince gave him more money. I guess now Savage has passed on that we’ll never know the true story of why the two fell out. I’m sure in the future that WWE will give their reason but like I said, we’ll never know the true reason.
Vince prides himself on winning these wars. Just look at how fiercely he came out and verbally attacked Hart, Hogan and Warrior, going as far as making a DVD about how the Ultimate Warrior was a reckless performer and a greedy individual – you really have to see ‘The Self Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior’ DVD to believe it. And Hart almost had the same done to him if he hadn’t have agreed to bury the hatchet with WWE. Although I will give Vince his due, I’ve never heard him ever say anything negative about Savage.
I think it must eat Vince up that he’ll never properly reconcile with Savage and that the Macho Man had the final laugh. It’s always going to be one of the unresolved things that McMahon has no say over. Even though Savage came back to WWE to do a deal which allowed WWE to produce his action figure in the classics range of their product and even filmed some adverts for the action figures, the pair never really managed to bury the hatchet completely and Savage sadly passed away before he could take his place in the WWE Hall of Fame.
When his wrestling career was over and he became disillusioned with the business, the man born Randy Poffo left behind his Macho Man gimmick in favour of starting a new life. Savage dipped his toe into acting, turning a role in the first Spiderman movie with Tobey McGuire and then tried his hand at a singing career releasing a rap CD. Even though none of these avenues opened any further for him I believe that Savage took great pride in doing something that McMahon had no control over.
The feud with McMahon spurred Savage on to turn down a contract with WWE when Vince purchased WCW and when he stepped away from the ring, Savage could proudly say that he was one of the few wrestlers who retired from the ring and meant it. After his final appearance in a TNA ring Savage never wrestled again. I don’t know whether it was a genuine choice to hang up the boots or a decision to spite McMahon because Vince knew that Savage could have been beneficial to WWE in the 00’s. Either way it was the best decision for Poffo because by giving his blessing and getting a pay cheque for the action figures he endorsed before his death, reaping the financial rewards from the DVD WWE released on him and having the world remember just how good he really was and never reconciling with Vince McMahon, Randy Savage won a war that all others who fought lost. Surely that has to be the most victorious and sweetest moment of anyone’s career.
I do though think it is worth mentioning that when Savage passed away Vince McMahon did give a nice tribute to time magazine, describing Savage as ‘extremely charismatic’ and ‘one of wrestling’s all time greats’. Think of those comments what you will, but I prefer to think upon them as Vince McMahon putting aside the feud the pair had and paying respect to a man that helped McMahon get to where he is today.
Greatest Match
Vs Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat – Wrestlemania 3
Before he was WWE Champion, part of paying his dues in the business found Randy Savage warring with Ricky Steamboat. The feud between the pair was hot in the 80’s and unlike most storylines today, people actually brought into it. The feud was fought over the WWE Intercontinental Championship but Wrestlemania 3 wasn’t the first outing the pair had. The previous match between the two where Savage captured the WWE Intercontinental Championship from Steamboat was a fair encounter, however not a patch on what Champion and Challenger would produce on the grand stage.
It’s not coincidence that Wrestlemania is widely seen as the night where everyone ups their game. It’s the place where men become legends and legends become icons. It was no secret that Randy Savage was the hottest property on the scene at the time and Steamboat was widely regarded as one of the best wrestlers to step foot inside the ring. We all know there are times when two great wrestlers can get into the ring and nothing happens. All the sparks go out and all you’re left with is a numb feeling where there should have been a classic moment inserted.
Randy Savage may have been WWE Intercontinental Champion when he rolled into Wrestlemania 3 but I think it’s fair to say that he wasn’t yet a star. It was always coming anyone who regularly attended WWE events in the late 80’s and watched WWE programming regularly didn’t need a brain cell to see that Savage was going to be big and that he just needed one huge match with one classic performance to make him a star. Wrestlemania 3 was that performance.
The two went at each other like they’d just walked in and found the other in bed with their wives. Savage hit elbows, Steamboat hit chops, there were some tense and nail biting near falls before Steamboat pinned Savage to walk away Champion. It didn’t matter though that Savage lost the match. Because his performance as defending Champion and willingness to put his opponent over on the grandest stage of them all set Savage apart from the rest of the field. Randy Savage may have left Wrestlemania 3 without Championship gold, but he did have something a lot more important. As he left the ring, the Macho Man had the audiences respect. He’d given such a performance in his loss that anyone in doubt that Poffo was WWE’s next star had been corrected.
In truth Randy Savage had more great matches than someone in 2012 has had matches. His encounter against Ultimate Warrior at Wrestlemania 7 was simply sublime as were efforts against Diamond Dallas Paige on WCW’s shores in 1997 and his one man show with Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania 5. Randy Savage had other lesser known encounters that were just as good as the ones mentioned above. The matches against Ted Dibiase on WWE’s house shows in the late 80’s are a sight to behold as are his collisions with a very young Shawn Michaels in the early 90’s. The short feud with Jake Roberts got great results in the ring and the classics Savage and Flair contested will go down in history.
However it’s his unforgettable Wrestlemania 3 match and the performance that was out on show which will hold Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat for the WWE Intercontinental Championship at Wrestlemania 3 as the Macho Man’s greatest and most unforgettable match.
Will be Remembered For
Being One of A Kind
There aren’t many wrestlers you can look back on and say that they were truly special or unforgettable. Macho Man Randy Savage was one of those wrestlers. Whatever the ability of his opponent Savage managed to get something wholly inspiring out of them. A ring general they call men like Savage, but Savage wasn’t a general he was a ring chief. There was no part of the ring he couldn’t work and there was no opponent he couldn’t make look dazzling.
Whether Savage was a face or a heel. Whether he had Sensational Queen Sherri in his corner or the beautiful Miss Elizabeth. The fans loved him. He can take credit for the rise of the WWE Intercontinental Championship as in my eyes he did more the Championship than anyone else who held it. I don’t believe I ever saw a bad performance from Savage, although I imagine there must have been one or two. Most importantly though he was a willing wrestler. Willing to give the spotlight to the younger guys even if they lost the match.
Randy Savage could make a star in twenty minutes. A quality no one in wrestling today possesses. What made Savage one of a kind was his outstanding contribution to the wrestling business, his unmatched wrestling skills, his unforgettable matches and his loud and colourful personality which resulted in those classics outfits.
On May 20th 2011, Randy Poffo passed away whilst driving his car. Poffo suffered a massive heart attack at the wheel whilst driving through his home state of Florida. Sadly, he was only fifty eight years old. A tragic loss to the world of wrestling which came far too soon.
Randy Savage became disillusioned with wrestling and the fans after he finally hung up his boots. I believe that he didn’t care about the business, what happened in the ring or if anyone remembered him. I hope he knew in the end how much he was loved and respected. How much we thanked him for all he gave us. And the debt we owed him as fans for providing us with a lifetime of memories.
The Match
The third Wrestlemania quality match in our fantasy warfare series would be a box office smash. C.M Punk, WWE’s best all round wrestler today and Macho Man Randy Savage, one of WWE’s best wrestlers of all time. Both men have had lengthily and historic WWE Championship reigns and each are similar to each other in style and build.
I imagine an encounter between the two to be one of the most emotional wrestling matches to have ever taken place. Randy Savage was one of Punk’s idols as he was growing up and getting into the wrestling business. Punk’s touching tribute to Randy Savage after his passing, wearing Savage’s wrestling tights to the ring and using the flying elbow would have been applauded by the Macho Man and seen as a true sign of respect. To lose an idol is a difficult experience but to step into the ring with one would be earth shattering for Punk, giving Savage the mental advantage.
Both men have had sufficient main event experience and both fought and beaten men bigger and more popular than themselves and both have their own personal nemesis. Whilst Savage did battle with Hulk Hogan, C.M Punk has waged a mighty war with John Cena. A war Punk came out of with his reputation and WWE Championship reign in tact. Randy Savage’s war with Hulk Hogan wasn’t so successful as WWE weren’t willing to put Savage over Hogan at Wrestlemania 5, whilst C.M Punk defeated John Cena on pay per view at Money in the Bank 2011, SummerSlam 2011, SummerSlam 2012, Night of Champions 2012 (ended in a no contest) and Survivor Series 2012.
Watching Randy Savage’s matches back today, I sometimes think that Randy Poffo was born in the wrong era. Whilst his ariel skills and wrestling ability were something to behold at the time, the feeling is one that Savage would have been better suited to a WWE of today. His style, charisma and connection with the fans would have suited WWE in 2013 and looking down the current WWE roster, Randy Savage would have been a sure hit in modern day wrestling and a perfect foil for C.M Punk.
Randy Savage’s high flying wrestling style would be the ideal weapon in grounding Punk and the more Savage could keep Punk grounded the better chance the Macho Man would have in defeating the current WWE Champion. Savage would have the love and respect of the audience on his side and his ring knowledge would serve him well. His ability to sell the tiniest move as though its broken one of his limbs has always been a great art, one which even Punk hasn’t quite mastered, and Savage would make Punk’s moves look a million dollars.
C.M Punk has earned every success he’s having in WWE, having to fight management and politics backstage to get to where he is today. Whilst C.M Punk can be put down as one of WWE’s true success stories, he’s the opposite to Randy Savage in that C.M Punk would have fitted better in the 80’s and 90’s era of wrestling. The dastardly heel aura that Punk exudes would have been a great barrier to put against an 80’s Hulk Hogan or Ultimate Warrior and his wrestling style also fits the era in question. Both men were born in the wrong era and if we could swap them around then maybe wrestling history would read differently.
C.M Punk has a grizzled ring technique and his stubborn nature to retain the WWE Championship for a year, against all comers, bigger or small, more or less popular has given him the upper hand in this encounter. Through Savage’s one year WWE Championship reign he only defended the WWE Championship on sporadic occasions, whilst C.M Punk has travelled the world defending the gold literally hundreds of times. Four times a week on house shows, on television and pay per views. Punk’s record against the best WWE has today is unparalleled as is his submission technique which I believe along with his quick feet and know how of the martial arts would be too much for Savage to overcome.
Guaranteed, both men would leave their heart and soul in the ring in a match which would be regarded as a ring classic. It may take several GTS’ to down the Macho Man but sadly though, in the end, C.M Punk only just trumps Randy Savage and the ‘Straight Edge Saviour’ would be the man with his hand raised high.
Winner: C.M Punk
Onwards and upwards...
