Original subtitles

Oh, yeah.

Never before had two words capture the imagination of

audiences worldwide and bred such a global phenomenon.

Here he is, the one and only "Macho Man" Randy Savage

and Elizabeth.

With the larger than life personality,

electrifying outfits, and undeniable athleticism.

There was never anyone quite like the Macho Man.

But the cream will rise to the top.

Oh yeah.

Today we look back at the very

best of the "Macho Man" Randy Savage.

The "Macho Man" Randy Savage Lord and master of the ring.

This is WWE's Greatest Moments.

Ooh, Yeah.

Acknowledge me.

My God.

Stone Cold with a beer bath.

Ah.

This is surreal.

Look at this.

He slammed him.

Welcome, everyone, to WWE's Greatest Moments.

I'm Michael Cole, and on this edition,

we're looking back at the illustrious career

of one of the all time greats, the "Macho Man" Randy Savage.

No matter where you go, everyone does a Macho Man impression.

Ooh yeah, dig-

Oh, damn it, that's not it either.

I'll get mine out of the way now.

Ooh, yeah.

Okay, so no one can really come close to his essence,

but it's understandable.

As the spokesperson for Slim Jim

and a memorable role in the box office smash Spider-Man.

Savage embodied the very definition

of the word "Superstar."

Nothing stops the "Macho Man" Randy Savage,

I am the Lord and master of the ring.

But with all those tremendous Hall of Fame accolades,

the Macho Man couldn't do it alone.

Upon his debut in 1985, all the WWE managers were lined up

ready to guide the career of WWE's newest sensation.

But it was who he chose that had the world buzzing.

The man who is in demand by wrestling managers galore.

The number one free agent,

Randy "Macho Man" Savage.

When Randy came in,

they had the bidding and they had the

competition for what manager was going to manage the Macho Man.

They had Bobby Heenan, you had Mr. Fuji, Fred Blassie,

Lou Albano, all these different managers

that were vying to manage the Macho Man.

Right behind that door right now

is the Macho Man's new manager.

Oh.

Oh, goodness.

Oh, my.

What is this some movie star?

Who is this?

There was this beautiful woman dressed in an evening gown.

No one knew who the hell she was.

Look at the smile.

That is a gorgeous, gorgeous lady.

His girlfriend is his manager.

Well, that makes him more human than a King Kong Bundy

or an Andre the Giant,

or these larger than life villains.

It was a real storyline.

That's why it worked.

The Macho Man introducing the managers to his current manager.

She was very stark contrast to the Macho Man,

and Elizabeth captured the audience's attention.

We're gonna have to find out a lot more about this lady.

Macho Madness was indeed sweeping the nation

very early on in his WWE career.

Macho Madness, ooh yeah.

All around the world.

Yeah.

And it was his iconic voice that captured

the attention of the viewers.

I think they're scared to death.

And his creativity was unlike any one of the era.

My special guest, perhaps one of the most

talked about men in the ranks

of the World Wrestling-- this week-

every week, for that matter.

He was a delight to interview

because he had a lot of fun doing it.

His knack for spontaneity.

He was very good off the cuff.

Ooh yeah, you know what I'm reading right now?

Yeah, I'm reading yesterday's newspaper.

And that's Hulk Hogan and Tito Santana all rolled into one.

Yeah.

Like he had just started with WWE,

and he's already going for the top.

He is calling out Hulk Hogan.

I'm talking about intensity and I'm talking about

Macho Madness, and I'm talking about the rest of 1985.

Yeah.

You put him in front of a camera and let him go crazy.

The Macho Man, there's nobody like him.

I'm talking about the rest of the 80s leading into the 90s.

Yeah.

And then I'm talking about going all the way into the year 2000.

And all the way into the Twilight Zone.

Yeah.

You couldn't explain the Macho Man.

You had to see him to get him.

Momentum, Macho Madness going down and gathering momentum.

You hung on to every word because he was so committed

and believed every word he said.

It is rough.

Yeah.

Wrestling is a rough sport,

and I am the roughest one in the sport.

I am the number one wrestler in the world today.

"Macho Man" Randy Savage was always a key player wherever he

went and when he made his WCW debut, it was no different.

In 1997, Savage was riding high atop World Championship

Wrestling as part of the New World Order.

Macho Man had his sights set on one superstar in particular

Diamond Dallas Page.

Diamond Dallas Page.

He doesn't want to feel the Madness anymore.

Savage, you are a dead man walking.

The two were engulfed in a rivalry that was

as personal as it was violent.

And at the Great American Bash, things were just

getting started.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's the

WCW Great American Bash main event.

This falls count anywhere match felt massive.

And the Anything Goes Savage Page was on.

They're not going to walk out of this thing tonight.

The energy for that match-

It was awesome.

Oh.

We went out there and we just kicked the ass,

and he made me fight from underneath the whole way.

It felt as you were watching-

Like Randy Savage and Diamond Dallas Page had both decided-

"Let's put everything into this."

He saw a man that was just as hungry as he was

ready, willing and able to do anything it took.

to jam the roof off that place.

One.

Wow.

Two.

Oh, man.

Three.

Two guys know exactly what they're doing in the ring.

Excellent workers.

It was a great storyline.

They worked great together.

We had a hell of a match.

People loved that match.

What a moment, man.

I am the greatest superstar ever to step

into that squared circle.

If there's one thing Macho Man does best is get your attention.

And that doesn't just ring true for the audience.

He could garner a response out of his opponents as well.

One example is the Ultimate Warrior.

Wait, wait, no.

Oh, look at that.

After costing the Warrior his WWE Championship.

Things got personal.

You, Macho King,

have found the madness.

I, Macho King, am the Wildness.

Ultimate Warrior, I'm gonna take your career,

and there ain't nothing that you can do about it.

Dig it.

Wrestlemania 7-

Both superstars agreed to put their careers on the line

in one of the most anticipated matches

on the biggest stage of them all.

Look at the Queen.

And all her glory.

Is that the lovely Elizabeth?

It is.

That's what I thought.

Everyone realizing the magnitude of this one.

Working with Randy was the best.

He's the one that brought the most out of me.

You're watching the end of the Ultimate Warrior.

What a display here by the Macho King.

Flying elbow off the top rope.

No no no.

I don't believe it.

Wrestlemania 7-

The Ultimate Warrior.

Macho Man.

One of the greatest matches of all time.

Nobody's getting up from this.

No.

No no no.

When I looked into my hands like I'm asking the gods

what the answer is.

Are the Warrior's getting a message?

It's not over for me.

My destiny is to remain here.

It's over.

After Queen Sherri realizes that her meal ticket just lost a

career ending match,

she gets in the ring and just starts

throwing blows and punches.

Oh my God.

Oh, look at Elizabeth.

What's she doing?

She's going over the barricade.

She couldn't take it anymore.

She loves him.

She's loved him from the beginning.

Tears flowing down-

Oh, yes.

He lost the match, but he got something much more valuable-

his woman.

Upon Savage's debut, the lovely Elizabeth

was always by his side.

And audiences were enthralled by the dazzling duo.

Finally, in 1991, the Macho Man popped the question.

Elizabeth, will you marry me?

Ooh, yeah.

Yee haw

Ooh, yeah.

We got us a wedding- a wing ding.

The honor of our presence was requested

for the wedding of the century,

held at the only place befitting such an extravagant affair.

The world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden in the

main event of SummerSlam.

What you're about to see

is one of the most sacred moments we can have.

Like, isn't it crazy that a wedding

main evented SummerSlam?

Elizabeth,

do you take this man as your lawful wedded husband?

I will.

Do you take this woman as your lawful wedded wife?

Ooh yeah.

Elizabeth had been such a big part of his life.

Now, I pronounce that you are husband and wife.

It was beauty and the beast.

They didn't go together.

However, they paired perfectly together.

You may now kiss the bride.

It's probably the first and the last,

and the only time that we've seen a wrestling wedding

go off without a hitch.

Now is the greatest love story-

Romeo and Juliet of all time.

What a night it's been at SummerSlam.

So long everybody.

As Intercontinental Champion, the ego of "Macho Man"

Randy Savage was at an all time high.

"Macho Man" Randy Savage

is the world's greatest professional wrestler, yeah.

Savage was not only a master in the ring,

but on the microphone as well,

famously adding props into his iconic promos.

The cream will rise to the top.

Ooh, yeah.

Nothing was off limits.

Not even a big cup of Joe.

"Macho Man" Randy Savage.

Sarasota, Florida.

Come on in.

You're going to be defending against "The Dragon,"

Ricky Steamboat.

What's the cup for?

Wrestlemania 3.

Pontiac, Michigan.

Yeah, 90,000 plus people watching right there.

And this is Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat's cup of coffee

in the big time, yeah.

Cup of coffee in the big time.

Because he'll never get closer than now.

Cup of coffee in the big time.

It's one of the best wrestling promos ever.

Cup of coffee in the big time.

Cup of coffee.

You know, grabbing a little prop there next to Mean Gene,

you know, craft services was a couple feet away.

All that type of stuff is just all ad lib.

He was just brilliant.

I am the Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion,

and I will remain the greatest Intercontinental Heavyweight

Champion of all time.

Cup of coffee, man, yeah.

Man.

Wow, man.

Freak out.

Macho Man was gaining fans and momentum

with his outlandish promos.

You can't handle the success of The "Macho Man" Randy Savage.

But with the target on his back,

Randy would soon find himself outnumbered

by The Honky Tonk Man and the Hart Foundation.

Unfortunately, there's no one in the ring right now

to save Randy Savage.

Ooh.

The quick thinking of his manager,

Elizabeth would lead to an unlikely duo.

What brilliance this lady has.

What a presence of mind to bring help.

And help she has from.

in the form of this man,

the World Wrestling-- champion.

You had these two bigger than life characters-

Colorful, but all of a sudden when they came together,

it was like something was going to be unstoppable.

Look at that.

Yes, they've had their differences in the past,

but the Macho Man is extending the hand of friendship

to the Hulkster.

I remember being like, not able to believe it.

Like, I really, I was watching, I was like,

"No, this, this can't happen."

We could be seeing the meeting of the Madness and the Mania.

Yes, there it is.

When we went to shake hands, we both just over animated it.

And it was like the handshake heard around the world.

I think everyone was super excited about the fact

that they were together, not necessarily against each other.

That added a different dimension to the whole thing.

A magic moment in the annals of sports history.

Look at this.

To bring Randy and Hogan together at that moment,

with Hogan being as huge of a character,

and the impact he was having on the industry,

then have the two worlds come together as the Mega Powers.

Unbelievable.

I'm still in a state of shock right now.

In fact, I don't think they're going to be coming down

for a long period of time, yeah.

It meant a lot to Randy.

It is a career changer.

It had changed Randy's career.

With the mega, yeah.

The mega, yeah.

The Mega Powers, yeah.

Mega Powers.

Yeah.

If there was a title to be held

you can bet that "Macho Man" Randy Savage

had his eyes set on it.

In 1989, the King of the Ring crown was worn proudly by

"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan.

We crown thee, King Hacksaw.

Just like a young lion cub.

Randy Savage couldn't wait to be king.

King Hacksaw Jim Duggan, the Macho Man.

The crown on the line.

Oh, did you hear that?

Got to be something in that purse.

And Macho Man has won the crown.

I now remove my mortarboard and place it near my heart and

thus proclaim you "Macho King" Randy Savage.

Him being presented with this almost ridiculous thing.

King, he's going to wear a crown.

He was smart enough to know

that he's elevating this and to have it elevate him

he has to go all in.

Bow.

Bow.

He was bigger than life character once again-

Macho King.

I wear the crown for a real good reason

'cause I can't be beat.

Just brilliant character stuff.

It evolves him and extends an already Hall of Fame career.

Kingdom of the Madness will rule the World Wrestling

- forever and ever and ever.

Yeah.

Whether on the microphone or in the ring,

you did not want to be on the opposing side of Randy Savage.

One superstar who found that out firsthand was

Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat.

After a vicious assault, Steamboat

was out of action for months.

Upon his return, The Dragon sought out to set the

Kingdom of the Madness ablaze.

In front of the largest WrestleMania crowd of the era,

"Macho Man" Randy Savage took on Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat

in an instant classic.

One of the biggest confrontations of all time-

Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat

and his vendetta for the Macho Man.

The perfect and most hated bad guy

versus the quintessential good guy.

Deep arm drag by The Dragon.

Oh, look at that.

He's going after the throat.

He's going after the throat, indeed.

And The Dragon is out into the ringside area.

You know, throughout your wrestling career,

you have guys that you take a look at and you say,

"Wow, the guy's a great performer."

And I had that feeling about Randy.

It was because of the ride that we took everybody on

with all the false finishes.

All we wanted to do was steal the show.

This 90,000 plus has gone bananas.

No, his foot is on the rope.

This is one of the greatest matches I've ever seen.

The match had such a pace to it,

we had to keep on our toes

for both of us to be on the same page.

Oh, inadvertently rammed right into the referee.

It was just layer after layer

of something happening in that match

that kept the people's attention.

He's trying to get the bell away from the timekeeper.

Give me a break.

Look at that

Oh.

Flagrant interference.

George pushed him.

Randy went in one direction and the bell went the other.

Pretty big moment.

It was a game changer.

Small package by The Dragon.

No.

He got him.

New Intercontinental champion,

Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat.

Poetry in motion.

That's what you had every time that you saw Macho Man

and Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat go at it.

The reigning Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion,

Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat.

I love it.

It is now time for our number one moment.

And it's the very pinnacle of the legendary career

of "Macho Man" Randy Savage.

In 1988, the WWE Championship was vacant and the world was

watching WrestleMania 4 when a 14 man tournament

was held to determine the new champion.

Macho Man had quite the afternoon,

first by defeating Butch Reed,

then Greg "The Hammer" Valentine,

finally the One Man Gang.

"Macho Man" Randy Savage over the One Man Gang.

So that is your final, the one we've been thinking about.

With the Million Dollar Man, Ted DiBiase,

awaiting him in the finals.

I will go on

to my destiny of being the undisputed

World Wrestling-- Heavyweight Champion.

Could Randy Savage win an unprecedented four matches in

one night to become champion?

This is the final match of our tournament to determine the

undisputed World Wrestling-- Heavyweight Champion.

You can feel the electricity in the air.

There have been so many roadblocks

as Randy Savage ascended the ladder.

And I think a real turning point in his career

was at WrestleMania 4 in Atlantic City.

Nice move.

Oh, look at that.

Randy, impressed me.

He was all business.

He did his job and he did it well.

And I enjoyed working with him thoroughly.

I'd say the cards are stacked against the Macho Man right now.

They really are.

Macho Man beat him-

Oh, he caught him.

Look at Savage going to the outside.

Savage a flying elbow.

Hooks the leg.

It's over.

It was probably one of the best matches,

I think, that I ever had.

There are some guys in our business who just gel real well.

Randy and I had that chemistry.

We have a new champion.

That night elevated Randy to the great heights

of superstardom.

He was living his dream.

This is Macho Man's finest hour.

In a career that spanned four decades,

multiple world championships

and incredible mainstream popularity,

"Macho Man" Randy Savage will truly go down as a superstar

who redefined the very nature of professional wrestling.

Well, that'll do it for this edition

of WWE's Greatest Moments.

I hope you've enjoyed this look back

at the very best of one of the biggest icons this

industry has ever seen.

The one and only "Macho Man" Randy Savage.