Wrestling Six Packs, Macho Week: Macho Man's Greatest Rivals

Two natural rivals going at it.
Photo Credit: WWE.com

Randy Savage had an epic career. I think that's pretty much academic. However, in wrestling, you don't have a great career solo. You need to have guys to play your foil, or guys you play foil to. Savage had some great feuds, and here are six of his best rivals.

1. Jerry "The King" Lawler

When Savage left his father's ICW and went to work in Memphis, you could argue he really came of age. It's natural, as Lawler's run in Memphis may have been the most important singular draw to one region, and working with him would be seasoning enough for anyone. It was here that Macho got prepared for the big time. This list really isn't in any order, but you could make the argument that Lawler may have been Savage's most important rival.

2. Ric Flair

...then again, when you feud with perhaps the most decorated and important wrestler of all-time over the WWF World Championship at WrestleMania, that counts for a lot more than going at it in a regional promotion. The first clash between Macho and Naitch was so heated, so edgy for the time. Flair claimed to have racy pictures of Elizabeth, something actually right out of the Memphis playbook actually. The interplay between the two felt so natural, so right. It was an iron they'd strike several more times in WCW, and even though they really didn't go up against each other at all until the '90s, it felt like they were rivals throughout eternity.

3. Hulk Hogan

Yes, the feud was one-sided for the most part. Yes, Savage was always portrayed as Hogan's bitch. However, Hogan and Savage were both inexorably linked if only for the Mega Powers angle and the watershed WrestleMania V match. It was a feud that lasted both in and out of character for a long time, eliciting the infamous Be a Man rap album from Macho that was somewhat of a nadir for him, but hey, no one's perfect.

4. George "The Animal" Steele

ON the total opposite end of the "importance" scale is Steele, who was more of an ancillary feud, an annoyance than a legitimate feud. I mean, he was a big doddering, slobbery beast, and he basically lusted after Liz like King Kong did after Fay Wray. But in a way, he was the perfect foil for Savage and Liz as a couple. What better way to accentuate the fact that Macho really didn't deserve Liz than having this slovenly old man, a slovenly old man who was a super fan favorite, creeping after her?

5. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat

This is a no-brainer. I think Bill Simmons hit the nail on the head in his excellent Savage tribute column today. Wrestling's peak kinda began with Savage crushing Steamboat across the larynx, and their match at WrestleMania III was THE first ever WM marquee match. Seriously, Shawn Michaels as Mr. WrestleMania? Austin and Hart? Taker and Trips this past year? Hart vs. Hart? It was a tradition begotten with this match. It arguably made the Intercontinental Championship, and thus it's a rivalry that belongs on this list.

6. Diamond Dallas Page

This was his signature WCW-only feud, but man, what an intense and critically acclaimed one it was. These two went at it, and it really did a lot to make DDP, much in the way that feuds with Steamer and Hogan made Savage in the '80s. You really got the feeling that both guys were looking to kill each other. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that they were both probably somewhat legitimately crazy, but hey, that always adds to a great feud.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

George Steele on Why Savage and McMahon Had Heat

George "The Animal" Steele
Photo Credit: WWE.com

Via WrestleChat.Net

It wasn't a bar slap. It wasn't having relations with jailbait Stephanie. It was a feeling of betrayal that kept Randy Savage out of the WWE according to George "The Animal" Steele. On a radio interview with Busted Open on Sirius, Steele recounted Savage's jump to WCW and how McMahon felt about the whole ordeal:

That’s been said a lot of different ways, and there’s been a lot of different things said that are not true necessarily.

I think that what happened with Randy, when his career was winding down with the WWF, Vince McMahon just loved Randy. After all everything Randy had done and he took him under his wing, and he wantedRandy after the ring was over with for him, he wanted him to be our spokesperson. He was traveling with Vince all the time. Randy was almost like a son, they were really tight. And then one day, we were at a TV meeting, and we got word that Randy, without calling Vince, had left and jumped to the WCW. I had never seen Vince McMahon broken before, he was crushed. It hurt him big time and I don’t think he ever got over that. I think that’s the real problem to be honest with you. I heard all this other stuff that I think is garbage when it comes to Randy and relationships with daughters and all that stuff… I don’t think that’s anywhere’s close to the truth.

So yeah, just another case of wrestling rumors gone wild, because I think that if I were going to believe anyone, it'd be Steele. He seems like the honest type, and really, what would he have to gain about his candor?

Honestly, I think it's a shame that the two never fully reconciled if McMahon had that close a relationship with Savage at one time, but then again, it's not like McMahon never betrayed anyone. What could have been...

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!