"Macho Man' Randy Savage is one of the most well-known wrestling superstars of all time. Savage wasn't one of the bigger wrestlers of his era, but he was one of the best. He was well known for his over-the-top promos and his long list of classic matches.
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Savage broke into the wrestling business in the early 1970s. In the same decade, Savage competed in minor-league baseball before joining wrestling. Although he started wrestling in the '70s, the '80s was the decade that saw Randy Savage become a wrestling icon and this list will examine 10 things everyone should know about Randy Savage's wrestling career in the 1980s.
10 Wrestled At A Family Owned Promotion
Angelo Poffo, the father of Randy Savage, founded International Championship Wrestling (ICW) in 1978. Poffo felt both of his sons, Lanny Poffo and Randy Savage, were not being properly pushed as wrestlers. The two traded the ICW Championship between each other and headlined many of ICW's shows. The promotion became defunct in 1984 and Lanny and Savage entered the Memphis wrestling scene.
9 Lost A "Loser Leaves Town" Match Before Arriving To WWE
Randy Savage wrestled in Continental Wrestling Association after leaving the family-owned ICW. The biggest rival of Savage's time in CWA was company co-owner, Jerry Lawler. The pair competed until "Macho Man's" last day in the company. The last match that Savage competed in CWA was against Jerry Lawler in 1985.
Their last match was known as a "Loser Leaves Town Match," but the stipulations were more interesting than that. If Lawler lost, he was forced to retire. If Savage lost, he was forced to leave the promotion for at least a year. Savage lost and debuted in WWE days after his loss.
8 Missed WrestleMania I By Two Months
Although he made his WWE debut in 1985, the same year as WrestleMania I, Savage was not involved in the first "Showcase of the Immortals." Randy Savage wrestled his first televised WWE match on June 17, 1985. WrestleMania I took place on March 31, 1985. Savage missed Mania by less than two months. He competed at WrestleManias 2-10 after his WWE debut.
7 Was Paired With Miss Elizabeth Immediately Upon His WWE Arrival
Upon arrival to WWE, Savage was touted as one of the "top free agents." He was being courted by various WWE managers (in storyline) including Bobby Heenan, Freddy Blassie, and Jimmy Hart. Savage ended up choosing his real-life wife, Miss Elizabeth, as his manager. It was one of the early televised versions of a blurred reality between a wrestler's real life and their in-ring persona. The pair would have a long history that polarized wrestling audiences for almost a decade.
6 Wrestled Hulk Hogan For The First Time In 1985
The most famous foe (and ally) of Randy Savage's career was Hulk Hogan. Although the two would eventually become the two top names in the world of wrestling, they had their first WWE match the same year Savage arrived to WWE.
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In front of 19,710 fans at the Philadelphia Spectrum arena, Hogan and Savage had a very highly anticipated WWE Championship match. It was televised on the PRISM Network. Hogan defeated Savage in the first of many matches the two would ever have.
5 Held The Intercontinental Championship For Over A Year
In 1986, Randy Savage won his first major title in WWE. He defeated Tito Santana at the Boston Garden to win the Intercontinental Championship. He defended the title multiple times against huge wrestling icons like Ricky Steamboat and Jake "The Snake" Roberts. Savage held the title for 414 days and lost the IC belt at WrestleMania III.
4 The Mega Powers
By the fall of 1987, Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage were the two biggest wrestling stars in WWE. The two officially joined forces with a handshake and became a huge babyface tag team unit. For six months, the two would team up off and on.
The implosion of the Mega Powers would eventually lead to the main event at WrestleMania V. Their time in WWE wouldn't be the end of the Mega Powers forever. They reformed three different times in WWE and WCW.
3 Match Against Ricky Steamboat At WrestleMania 3 Was Critically Acclaimed
WrestleMania 3 will always be remembered as the night Hulk Hogan slammed Andre the Giant. Although Hogan and Andre competed in one of the most important matches in the history of wrestling, earlier in the card, Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat competed in one of the most influential matches of all time.
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Savage entered WrestleMania 3 as the Intercontinental Championship for 414 days. He and Steamboat competed in a nearly 15-minute match that was virtually flawless. Savage famously choreographed every move in the match, but the bout seemed off the cuff. Steamboat and Savage's WrestleMania match won Wrestling Observer Newsletter's and Pro Wrestling Illustrated's "Match of the Year" award in 1987.
2 The Macho King
In 1987, Randy Savage won the third King of the Ring tournament but didn't adopt the "Macho King" persona until 1989. After he took the crown from Jim Duggan, he claimed himself to be the "King of the World Wrestling Federation" and carried a scepter. He famously used the scepter to cause Ultimate Warrior to lose the WWE Championship at the 1991 Royal Rumble. He kept the gimmick until Warrior "retired" Savage at WrestleMania 7.
1 Won His First WWE Championship
Randy Savage spent a large part of his early years in WWE as the guy "just below Hulk Hogan." In 1988, Randy Savage won the 14-man tournament for the vacant WWE Championship at WrestleMania 4. Savage went on to hold the title for 371 days.
His time with the Mega Powers helped him become a big enough star to be awarded the title. The implosion of Hogan and Savage would also be the downfall of his time as champion. Hulk Hogan defeated Savage at WrestleMania V, ending his reign as champion. It was the first of two WWE Championship reigns for Savage.
