Macho Man is great. Maybe the greatest. In fact, if you don't have Macho Man as one of the five greatest of all time, all of your opinions about pro wrestling are invalid.He was a master in the ring, he was a master with promos, and he was even a master commentator and spokesperson. In fact, although it was not critically acclaimed, I can still listen to and enjoy his rap album. But people know the highlights of his career, instead, I want to celebrate the less famous moments and bring light to these accomplishments, as they are just as impressive as the highlights.
In the summer of 1990, WWE had big plans for Saturday Night's Main Event, as Hulk Hogan was going to take on the Macho Man. To make this match even bigger, WWE was going to bring in Mike Tyson to be the special guest referee. There was just one problem. Mike Tyson didn't quite come through on his end of the bargain as he got knocked out by James "Buster" Douglas two weeks before the event. This meant the WWE had to switch to boxing's current Heavyweight Champion, and Mike Tyson wouldn't make his WWE debut for another decade.
Although there was a change in plans, Savage still did everything possible to put on a show. I'm not even going to touch on the match with Hogan, but instead focus on what Macho Man did after the match. Savage taunting Buster Douglas after losing to Hulk Hogan is amazing. The amount that Macho Man does here is absolutely incredible. He turned what should have been a disaster into an amazing moment that shows just how incredible he is.
Do you think Macho Man is scared of Boxing's Heavyweight Champion, a man who just knocked out Mike Tyson? Hell no.
Macho slaps Buster Douglas with a left and then immediately runs back to lay on the ropes while wagging his finger in the air. That is the definition of a boss maneuver. But do you think that's the only awesome thing he's going to do? Haha, think again.
Then he dances around the ring ready to box Douglas, because Macho Man (technically Macho King at this point) does not give a shit. The only problem is that Macho gets bored since he knows Douglas is an easy win for him. Since Buster is clearly out of his league, Savage challenges Hogan for a while before it is clear that Hogan is scared of Savage as well.
Finally, Macho Man gets bored and decides he can float like a butterfly while intimidating the champ. This is a great plan that would work if Hulk Hogan treated him like a decent human being. Instead, Hogan chooses the coward's way and shoves Savage from behind putting him in Buster Douglas's range for a knockout punch, and...
He whiffs, badly. Hogan still celebrates, but Macho isn't willing to let this turn into a debacle and go down from a phantom punch, so he clinches up with Buster Douglas, and clearly has to tell him, "Hit me again," in order for Buster Douglas to actually do a reasonable job of throwing a punch.
Basically, what I'm saying is that if Macho Man wanted to, he could have been a World Heavyweight Champion in boxing. Instead, he was one of the greatest pro wrestlers ever and deserves every bit of appreciation that he receives. Every move he makes in this minutes is magical, and it simply can't be overstated how amazingly in control he was of every single moment.
Macho Man is the greatest. Expect more evidence in the near future.
In the summer of 1990, WWE had big plans for Saturday Night's Main Event, as Hulk Hogan was going to take on the Macho Man. To make this match even bigger, WWE was going to bring in Mike Tyson to be the special guest referee. There was just one problem. Mike Tyson didn't quite come through on his end of the bargain as he got knocked out by James "Buster" Douglas two weeks before the event. This meant the WWE had to switch to boxing's current Heavyweight Champion, and Mike Tyson wouldn't make his WWE debut for another decade.
Although there was a change in plans, Savage still did everything possible to put on a show. I'm not even going to touch on the match with Hogan, but instead focus on what Macho Man did after the match. Savage taunting Buster Douglas after losing to Hulk Hogan is amazing. The amount that Macho Man does here is absolutely incredible. He turned what should have been a disaster into an amazing moment that shows just how incredible he is.
Do you think Macho Man is scared of Boxing's Heavyweight Champion, a man who just knocked out Mike Tyson? Hell no.
Finally, Macho Man gets bored and decides he can float like a butterfly while intimidating the champ. This is a great plan that would work if Hulk Hogan treated him like a decent human being. Instead, Hogan chooses the coward's way and shoves Savage from behind putting him in Buster Douglas's range for a knockout punch, and...
Macho Man is the greatest. Expect more evidence in the near future.
Uh, how do I hide this from my wife?
ReplyDeleteFor some reason, this reminded me of a generic Mountain Dew called Hee Haw, and it was like $1.50 for a 12-pack. Does Duty Free Depot carry Hee Haw?
ReplyDeleteI don't get shocked; I do the shocking.
ReplyDeleteRandy was one of the greatest hands down. The only two I have above Randy as performers are Ric Flair & Shawn Michaels, but they're all right there w each other. I just listened to Bruce & Conrad's STW podcast on Macho & it was awesome! Randy's brother Lanny also has a great podcast & he regulary talks about Macho Man.
ReplyDeleteI feel like one of the most impressive things about Randy was that he would have been a huge star in any era. In fact, you could make the argument that the era he had his prime in was the worst one for him because of Vince's obsession with size.
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