Sports Illustrated Extra’s “Mustard Blog” recently put together a lengthy piece on 2015 WWE Hall Of Famer “Macho Man” Randy Savage, talking to a number of WWE legends about the iconic performer. Below are some of the highlights.
Jerry Lawler on working with Savage:
“The first time we worked together, when it was ‘promotion against promotion,’ we sold out at the arena with 23,000 people. That was unheard of in wrestling. But Randy was so cool. He was a great athlete, and he was a little bit out there. He had a bit of a temper, and he was moody at times, but he was his own guy. I really grew to respect him.”
Steve Austin on Savage:
“Macho Man, that guy’s stuff back when he was in Tennessee, was incredible. His intensity, his promo style—he was the Macho Man 24/7, 365—and he was that before he got to the WWF. Vince [McMahon] didn’t make him, he made himself. Vince then made him a superstar all over the world.”
Gene Okerlund, Hulk Hogan and Ted DiBiase on Savage’s relationship with Miss Elizabeth:
Okerlund: “Randy was a loose cannon. In the early days, Randy was very protective of Elizabeth to the point where it bothered a lot of the boys. But what could you do, take it to Vince McMahon and make yourself look like a powder puff? You just ignored it and worked with it.”
Hogan: “If you even looked at Elizabeth the wrong way, then, Holy s—. Randy would freak out. If you ever wanted to get him lit up, you’d just have to look at Liz.”
DiBiase: “I would never consider having my wife around a bunch of wrestlers. Randy tried to protect Elizabeth, but that created some tension between the two of them.”
Daniel Bryan on Savage:
“I’d love to be this era’s Macho Man. There are a lot of similarities between the two of us. He was so good and just had that connection with the crowd. You can watch him to this day, he’s so entertaining.”
Ric Flair on his WrestleMania VIII match against Savage:
“We brought the best out in each other. When you have that kind of chemistry and respect for each other, it doesn’t take a lot of thought-process to go out there and make music in the ring. Randy was still playing minor league baseball when I first met him. I was there in his corner during his infancy in the business, saw him blossom and become so much better. I was proud of him, and wrestling him at WrestleMania was awesome.”
Sting on his friendship with Savage:
“Randy Savage, ironically, is one of the guys I looked up to. I loved him. He was so out far out there with his character. There was something about it I could identify with. I used to tease him a little bit in the dressing room in front of all the guys, and say, ‘Come on, just talk in your normal voice.’ ‘This is my normal voice, what are you talking about?,’ he’d say. It was funny. We’d always try to get him, but I never heard him talk any other way than just like this, brother! Living the character helped him, absolutely it did.”
Lanny Poffo on a Triple H interview that led to a the infamous Stephanie McMahon rumor, which Lanny says is not true:
“A reporter asked [WWE heavyweight champion] Triple H what he thought of Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage. Triple H responded with, ‘They were great, but they’re dinosaurs.’ Randy saw this as a deliberate attempt to hurt his brand. Randy insinuated he [wanted] to take Triple H, slap him in the face, take his girl, Stephanie McMahon [the daughter of Vince McMahon and the wife of Triple H], and drive her around the block, then give her back to him,” Lanny says. “It wasn’t right, but Randy was provoked.”
Check out the complete feature at SI.com.
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