Goodbye Macho Man
As a child of the 80's I had many sports heroes. Don Mattingly, Magic Johnson (who I still think is the greatest basketball player of all-time) and Danny White (hey, don't laugh, he was the under-rated QB on my favorite squad) were my favorite traditional athletes. There was one athlete that stood above the competition. He seemed larger than life, and even though his sport was wrestling, he always captured my imagination.
This past Friday, Randy "Macho Man" Savage passed away. I was shocked and saddened by the news. Both my oldest brother and youngest sister contacted me to tell me the news, and to make sure I was okay after hearing the news. It was a little weird to get these calls and emails, but after thinking it over some more I could understand why. Savage was a huge part of my youth. I loved him, my family knew that, and now he was gone.
I knew wrestling was fake, but Savage's combination of power and athleticism were rarely matched. Was he the greatest wrestler of all-time, no, that honor I believe goes to Bret Hart. But no one, in any era ever put on a show like the Macho Man. My brother put it best on Friday when he said "He was the type of wrestler I'd always pay money to see". He was right. You knew that any show headlined by the Macho Man was bound to be great one.
If you ever have a doubt, of the power, charisma and athleticism of Randy Savage, watch Wrestlemania's III and IV. WM III has the classic Steamboat vs. Savage match. Quite possibly the greatest match in professional wrestling history. While Savage (as a popular heel) lost the match to Steamboat, they both put on an amazing show. A brilliant combination of ground and aerial tactics. Savage though, really came into his own in WM IV. This was the event that featured the tournament for the vacant WWE World title. Savage fought 4 matches (Butch Reed, Greg Valentine, One Man Gang and Ted DiBiase), each different than the last in showcasing how unique and gifted an athlete he truly was. The night ended with him starting the first of multiple WWE world championship runs.
I saw both of those WM's on closed circuit at MSG with my oldest brother. We went to MSG a lot in those days, and we always left talking about the amazing show the Macho Man had put on. Yes, Hogan was always more popular, but you always knew how Hogan's matches would end. With Macho Man, it was always the best show of the night, win or lose. A show I'm happy to have lived through. My thoughts and prayers go out to Randy's family.
This past Friday, Randy "Macho Man" Savage passed away. I was shocked and saddened by the news. Both my oldest brother and youngest sister contacted me to tell me the news, and to make sure I was okay after hearing the news. It was a little weird to get these calls and emails, but after thinking it over some more I could understand why. Savage was a huge part of my youth. I loved him, my family knew that, and now he was gone.
I knew wrestling was fake, but Savage's combination of power and athleticism were rarely matched. Was he the greatest wrestler of all-time, no, that honor I believe goes to Bret Hart. But no one, in any era ever put on a show like the Macho Man. My brother put it best on Friday when he said "He was the type of wrestler I'd always pay money to see". He was right. You knew that any show headlined by the Macho Man was bound to be great one.
If you ever have a doubt, of the power, charisma and athleticism of Randy Savage, watch Wrestlemania's III and IV. WM III has the classic Steamboat vs. Savage match. Quite possibly the greatest match in professional wrestling history. While Savage (as a popular heel) lost the match to Steamboat, they both put on an amazing show. A brilliant combination of ground and aerial tactics. Savage though, really came into his own in WM IV. This was the event that featured the tournament for the vacant WWE World title. Savage fought 4 matches (Butch Reed, Greg Valentine, One Man Gang and Ted DiBiase), each different than the last in showcasing how unique and gifted an athlete he truly was. The night ended with him starting the first of multiple WWE world championship runs.
I saw both of those WM's on closed circuit at MSG with my oldest brother. We went to MSG a lot in those days, and we always left talking about the amazing show the Macho Man had put on. Yes, Hogan was always more popular, but you always knew how Hogan's matches would end. With Macho Man, it was always the best show of the night, win or lose. A show I'm happy to have lived through. My thoughts and prayers go out to Randy's family.
Labels: wrestling
posted by LEV at
12:59 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home