R.I.P. MACHO MAN

Man am I in shock right now. There are many legends in the wrestling business, but only a few true icons. Certainly Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Andre the Giant are usually the first names that come to mind when the word "icon" is mentioned. "Macho Man" Randy Savage is definitely among their company. This is a very hard blow to us wrestling fans. There have been quite a few tragedies in recent years, but the death of Randy Savage (real name Randy Poffo) is particularly painful. I remember being seven years old and watching Savage battle my all-time favorite wrestler, Jake "the Snake" Roberts, when Jake turned a king cobra loose on the "Macho Man"! It made for great television, even though the snake wouldn't let go of Savage's arm!

It's never easy to report on these kind of things, especially when you're reporting on guys that you grew up watching and even idolized at one point. My friends and I were all "Macho Man" fans. We ate Slim Jim's, bought his action figures and each tried our best to imitate his trademark "OOOOOH YEAH!" catchphrase (a feat that I was always the best at because I had a real deep voice). There are many great matches and moments involving Randy Savage over the years: the aforementioned cobra attack, his battle with Ric Flair at Wrestlemania VIII, the legendary bout with Ricky Steamboat at Wrestlemania III (often regarded as the greatest match ever) and his "Wedding" to Miss Elizabeth at Summerslam '91 (in truth, Savage and Elizabeth had always been married). But, if you're gonna pick a good "Macho Man" moment, you may as well pick the one that more or less defined his career...

This was the aftermath to his Wrestlemania VII match with the Ultimate Warrior. This match was a real testament to just how good of a wrestler Randy Savage really was. Why you ask? Because the match was incredible, which is really saying something when you consider who his opponent was. Yep, the "Macho Man" was able to accomplish a very rare feat on this day: get a good match out of the Ultimate Warrior! Still, it's what happened after the bout that had the fans buzzing. At the time, Sherri Martel had been Savage's valet. When Savage lost (the match had been billed as a "Career Ending Match"), Sherri went crazy and attacked Savage, upset that her meal ticket was now gone. With Savage beaten down and defenseless, Elizabeth came out of the audience, entered the ring and beat up Sherri Martel, running her off. When Savage came to, he and Elizabeth embraced and a legend was born. The fans ate up every second of the reunion, with some even crying! When Savage held down the ropes for Elizabeth to exit the ring, a practice that had traditionally been reversed, it cemented his status as a hero in the eyes of wrestling fans the world over.

His career was a roller coaster ride to say the least. But for several generations of fans, Randy Savage was king. He was a main eventer in both the WWF and WCW, holding both championships on several occasions. And whether he was a heel or a face, we fans were always entertained. Goodbye "Macho Man". Thanks for always being so awesome.

-Jon