Monday Night Mayhem DVD Review:
“Macho Madness: The Randy Savage Ultimate Collection”
Produced By: World Wrestling Entertainment Home Video
Written By: “Wild” Bill Brown
****
Content: 9.0
The latest home video provided by World Wrestling Entertainment features one of the most legendary performers to have disappeared from the WWE for the last 15 years & has never been positively reviewed until now. “Macho Madness: The Randy Savage Ultimate Collection” is three discs with nearly nine hours featuring this pro-wrestling icon in some of his most memorable matches, feuds, & storylines during his history in the WWE. Hosted by Matt Striker & WWE Diva Maria, each portion on all three discs of these DVD’s are guided in with prepared dialogue by our hosting duo with the material shown, as they guide you through “Macho Madness.”
****
Audio/Video: 9.0
The WWE once again is state-of-the-art in production when it comes to any current DVD release. This one features all footage from the mid 80’s & the 1990’s, so while the footage used is not in High-Definition as used today by the company, what they have & used has been well-preserved & showcased perfectly. The audio is clear & crisp, and with the exception of some overdubs on a few theme songs that the WWE does not own the rights to, the blend of audio & the great commentaries from such legendary announce teams mainly involving Gorilla Monsoon, Jesse “The Body” Ventura, Vince McMahon, & Bobby “The Brain” Heenan is a very enjoyable listen throughout the release.
****
Special Features: 9.0
Over a dozen extra interviews, a wedding (at SummerSlam ’91), Miss Elizabeth’s debut, & a “Macho King” coronation are the great special features provided in this DVD. While nice to see & great to watch all those vintage promos, I would have liked to see maybe just one other person besides your hosts (Matt Striker & Maria) throughout all nine hours say something about their time with “The Macho Man.” “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase, “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes, & even “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels: just one addition from someone else saying anything about Randy Savage would have been a nice touch, but instead leaves me with a very incomplete & disappointing feeling.
****
What’s On The DVD’s?
Matt Striker & Maria are your only hosts, and what they say will guide you through a slew of matches. Is Maria there because she is the closest resemblance to Elizabeth? She reads off some facts in some parts, which looks very bad, because she clearly does not know the history given, and any viewer can tell she is reading a script. And without the cooperation of the Poffo’s, any older clips or footage from their own promotion in Kentucky when they were breaking in or photos from childhood is not pieced in. I wish there was some type of little story here, but the WWE did not design it that way this time. But anyways…onto the awesome WWE & WCW matches:
****
The Matches & DVD Features:
Disc I
WWE Debut
Randy Savage vs. Rick McGraw
Prime Time Wrestling — July 9, 1985
Madison Square Garden, “The Mecca,” is the first place Savage wrestled in the WWE
Savage’s Choice For A New Manager
Your first look at a very shy & totally timid Miss Elizabeth
“The Macho Man” Randy Savage vs. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat
Boston Garden — December 7, 1985
First time these two greats lock up, having a classic battle in the process. The finish was exactly the same as a future match in The Boston Garden two more months down the line
WWE Championship Match
“The Macho Man” Randy Savage vs. Hulk Hogan
Madison Square Garden — December 30, 1985
Savage was a serious threat, and gives “The Hulk” a run for the money & a count-out loss
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
Randy Savage vs. Tito Santana
Boston Garden — February 8, 1986
Brass knucks on the back suplex in the ring, and we have a new WWE Intercontinental Champion. Fans just saw this finish in this same building two months prior with Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
“The Macho Man” Randy Savage vs. Bruno Sammartino
Boston Garden – January 3, 1987
A living legend tries to teach “The Macho Man” a wrestling lesson
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
“The Macho Man” Randy Savage vs. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat
WrestleMania III – March 29, 1987
What many quote to this day as the greatest match in WrestleMania History
“The Macho Man” Randy Savage vs. The Honky Tonk Man
WWE’s “The Main Event” — February 5, 1988
33 million viewers saw this live on NBC, told as the largest audience in WWE history
WWE Championship Tournament Final
“The Macho Man” Randy Savage vs. “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase
WrestleMania IV — March 27, 1988
Randy Savage captures his first WWE Championship
WWE Championship Steel Cage Match
“The Macho Man” Randy Savage vs. “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase
Madison Square Garden — June 25, 1988
The fan that gets involved at the finish should be getting royalty checks, because he has appeared in this match numerous times before. A great Steel Cage Match.
Special Features
“A Match Made In Heaven”
The Wedding Of “The Macho Man” Randy Savage & Miss Elizabeth
WWE SummerSlam — August 26, 1991
Disc II
“The Macho Man” Randy Savage & Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant & “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase
WWE SummerSlam — August 29, 1988
The Mega Powers Unite to face The Mega Bucks
WWE Championship Match
“The Macho Man” Randy Savage vs. Hulk Hogan
WrestleMania V — April 2, 1989
Randy Savage goes heel & loses to “The Hulkster”
WWE Championship Match
“The Macho King” Randy Savage vs. Hulk Hogan
WWE’s “The Main Event” — March 22, 1990
“The Macho King” & “Sensational” Queen Sherri are now together. Buster Douglas gets a knock-out as well
Intergender Mayhem
“The Macho King” Randy Savage & “Sensational” Sherri vs. “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes & Sapphire
WrestleMania VI — April 1, 1990
“Intergender Mayhem” for the first time in WWE History
Retirement Match
“The Macho Man” Randy Savage vs. The Ultimate Warrior
WrestleMania VII — March 24, 1991
Career on the Line & a reunion with ‘Liz
“The Macho Man” Randy Savage vs. Jake “The Snake” Roberts
WWE’s “This Tuesday In Texas” — December 3, 1991
Jake was a venomous heel, so evil that this footage is edited down from the original nowadays
WWE Championship Match
“The Macho Man” Randy Savage vs. “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair
WrestleMania VIII — April 5, 1992
Was ‘Liz with “Space Mountain” before “Macho Madness?” Their first big war together
Special Features
Miss Elizabeth’s Debut
Championship Wrestling — July 30, 1985
The Coronation of “The Macho King”
WWE Superstars — September 30, 1989
Disc III
WWE Championship Match
“The Macho Man” Randy Savage vs. “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels
WWE’s “European Rampage” — April 19, 1992
A very rare match & a nice future look at a young opponent, who became a legend himself
“The Macho Man” Randy Savage & Bret “Hitman” Hart vs.”The Nature Boy” Ric Flair & “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels
Worcester, MA — July 22, 1992
Technical tag match that has everything that one would expect with all this talent involved
WWE Championship Match
“The Macho Man” Randy Savage vs. Yokozuna
WWE Monday Night RAW — February 28, 1994
One of Randy’s last matches in the WWE
Lifeguard Match
“The Macho Man” Randy Savage vs. “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair
WCW Bash At The Beach — July 16, 1995
The feud lives again in WCW
WCW Championship Match
“The Macho Man” Randy Savage vs. “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair
WCW Monday Nitro — January 22, 1996
“The Macho Man” captures yet another World Championship from “The Nature Boy”
Falls Count Anywhere Match
“The Macho Man” Randy Savage vs. Diamond Dallas Page
WCW Great American Bash — June 15, 1997
This feud & the match here was really good
WCW Championship Match
“The Macho Man” Randy Savage & Sid Vicious vs. Kevin Nash & Sting
WCW Bash At The Beach — July 11, 1999
Another weird title change in a tag team match for “Team Madness”
Special Features
Nothing But Garbage
WWE Prime Time Wrestling — October 29, 1985
Yesterday’s Newspaper
WWE Prime-Time Wrestling — December 3, 1985
A Champion’s Prerogative
WWE All Star Wrestling — March 1, 1986
The Most Important Man in the World
WWE Prime-Time Wrestling – April 21, 1986
Talkin’ About History
WWE Prime-Time Wrestling — May 5, 1986
Free Word Association
WWE Tuesday Night Titans — July 2, 1986
Cuppa’ Coffee
WWE Prime-Time Wrestling — May 11, 1987
The Cream of the Crop
Prime-Time Wrestling — May 11, 1987
The Beat Goes On
WWE Superstars — September 19, 1987
Bow To “The Macho King”
Madison Square Garden — November 25, 1989
“The Macho King” Rules The Peasants
WWE’s Saturday Night’s Main Event — January 27, 1990
You Don’t Say No To “The Macho King”
Madison Square Garden — January 21, 1991
A Little Bit Insane
WWE’s Saturday Night’s Main Event — February 8, 1992
Whatever It Takes
WWE Superstars — June 13, 1992
The Ultimate Maniacs
WWE Superstars — October 24, 1992
One Cool Dude
WCW Monday Nitro — June 17, 1996
nWo Madness
WCW Monday Nitro — April 28, 1997
****
The Verdict:
Covering almost fifteen years of classic footage, this DVD is sure to please any viewer old & new. Randy Savage is featured very well, and unlike another video release in the past about The Ultimate Warrior, this one speaks continuously high of a wrestling icon & makes any viewer get a feel that Randy Savage will be considered soon for a WWE Hall Of Fame future. This is a great display of a top performer, and you deserve to have him within your personal wrestling library. This release by World Wrestling Entertainment is very highly-recommended to everyone.
****
Final Thoughts:
You will see a strong second with “The Macho Man,” that being “The First Lady Of Wrestling” Miss Elizabeth. After watching this home video release, you will realize she was a huge part in getting “The Macho Man” character over even more with the fans, and it is a shame that the hosts do not even bring to mention much of anything in regards to her involvement in almost all of the shown footage. Elizabeth was a wonderful person & is still truly missed, and the WWE should have at least made some comments in some sort of way to explain & pay tribute to a great lady who did a fine job in any company she worked for.
Overall Rating: 9.0
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DVD Reviewed By “Wild” Bill Brown. This DVD was reviewed By “Wild” Bill Brown. Visit the official website & MySpace pages of The Mayhem’s official DVD reviewer at www.BBrownVideo.com & www.MySpace.com/BBrownVideo.