Jingus Posted May 22, 2011 Report Share Posted May 22, 2011 I'd say that Household Names list needs to be extended by one to include Andre too. Even aside from his wrestling superstardom, he made plenty of crossover media appearances. Never underestimate the impact of The Princess Bride on an entire generation of Americans. Millions of folks who've never heard of Ric Flair, Jake the Snake, John Cena, Ultimate Warrior, or even Roddy Piper will instantly recognize the name "Andre the Giant". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Posted May 22, 2011 Report Share Posted May 22, 2011 Andre is a huge name. I think there's a very credible argument that he's a contender for number 1. A guy who stood the test of time in terms of name recognition, a guy who had crossover appeal and him wrestling in a number of different places also helped. Some older friends of mine reference him as the last real star before wrestling "got to that stupid cartoonish bullshit". Big name here in Canada. I think he could give Hogan a run for his money as far as most recognizable name goes. I'll throw another name into the pile: Abdullah The Butcher. He's probably not Top 5, nor Top 10, but he's a name that I've seen thrown out of nowhere for whatever reason in some conversations not about wrestling. Very recognizable look too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bix Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 Random personal Macho Man memories http://www.cagesideseats.com/2011/5/22/218...savage-memories Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 My favorite Randy Savage video: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyonthewall2983 Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 I'd love it if someone made a tribute video, with "Guiding Light" by Muse as the soundtrack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eduardo Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 This is one random Randy Savage moment I just totally love. Him tearing up a piece of paper and throwing it in the air, and yelling "CONFETTI". Ha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 There seems to be two somewhat differing stories on why Savage never came back to wrestling, and neither seem to mention any blackballing by Vince/WWE. Dave and Bryan have mentioned several times already that Savage (like his father before him) was notoriously good with his money and never came back because he didn't need to. Also mentioned was that he was taking care of his parents in their final years and that took up the majority of his time post-wrestling. Dusty (I think it was him) said when Savage made his one off appearance in the early days of TNA and no showed a scheduled PPV appearance it was because he didn't "want people to see me like this" as in old looking. He stated it was like a Howard Hughes situation where he didn't want to be seen in public. Somehow I think there was more to it than what Dave and Bryan think but not as severe as him being an insane recluse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 When referred to his brother's situation in interviews over the years, Lanny Poffo always said that Randy had been quite smart with his money. Take that for what it's worth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strummer Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 been looking all weekend. Some awesome stuff here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 When referred to his brother's situation in interviews over the years, Lanny Poffo always said that Randy had been quite smart with his money. Take that for what it's worth. I don't doubt he saved his money. However, the idea that he didn't come back all these years because he saved well rings hollow since there were stories not that long ago that Lanny was trying to play the middleman in an attempt to have WWE do something with Savage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 I don't doubt he saved his money. However, the idea that he didn't come back all these years because he saved well rings hollow since there were stories not that long ago that Lanny was trying to play the middleman in an attempt to have WWE do something with Savage. Considering they even did something with Bret Hart of all people, I understand Savage would want to come back too and actually do something. Now that he's gone I wonder if the reason he was basically blacklisted will finally surge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 A lot of people dislike Savage's matches with George Steele. They were pretty bad. But the feud itself was integral to setting up the Randy Savage/Liz dynamic. Without that feud, the Megapowers angle doesn't work. One of my favorite interviews involved Liz getting a box with flowers, Vince commenting that the package was lined with turnbuckle padding and Savage immediately flips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 Speaking of that time period, it's amazing how Savage got the IC title over as such a big thing. I've heard so many people mention it now that it's almost a cliched story -- there were definitely fans in that time period who followed the IC title picture more than the Hogan stuff. I don't know that it was a "wrestler's" title, per se, but the best match on most shows was typically Savage's title defense and he was able to headline shows without Hogan. I agree that the matches were pretty bad in the Savage/Steele feud, but the feud itself was very memorable and is what established the Savage/Liz dynamic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyonthewall2983 Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 I don't doubt he saved his money. However, the idea that he didn't come back all these years because he saved well rings hollow since there were stories not that long ago that Lanny was trying to play the middleman in an attempt to have WWE do something with Savage. Considering they even did something with Bret Hart of all people, I understand Savage would want to come back too and actually do something. Now that he's gone I wonder if the reason he was basically blacklisted will finally surge. I've never seen anyone else say this, but maybe it was Randy who black-listed them. It's entirely possible (and even understandable) that being put in the broadcast booth and being inexplicably scaled down was demoralizing enough for him to resent Vince and WWE, that when the time comes after WCW is sold and they are knocking on his door to come back like they did with Hogan, Randy didn't answer. If what people say is true about his money, then he wouldn't have had any of those motives to come back like some did and still do (Flair in TNA, for instance) to recapture what magic they did have one more time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohtani's jacket Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 I don't see how Savage looking the way he did in that photo on the TMZ website could've made any sort of comeback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 Favorite forgotten Savage story: There were rumors that he was briefly interested in buying WCW when they were ready to be sold, solely because he thought marketing the video library would make him a ton of money. He had no desire to run opposition to Vince, he just thought the library had value, especially internationally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 For what it's worth, here are the links to a rare shoot interview Randy Savage did in 2000: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oLCGAwFgSc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMWAfqPp4rA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bzm7b1MciVw It's the second and third parts he talks about leaving the WWF and possible returns at the time. From what he comes across as, not only does it seem like he was pretty well off, but also doesn't feel he has to do anything. Also for what it's worth, according to Piper, the Savage/Vince heat stems from a simple slap Savage gave to Vince at a bar once, which seems weird. So, really, who knows? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 Also for what it's worth, according to Piper, the Savage/Vince heat stems from a simple slap Savage gave to Vince at a bar once, which seems weird. So, really, who knows? Even if that's true, Bret knocked him on his ass with a punch in front of most of the locker room after Montreal and Vince got over that. Also another thing about the Savage/Steele feud that surprisingly gets forgot about a lot is that George played a role in the finish of the WMIII match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Morris Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 Given what's being said about Savage being wise with his money and that he didn't feel a need to do anything, it's possible that Vince and Savage talked briefly and Savage flat out told Vince any future dealing would be on his (Savage's) terms and Vince didn't like that. I suspect, though, that Vince may have softened his stance a bit after letting the Savage DVD be released and Savage doing promotional work for the Legends video game. Whether or not it would have led to Savage doing additional work for WWE, who knows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rovert Posted May 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 Ultimate Warrior's video tribute is extraordinarily great: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lyRF1bSfNw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cm funk Posted May 26, 2011 Report Share Posted May 26, 2011 2 things on Savage never working with Vince again - I had heard years ago he was really upset about the Confidential piece they did after Liz died - Lanny Poffo had intimated in an interview a year or two ago that Savage going into the HOF would have to be a package deal with Angelo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Sorrow Posted May 26, 2011 Report Share Posted May 26, 2011 Wasn't Vince pissed about Savage taking all that Slim Jim advertising money with him to WCW? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bix Posted May 26, 2011 Report Share Posted May 26, 2011 Wasn't Vince pissed about Savage taking all that Slim Jim advertising money with him to WCW?Maybe, but that happened before the multiple times Vince said he'd take Savage back before everything changed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted May 26, 2011 Report Share Posted May 26, 2011 2 things on Savage never working with Vince again - I had heard years ago he was really upset about the Confidential piece they did after Liz died - Lanny Poffo had intimated in an interview a year or two ago that Savage going into the HOF would have to be a package deal with Angelo The second bit I believe. Him forcing Angelo into the WCW HOF in 95 is rumored to be one of the reasons Solie distanced himself from WCW (not that it particularly mattered at that point). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyonthewall2983 Posted May 27, 2011 Report Share Posted May 27, 2011 http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story...=simmons/110524 Really good article about Randy from Bill Simmons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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