[1992-02-08-WWF-Saturday Night's Main Event] Randy Savage vs Jake Roberts

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

The blowoff to a hot feud. Not a great one, but a fun one, and Jake is a master at so many small things. He almost always did the job as a heel, but he was able to keep his heat because he was so good as a performer.

[Loss]

I could have sworn Jake tried to attack Savage at the end of the show and Undertaker stepped in, turning babyface, but the show went off the air at the end of the match. Was that something that aired later?

[Bix]

I think so, but I had thought the show ended on a cliffhanger with Jake behind the curtain holding the chair before Liz and Savage came through.

[Loss]

Jake was behind the curtain, the copyright showed up and they faded to black. I thought the Undertaker intervention was on this show. Guess not.

[Tim Evans]

I think they aired that on Superstars or something cause I remember seeing it. Good blow off match.

[flyonthewall2983]

Funny thing about the backstage thing I'll always remember is Vince calling Jake a "son of a bitch" but being bleeped out, and Heenan being utterly offended at his language.

[shoe]

In the Observer from this time they mention that they did the angle behind the curtain at another arena and just made it seem it happened at the SNME arena.

[Eduardo]

The shots to the post that Savage eats are absolutely brutal. Good match, but I wish it was longer

[Kevin Ridge]

Intense but a bit too short of a match. Loved evil Jake's promos at this time and Savage made for a great opponent. Too was expecting this post match angle with Undertaker getting involved.

[MikeCampbell]

This was fun for what it was, which was mostly a five minute stall tactic to the big angle. I really dug Savage's axe handle to Jake while he was draped over the guardrail, and Jake's selling was reminiscent of when Savage did that to Steamer. And then, Savage tries to use the bell.

[Zenjo]

Action all the way with high octane intensity and hatred. This would've been really good had it lasted longer. Even so it was satisfying to see Savage get some revenge on the Snake who had slapped poor Liz in the chops.

[WingedEagle]

Great recap of the angle with Liz taking a punch to start and then as a blowoff this is hot and intense for the entire run. Savage is out of control and looking like a certifiable lunatic. Highlight was Jake selling an axehandle to the floor as though it crushed his throat, which set up the elbow for the pin.

 

 

**3/4

[PeteF3]

Savage and Jake haven't lost their November magic, in terms of promos or work. This is a much, much better match than I remember, with a great climax of Savage eating a DDT but managing to come back for the victory. Jake crawls away from ringside afterward and is seen lurking behind the curtain as we fade out...

[BruiserBrody]

Love Love LOVE Savage's promo for this match

[Smack2k]

Anyone else think that this should have been a different "gimmick" type match to blow off a feud that was as personal as this? I always thought they should have done this at the Rumble in a No DQ, No Holds Barred or maybe even a cage (but the blue cage wouldnt have worked...).

 

I dont know, just sucked this ended it....

[garretta]

For as great a feud as this was, this match was a bad ending. The result was fine (Savage had to go over decisively, and he did), but I don't like how it happened.

 

I guess it comes down to this: Was Jake making noise about leaving? I thought that happened closer to Mania, which is why Taker squashed him so decisively. But it almost seemed like they were trying to bury Jake right then and there. It would have been one thing for Randy to kick out of the DDT, but for him to not only get up from it, but to come back to life and destroy Jake after taking it? Frankly, I'm surprised that Jake let it go down that way, because the DDT is basically dead as a finisher going forward. In fact, that may be why so many people felt free to use it as a transition move, which was already starting to happen anyway. Even more than the snake in the bag, the DDT was the most dangerous thing in Jake's arsenal, and now it's gone, at least as the killer finisher it always has been before.

 

To compound the felony, why was Jake walking back to the locker room without help after getting his throat slammed off of the barrier? He sold it perfectly, and that's the problem: You can't act like you can't breathe one second and shrug it off with a few coughs a minute or so afterward because you (supposedly) have another hot angle to do that requires you to be at full strength. He should have been at least helped out by the refs, if not done a stretcher job like Steamboat did back in '86, and he absolutely, positively shouldn't have been speaking. If a stretcher job was too intense for Fox, they should have thought ahead and had Randy work twice at the Rumble. Let him use the bell on Jake's throat or head after he beats him, and use Steve Lombardi to replace Jake in the Rumble and have him eliminate a guy or two as a thank-you for years of loyal service. Or have Liz run down and tell Randy he's done enough before he can use the bell, which might be the better ending anyway considering the story being told.

 

Was Jake's nose broken legit? It sure seemed like he was bleeding from there after Randy's elbow early in the bout.

 

The promos beforehand were excellent, but Jake's was a further illustration of why Liz's family was after Randy to end the angle before what I have to assume was looking like a Mania blowoff. That brings up an interesting counterfactual: if Hogan still fights Sid, Savage fights Jake, and Piper still drops the IC belt to Bret on his way out, who challenges Flair for the title at Mania?

 

Why did they insist that Jake slapped Liz when it's as clear as day that he hit her with a jab? Is slapping a woman any less heinous than punching them?

[dawho5]

Savage's pre-match promo is all-time great Savage material. Jake's was great too, but I preferred Savage's promo here. The match could have used more time , but I thought they kept things moving well enough. The DDT being as ineffectual as it was did seem strange.

[JKWebb]

I thought this was great.  For my money, this was the best feud in any promotion once it started and up through the ending here.  The pre-match promo for Savage was fire.  You could feel the intensity and hatred here, and Savage got his revenge.  Sure, the match wasn't very long, but Savage brought the "insanity" he promised and got the decisive win the fans wanted to see.  Great stuff... one of my favorite all-time feuds easy.