[1992-04-14-WWF-Munich, GER] Randy Savage vs Shawn Michaels

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

The first Coliseum Video match of the set. Savage is still selling the leg injury from Wrestlemania, so I already know this will be awesome.

 

"A lot of people view London as a melting pot, but I was very surprised that the same was true about Germany." -- Sean Mooney

 

WOW.

 

Michaels really does feel like the new Flair. He's aggressive and does a great job working over Savage's knee. This is equivalent to Hokuto/Yamada from '93, where Hokuto sold injuries from her big show match in a smaller match. Savage was going over, but seemed to really be interested in putting over Shawn strong through the match. That continues after the match with Shawn and Sherri working over Savage's knee with a chair.

 

There were a few things I didn't like -- namely Shawn doing a fake walkout spot mid-match when he's challenging for the big belt -- but overall, this was an excellent match. I like the more basic, aggressive Shawn from 1992-1993 much better than the more flashy, post-ladder match Shawn in hindsight.

[flyonthewall2983]

"A lot of people view London as a melting pot, but I was very surprised that the same was true about Germany." -- Sean Mooney

 

WOW.

I smell a new thread. "Unintentionally offensive things said by announcers".

[Eduardo]

Is this the match where Randy struggles to get to the top rope, hopping on one leg on the apron and holding the ropes as he makes his way to painfully climb the corner? If it is, it's some of the greatest selling I've ever seen.

[Loss]

Yes.

[Tim Evans]

Is this the match where Randy struggles to get to the top rope, hopping on one leg on the apron and holding the ropes as he makes his way to painfully climb the corner? If it is, it's some of the greatest selling I've ever seen.

Yeah that was the best part of the match. Savage did a A+ sell job in this . Sherri also took a pretty sick bump in the middle of the match that looks painful.

[Guest aceman]

match made no sense - if macho couldn't stand why would he come out to wrestle

[Loss]

Because he's a valiant hero who made an obligation to defend his title, and he's going to "play through the pain" ...

[rovert]

He's the Macho Man FFS

[jdw]

Kawada ripped off Macho as his inspiration for the 1993 RWTL.

 

John

[El-P]

I like the more basic, aggressive Shawn from 1992-1993 much better than the more flashy, post-ladder match Shawn in hindsight.

Totally agree.

I love those post WM shows in which Savage still sold the knee.

And Sherri looked amazing.

[shoe]

Savage selling the leg was just awesome. I think he selled that sum of a bitch since Wrestlemania. Shawn was good here attacking that leg. I thought the work dragged a little bit, but not in a way it would hurt the match. Overall, good stuff.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

I think they have another match a couple of nights later or something where Savage doesn't sell the leg at all. I could be remembering wrong though.

[Kevin Ridge]

I think they have another match a couple of nights later or something where Savage doesn't sell the leg at all. I could be remembering wrong though.

Correct, that match was Elizabeth's last appearance but Graham's site says this didn't air on TV until June so could be reason for not selling leg. Granted it was shown live in the UK.

 

Thought this was really good and liked Michaels getting to aggressively attack the leg more than some of his matches in his initial run that he went to headlock too much. Savage was awesome from just limping down the aisle on his entrance all the way to the finish where he struggles to climb to the top rope. Michaels gave him a real tough match as he was in dominating towards the last few moments.

[MikeCampbell]

I loved this for the most part, it was great seeing Shawn working a more methodical style, trying to further injure Randy's leg, than the flashy spot driven stuff he's mostly known for. The only thing I didn't like was that Shawn was overselling huge when Randy would get something in, he didn't need to give a close near fall to Savage doing little more than getting his foot up on a charge.

[WingedEagle]

So much to love here. Savage selling the knee on his way down the aisle and consistently thereafter, Shawn bumping like Shawn, Sherri putting on a *clinic* and reminding me why she was so great. Savage actually sold the knee for so long before hitting the elbow at the finish that I was convinced HBK would roll away. The post-match heel attack was nice, but how about Lord Al Hayes saying a review of it could result in a lifelong disqualification for HBK? Amazing.

 

***1/2

[PeteF3]

Really good match. Shawn has long been criticized for his lack of offense but give him a limb to focus on and he brings the goods, since even the most pedestrian attack fits right into the storyline. Sherri was a monster on the outside, taking a sick bump off the apron and providing all kinds of neat interference spots. And yeah, that leg sell was pretty fucking spectacular. Very close to Bret/Piper for WWF MOTY for the first quarter and change. AGAIN Shawn gets to look strong against a top babyface, as he and Sherri lay Savage out after the match as well as several officials in a nice chaotic scene.

[topropepodcast]

This is in really good quality on the new Macho Man set, so it was nice to go back and watch it. I remember a lot of versions floating around being a little on the rough side.

 

Savage is just tremendous here. The selling is top notch, and the climb for the elbow is fucking beautiful.

 

With Shawn, I liked the aggression, but it felt like at points, offensively, he got a little lost, and that's why there were... 4(or was it just 3?) figure four spots, because he wasn't sure where else to go.

[...TG]

So much to love here. Savage selling the knee on his way down the aisle and consistently thereafter, Shawn bumping like Shawn, Sherri putting on a *clinic* and reminding me why she was so great. Savage actually sold the knee for so long before hitting the elbow at the finish that I was convinced HBK would roll away. The post-match heel attack was nice, but how about Lord Al Hayes saying a review of it could result in a lifelong disqualification for HBK? Amazing. ***1/2

 

That was great. Lord Alfred is just as ridiculous an exaggerator as Nitro-era Tony Schiavone. He also said there were 25,000 in the arena.

[garretta]

I'm not sure if I'd call this a WWF Match of the Year candidate or not, but I liked it. The story here from beginning to end is Shawn and Sherri taking every chance they can to attack Randy's bad leg. Every shot looked brutal, and of course Randy sold beautifully. No mention was made of Mania, but that's to be expected from Coliseum Video releases at this time. Shawn's really come into his own as a heel already, and while it was too soon to be thinking of championships for him just yet, it's easy to see why Vince loved him so much. The man was born to play an asshole, that's all there is to it.

 

I actually thought Shawn going back to the figure four multiple times was smart work on his part, though how he got permission to use it in a match that made tape while Flair was still around I have no clue.

 

I really, really hated the Munich arena being made up to look like every other WWF taping site. We could have been in Glens Falls, Hershey, or Omaha for all it mattered. We even had to have Mike McGuirk as the ring announcer. I have nothing against her, but they couldn't at least have her do part of the announcements in German?

 

Lord Alfred's still serviceable, but I really could do without ever hearing Sean Mooney on play-by-play ever again. There's no excitement to his calls whatsoever; even if you didn't know he was calling the matches off of a monitor in a studio in Connecticut, you could easily guess it after hearing him talk for only a minute or two. Also, they should can the self-promotion while there's actual action going on. Shawn takes a brutal post bump on the outside, and Savage threatens to knock Sherri for a loop besides, and what do we hear on commentary? How insane the German fans are for the WWF Superstars. This is what happens when the announcers know the result of a match ahead of time and also know that it's not going to have one bit of impact on future storylines whatsoever. It's not quite a half-ass job; His Lordship provides some kernels of insight here and there. Call it a five-eighths of an ass job, and that's being kind to Sean "Munich is a melting pot? DUH!" Mooney.

 

I didn't know that the WWF's stoppage rule for championship matches had changed so that the challenger got the title. Of course, we don't know if His Lordship really knew it either.

 

I suppose we should be lucky that we got a passing reference to Randy and Sherri's days as King and Queen. Lord Alfred: 'He must have done something to upset her; I can't imagine what." Way to creep up to Vince's line without crossing it, sir.

 

What did Mooney have against Nelson Sweglar's son? He wasn't a worker or an official that I know of, so it should take guts to confront Michaels and Sherri when they're on an attempted leg-breaking rampage. Maybe he backed out of a badminton match or something similar with Mooney and Sean was still upset about it.

[JKWebb]

.

[JKWebb]

Like everyone else, I loved the selling of the leg by Savage on his way to the ring. His selling throughout this match is off the charts. Not only does he sell the leg with limping etc., but you can really see the anguish he is projecting through his facial expressions. This reminded me of the greatness of his match with Bret Hart at SNME in November of 1987. If you like this, and have not seen that, be sure to check it out. I really like that Sherri immediately tries to distract Savage from the outside by going for his leg. And, she eventually does get him which puts HBK on the offense for the early going. Savage gets on offense at one point, and goes for a body slam, but HBK hooks the injured leg for a roll up. I really liked that spot. I agree that HBK's threat to walk out didn't make since, unless he just wanted to make the injured Savage chase him down on his bad leg. Why would you want to walk out when you have the champion nursing a leg injury, and in a way, have him 2 on 1? HBK has a really great focus on his attack of the injured leg during the match, and I also loved Sherri building the heat when the referee is distracted (also attacking the leg). Once HBK locks on the figure-four, the crowd really starts to rally behind Savage. I know I've read/heard that Savage was a big proponent of Shawn Michaels. He really makes HBK look strong here. The announcers sell that Savage is in a career threatening situation if he doesn't find a way out soon. Once Savage is able to drive HBK into the ring post, he has to work through his injury to get to the top rope. Love Savage's selling during this. He nails the best elbow drop in the business onto HBK for the victory. Then Sherri hits the ring, and the double team assault on the champ begins! They use a chair and the belt! Savage is eventually escorted to the back with help, as HBK remains in the ring mocking Savage. Loved coming back to this. Very good match. Great story!

 

#483 - placetobenation.com/countdown-top-500-matches-of-the-90s-500-451/

[ohtani's jacket]

Loss' #483. Savage does his favourite trick of selling a knee injury, but there's no denying the man was good at it. I liked the transition from Savage's early brawling to Michaels and Sherri taking over on offense. I didn't mind Michaels going back to the figure four so much as they worked it differently each time and I loved the slaps to the face. Savage reversing it and Michaels clambering for the ropes was a nice touch and the crowd bought into Michael's finger across the throat on the final go through. The only thing I didn't like was the set-up to the flying elbow. The turnbuckle selling was great but I had a hard time believing Michaels would stay down that long from a posting and a clothesline. Nice post-match attack, though. And the rest of the match was rock solid. I wonder how good their other matches were that year.

[ohtani's jacket]

The April 19th match from Sheffield, England is also a really good match. Savage doesn't sell the knee, but it's a Savage babyface match so you know he sells the crap out of everything anyway. The match is a bit more back and forth in terms of which wrestler is in control and Elizabeth gets involved at both the beginning and the end. Michaels does one absolutely amazing reversal and is just as solid as the Munich bout. Sherri tries to attack Savage with her boots afterwards but clobbers Michaels instead and Savage knocks both their noggins together before posing with Elizabeth. Crowd pleasing stuff made all the more enjoyable by having Gorilla and Bobby on commentary. Bobby slagging off Elizabeth and lusting after Sherri is classic Brain shtick and he gets in another dozen zingers like claiming he taught Michaels the reversal in the hall that morning.

[SmartMark15]

A bit of a hidden gem here! Savage puts on an absolute masterclass of leg selling. Talk about getting sympathy from the crowd. Shawn ane Sherri going old school heel on Savage and destroying his leg is great too of course. I completely marked our for Savage's struggle to get the elbow. Great selling, good heel tactics.

 

***3/4