Wrestlemania.V – Randy Savage Vs Hulk Hogan – (1… by dido67

Wrestlemania.V – Randy Savage Vs Hulk Hogan – (2… by dido67I watched this match nearly every week on a VHS tape my babysitter had, and it still holds up to me today as what a real WrestleMania main event could and should be. You ever notice how WrestleMania feuds these days last some three months, starting at the Royal Rumble and ending at WrestleMania, maybe into Backlash/Extreme Rules? The Royal Rumble didn’t count for anything in 1989, so Mania main events were built over time, taking a year to come to fruition. Andre/Hogan at WrestleMania III led to the tournament at WrestleMania IV, which led to Hogan/Savage at WrestleMania V. In the interest of saving space, here’s a quick run-down: Hogan and Andre had a rematch that Andre won. Having beaten Hulk Hogan for the WWF Title, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan and Andre the Giant sold the WWF Title to “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase. That was illegal, so the title was stripped from Andre and put up for grabs at a one night, single elimination tournament at WrestleMania IV. Hogan and Andre got each other disqualified early in the show, meaning that there would be a new WWF Champion. It came down to Macho Man and DiBiase. Macho Man won.

For some reason, Hulk Hogan had a newfound respect for the Macho Man and anointed him champion, handing Savage the title and celebrating with him and Miss Elizabeth. Hogan and Savage would then form The Mega Powers, a tag team that, as you might expect, had no problem dominating the World Wrestling Federation. But Savage is a paranoid man, a proud man, and eventually, he thought that Hogan was putting the moves on Liz. Hogan, of course, wasn’t…but Macho Man’s a little crazy, and Liz did seem awful concerned about the Hulkster, so Savage turned on his friend and turned on Liz and the Mega Powers were set to explode.

When you talk about dream matches, Hogan/Savage is one that usually comes up. In Hogan, you have perhaps the most popular professional wrestler of all time. In Savage, you have the second most popular man in the company, an incredibly talented, brilliant wrestler who could have a good match on any given night against any given opponent under any given circumstances. While Hogan/Andre at Wrestlemania III was big on storyline and Savage/Steamboat at the same event was big on in-ring action, this was really the first main event that fused the two together. It’s weird to see a match like this taking place at Trump Plaza, as in 1989, the only match bigger than Hogan/Savage possible would have been Hogan/Flair, and Hogan/Savage could have sold out any arena, regardless of its size. The Mega Powers angle was so big that WCW practically repeated it in 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998, when Hogan and Savage would join forces to take on the roster, split due to differences, join up to take on the roster, and split again. It never quite worked the way it did in the WWF, but both men were well past their primes in WCW and never had quite the same chemistry as they do here.

I think the other thing worth noting here is Miss Elizabeth herself. Her role as Savage’s valet is often underrated, as she usually held the ropes open for her man and then stood in his corner during the match. But here, she takes a lot of verbal abuse from the Macho Man and is eventually integral to the match’s flow, as Savage uses her as a human shield and she begs Hogan not to ram him into the ring post, a courtesy not extended to the Hulkster when Savage escapes and shoves Hogan towards Liz, into the pole. At the end of this contest, Savage would align himself with Sensational Sherri, becoming the Macho King. Wrestling fans, well, they were heartbroken, knowing that Liz still had feelings for Savage. But that was an issue that’d be resolved two WrestleManias down the road.