Thoughts on the Randy Savage DVD

The much-anticipated Randy Savage DVD, Macho Madness: The Ultimate Randy Savage Collection, was released today, and it was worth the wait.

Savage was one of my favorite wrestlers during the Hulkamania era in the WWF, and this DVD is a reminder of just how incredibly talented and unique of a performer he was both in the ring and on the microphone.

It goes without saying that the three-disc set of Savage's most famous matches and promos are a must for any "Macho Man" fan, but I also highly recommend it for any younger fans who may not be that familiar with him.

The DVD has most of the Savage matches that you would expect – versus Ricky Steamboat at WrestleMania III, Ted DiBiase at WrestleMania IV, Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania V, Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania VII, Ric Flair at WrestleMania VIII – but there also are several compelling matches that I had never seen before.

Among them is match against Shawn Michaels that took place in 1992 shortly after Michaels turned heel and became a singles wrestler, as well as a tag team match that pitted Savage and Bret Hart against Ric Flair and Michaels, also from '92.

Not only do we get Savage in the ring with his contemporaries and future main-eventers such as Michaels and Hart, but there also is a match between Savage and "The Living Legend" Bruno Sammartino from 1987. There are matches from Savage's stint in WCW, as well, including a good one against Diamond Dallas Page from 1997 that helped make DDP a star.

As much as I enjoyed the matches, however, the best part of the DVD for me are the promos. With his gravely voice, odd mannerisms and mixed metaphors, Savage had one of the most distinctive promo styles ever. His promos were often stream of consciousness and nonsensical, but the brilliance was in his delivery. Much like Flair, Savage could cut a heel promo that entertained you as much as it made you want to root for his opponent to put him in his place.

Unlike today's heavily scripted promos, Savage was a star during an era when guys came up with their own stuff, and his creativity is on full display here in several interviews with Mean Gene Okerlund. Savage shows that he could pick up a random object lying around the studio – such as a cup, a newspaper, a broom, a trash can and even a miniature coffee creamer – and incorporate it into the interview. And the word association segment that he does with a "psychiatrist" on Tuesday Night Titans is just laugh-out-loud funny.

As with any retrospective on someone who has had a career as illustrious as Savage, not everything will be included on the DVD that you would like. I really wish the match from The Main Event in 1989 in which Savage turned on Hogan was on there. I also would like to have seen one of Savage's promos from that feud with Hogan on the DVD. His intensity was off the charts during that run.

It's also a shame that there is no pre-WWF footage of Savage from his days in Memphis and International Championship Wrestling – where he frequently feuded with his brother, Lanny Poffo.

As expected given the strained relationship between Savage and WWE, the man himself was not involved in the project, nor are there interviews from anyone talking about Savage. The clips are introduced by Matt Striker and Maria.

Still, what is on the DVD – including a fair share of Savage's manager and real-life wife Elizabeth – more than makes up for what isn't on it.