Randy Savage's Most Memorable Matches, Moments in WrestleMania History

If not for Hulk Hogan's presence, there's a strong case to be made that Randy Savage was the biggest WWE star of the 1980s.

From a pure wrestling standpoint, Savage was vastly superior to Hogan. He was also one of the most charismatic and flamboyant superstars in WWE history, playing a key role in defining what it means to have a WrestleMania moment.

Beyond his achievements in wrestling, Savage was also a huge star in the entertainment world. He was the main spokesperson for Slim Jim snack food from 1993 until 2000, had a memorable role in Spider-Man in 2002 and dabbled in rap music.

No matter what Savage did away from the squared circle, he will always be regarded for his accomplishments in the wrestling world. His death in 2011 at the age of 58 led to a renewed appreciation for the Macho Man and a posthumous induction into the WWE Hall of Fame four years later.

In honor of Savage's legacy, here are his most memorable moments at WrestleMania.

Randy Savage Wins WWE Title for the First Time

WrestleMania IV was notable for the 14-man tournament to determine a new WWE champion after Andre the Giant vacated the title one month earlier. 

Savage wound up needing to wrestle four matches in the tournament, defeating Butch Reed, Greg Valentine and One Man Gang to set up a final showdown against Ted DiBiase. 

Because of the tournament format and with so many matches needing to be squeezed into a single show, Savage and DiBiase's bout for the championship lasted under 10 minutes.

It's not one of the classic WrestleMania main events, but the crowd in Atlantic City, New Jersey, didn't care because they were so happy to see Savage's coronation as The Man for the first time in his career. 

During an appearance on Jim Ross' podcast in November (via Wrestling Inc's William Windsor), DiBiase said the talk around the time of WrestleMania IV was for him to win the title and set up a program with Hogan. 

Instead, by changing plans, WWE would set up one of its most famous storylines ever.

The Mega Powers Collide

Savage and Hogan formed the Mega Powers tag team in 1987, wrestling on and off together for most of the next 12 months. 

Given WWE's limited television exposure at that time, the Mega Powers didn't have their on-screen debut as a team until SummerSlam 1988, facing the Mega Bucks duo of DiBiase and Andre the Giant in a feud that began five months earlier.

After continuing to team up through the Survivor Series in November, Savage and Hogan's relationship started cracking, with the latter building a friendship with Miss Elizabeth. Hogan added to the dissension by eliminating Savage from the 1989 Royal Rumble. 

During a special called The Main Event II in February that year, Savage finally had enough and turned on Hogan to set up their WWE title match at WrestleMania V. 

Hogan went on to win the match, ending Savage's yearlong championship reign. Thinking back on this storyline, especially compared to a lot of the incoherent and stop-start stories on WWE television today, it was a work of art. 

There have been many great WWE storylines since the Mega Powers' dissolution—Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon grew the popularity of the business to new heights, but that was more of an ongoing feud than a single storyline—but nothing that matches the power and poetry of Savage vs. Hogan.

Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth Reunite

With his loss to the Ultimate Warrior in what was billed as a retirement match, WrestleMania VII turned out to be Savage's final match on WWE television for more than eight months.

The bout itself was terrific, which is astonishing because it was an Ultimate Warrior match that lasted more than 20 minutes. If that's not an indication of Savage's in-ring talent, it's hard to know what is.

More than the result of the match, though, this is memorable because of what happened after Warrior beat Savage.

Following his 'Mania match with Hogan the previous year, Savage replaced manager Elizabeth with Sensational Sherri and became the Macho King after winning the 1989 King of the Ring tournament.

Savage and Sherri stayed together until WrestleMania VII. After Warrior beat Savage, however, Sherri attacked the Macho King by kicking him. Elizabeth was sitting in the crowd and jumped the railing, pulling Sherri off of Savage.

After teasing confusion for a few seconds, Savage embraced Elizabeth to turn babyface again.

Forget John Cena and Nikki Bella's proposal last year. Savage and Elizabeth's reunion is as romantic as any angle WWE will ever have.

Randy Savage Defeats Ric Flair for His Final WWE Title Run

The official main event of WrestleMania VIII was a hideous match between Hogan and Sid Justice that ended in a disqualification just so the Ultimate Warrior could make his big comeback to WWE afterward.

The real main event of the show was in the middle of the card, when Ric Flair defended the WWE title against Savage.

It was the sixth bout on a 10-match card, essentially being relegated to the slot the world heavyweight title used to occupy at WrestleMania in the early 2010s, except this match featured two massive stars who were incredible workers.

The setup to the feud was fairly simple. Flair said he had a relationship with Elizabeth, so Savage wanted to defend his wife's honor and steal the WWE title in the process.

Macho Man prevailed via a schoolboy for his final championship reign in WWE.  

Savage vs. Steamboat at WrestleMania III

Saving the best for last, there are a select group of matches with a legitimate claim to being the greatest in WrestleMania history.

Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat for the intercontinental title at WrestleMania III is one of them. It was the first truly great match on WWE's biggest show after two years of grand spectacle.

For the younger wrestling fans who only know the Intercontinental Championship primarily as a joke worn by The Miz, it used to signify the performer the company believed to be the No. 2 star in the company who could maybe one day take over as WWE champion.

Savage first won the intercontinental title in February 1986, holding it for nearly 14 months leading up to his bout with Steamboat.

For 15 minutes, the two Hall of Famers engaged in a back-and-forth battle that included more near-falls than a standard Cena match, except neither guy had to rely on big moves and finishers to get over.

Steamboat finally got Savage in a small package for the three count to win the title.

WWE.com listed Savage vs. Steamboat at No. 3 on a list of its top 100 matches, behind only Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV and Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13.