WWE: Remembering Randy Savage, a True Legend and Icon in Wrestling

I wanted to wait a few days before publishing this so it didn't get lost in the massive amount of Randy Savage articles that flooded the Internet because I wanted anyone who read this to know how much this man truly meant to me growing up.

Randy Savage was a huge part of my childhood.  The first time I ever watched wrestling he was on the show. I immediately became enthralled with his whole persona and style.

Soon I was making championship belts out of poster board and magic markers. My friends and I would dress up as our favorite wrestlers and put on matches in the backyard.

We would often go unsupervised which lead the mayhem to escalate to levels seen in backyard wrestling tapes. We hit each other with folding chairs, never in the head though, and used objects like wiffle ball bats and a thin aluminum trash can to beat each other.

Despite all the cuts, bruises and black eyes, we loved every minute of it. I was usually one of two people: Sting or The Macho Man.

I learned early on how to make my voice raspy and utilize my hands for additional movements. Soon our group was putting on promos before our matches.  I wish I had taped some of this stuff but when you're a kid you don't think about things like that.

Every Monday night I would tune in to see Savage on Raw whether it was commentating or wrestling; I was just excited to see The Macho Man.

The match that made me truly appreciate Savage's greatness is not the famous match where he and Steamboat tore the house down, but rather a match he had with Ted Dibiase Sr.

At Wrestlemania IV there was a tournament to decide who was going to get the vacant World  Title. The tourney consisted of four rounds.

Savage fought his way through all four matches beating Butch Reed, Greg Valentine and One Man Gang before defeating the Million Dollar man in the final round to win his first World Title. 

He went on to hold that title for over a year. The move by WWE was seen as a refreshment because he was a change from the trend at a time when Hogan was the only face champion.

Another moment that stands out to me is the match he had with Ric Flair at WrestleMania VIII. The feud had come to a boiling point due to Ric Flair claiming he had been with Savage's wife Miss Elizabeth.

The match was emotional and told a great story. The end of the match saw Savage beat the bloodied Nature Boy to win his second World Title.

The presentation and emotion in the match were so great that many people outside of the industry though Flair had actually had an affair with Elizabeth.

These two would face off again throughout the years, ending their feud while in WCW.

To think about all the amazing things Savage has done and all the great storylines he was a part of is fun. Reflecting also reminds me that one of my childhood heroes has gone.

I was always a much bigger fan of Macho Man than Hogan and Ultimate Warrior because Savage had something that no one else did that I just can't explain.  Maybe it was his unmatched charisma, his ability to tell a story in the ring, or perhaps it was because he wasn't the biggest dog in the fight.

Whatever the reason was, I was a fan for life.  Looking back on his days in WCW I tend to think that Savage got off lucky.  He was one of the few people I did not feel was completely destroyed by WCW and their awful booking and managerial skills.

He was a part of the hugely popular NWO faction until breaking off from Hollywood Hogan and his cronies. Savage's final World Title came when he pinned Kevin Nash for the belt, but he lost the title to Hogan the following night on Nitro.

Savage only had one small run with any other company after that, TNA in 2004.  He came into the fledgling company to help them grow and gain some exposure.

His biggest match in TNA came when he teamed with Jeff Hardy and AJ Styles to take on Jeff Jarrett, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall.

I am not going to speculate as to whether or not WWE will have a video package on Raw tonight because I know that no matter what they do, it will not be enough. Despite McMahon's personal problems with Savage, the man was an icon in wrestling and he deserves an entire show dedicated to him.

Am I saying that they should scrap tonight's show and make it Randy Savage appreciation night? No.

I am simply saying he deserves more than a small graphic like we saw last night. I am sure if WWE does a video package it will be just fine.

I should end this now because if I don't I am liable to talk about Savage and his influence on the business for hours.

While I am truly sad to see Macho Man go, I am glad to have so many fond memories to look back on.

A man who brought smiles to so many faces around the world is not easily forgotten. I predict Macho will be in the WWE Hall of Fame next year.

RIP Randy Poffo.