Ricky Steamboat vs Randy Savage WM3

[RealMattKozza91]

This match was for the IC title and everyone i talk to that was around 20 years old when WM3 occurred say this match was one of the greatest matches of all time. many people who saw that match live and watch todays product will say that, but also many people over the age of 40 that i talk to compare that match from WM3 up there with Taker vs Michaels from WM25.

Being a fan of 10 years and just seeing this match on DVD i say it was a good match, very good chemistry between the 2 wrestlers, i would say the best match ive seen from the 80's early 90's IMHO, but having a talk with people from those days and people from these days about what is the great WM match. people from the 80's say that and people from the 00's say Taker vs Shawn

Can we compare Steamboat vs Savage to Taker vs Michaels???

[MichaelMartini]

I think that match is a little over rated. Savage Flair from Wrestlemania 8 is better. Now that I have WWE on demand I've been catching up on NWA from the eighties and every Starrcade had a match at least as good as Steamboat/Savage.

HBK/Taker is a bit overrated too. Great match to be sure, but there were a couple botched spots, like that reverse DDT and the ending was just a kicking out of finishersfest. HBK's matches with Angle and Cena were better. I need to rewatch but I might even prefer Taker's matches with Batista and Orton over the HBK one.

So to answer the question "Are they comparable" I'd say yes, but neither is the best Mania match.

[Shaq-Fu]

It's a decent little match to be sure, but I never understood all the love for it. I feel kinda the same way about Taker/HBK, good but not great, but at least that had the epic, big-match feel to it.

For me, the best match at WM would either be Rock/Austin, Y2J/HBK or Bret/Austin, with the exact order of those three shifting pretty frequently.

[Pounder]

No, Taker vs Michaels was essentially an average match with an offensive amount of 'near falls'.

Any match that relies so heavily on a recurring gimmick during it's course, should not be compared to Savage vs Steamboat.

It was a spot fest of near falls and whilst dramatic, wasn't much beyond that.

[Clarence "Showstealer" Mason]

I don't think they can be compared, the whole Savage-Steamboat saga just played into that match so perfectly and every movement had meaning and drama behind it.

Taker-Shawn while great, was the quintesential "Slow Build" match which got exciting near the end. They're both great matches. Both easily in my top 5 Mania matches of all time (Savage-Steamboat would be #4, Taker-Shawn #5. Behind Bret/Austin, Bret/Owen and Shawn/Hunter/Exodia the Forbidden One in case anyone cared) but they're not comparable

[BxB]

I saw this match years after it took place, because I wasn't even born when WM 3 was aired live. And let me say, at that time after watching it, it was one of my favorite matches ever. It's just the psychology in that match was what made it so good. Lots of near falls, Steamboat's pre-match promo, George Steel interfering. It probably doesn't stand the test of time for some people, but for me it did.

[johnnyk9]

no comparison in my opinion

[bob]

I watched this on the Macho Man DVD................and I was extremely disappointed

Taker and Shawn delivered the goods

[Kevin Hamilton]

It's a great match, but there's a lotta rose-tinted vision when it's proclaimed one of the 'greatest of all time'

[chunkylover53]

I find Savage's match with The Ultimate Warrior(yes, Ultimate Warrior) more entertaining than his match with Steamboat, I guess because of the drama surrounding it. Savage vs. Steamboat, while its a good match per se, is nothing more than a glorified spot fest. Hell, they've had better matches before, so I will say, it was a good match, but nothing out of the ordinary.

[Frank In New York]

Mar 1, 2010 11:33:47 GMT -5 Kevin Hamilton said:

It's a great match, but there's a lotta rose-tinted vision when it's proclaimed one of the 'greatest of all time'

Yea plus it taking part in an era of the WWF where "technical wrestling" wasn't an integral part to the show. Still a great match though, I'm sure if I had seen it live I'd like it even more.

My only problem is the storyline surrounding it would suggest a bloody brawl, but I guess you can say Steamboat being such a good guy would rather defeat him in the ring and take away his title, which would hurt much more than any beating or bruises.

[Lino]

Any match can have numerous near-falls, so I wouldn't consider either as the greatest match in WM history. I'd give it to Bret Hart/Steve Austin.

[corndog]

Mar 1, 2010 13:28:27 GMT -5 Frank In New York said:

Mar 1, 2010 11:33:47 GMT -5 Kevin Hamilton said:

It's a great match, but there's a lotta rose-tinted vision when it's proclaimed one of the 'greatest of all time'

Yea plus it taking part in an era of the WWF where "technical wrestling" wasn't an integral part to the show. Still a great match though, I'm sure if I had seen it live I'd like it even more.

My only problem is the storyline surrounding it would suggest a bloody brawl, but I guess you can say Steamboat being such a good guy would rather defeat him in the ring and take away his title, which would hurt much more than any beating or bruises.

I agree, you would think with the fued it had the match would be more like the Magnum TA/Blanchard "I quit" match, but I can't complain about the end result. I was too young to have remembered watching the match live, plus my dad would never get ppvs, but my older brother gave me the original Wrestlemania 1-3 VHS tapes about 12 years ago along with the best of Starrcade 83-87, so that is when I watched the match for the first time. I didn't hear too much about the match beforehand, so I didn't know what to expect(I think that is the problem with alot of the younger posters such as myself and appreciating the match.
I think the physcology in this match is unbelieveable and I remember the first time watching it being on the edge of my seat throughout the match, especially towards the end. I also like the fact that it doesn't end with a finisher and I had no idea when the pinfall was coming. I would still rank this as atleast one of, if not the best match from a Wrestlemania, all time there is probably better. Also WWF fans at this time where no used to seeing this style and this much talent in a match. Most of the WWF wrestlers were just powerhouses, relied on their character over wrestling skill, or just over the hill, such as Harley Race, the Iron Sheik and Andre. The NWA definitely had more solid technical wrestling. Heck most of the matches on WM 3 are pretty weak, the only match that really had a chance to be close was the Hart Foundation/Bulldogs, but they ruined that with Danny Davis and Tito being added in.

[repomark]

Great match, but comparing it to Taker v Shawn is not really a fair comparison. Different eras mean different styles of match. Appreciate them both for what they are - they don't really need to be compared in my view.

[Professor Chaos]

George Steele ruined it damnit he ruined it.

[Mac]

Savage/Warrior IMO was the better match, although they rushed the ending.

Savage/Steamboat was the first great wrestlemania match and gave it the big feel it needed.

["Playboy" Don Douglas]

I enjoyed both matches, but I've never thought Steamboat/Savage was as great as many people think it is.

When I finally got around to watching Taker/HBK, I thought it was fine, but nothing mind blowing like people had made it out to be.

So I guess in that way, they compare quite well for me.

[Super Duper Dragunov]

Mar 1, 2010 11:33:47 GMT -5 Kevin Hamilton said:

It's a great match, but there's a lotta rose-tinted vision when it's proclaimed one of the 'greatest of all time'

i agree. it was the Shawn Michaels ladder match of it's time. it was unlike anything you were used to seeing from the WW(F). but there's difference between ground breaking and greatest.

[lildude8218]

the match they had at the Maple Leaf Gardens in 86 blew this one out of the water.


off topic but whose bright idea was it to include two matches on the Savage DVD that featured the EXACT SAME FINISH? the matches were only separated by one other match too. I mean sure lots of finishes are repeated but this was spot for spot the same sequence.

[Schemer]

I thought Savage-Steamboat was an exciting affair that told a good story. I dunno that I call it a ***** contest. My favorite mania match of all time is HBK-Angle followed by Savage-Flair and Bret-Owen.