Was Macho Man used right in 1994 WWE?

[segaz]

I always felt Vince could have used him so much more effectively in 1994.
OK, he had the feud with Crush, but besides that, he was mainly an announcer. He could still wrestle and everything. Personally I would have had him in the final four at the Rumble and then winning the title afterwards. At WrestleMania, the initial matches stay the same, Bret/Owen, Macho/Crush, Luger/Yoko, with a triple threat for the title afterwards.

He could have joined The Million Dollar Corporation and been the reveal for the false undertaker, culminating with a match at SummerSlam between the two. Unsure of what to do for survivor series and King of the Ring.

What do you guys think? Was he used enough? Too much? Or did he still have more to offer in 1994?

[cabbageboy]

He certainly was not used enough considering he still had some real money drawing years left in WCW. Savage was basically effective up until mid 1998 when a knee injury took him out for a long time and then he had his terrible 1999 run in WCW. Seriously, all Savage wanted was to feud with and eventually put over guys like Hart and Michaels. I've always been baffled as to why Vince was upset at him for leaving. He was doing nothing.

[Futureraven: Beelzebruv]

Well, triple threats weren't a thing in 1994, so that'd be out.

But no, he wasn't used right, Vince seemed to have a thing about him being too old which was weird. Later in the year, he'd have been a good feud for Owen after the Bret one, since they didn't seem to know what to do with Owen until the random Yoko team in 1995.

Edit: For the Summer, let him have the Michaels feud he wanted while Razor and Diesel fight, instead of HBK playing manager a lot of them time.

[Tiger Millionaire]

It's weird watching guys like AJ Styles, John Cena, Brock Lesnar, ect be involved in the Main Event, because Vince really used to have a hangup about pushing anyone over 40(Savage was 41 most of '94).

[________ has left the building]

Savage was being phased out as an active wrestler during a time WWE was putting young(ish) acts in the main event picture as part of the New Generation plan. WWF could had used his starpower as a wrestler during a period it was much needed. But it would had killed their narrative they were building. Basically like current WWE could use JBL as an active or semi active wrestler but regulate him in the role of an announcer.

[Futureraven: Beelzebruv]

Jun 7, 2017 8:57:59 GMT -5 ________ has left the building said:

Savage was being phased out as an active wrestler during a time WWE was putting young(ish) acts in the main event picture as part of the New Generation plan. WWF could had used his starpower as a wrestler during a period it was much needed. But it would had killed their narrative they were building. Basically like current WWE could use JBL as an active or semi active wrestler but regulate him in the role of an announcer.

Well, JBL has had a lot of injuries and retired, so not him.

More like they brought back big stars like HHH, Brock Lesnar, Goldb....

Oh.

[________ has left the building]

Jun 7, 2017 9:20:46 GMT -5 Futureraven: Beelzebruv said:

Jun 7, 2017 8:57:59 GMT -5 ________ has left the building said:

Savage was being phased out as an active wrestler during a time WWE was putting young(ish) acts in the main event picture as part of the New Generation plan. WWF could had used his starpower as a wrestler during a period it was much needed. But it would had killed their narrative they were building. Basically like current WWE could use JBL as an active or semi active wrestler but regulate him in the role of an announcer.

Well, JBL has had a lot of injuries and retired, so not him.

More like they brought back big stars like HHH, Brock Lesnar, Goldb....

Oh.

Macho wasn't a spring chicken either during that time. WWF brought back older acts like Bob Backlund during that period so going back to previous eras for starpower was nothing new.

[Viking Hall]

I think he would have been effective as the gatekeeper for them around that time and by the sounds of it, that would have been a role he was perfectly happy with. Have him being the legend people need to get through to reach the title scene etc, acknowledge he's not as young as some of the others but put over that he can still beat anyone on any given day. In '94 he was still a genuine star and could pull a match out of his arse no problem, plus there were no end of fresh matches for him that 20-30 years later would be considered dream matches.

[Futureraven: Beelzebruv]

Jun 7, 2017 9:32:37 GMT -5 ________ has left the building said:

Jun 7, 2017 9:20:46 GMT -5 Futureraven: Beelzebruv said:

Well, JBL has had a lot of injuries and retired, so not him.

More like they brought back big stars like HHH, Brock Lesnar, Goldb....

Oh.

Macho wasn't a spring chicken either during that time. WWF brought back older acts like Bob Backlund during that period so going back to previous eras for starpower was nothing new.

That's what I'm saying, it's not like they've been averse to using older guys at any other time, and Randy was probably the biggest name they still had. I'd argue with Backlund being there for star power, he wasn't really hyped, and was an anonymous, aimless midcarder for about 2 years till they discovered the crazy in him.

[Baby, it’s Jes outside]

Jun 7, 2017 8:21:09 GMT -5 Futureraven: Beelzebruv said:

Well, triple threats weren't a thing in 1994, so that'd be out.

But no, he wasn't used right, Vince seemed to have a thing about him being too old which was weird. Later in the year, he'd have been a good feud for Owen after the Bret one, since they didn't seem to know what to do with Owen until the random Yoko team in 1995.

Edit: For the Summer, let him have the Michaels feud he wanted while Razor and Diesel fight, instead of HBK playing manager a lot of them time.

Savage/HBK would have been money. Probably would have made Shawn a lot sooner too.

[auph10imitated]

Absolutely not and I have genuinely never understood it considering they actually pushed and gave Bob Backlund the title that same year. Who was 3 years older than Randy Savage.

They could have turned Savage heel and had him go after Bret Hart. Savage vs Hart at Survivor Series, or Team Savage vs Team Hart with Savage/Hart going into the Rumble. Then have Savage against someone else.

I dont think the roster as a whole was used correctly in 1994-1995.

[corndog]

Jun 7, 2017 8:13:37 GMT -5 cabbageboy said:

He certainly was not used enough considering he still had some real money drawing years left in WCW. Savage was basically effective up until mid 1998 when a knee injury took him out for a long time and then he had his terrible 1999 run in WCW. Seriously, all Savage wanted was to feud with and eventually put over guys like Hart and Michaels. I've always been baffled as to why Vince was upset at him for leaving. He was doing nothing.

Yeah, he still do some pretty good work in WCW up until the knee injury. Would have been great to see him get one last shot at the title against Bret on a PPV, and build up guys like Owen and Michaels.

[James Fabiano]

Not by Vince but other McMahons? (ducking)

[Aceorton]

Jun 7, 2017 11:12:39 GMT -5 auph10imitated said:

They could have turned Savage heel and had him go after Bret Hart.

This was easily the best use for Savage at that stage. The whole neon cowboy thing was already stale by late '92. Babyface was never his strong point anyway. A return to classic heel Macho Man (as the delusional, jealous veteran resisting the "New Generation") would have rejuvenated his character and given them a strong top heel to immediately challenge and establish Bret. Added benefit: They can now take more time building Yokozuna up to the main event. Heel Savage could have then had feuds with babyface Razor (a role reversal from their 1992 feud), Undertaker, Tatanka, babyface Perfect, etc., and by '94 he even could play the part of the corrupting influence encouraging Owen's heel turn.

Also, Savage was horrendous on commentary. Any excuse to take away his headset would have been fine by me.

[Nickybojelais]

I'll never understand why he wasn't used more in 93/94.

They had lost virtually all of their golden period stars, business was down and they refused to use the one genuine megastar that they still had on the roster. I know they were pushing the whole "New Generation" thing, but you've got Randy freaking Savage on your team...use him!!!

[Final Countdown Jones]

Not using Savage to put on star-making matches with the guys he'd pegged as the company's future was a huge mistake, and the fact that we did not get marquee matches of Savage/Michaels and Savage/Flair in '94 alone is enough to say that he wasn't used right.

[Hit Girl]

He was the biggest star in the company and they had him either sitting behind a desk, or a shitty feud with Crush.

[bob]

Even as a kid I thought it was odd that Macho Man was an announcer

[Renslayer]

I never understood why they didn't use Savage when guys like Piper, Lawler, and Backlund got main event matches.

[EyeofTyr]

I agree with the general sentiment, it was a bad call and he could've been so much more help to them in the ring. Especially when you figure he was willing to make guys, like he did for Bruiser in SMW actually not long before he left the WWF.

But I've always kinda toyed with an idea, it's well known Vince and him were extremely close. It's also well known that Liz leaving Savage damaged him in a way that he likely never recovered from, for all of the rumors surrounding them, in his own weird way, Randy loved her and she was the love of his life. It isn't a secret either how most wrestlers end up, moreso if they wrestle into their twilight.

I've often wondered if maybe Vince was doing something he never did for anyone else before or since, he tried to ease Randy into retirement. He tried to give his friend a cushy job as an announcer that let them still use his star power on some level, without Randy ending up a broken mess like so many before him and maybe making sure he had time to heal from Liz. Let him get in a better frame of mind. Misguidedly looking out for someone he cares about is something I could see Vince do, he's had a history of odd displays of sentimentality.

If you follow that line of thought, it makes Vince's feelings about Randy when Randy jumped make more sense. He was trying to do his friend a favor and trying to give him a better quality of life for his golden years. Randy, possibly in Vince's eyes, spit on that and continued to wear himself down physically and mentally.

Essentially Vince was trying to prevent what Randy Savage eventually became.

In any case, whatever the reason Vince had for putting Randy behind the table, he shouldn't have. He had mileage still in the tank and he could've set the WWE up much better than the state it was in for years to come. And, you likely avoid him jumping to WCW and being just one more thing that added pressure to the WWE in their war.