Randy Savage Wins The WWE Title At WrestleMania 4 | Behind The Match

Before Shawn Michaels, Macho Man Randy Savage was the original "Mr. WrestleMania". His finest hour (from a kayfabe perspective) came at WrestleMania 4, when Savage won four matches in one night to capture the WWF championship, the first World title of his illustrious career.
In a charmed life filled with ambitious performances, oddly-quotable promos, and pop culture turns, the events of March 27, 1988 could very well mark Savage's most glorious triumph. But while Savage and the WWF forged an unforgettable moment that night in Atlantic City, the Macho Man getting the gold was apparently not the original plan...
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Cultaholic provides video coverage of professional wrestling - including WWE (including WWE Raw, WWE SmackDown, NXT and 205 Live), AEW, IMPACT Wrestling (formerly TNA), NJPW, ROH, and more with daily news updates, reviews, lists, highlights, predictions, reactions, podcasts and much, much more.

[@ChalkInTheLand]

I think people today forget how great of a worker Savage was

[@glorymosbyfloyd3878]

I'll never forget ❤

[@rubenarriaga3029]

Better than the best

[@Hardworking_Trucker]

It’s been over 36 years since that night, alotta people running around now weren’t even born then

[@silverzombie4477]

Crazy how both Sting and Macho Man were essentially made men in the main event scene on the same night.

[@DJDoubleCee]

I’m glad Randy Savage ending up winning the WWE title. It was nice to see someone other than Hulk Hogan on the top of the card.

[@rickjames2.0]

And yet he still found a way to be still be in the main event.

[@rickjames2.0]

@ItsStillRealToMe DamnIt I'm not buying it brother egomaniac Hogan always had to be on top. How many times did we see him take on 4 or 5 people hell him and Randy once beat 10 guys in a triple tower cage! It's wrestling they can get you to buy anything if served up right.

[@rickjames2.0]

@ItsStillRealToMe DamnIt yeah he was but unlike Optimus he didn't age well over time and I don't mean physically.

[@three-quartersbadger2929]

It was nice to see someone actually talented with the title, rather than a ridiculous tan, steroids and marketing

[@bartsullivan4866]

@@three-quartersbadger2929 Very True Badger Macho was much more talented and did a ton of charity work later on something that the Hulkster never bothered doing. As a human being Randy was a very cool guy.

[@ModernDayRenaissanceMan]

If you were to build a perfect wrestler from the ground up - it would look a lot like Savage. The wild costume, the crazy promos, the muscular body, the high flying ability. He had it all.

[@MVP_901]

High flying ability? The guy just did the elbow drop 😂 when you think of high flying ability Macho ain’t the man I think of 😂

[@andrewdrennan9436]

@@MVP_901 well he also did flying axe handles and occasionally foreign objects from up there, but more to the point it was his superior speed and agility in mounting the turnbuckle in the first place that lent him credibility in that respect, not to mention his overall moveset execution.

[@vinegarpisser2992]

Dig it!!!

[@MVP_901]

@@andrewdrennan9436 I wish I saw this earlier but let’s be honest he’s not the ideal perfect wrestler it’s hands down Randy Orton. The guy literally is like a created wrestler. I’ll even say Shawn Michaels before I say savage

[@MVP_901]

@RUDE AWAKENING yea you definitely drunk

[@harshckuk]

Hogan had to insert himself into Savage's every special moment. What a Jerk

[@2buxaslice]

As a kid in the 80's all you wanted to see was Hogan winning everything. He was like a real life super hero. So we actually didn't mind then. Wrestling was a lot more fun when you didn't know the behind the scenes stuff.

[@alp21188]

@@2buxaslice at that time people like my 10 year old self were already getting weary of the pukester. They’re biggest pay per view buy was wrestlemania 5 which is the reason they should have had macho go over clean or even sort of clean like warrior in 6. They would have never made as much money if that were the case. There saying hogan could never lose at this time, and all I would have been thinking had I been McMahon is we will shock the world lol.

[@alp21188]

@@2buxaslice what I was meaning is that the amount of money had they shocked the world with savage going over via pin fall would have never been matched ever again. Adjusted for inflation of course

[@Macephtopheles]

With hindsight it's an easy way of looking at it but at the time it made a lot of sense. Hogan and Savage were part of the Mega Powers so Hogan acting as an equaliser with Andre in DiBiase's corner meant it wasn't like it was necessarily Hogan bringing his "It's all about me, brother!" mentality into it. Certainly nothing on the BS that was WMIX with Yokozuna. Speaking of WMIX- could argue that Savage put the best shine on that event with what he ("allegedly") done to Hogan's eye...

[@thelegendarydowntowntonybr2598]

Nah... this isn't like Mania IX with Hart. Stuff like that was awful, but this made quite a bit of sense. Hogan's involvement here was absolutely well-done. For one, it was storyline continuity with the ongoing Hogan/DiBiase/Andre feud... secondly it fully established the Hogan/Savage friendship which made for a great year-long trip on WWF TV. Also, Hogan was the cash cow for the company at that point- it wasn't like he was gonna get dipped down the card and wrestle Greg Valentine in the 3rd match or something, lol. I don't even like Hogan as a person, so I'm not stanning for him... but from the standpoint of what WWF was in '88, Hogan and Savage together were printing money.

[@johnfawcett1464]

The million dollar man was a great gimmick played beautifully

[@glorymosbyfloyd3878]

FACTS

[@johnrambo3831]

I was 10 years old and Macho Man was my absolute favorite when he won the title tournament in 1988. With Miss Elizabeth by his side it felt like so much more than wrestling had ever been before.

[@patrickmitchell9068]

This is really one of those "butterfly moments" where a wrestle disagrees in how he is defeated, hold the champion for short time longer and it sets off helping creating some of WWE's best moments and stories of the era

[@jeffblack2458]

Thank you Honky Tonk Man. In 1987 you turned me into a Randy Savage fan for life, and as a wrestling fan of 15 in 1988, you helped turn that year into one of the best I've ever had. I was a little obsessed with wrestling at the time. lol.

[@flrpitflrp1965]

Watching him win almost brought a tear to my eye. Loved both him and Ted. Although the match was not as good as Savage v Steamboat

[@ABar83376]

I will always remember that match as the best match at Wrestle-mania 3. Not Hogan’s.

[@molol44]

@@ABar83376 That's because it was. All the hype was behind Hogan and Andre's match, but Savage v Dragon was the best wrestling match. Pulled off to perfection.

[@ananyaraizada7657]

Am I the only one who wanted savage to retain belt at wm 5

[@jasonlarkin4034]

Not at all. Hogan was garbage, a grain of sand in the desert. MachoMania was the entire desert.

[@candoentertainment9118]

No. Macho Man was better than Hogan in every single aspect.

[@bobblueford]

We all wanted that!

[@Undertakerlover1306]

I wanted that and I wasn't even born yet!

[@Hoovie9596]

Hulk must pose. Same reason he stole the belt from Bret Hart at WM 9

[@jasonjimerson7046]

Wrestlemania 4 is up there as one of my all-time favorite Wrestlemanias.

[@donovanch462]

It was one the worst in my opinion but the final between Savage and Dibiase was gold

[@alp21188]

@@donovanch462 it was too many matches. The savage and Valentine natch is criminally underrated. But I liked the battle royal and the ic match was pretty decent despite beefcake. Also I have to like the snake Rude match even if there was no clear winner

[@clark82]

@@donovanch462 problem is the knock out matches are all far to short (with the exception Rude v Roberts, which is the best of the first round matches), and the IC match descends into a comedy act, hence the majority of the card is really poor matches.... the actual final match, two tag matches, and even the Warrior v Hercules matches are pretty enjoyable, its just the over kill of filler that lets the whole card down

[@Rockhard7191]

That hulk hogan no sell line was brilliant 🤣🤣

[@Biffo316]

Adore all these stories about characters and stories of yesteryear. Fantastic work lads. The channel has grown leaps and bounds since ye left *name redacted* great to see friends and wrestling fans getting together to bring free entertainment to the masses.

[@DannyKnightmare]

"Really, who better to no sell than Hogan?" Perfect.

[@marc_leblanc]

Wrestlemania IV is often seen as one of people's least favorites but it was one my favs. I was a huge Macho Man mark plus I think the tournament itself brought prestige to the title being the sole focus of Wrestlemania.

[@thelegendarydowntowntonybr2598]

I love Mania IV for the story and how it put my favorite wrestler of all time in the spotlight... but I think the criticism comes because of how long it was and all the clunky finishes/booking of the whole thing. As a kid, it was something I'd never seen before and it was exciting. Watching it as an adult, that tournament is the kind of stuff people would have a full-on FIT about if it happened now, lol. All those DQs and countouts and that lonnnnng-ass Jake/Rude match ending in a draw... it's less fun to watch now than it was in '88, I'll just say that.

[@kylethompson8949]

Sam's narration is always great. I hope he knows that.

[@jonesjones3678]

I appreciate his work and him not having to yell constantly.

[@jonesinc.5860]

I second this affirmation!

[@A-small-amount-of-peas]

At 1:25 I will admit I did laugh at how high pitched he sounded when he says "at the dawn" 😂

[@thomasstewart-tm2ts]

Anything macho man randy savage is gold! My number 1 all day long!

[@jasonlarkin4034]

Cream of the crop. On balance, off balance, doesn’t matter he’s better than everyone else. 🐐🐐🐐🐐

[@gras1hoppa420]

Macho Man is the Best Ever all around... Ashame we Never saw Macho vs HBK at Mania

[@andrewdrennan9436]

Nah, but we did see enough of Prime Savage against up-and-coming-not-HBK-yet Michaels in somewhat one-sided contests to know that the optimal showdown between them only happens in WWE 2k.

[@ProfessorKenneth]

I remember I was there....I was just 12 years old Great time 👍🏻💯

[@joetamburello6292]

Hogan always tried to steal Macho Man’s thunder

[@bobblueford]

Also Warrior, Bret and many more.

[@srichardf]

Hogan should have gotten out of the ring and allowed Macho Man and Elizabeth to have their moment.

[@jeffblack2458]

Hogan thought no one else should have any thunder. He inserted his nose into anything to try to keep himself relevant his entire career.

[@MrXolaX]

This is incredible writing

[@REXX399]

I never thought about it like that he is right Randy Savage was the first mega performer at WrestleMania before Shawn Michaels..... He consistently had the best matches at WrestleMania in the beginning. .....

[@OxfordDA98]

Thank you for saying it properly! Intents and purposes, not intensive. It's such a little thing but it get's my ilk when people pronounce it wrong, thank you for getting it right!

[@munstrumridcully]

For me, seeing "would/should/could of" instead of "would/should/could've" in text! Ugggghh!

[@charlesreggiocpwf3563]

I have to say it thank you honk tonk. Man

[@BoereViking]

Who better to no sell than Hulk Hogan... What a line!!

[@funfunfun18]

I love Cultaholic’s mini-documentary format videos and Sam’s narration is awesome

[@JungleBunkRootsMusic2022]

And even during savage's biggest moment...Hogan just HAD to get involved and "hotdog and grandstand".

[@paulsletten8985]

Can o coke for the osw fan

[@adamwatson6916]

@ItsStillRealToMe DamnIt savage deserved to win the belt clean without the assistance from Hogan and very likely Hogan pushed to be part of the finish. Hogan did those things for his own ego and was constantly trying to undermine anyone Vince tried to give the ball to run with other than Hogan

[@melvynsngltn27]

@@adamwatson6916 Vince called the shots not Hogan

[@bigbearlantz]

"Who better to no sell than Hogan" is such a great line

[@craiganderson3919]

Mach man was the most talented wrestler of all time. He is a legit athlete great promos and what a character. In my opinion the best ever

[@jonerikson5925]

I always find it funny that Honky Tonk had a problem with losing to Savage clean, but got destroyed by Warrior so quickly.

[@cob2076]

One was tv, one was PPV....thats the difference here...

[@johnepants]

@@cob2076 plus, I don’t think he was under contract in Feb 88, but got a new deal inked by SummerSlam, so Vince was able to do what he needed. In the end, that squash to Warrior helped set up WWF for another 3 years

[@bobblueford]

Honky Tonk always had a grudge with Savage.

[@joshloos]

Had to double check that title after I thought it was a news video and that something absolutely insane had happened on smackdown

[@mikehunt4986]

What a great video! Coincidentally I had recently commented on another KZbin video about how Honky Tonk Man had indirectly screwed Ted DiBiase out of the WWF Title in 1988.

[@btipton6899]

Good memories of watching this in my late teens. Very good job of analyzing this.

[@peterjones2834]

Randy Savage should have been the face of the WWF. Much better wrestler than Hogan.

[@jasonlarkin4034]

🎯🎯🎯

[@melvynsngltn27]

Much better wrestler yeah but Hulk Hogan along with Vince made the WWF huge there's no guarantee Randy could of done that

[@cameronbarclay7076]

Poor Randy! Somethings never change, he gets himself a 20min video. Only if 10mins is about Hogan 🤣.

[@hollywoodhogan.7009]

Lmfaooo

[@RisingRecluse]

In hindsight I wish they had Savage go over Steamboat leading into the finals. This could have lead a potential title match. However it looks like the Dragon was buried by wwf and would be back in form in wcw.

[@andrewdrennan9436]

Turning Steamboat into a latter-career Santana was egregious.

[@RisingRecluse]

@@andrewdrennan9436 it was definitely a smart move immediately leaving for wcw to have great matches with Ric Flair and later a young Steve Austin. He was headed for the SD Jones spot of glorified jobber if he stayed.

[@andrewdrennan9436]

@@RisingRecluse I’ll clarify: Steamboat leaving was a good move for Ricky. Those Flair matches were objectively among the best that anyone has ever seen. That McMahon midcarded him upon return was egregious.

[@donaldmcgee6334]

WWE was punishing Steamboat for asking for time off due to his son being born.

[@shahriyad5662]

That moment when the goofy mid-late 1980s WWE storylines were better than what it is today!

[@kaqueburlington4278]

You did an amazing job with this story!

[@agedefyingfitness]

Macho Man rullllzzzz. RIP Randy

[@counelis]

This is my all-time favorite wrestling moment.

[@MrAce-lm8es]

WrestleMania 2 - Win - George Steele ⭐WrestleMania III - Loss - The Dragon ⭐WrestleMania IV - 4 Wins ⭐WrestleMania V - Loss - Hulk Hogan WrestleMania VI - Loss - Dusty & Sapphire ⭐WrestleMania VII - Loss - Ultimate Warrior ⭐WrestleMania VIII - Win - Ric Flair WrestleMania IX - Commentator WrestleMania X - Win - Crush

[@lexkanyima2195]

A resume

[@ashotofwhiskey219]

As much as I liked that the title was given to Savage, I was hoping for DiBiase to win it. He was great.

[@IAWIA5]

DiBiase definitely should have won the WWF title at least once, as should have Piper

[@srichardf]

I agree DiBiase should have had at least one run with the title, he would have been a great heel champion.

[@jeffreybomber4251]

“Who better to no sell than Hogan”. lol 😂

[@kayodephillips5435]

My favorite wrestler macho Man Randy Savage Ric flair and Mr wrestling number 2

[@twinturbo3461]

Wrestling was great in the 80s, carried through in the 90s, died in the 2000s.

[@bobblueford]

100% agree!

[@ianfeuerhake1859]

Thanks for pointing out that Savage was the first undisputed champ. It always bugs me when people say Jericho was the first

[@Gabriel6sic6]

Jericho was the first Undisputed World Champion between WWE and WCW. Savage was just the undisputed champion of the single company.

[@ianfeuerhake1859]

@@Gabriel6sic6 irrelevant

[@ianfeuerhake1859]

@@Gabriel6sic6 Savage was called the first undisputed WWF champ in 1988. Doesn't matter what the storyline was, he was the first

[@andrewdrennan9436]

@@ianfeuerhake1859 well, to be super-anal-retentive about it, it was really just ‘storyline undesputed’ champ, since he didn’t hold multiple belts at the same time, nor defeated ‘lineal’ champ Hogan (title was already stripped) to get it. More of a boxing convention but it fits.

[@ianfeuerhake1859]

@@andrewdrennan9436 he was called the first undisputed champ by the WWF President. The circumstances surrounding it are irrelevant

[@PattyBandAidz]

Those Hebners man......the Angel Hernandez's of wrestling.

[@TheThird1977]

This series is a fantastic watch and Sam is such a great narrator.

[@SheriffOutlaw]

OOOH YEAH!!!!! BEHIND THE MATCH!!!!! And as I was watching this the company are at my job setting up for Raw tomorrow 🤣 I Fauxpologize but I and very ticked by how one of the trucks sad "Don't be a Bully, Be A Star" with Sheamus right on the side . That made my work day even better

[@ronaldsprowal9978]

Million dollar man Should have won the World championship kept the belt to Summerslam 1988 than lost to Randy' Savage......The Mega Powers Explode was AWESOME STORYLINE

[@michaelscriver5395]

Well the cream of the crop rises to the top, Macho man is my favorite wrestle

[@jermainehampton2469]

Million dollar man walked in the door with everythjng ,he was the total package from day 1.

[@luigivincenz3843]

Man, the Mega Powers with Savage and Hogan even for a brief time, was one of the best tag team creations ever. The greatest would be Demolition but that Mega Powers duo is really up there on the totem pole of greatness. They (Hogan and Bone Saw) really had interesting promos back then haha

[@SA-rf8zk]

Great as always guys

[@lilpoetat]

thanks!

[@expatveteran7815]

8:41 that is not Los Angeles. That is San Francisco

[@kingoneil4644]

Hulk hogan said that's not gonna work for me brother

[@hollywoodhogan.7009]

Lmfaooo

[@jerryjanik480]

Kayfabe Hulk Hogan says no to selling the WWF World title but Hulk Hogan Hulk breaking kayfabe would definitely sell the WWF World Championship

[@seanmahoney7117]

Amazing series!

[@josepalomares111]

Sam and his smooth voice.

[@profesorgonzalezpontiles9070]

Honkytonk man record exist* Gunther: Hold my wrobe...

[@LeoWamBamSlamJam]

Without any single doubt, I rank Savage's triumph at WM4 as the TOP WWF moment.

[@randquadrozzi5850]

He was well past his prime then but Andre was great as a heel.

[@randquadrozzi5850]

@chuckbuskee yes I agree

[@dannyb7166]

Nice video brotha thanks for the content

[@danielproctor5237]

He may not be the GOAT but he's definitely on the Mt. Rushmore!!

[@vinceraven1501]

Several things here, they had Hogan save Savage to put him in the main event seen without just yanking Hogan out of it because he was still the cash cow. If DiBiase would've joined the NWA, it'd been incredibly interesting. DiBiase the character in the F was a onscreen version of the real life Mcmaniac.

[@dannyinoakpark9095]

That's San Francisco not Los Angeles I know because I've been over that bridge a bunch of times

[@jasonjimerson7046]

That image was the San Francisco Bay Bridge, correct?

[@thomasanthony5306]

Great friggin video!!

[@--thatbih]

7:13 lmao loved that line 🤣

[@dmichael1172]

Clash of champions was a better card that day but was happy savage won that night.

[@evergray5063]

Hogan DIDN’T kick out of that early pin by Andre, the referee just counted to four (or 3 & 15/16ths) because Hogan didn’t kick out before three and the ref just winged it… I remember being angry because as a little kid, I hated Bobby Heenan, but when he showed the video footage, well… He was RIGHT, Hogan didn’t kick out in time Probably my first existential crisis as a child 😂 Bobby Heenan was SO evil, but I couldn’t ignore the reality, staring me in the face; Bobby Heenan may have been a liar, but the TAPE didn’t lie

[@Joshua-uw7wm]

I loved the honky tonk man and his run was great

[@davefogle7747]

Loved the Hogan no sell comment

[@mrf19741]

When Savage and Steamboat blew the roof of the Pontiac Silverdome at Wrestlemania 3 before Hogan vs Andre, Hogan really felt threatened by Savage's growing popularity. Henceforth, he inserted himself into Macho Man's spotlight every chance he got. From helping Macho Man win the WWF title in the Championship tournament to jumping into every photo op Savage had with the title belt. I still have the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Issue with Macho Man on the front cover titled "MACHO MADNESS" with the title, but also Hulk Hogan forcing his way into the picture.

[@KGV1374]

Ted should have just done the finger poke of doom on Andre as that would have made him legitimately champion.

[@Crasky1992]

Sam continuing to prove he's not 'the midcarder'.

[@larryp4435]

Rip aka the greatest

[@Nbflowers1989]

Love this list!

[@Gabriel6sic6]

I thought I heard somewhere that the Million Dollar Man thought his character was better at chasing the belt so he didn't want to win it at Wtrestlemania

[@andremarc1275]

damn i loved wrestling when i was young :)

[@JaimeD.]

And now is time to listen to Sam Driver. Grab a cup of coffee/water/juice and enjoy a morning of storytelling.

[@darkerknight7010]

If only Hogan didn’t insist on being Co-Champion during his run.

[@namethe1st983]

Wow that’s so good 😊

[@jonrife8226]

Randy Savage was great at wrestlemania 4 unfortunately they had hogan cheat and then steal the spotlight from the Macho man

[@deadmansgulf911]

Would have been interesting to see how long DiBiase would have held onto the belt if given the chance

[@MrNWA4Life]

It was WWF. There was no WWE in the 80's.

[@thomasmeyers2565]

This is extremely interesting

[@owdeezstrauz1268]

I had no idea there was a WWE title in WM4 🤔

[@andremarc1275]

hello i would like to see Undertaker vs Undertaker behind the match video (Summerslam 1994) thank you.

[@nfindc]

I was sick of Hogan being champion by the time '88 rolled around. His promos had become so corny I was rolling my eyes everytime he opened his mouth. I was ecstatic when Savage won the title, but anyone with half a brain could see that Hogan wanted the top spot back when he returned at SummerSlam that year. The only way that was going to happen is if Savage turned heel, which enraged me beyond belief. Savage was then given outrageous gimmicks like the Macho King and being squashed by The Ultimate Warrior at house shows. I thought he deserved better, but McMahon didn't like smaller guys so he was subjected to the typical burying process that most guys had to deal with when McMahon needed to feed someone to his top guys.

[@The_Sage_of_Six_Paths]

It wasn't wwe it was WWF!

[@chuckjames3173]

The tournament change story has only been told by the HTM himself, to my knowledge no one else has ever coroborated it.

[@juncruz6266]

23 millions is a lot

[@datacipher]

Orndorff and hogan drew nearly 70,000 in Toronto with no big marketing push at all.

[@pulsarstargrave256]

You forgot Savage and Sherri Martel v. Dusty Rhodes and Sapphire! While not always in the Main Event, Savage ALWAYS delivered excitement and FUN at Wrestlemania!

[@uttermanbo]

Hogan never lost to Savage. Even Cena lost to a guy who was several notches below him in Punk. Hard to believe Savage never won one match against him.

[@JL1goat]

I mean cena was forced to lose to punk because of old dumb attitude era fans kept complaining.

[@mrkipling2201]

I like the fact that you say the WWF, instead of the WWE, when talking about the Macho Man winning the title at WM4. It really bugs me when people call it the WWE when talking about pre-2002 stuff. Stupid I know, but it just annoys me!!

[@paulbrennan3472]

He should have had to wrestle Steamboat in the Semi-finals

[@clark82]

it would never have met expectation.... hype would have been to much and the majority of WM4 matches only lasted 4-6 minutes on what was a show that was already long enough.... to have those two do a face v face 4-6 minute match would have been such a let down compared to the year before.

[@andrewdrennan9436]

@@clark82 …and also would have burned out the crowd before the main event again as well.

[@himynameisbrandonlee]

crazy that Gunther has surpassed Honky