Macho Man: The Randy Savage Story [Blu-ray]

Randy “Macho Man” Savage is one of the few wrestlers to achieve true mainstream immorality. Just mention his name to anyone and they’ll say “Ooooooooh Yeah!” or “Snap into a Slim Jim”. He was the kind of person who left an indelible memory on you whether you were a fan of wrestling or not. Now, wrestling fans have the chance to look at the fabled life of one of professional wrestling’s greatest in the new video release Macho Man: The Randy Savage Story.In 2009, WWE Video released a three disc DVD set that covered many of his memorable matches in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). However the product was solely lacking in that it didn’t have a documentary on this WWE Superstar’s fabled career. Wrestling fans have known that there’s been bad blood between Savage and the WWE ever since his abrupt departure from the company in 1994 so it came as little surprise for the DVD’s lack of a documentary.Sadly, the “Macho Man” was taken from us in May of 2011 when he suffered a heart attack and crashed his Jeep into a tree. The wrestling world was stunned by the loss of one of the all-time greats. Although Savage had not wrestled since an appearance in Total Nonstop Action (TNA) at their Turning Point PPV in 2004, he had by no means faded from the fans’ memories.In 2014, the WWE released Macho Man: The Randy Savage Story, a two disc Blu Ray that included a documentary retrospective on Savage’s career as well as a collection of matches not seen on his last home video. The ninety three minute documentary includes comments from Savage’s fellow wrestlers as well as friends and family members. It explores Savage’s intense dedication to excellence as well as his relationships outside of the ring.The feature explores Randy’s life from his time as an athlete in school where he was an all-around athlete but excelled at baseball to his stint as a professional baseball player to his career in the ring. Listening to Randy’s friends, family, and fellow athletes, it’s clear that he was passionate about whatever he set his sights on. When he played baseball, he lived and breathed the game. When a shoulder injury saw his release from a minor league team, he destroyed his baseball bats and sought out a career in the squared circle, following in his father Angelo Poffo’s footsteps (The documentary notes how Savage dabbled in professional wrestling during his baseball career, wrestling under a mask as “The Spider”).While the video gives a decent overview of Savage’s career, the documentary is as just as much about the man as the wrestler. Apparently the producer felt that fans are so familiar with “The Macho Man’s” body of work (which is included here and on his last release) that it doesn’t need to be covered in the documentary. Granted, key moments like his match with Ricky Steamboat, his WWF title win at Wrestlemania IV, and subsequent feud with Hulk Hogan are covered but the presentation glosses over some other memorable programs including his feud with the Ultimate Warrior, his battle with “Nature Boy” Ric Flair, his feud with Jake “The Snake” Roberts, and most of his time in WCW (although there is a nice discussion of how Randy Savage saw potential in wrestler “Diamond” Dallas Page and helped put him over in a WCW feud).There are a wide variety of people who speak about “The Macho Man”. Wrestlers such as Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Pat Patterson, Jerry Lawler, Bret Hart, Ted DiBiase, “Diamond” Dallas Page, Kevin Nash, Dolph Ziggler, Sheamus, Lex Lugar, and of course, Ricky Steamboat. Manager Jimmy Hart (who worked with Savage in Memphis and helped him get in to the WWF) and longtime announcer “Mean” Gene Okerlund discuss some anecdotes about Savage. Randy’s mother and his brother Lanny (who wrestled as “Leaping” Lanny Poffo and “The Genius” in the WWF) discuss their relative’s life, adding another dimension to our understanding of Randy Savage. Lanny Poffo is extremely defensive of his brother (as family members often are) but he adds a lot to the documentary. Conspicuous by their absence are Vince McMahon, Triple H, and Shawn Michaels. Much was said about Savage and McMahon’s friendship and subsequent falling out but it would have been helpful to hear from McMahon. Triple H had harsh words for Savage at the start of the new millennium so it would have been fascinating to hear if he felt the same today. As for Michaels, Savage wisely saw Michaels’ potential and some comments from Michaels on Savage’s legacy would have been insightful. The documentary really covers some interesting ground. We even hear from the gentleman who made “The Macho Man’s” many colorful outfits. He makes a good point when he says that although Savage was not a small man, he looked smaller compared to some of the other wrestlers. This problem was taken care of by the amazing outfits which Randy Savage wore (and which were constantly being updated to keep his look fresh).We learn a lot about “The Macho Man’s” career including how he got his nickname “The Macho Man”, the last name Savage, and of course, his trademark “Oooooooooooh Yeah!” (The answers are surprising). Lanny Poffo even discusses how nervous his brother was at giving promos and that Savage felt Lanny was much better at promos. One particular thing that I found interesting was confirmation of a long-standing rumor that Savage was meticulous about crafting his matches. While most wrestlers call the majority of their match in the ring, wrestlers such as Ricky Steamboat confirmed that Savage carefully planned his matches before getting into the ring. Steamboat claims that Savage broke down their legendary Wrestlemania III bout into several pages, documenting every move.The video discussed Savage’s relationships outside of the ring. Savage was close to WWF kingpin Vince McMahon but that did not stop McMahon from putting Savage out to pasture before Savage felt it was time to hang up his tights. One thing I have never understood is why the WWF chose not to use Savage in the ring during its “New Generation” era. While the company was obviously pushing a younger generation of stars, Savage was ready and willing to use his star power to put over young talent. Case in point a program in wanted to work with Shawn Michaels. The program was nixed by Vince McMahon (who wanted Savage to stay behind the camera as a color commentator). This was definitely a blunder on McMahon’s part. Another blunder were the personal attacks that McMahon made against Savage in his “Nacho Man” and “Huckster” skits where the WWF mocked Savage and Hogan as being in WCW because they were too old to compete in the WWF. The attacks on Savage hit close to home when they mocked his age, his bald spot, and most of all, his relationship with Elizabeth, revisiting the unproven rumors that Elizabeth had had an affair with the Hulkster.“Macho’s” relationship with Hogan is portrayed as a classic love/hate relationship. While Savage was a phenomenal athlete and wrestler, the comparisons between him and Hogan had to eat at his delicate ego. However their work in the ring generated numerous great encounters including their fabled program as the Mega Powers and the subsequent “The Mega Powers Explode” angle that culminated in the main event at Wrestlemania V (Given Savage’s fantastic performances at Wrestlemania including his show-stealing match with Wrestlemania III against Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, CM Punk feels Savage is the true “Mr. Wrestlemania”). Hogan notes that he and “Macho Man” reconciled shortly before Savage’s death which is kind of disturbing because Hogan also claims to have reconciled with the Ultimate Warrior before the Warrior’s death. Also disturbing is Hogan’s story that he and Savage had the same doctor. Savage’s doctor reportedly told Hogan that he asked Savage to get an EKG after he learned Randy’s mother had a heart problem but Randy put it off to care for his mother. Hogan claims that the doctor told him that had Savage had the EKG, his heart attack might have been prevented.And of course no feature on “The Macho Man” would be complete without a look at his relationship with Miss Elizabeth. The video discusses how Vince McMahon toyed with the idea of bringing in Missy Hyatt to manage Savage. Savage suggested that his wife Elizabeth be given a screen test and the rest was history. Savage was one of those wrestlers who didn’t need a manager but the Liz/Savage relationship took things to the next level. The idea of a truly brutal heel having a lovely and innocent woman at his side drove the fans crazy. As the video suggests, fans had to wonder what Elizabeth saw in “Macho Man”, hinting that there might be a good side to him. Behind the scenes, you hear from a slew of wrestlers who discuss how over-protective Randy Savage was of his wife. While Savage’s brother Lanny Poffo disputes these claims, it seems pretty clear that Savage was jealous of anyone getting close to her. Hulk Hogan recalls the famous “Mega Powers Explode” angle and Savage taking exception with Hogan over how close he was touching Elizabeth while she lay on a gurney after a kayfabe injury. Another anecdote is that when Savage went away for a week, he bought Elizabeth TV dinners for every meal so that she wouldn’t have to leave the house.While many fans would consider Elizabeth to be the love of Savage’s life, his friends and family talk of how “The Macho Man” reunited with his high school sweetheart late in life, marrying her and spending his remaining days with her. Savage is described as very happy during this time and that he had finally found his soul mate. Unfortunately he did not have much time to spend with her due to his unexpected death.The video does leave some items out whether it’s his work in or out of the ring. While it does mention “The Macho Man’s” highly successful time as a pitchman for Slim Jim (sales reportedly doubled when Savage appeared in their commercials), it doesn’t mention his TV and film career including his memorable role in Spider-Man. As mentioned earlier, the documentary didn’t include some of Savage’s major feuds and that’s a shame because all of them were very memorable. It boggles the mind why WWE Video doesn’t go the extra mile and add fifteen or twenty minutes to a video feature.Like most WWE videos, you really need to get the Blu-Ray because of the extras. While there aren’t a ton of bonus matches, the ones that are on there are worth checking out, especially the Lumberjack Match between Savage and Hogan at Madison Square Garden (the blow-off to their series in 1986) as well as several additional anecdotes about “The Macho Man”. It’s hard to remember a bad match so anything on here is worth checking out. Unlike the Ultimate Warrior releases, there really aren’t any jobber matches.Whether you’re a fan of “The Macho Man” or not, this video is really worth checking out because there are very few wrestlers of his caliber. Savage is the kind of wrestler who will entertain fans of any generation both in the ring and out of the ring. His life story is fascinating as well so this video is worth getting for both the documentary and the matches. While many of “The Macho Man’s” high profile matches were included on his last video, there’s lots to enjoy on this one as well.

Having read some less than stellar reviews for this item I felt the need to write my first review on here. First off having been a major Macho Madness fan for all my life I was super excited for this set. I mean literally I do comedy sketches as Macho Man on Youtube if you don't believe me check it out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEOET5d5q-Q OR https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVO2tT-A288&list=TL0xpBR8JnWVI . Anyway I was never fully satisfied with the original Macho Madness DVD WWE put out. It was nice to have a collection of matches but there was no real commentary from other wrestlers. Instead we had 2 newbie run of the month current wwe personalities introducing the story of the greatest wrestler of all time. After viewing this DVD I feel rewarded for the wait. It is not perfect but it is damn close. You get an entire biography through Machos life without too much focus on one topic. You get input from many of the greatest legends of the sport on how they felt about the Macho Man. There are a few newer personalities such as CM Punk which really surprised me due to him not being currently employed by WWE but most of the wrestlers are the legends you want to hear from including Jake the Snake, Ricky Steamboat, Bret Hart, Dusty Rhodes, DDP etc. even Ric Flair and Hogan you know since they can't keep talking smack about Macho now that he has passed they have to actually say nice things otherwise look like the egomaniacs they've always been. Ofcourse Lanny is all throughout the video and even Randy's mother does commentary on points in his life. All and all if you are a macho maniac like i am and you can't go through a checkout aisle without snapping into a slim jim and elbow dropping the checkout clerk, then you will love every second of this video. As i watched the movie with my foam finger macho man on one hand, a slim jim and macho man action figure in the other, and a tray of some very Macho Nacho's at my side, I realized that it was one of the best Thanksgivings ever. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One of the greatest characters in WWE history was the Macho Man Randy Savage. First disc is an excellent documentary on the Macho Man. Growing up playing and enjoying all sports but especially Baseball in which he was very good at. His father was a wrestler and when Baseball didn't work out he turned to wrestling with his brother. Very interesting to hear not only from his fellow wrestlers but also from Lenny Poffo (his brother) and his mother. Shows a different side to the wrestler we know and how protective he was of Elizabeth to the point of paranoia, his reasons for leaving WWE and starting again in WCW. Also touches on the breakdown in his relationship with Elizabeth, her death and ultimately Randy's tragic car crash. There are many promo's and vignettes to be seen in disc 1 something that was missing in the lead up to any of the matches shown on discs 2 & 3 which I was somewhat disappointed in. The matches shown were here were good to very good but not his best matches, they were from the previous DVD put out on The Macho Man, although his match with DDP on this set was a classic All in all I found this a very good purchase as I am one of the many millions of fans of the Macho Man. If the documentary had been included with the original DVD on Macho Man then I would've given this a 5 rating.

Excellent! A half dozen bouts from the Boston Garden. Quite a few from the Spectrum, Maple Leaf Gardens and Madison Sq. I have only watched about 12 matches and it's already worth the price dig it! Of the 12 I have seen so far from his early days in WWF/E, Savage is a phenomenal performer and this box set is tremendous fun. Plus the T shirt, bandanna and glasses are a treat! Rock on Macho Man Randy Savage!!

WWFのスーパースターであるが、この方は日本のプロレスとも非常に相性の合うすごい名選手であることは、有名な話。しかし試合を見たことがあるかと言われれば、そんなにあるという方は少ないはず。このブルーレイはDVD版よりも画質は向上していますので、おすすめです。また天龍との試合などもおすすめです！

Not nearly as good as other collections. Missing so many great matches.

An Amazing 3 Disc Set On The Life Of The Macho Man “Randy Savage”. It will have you saying “Oh Yeah” from start to finish.

Got this for my brother-in-law for Christmas and he loves it! "One of the greatest wrestlers ever and a great dvd set!"

The Macho Man was the greatest wrestler of all time to me. Learning about him in this biography made my memories of him even better. Excellent video, worth every penny.