10 Dick Moves Promoters Used To Improve Wrestlers' Performances

6. Refusing To Let Randy Savage Wrestle

Kevin Owens Vince McMahon
WWE Network

Vince McMahon paid fitting tribute to Macho Man Randy Savage during the first edition of Monday Night Raw following his shocking November 1994 switch to WCW, but he perhaps should have been a little kinder to the former two-time WWE Champion when he was still under his employ.

Savage had allegedly made no secret of wanting to wrestle rather than announce, but McMahon's ill-conceived "New Generation" branding apparently froze him out of the scene despite him only being a few years beyond some of the other top stars and younger than Bob Backlund - a man who'd win the WWE Championship just weeks after his departure.

Far from just taking WCW's money and running, Randy instead revved his engines and shoved his ability back in his old gaffer's face. Reborn as a wrestler throughout 1995 and a draw in 1996, Savage had one of his best ever years in 1997 as a heel against great WCW babyface hope Diamond Dallas Page.

His form resulted in years of McMahon trying to win his signature back, before he mysteriously gave up trying (and temporarily erased him from company canon) as WWE rebounded from commercial oblivion at the turn of the decade.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett