10 Greatest Long Term WWE Storylines Ever
9. The Mega Powers Explode
"Arguments are made for make-ups," sang James Murphy on LCD Soundsystem's 'Dance Yrself Clean'.
The opposite is true in pro wrestling, in which partnerships are often forged with the express purpose of violent, money-drawing separation. And so it was with the Mega Powers tandem of Hulk Hogan and Macho Man Randy Savage. Savage's valet, Miss Elizabeth, had recruited Hogan to rescue Savage from a beating at the hands of the Honky Tonk Man. Savage's slow-burn 1987 face turn was complete, and a legendary triple act was born. But the nature of their coming together doomed it from the start. It was expert, literary storytelling - true tragedy.
The storyline worked so well because, in a hyper-exaggerated and camp era, it felt uniquely real. Savage was notoriously protective over real-life wife Elizabeth in and out of the storylines; Elizabeth turning to Hogan planted a seed of jealousy that would take root in dramatic fashion at the February 3, 1989 The Main Event NBC special.
Savage, incensed at what he perceived as Hogan's self-serving white knight rescue of his stricken wife (the storyline was loaded with meta-textual intrigue), beat him down in the backstage medical area in a classic angle, the intense drama of which was enhanced through Elizabeth's agonised wailing.
Their resultant first match, at WrestleMania V, remains one of - if not the -greatest Hogan ever had.