10 Wrestlers Who Changed The Business Forever
8. Randy Savage
Randy Savage was intensely dedicated to his craft.
A perfectionist and a genius, at WrestleMania III, he changed the complexion of in-ring performance. Mainstream pro wrestling, splintered into regions with distinct audiences, was once an instinctive art form in which the talent would incorporate crowd reactions into it. This was necessary to get and stay over; in the days before guaranteed contracts, an off-night brought with it dire consequences, and so the talent had to learn how to alter the direction of a match if the (loose) plan wasn't connecting. This practise of calling it on the fly was a safeguard.
Savage altered this by instead mapping out a match, move-for-move, so excellent that a rapturous crowd reaction was guaranteed. He was less interested in getting over as achieving in-ring perfection. This required a meticulous, drawn-out preparation not unlike that of an auteur.
WWE incorporates this mentality as a matter of course. The sophisticated multi-camera set-up works in synergy with the talent and the road agents to ensure that everything is captured to maximise the visual appeal and timed to ensure the commercial break only interrupts the dry, hold-driven portion of the match.
Savage's brilliance has since ushered in a sort of soullessness to the WWE product, but, yes, better that than every match being held under Two Out Of Three Falls rules.