100 Greatest WWE WrestleMania Moments
37. ‘Macho Man’ Becomes WWF Champion (WrestleMania IV)
Word of warning: Inflicting the entirety of WrestleMania IV's tournament on some unsuspecting victim is a criminal offence in some territories. It's said that the harshest punishments are handed out for forcing someone to watch a 15-minute snore between Jake Roberts and Rick Rude, or a painfully slow effort between Ricky Steamboat and Greg Valentine. Those workers were too good to have matches that crap.
On a brighter note, Randy Savage. He was the MVP of the WWF's title tourney in 1988. Hulk Hogan and Andre The Giant went to a double disqualification during their 'Mania III rematch in the quarterfinals, and that handed hated heel Ted DiBiase a bye through to the final. Meanwhile, 'Macho Man' had to contend with Butch Reed, Valentine and One Man Gang before reaching the main event.
Announcers claimed Randy was exhausted, but he actually worked less ring time than Rude and Roberts had. Still, story was story, and this was a good one. Savage's babyface ascent was almost complete. Come headliner time, Hogan helped crown his would-be Mega-Powers buddy as the new champ. It felt like the dawn of a new era for the federation. Hulkamania was out (for now), and 'Macho Madness' was very much in.
Ooh yeah.
Randy beating DiBiase to win his first WWF Title was like blowing a kiss to those who wanted a bit more from their WWF main events. That's not a dig at Hulk, but it's true that Savage was known as a better worker between the ropes than his big red and yellow counterpart. Together, they'd complement one another as partners and enemies.