13. Macho Man Randy Savage vs. Diamond Dallas Page (Great American Bash 97)
There were a plethora of mid-card matches that could have been chosen for this list, as the Monday Night War brought a level of talent to WCW with limited rivals in the modern era of professional wrestling. Some did, in fact, make the cut, while others were left out to highlight bouts such as Savage vs. Page. DDP vs. Macho Man carried with it an aura of historical importance then; and it especially does now. Their three match PPV series in 1997 (at Spring Stampede, Great American Bash, and Halloween Havoc) encompassed what some regarded as the top feud in the business that year. The best of the lot was the match at The Bash. Page had been little more than a mid-carder who worked hard to improve before 1997, but he became a primary recruiting target for The New World Order. When Savage joined the faction, he began to lead the charge to add DDP to their ranks. Yet, Page was resistant, eventually sparking a rivalry with Savage that vaulted him up the WCW hierarchy. The general main-event style in North America in those days was overbooked and the main-event at the 97 Great American Bash was no exception. There were ref bumps and numerous other shortcuts to enhance the crowd reaction, but it worked given the era in which it took place. Savage won the match and eventually took the overall series with another victory in October, but Page was the underlying winner of the storyline. DDP became one of the primary adversaries of the N.W.O. during a very successful two years of business, eventually rising all the way to the WCW Championship. That would not have happened had it not been for the 1997 feud with Macho Man.
"The Doc" Chad Matthews has written wrestling columns for over a decade. A physician by trade, Matthews began writing about wrestling as a hobby, but it became a passion. After 30 years as a wrestling fan, "The Doc" gives an unmatched analytical perspective on pro wrestling in the modern era. He is a long-time columnist for Lordsofpain.net and hosts a weekly podcast on the LOP Radio Network called "The Doc Says." His first book - The WrestleMania Era: The Book of Sports Entertainment - ranks the Top 90 wrestlers from 1983 to present day, was originally published in December 2013, and is now in its third edition.
Matthews lives in North Carolina with his wife, two kids, and two dogs.
