20 Things You Didn't Know About WrestleMania (1985-1994)

8. WrestleMania VII - Savage Was Really Going To Retire

One of the great things to come out of all the changes that WrestleMania VII underwent was the Career Ending Match between The Ultimate Warrior and Macho King Randy Savage. It was arguably the greatest match of Warrior's career, and also one of Savage's greatest, too. The buildup and culmination together combined for the greatest story ever told by WWE and included an unexpected conclusion involving Miss Elizabeth. This was the WWF and professional wrestling at its finest. The storyline called for the loser of the match to retire, and unfortunately for Macho King fans all over the world, it was Savage who suffered defeat. The reality was that Randy Savage did intend to retire, at least for the foreseeable future, as he looked to settle down with his real-life wife Elizabeth and start a family perhaps in an effort to save their marriage. Soon after WrestleMania VII rumors circulated that the couple were having difficulties. Along with getting off the road, Savage was open to the "retirement" so that his body would no longer be under the strain of the anabolic steroids he was believed to be using at the time. Although this "retirement" was Savage's initial intention, he was back in the ring as a full-time competitor by the end of the year thanks to a number of factors, including the departure of Ultimate Warrior and injuries suffered by Sid Justice. Today's wrestling fan has an inherent and understandable skepticism associated with the retirement or career-ending match. This was not so widespread a feeling in 1991 when Savage and Warrior helped promote WrestleMania VII and, while the on-screen developments will forever be remembered by those that witnessed it, the real-life backstory is not so well known. Unfortunately, Mr and Mrs Savage never did bear a child and divorced the following summer.