Macho Man Randy Savage's 10 Best Matches Ever

Before Shawn Michaels gained the honorific, "Mr. WrestleMania" was a name that belonged to Randy Savage. There was no better performer in WWE in the 1980s than the Macho Man, and one could argue in all of wrestling. Nobody blended physical acting, precise timing, maximum intensity, primal athleticism, and spellbinding oration like the Sarasota, FL native.

What makes Savage unique is his extensive resume of matches that are considered anywhere from "great" to "excellent", and yet he's not what one might consider a crisp technician. Savage's greatness between the ropes drew upon line-blurring reality, whether he was face or heel. Very rarely would even a cynical observer watch a Randy Savage match and "see the strings". Whether he was the punisher or the punishee, Savage easily had the most realistic and engrossing matches of any show he was on. The kinetic energy of "Macho Madness" was gripping.

Boiling down Savage's finest works into a list of ten was a challenge. Sure, there are some obvious picks, but there are also shiny gems among the forgotten rough, some that don't get the due that others have. With Memphis, Madison Square Garden, and other places besides pay-per-view steeped with their own Macho memories, one can only better understand just how talented Macho Man Randy Savage really was. Ten items made this list - apologies to the several dozen that just missed.

Here are, in one man's opinion, the ten greatest matches featuring Macho Man Randy Savage.

"The Hitman" had already proved his singles mettle in filmed matches against Dynamite Kid and Ricky Steamboat in 1985-86. Come the fall of 1987, WWE was beginning to toy with the idea of a singles push for Hart, and the slender half of the Hart Foundation was going to get his chance on national TV to prove he could hang with one of the best.

Hart would state that Vince McMahon asked him to build the match around him working over Savage's ankle, telling him, "You're the great worker - figure it out." In a bit of irony, both men sustained legitimate lower-body injuries during the match - Hart cracked a bone in his foot taking a bump to the floor, while Savage's lower leg was hurt for real when Hart clanged it a bit too hard against the post.

Savage had to sell the injury anyway, per the pre-ordained story, but the legitimate pains didn't harm the match quality any. Savage's valiant fight against the pain was great drama, and he and Hart built to a bitter end with Savage escaping after reversing a slam into a small package.