22. Ric Flair vs. Macho Man Randy Savage - WrestleMania VIII
Think of how monumental it was to see the top drawing star of the second biggest promotion jumping ship. The Nature Boy Ric Flair coming to the WWE as the Real Worlds Champion was quite a sight. Macho Man had pretty much already established himself as WrestleManias top in-ring performer, while Flair was making history in the NWA. So, while it would have been a thrill to see Hogan vs. Flair in that eras ultimate dream match, it was a nice consolation prize to see Savage step into the ring with arguably the greatest wrestler of all-time. They built a great feud in a few short weeks. Flair claimed to have bedded Miss Elizabeth before Savage married her and to have even taken nude photos of her. Savage was hell bent on avenging his ladys name and Flair was hell bent on putting Savage out of his misery so that he could show the world the huge centerfold spread of Miss Elizabeth. That would have been allthe way live! Woooo! In a contest that was about as good as you could imagine, Flair and Savage tore the house down and gave us a classic for the ages. Some have called this match Savages best Mania encounter. It was a fantastic piece of work that should have been the main-event at WrestleMania 8. It had everything you could want from a closing match at Mania. The crowd was electric - the energy that the Indiana Hoosier Dome attendees exhibited when Savages music hit was elicited one of the loudest pops in Mania lore. The back and forth action was fit for the MOTY candidate that this was, with Flair and Savage trading momentum several times to keep us guessing as to the eventual winner. There were a couple of great near falls during the climax that really brought it to that next level of epic and the finish that saw Savage win the title after a roll-up was as exciting as could be. That Macho passed without ever getting to say a proper goodbye is a real shame. He is one of the best of all-time. Of course, we can only imagine what kind of Mania resume Flair could have built with more time in his prime as a member of the WWE roster.
"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.