WWE: Ranking Randy Savage's 8 Matches At WrestleMania

1. WrestleMania 3 vs. Ricky Steamboat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meyVNlbBdZM "I am the Lord and Master of the Ring and you're going to find that out one athlete to another right now!" - Macho Man It's been 27 years since WrestleMania 3 took place in the Silverdome in Detroit, Michigan, yet there are still wrestling fans that might say that Ricky Steamboat vs. Randy Savage for the Intercontinental Title is the greatest match ever. And you know what? They might be right. While I wouldn't put it at the very top, it's certainly worthy of being in a discussion about it. The match had all the elements that make a match special: Savage was the cocky heel IC Champion that had injured the babyface Steamboat by using the ring bell to hit him in the throat. It was one of the most famous injury angles of all time that led to this matchup. There also the added element of George Steele outside the ring to help Steamboat and it turned out he made a big difference. One of the things this match was known for was the amount of nearfalls there was. How many were there? 20. That many nearfalls in a match that went about 15 minutes is pretty rare, but these two were athletic enough and smart enough to make all of them make sense. It was a back and forth match from the very beginning. They told a story where Savage would do anything he could to get disqualified as he even tried to strike the ref. Then they did the spot where Savage threw Steamboat in the ref to knock him out. Savage connected with the Flying Elbow off the top rope and should have won right there, but the ref was down. Savage tried to cheat using a chair and then the ring bell (same weapon that injured Steamboat 5 months earlier), but Steele prevented that. The finish was unforgettable. When Savage went for a bodyslam, Steamboat countered it into an inside cradle and he stayed on top of Savage for the three count. The reported 93,000 fans in attendance (who knows if that's a legit number?) went wild as Steamboat beat Savage for the Intercontinental Title. It's the one that holds up over time more than any match from the 1980s and should be remembered as one of the best matches ever from any era. The wrestling was flawless with what appeared to be no missed spots and the ref bump and interference by Steele were fine because it helped the story of Savage as a cheating jerk. There's a reason that so many current wrestlers hold this match in such high regard. Savage ended his pre-match promo by saying this: "History beckons the Macho Man...yeah!" Here we are 27 years later and it's clear that Savage was absolutely right about that.