Jim Ross Discusses Randy Savage In The WWE Hall Of Fame

Really?

I did not know Savage extremely well even though I worked with him in the broadcast booth many times in my early years in WWE. Honestly, I’m not sure who REALLY knew Randy Savage as he was a complex man in many ways who seemed to remain in ‘guarded’ mode more often than not. At WM9 Savage, the brilliant Bobby Heenan and I comprised the three man team that broadcast the event outdoors at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. (No, I did not mind wearing a toga nor do I still have the rented costume.)

Heenan was always a piece of cake to work with as he had impeccable timing and a ‘feel for the game.’ Savage, on the other hand, was generally unpredictable, irreverent, but always distinctive with his unique pipes and unique sound bytes.

Randy never really trusted me, or so I think, and much of it was because I was the voice of the enemy, WCW, for many years therefore he and I never really connected. We actually did some nice work together including the King of the Ring Tournament in 1993 and a memorable RAW in 1994, I think, when Bret Hart wrestled X-Pac Sean Waltman.

Like myself, Macho Man was seemingly never totally pleased with his on air work and was a perfectionist to say the least. There’s nothing wrong with being ones own worst critic such as I’ve been for 40 years. Nonetheless, because of the self imposed pressure that Savage put on himself he often times was testy and wound tight.

When I first arrived in WWE, many could not wait to tell me a litany of Savage stories of his days with Miss Elizabeth, one of the great combinations in wrestling history, and how paranoid and untrusting Randy was at it related to his then wife. I wasn’t there to see it so t’s all folklore to me but those that did live it said it was challenging. I looked at that matter as ‘none of my business material’ and never really spoke to Randy about it but knew it was a touchy subject with him and I had no desire to raise the ire of the Macho Man. We even lived in the same building in Stamford, Ct for a while and I never even realized it. We’d work together much of many days and nights and I did not even know that we lived in the same apartment building.

The point that I’m making is that Randy Savage and I were never close pals but I had immense respect for his in ring work and his mic work as well. He was one of the best all around performers ever in the biz….bar none….case closed. With that said, today is a day for celebration for all those who, like me, enjoyed Randy’s game especially his bell to bell exploits in WWE and before. The match Savage had with Ricky Steamboat at WM3 is a classic but putting the match together was extremely taxing according to the Dragon himself. Again, Savage was a perfectionist and his arch rival Hulk Hogan was set to defeat the incomparable Andre the Giant on that same show so Randy wanted he and Steamboat to “steal the show.” Many say that they did even though WM3 will always be know primarily for the Hulk-Andre match.

We were set at one time to bring Macho Man into the Mid South territory and even had the introductory vignettes done and ready to air until Savage decided to forgo the opportunity to work with Cowboy Bill Watts and instead go to WWE which was the better decision as it made Randy rich and famous on a global basis. I’ve often wondered how Savage and Watts would have coexisted and how long their relationship would have lasted until it imploded. Perhaps, I’m now being too negative as maybe the Cowboy and the Macho Man would have gotten along famously until one of the two C’s (Cash & Creative) intervened.