Welcome to Last Word on Mania month at Last Word on Sports! All month long we will be doing articles to build up for Wrestlemania 31 on March 29, 2015. Be sure to read everything this month by clicking this link. Enjoy!
This is FantasyMania, where he look at a WrestleMania match-up we wish happened and go ahead and book it.
Real History
WrestleMania X started and ended with Bret “The Hitman” Hart. Bret fought his brother Owen Hart in a 20 minute classic which Owen won to have bragging rights over his brother. However, Bret was able to close the night off by winning the WWF World championship from Yokozuna. The night ended with several WWF babyfaces hoisting Bret on their shoulders through the suggestion of one “Macho Man” Randy Savage.
Savage wrestled Crush in a Falls Count Anywhere match, culminating in a fallout of their friendship. Crush was brutalized by Yokozuna and eventually saved by the Macho Man, but Crush felt he didn’t come to his aid soon enough. He bizarrely joined Yokozuna and Mr. Fuji because of this, blaming Savage and prodded him to come out of the commentator booth to face him (Savage at the time was semi-retired). Their Falls Count Anywhere match, contest in a way unlike matches of the same gimmick since, was better than it had any right to be.
Savage never wrestled another match in the World Wrestling Federation, with the final memory of hitting a home run during a charity softball game against “Chicago Media All-Stars” prior to SummerSlam 1994. Bret would go on to feud with his brother Owen for the next several months, defending his WWF World championship. He eventually dropped the title to Bob Backlund at Survivor Series 1994.
Why it should have happened
You’ll notice I mentioned that Savage never wrestled another match in the WWF. Vince McMahon has had this obsession with having a “Global Ambassador” of the WWF, a former superstar who represents the company but doesn’t compete anymore. After a temporary retirement in 1991, Savage returned full time before moving to a commentator role with sporadic wrestling by the time he reached his 40th birthday. Vince didn’t want Savage wrestling, even if he did in international events (Bret mentioned in his book that he wrestled a great match with Savage in Japan, which the road agent at the time wanted Savage to just lay down for Bret in under five minutes). Savage represented the 1980s, the Old Generation. WWF was now pushing for the New Generation.
Bret “The Hitman” Hart was the representative of that New Generation since beating Ric Flair for the World title in 1993. The problem, however, was that he never really got to fight anyone from that Old Generation except Ric Flair, who was really a byproduct of the NWA. Hogan’s career was winding down. Warrior quit. Mr. Perfect just turned babyface and Randy Savage was supposed to be moving to a commentator role. It left New Generation wrestlers for Bret to face like Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon.
After beating Yokozuna to avenge his loss at WrestleMania IX, Bret was still the representative of the New Generation wrestling New Generation wrestlers like his brother Owen. While Bret vs. Owen is one of the best drawing brother vs. brother feuds, it still wasn’t very successful. Owen was a great talent, one of the best the WWF has ever had, but he also went from a complete unknown at Survivor Series 93 to being catapulted to the main event by WrestleMania X without much time for people to really accept him. His wins against Bret and the 1994 King of the Ring was the argument for it but he wasn’t dominant like others. The fans needed someone with star power to face Bret so they could really believe in the feud. They didn’t have it, which is why Bret vs. Owen in a cage match wasn’t the main event of SummerSlam 94 and Bret eventually dropped the title to an old Bob Backlund at Survivor Series.
This feud, had it happened in 1993 or was just a SummerSlam match, wouldn’t have really given Savage a push to stay with the company instead of going to World Championship Wrestling where Hulk Hogan was. But if Vince McMahon said, “Randy Savage, I want you to represent the Old Generation and face Bret Hart at WrestleMania”, now you have something you can sink your teeth into.
What this also allows is for Lex Luger vs. Yokozuna to be its own match at WrestleMania X without having to do the co-main event. It makes the most sense going forward.
The Setup
A lot of people have come up with ideas on a Bret vs. Savage match, with SummerSlam 93 or WrestleMania IX being the usual choice for the match. WrestleMania IX would have made the most sense due to Savage being the final man in the 1993 Royal Rumble before being eliminated by Yokozuna. But the problem is that going in 1993 doesn’t give you the power like it would at the 10th Anniversary of WrestleMania.
My scenario is as follows. Randy Savage and The Undertaker switch teams at Survivor Series 1993. Similarly, Savage and Yokozuna eliminate each other. Savage brings up how he got eliminated at the 1993 Royal Rumble and how it has been burning in his mind ever since. After the double elimination, Savage says he’s tired of being a commentator and wants to prove he can hack it in the “New Generation”. Vince McMahon on commentary tries to calm down Savage, saying the New Generation is too fast and Yokozuna is too dangerous. Savage doesn’t care. He’s determined.
Bret and Owen still try to wrestle in a tag team and Owen turns on him. Only this time, instead of building to a match between the two at Mania, Owen decides he’s going to follow in Bret’s footsteps and prove that he can do everything Bret can. He starts by bringing back Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart and starting the new Hart Foundation. It makes perfect sense for Owen and Anvil to face The Quebecers, who Bret and Owen faced at the Royal Rumble 1994. Let them win the Tag Titles as it gives Owen the argument that he’s going to do everything better than Bret.
Bret Hart wins the Royal Rumble but this time it’s decided that Lex Luger’s feet hit the floor first. No argument, Lex still looks strong and Lex will still go on and fight Yokozuna.
The Undertaker still has to take his time off for his back injury. This can be turned into a Monday Night Raw storyline with Yokozuna to set up later for SummerSlam.
Finally we have Savage vs. Yokozuna. The reason Taker vs. Yoko was exciting was because of how it looked like Taker couldn’t be hurt by Yokozuna. Savage would have a different strategy. Savage would spend the match throwing everything he can at Yokozuna, and at one point he’d even use a steel chair. Fans would see Savage get crazier and crazier, angrier and angrier. The “Madness” would be coming out. The match would end when with the referee distracted by Mr. Fuji and a chair placed in the ring, Savage would instead use it on Yokozuna and lay it underneath him. Savage would execute the Flying Elbow Drop on Yoko, with McMahon pushing how dangerous Savage has become. Savage cuts a promo afterwards saying he’s sick of The New Generation treating him like yesterday’s story.
On Monday Night Raw, Bret Hart could talk up Savage and how much he looks forward to facing who he feels was the, “best professional wrestler of the 1980s”. Savage would take offence, demanding Bret give him respect in the 90s. Bret says he can’t call him the best wrestler of the 90s but wants to prove himself against Savage at WrestleMania. Savage will shake Bret’s hand, only to attack him afterwards and hit Bret’s leg with a steel chair. Bret’s leg was already being sold as an injury at Royal Rumble so it might as well continue.
Randy Savage could even keep Owen Hart close and tell Bret he’s gonna be a better mentor to him than Bret ever was. That would get under Bret’s skin for Mania X.
The Match
I could be really lazy and just write, “WrestleMania III but with a Sharpshooter” but I won’t.
Actually, I’m thinking more of Savage’s attitude at WrestleMania IV mixed with his match with Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat. Bret and Savage would plan the match meticulously to ensure that the right story was told. Savage would come out swinging, only for Bret to neutralize with ground wrestling. Whenever Savage would get back into wrestling Bret he’d take the advantage, only for his temper to get the best of him.
It’s remembered that the Ladder match at WrestleMania X between Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels stole the show. By having Randy Savage going psycho and Bret not having a match with Owen to start the show to take up his time, the match can be a marathon (not 60 minutes) to display that yes, Savage has still got it but yes, Bret Hart is better. Savage would try to take the match outside so he could use a steel chair and Bret would avoid it. Savage is wrestling like a man ready to meet his maker. Bret Hart is wrestling like a future champion.
The finish would come to a situation like Yokozuna and Savage at the Royal Rumble, where Savage sets up a steel chair underneath Bret to give him the flying elbow drop. Only this time, Bret rolls out of the way (nimbler than Yoko), causing Savage to fall full force on his elbow to the chair. It’s here that Bret kicks the chair out of the way and locks Savage into the Sharpshooter. Middle of the ring, Savage has to admit that Bret was the better man and submits.
Aftermath
The New Generation holds Bret Hart up high after winning his second WWF World Title. Savage watches in disgust, with Bret trying to get Savage to come to the ring and shake his hand. Savage refuses, angry he couldn’t beat Bret Hart at WrestleMania.
Owen and Jim end up dropping the tag titles to Diesel and Shawn Michaels at King of The Ring, pushing Owen’s eventual King of the Ring win to 1995.
Savage needs to face Bret “The Hitman” Hart again, but having the title shot too soon would be a mistake. Yokozuna would be a much better match against Bret, giving Bret a chance to avenge his loss at WrestleMania IX. Savage could either move on to facing Lex Luger or enter the King of the Ring.
The goal would be to eventually have Bret Hart and Randy Savage again, this time in the steel cage. This is where Vince could ask Savage, are you staying or going? If Savage stays, maybe he beats Bret for the belt, setting up a re-match at Survivor Series. If he leaves, Bret beats him and Savage turns face, leaving the WWF with his head high. He isn’t hitting home-runs in a softball game. He’s right in the main event.
Savage could even stay, turn babyface and eventually feud with Owen Hart, holding off the eventual encounter between Bret and Owen into 1995. Either way, it gives the WWF a top name active on the roster instead of wasting his value on commentary.
Bret has established himself good enough to beat one of the very best of the Old Generation, instead of eventually losing to Bob Backlund of all people and not getting back into the title picture until Survivor Series 1995. It also holds off the eventual Bret vs. Owen match to 1995, letting people see Owen’s potential before he faces a guy like Bret. It finally gives Vince McMahon a little more time to decide what he wants to see for WrestleMania XI, instead of the rush job that was Diesel becoming champion and Laurence Taylor in the main event. It’s possible that having Undertaker return at SummerSlam 94 to face Yokozuna instead of Survivor Series gives Vince the idea of eventually putting the title on Undertaker, instead of Diesel. Afterall, Undertaker was one of the biggest draws at the time.
Bottom line? This delays Bret vs. Owen, gives Bret a big win against an older star and puts Randy Savage to some use so he maybe stays instead of going to World Championship Wrestling. WrestleMania X ends on a memorable note and everyone is utilized better. And hey, with Macho going into the Hall of Fame this year, wouldn’t we all have liked to see his last match at WrestleMania not be against Crush?
