Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Striker and Maria do their best to spoil the most anticipated dvd in WWE history!, 29 Jun 2009
This is a set that wrestling fans have been wanting for years, myself included. There's no doubt that Randy "Macho Man" Savage is one of the true greats in sports entertainment. He was involved in some of the most memorable matches and angles that fans have ever seen and most certainly on a par with the likes of Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels in terms of in ring ability and the talent to entertain. The match selection for this set is absolutely top notch and contains bouts against a virtual who's who of professional wrestling: Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Bruno Sammartino, Dusty Rhodes, Andre The Giant, Sting and more. A highly impressive list to say the least! Another point to make is that this set has no interaction with Randy Savage whatsoever. No interviews or documentary style footage at all. While this is a disappointment, it's hardly a surprise. Savage's turbulent relationship with WWE owner Vince McMahon is infamous so to see no involvement by Savage is no shock. Instead this compilation is hosted by Matt Striker and Maria and let me tell you that they do a truly awful job! Striker's constant impressions of Savage are poor, unfunny and frankly boring. Maria is clearly reading from a script and spends most of the show giggling awkwardly. Neither of them share any useful information about Savage or Elizabeth and as a whole the between match segments are almost unbearable! And its due to this terrible pairing that this set loses a star. For a release of this magnitude I would rather see "Mean" Gene Okerlund or Jim Ross as host. But where this collection does hit the mark is the matches. The quality varies but they're all highly entertaining. Most of his biggest matches and feuds are covered including his WrestleMania III classic against Steamboat, a match i never tire of viewing. The extras, while not vital, are nice inclusions also. From a wrestling standpoint this is first class. Its just a shame that the hosts are so poor and almost spoil this otherwise excellent dvd!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
IT'S FINALLY HERE!!! OOOOOOHHH, YEEEEAAAHHHH!!!, 27 Sep 2009
Why the Randy Savage DVD project was originally cancelled, I have no idea. I mean, Vince apparently held a huge grudge against Savage for leaving the WWF to go to WCW in 1994. But a lot of his stars jump-shipped and Vince has welcomed most of them back with open arms. If Vince could make peace with Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, the Hart Family, Roddy Piper, Sable, Eric Bischoff etc and do everything to keep their legacies alive...why not the Macho Man? It's a most perplexing mystery that we may never know the answer to.
Thankfully, the project was brought back on (with Vince realising that even he needs cash in the credit crunch). And now, Macho Madness: The Randy Savage Ultimate Collection can FINALLY be yours to own.
For today's fans of wrestling who're wondering just who this guy is, you don't know wrestling until you've seen the Macho Man at work. In the golden days of the Federation Years, Randy Savage was second ONLY to Hulk Hogan. He was overwhelmingly popular, a HUGE draw, complete with colourful cowboy hats, shades and robes, his manager/wife - the late, great Miss Elizabeth - and the legendary catchphrase of "Oooooooooohhhh, yeeeeeeaaaaaaahhhh!"
In the ring, Savage was a TRUE artist. His aerial offence and technical expertise produced nothing but absolute quality. He's been a part of some of the greatest storylines the wrestling world has ever known, and has brought such glory to the Intercontinental and WWE/WCW world titles. By all accounts, Randy Savage is an undisputed legend and deserves to be recognised as such.
As with WWE Encyclopedia, Vince hasn't allowed his ego to spoil anything this time around. Don't expect a `Self-destruction of the Ultimate Warrior' job here. Randy Savage is praised wholeheartedly and given the utmost respect, admiration and reverence that he deserves, which is really pleasing, as it's what we all want to see.
However, there's no new interview footage with Savage and he played no part in this production whatsoever (probably because he and Vince have too much heat). So how does the format work? Well, it's a match compilation show, hosted by ECW commentator Matt Striker and WWE Diva Maria.
On the positive side, Striker is an intelligent, knowledgeable wrestling nerd who always does his homework. He's also a very talented impressionist and does some BRILLIANT impressions of the Macho Man. Maria (character-wise) is known for being very ditzy, but outside of the ring, she's reputed to be very intelligent, and her knowledge of Savage's roots speaks highly of her here. Both Matt and Maria idolized Randy and Elizabeth and provide an educational experience for the viewer, explaining just how inspirational they both were and why their accomplishments merited such greatness.
Unfortunately a lot of the time during the show, both Striker and Maria act very immaturely. It's perfectly fine to have fun with something like this, but their silliness gets out of hand to the point where it becomes cringingly bad. On the whole, they do a good job with their presenting, with their great knowledge and enthusiasm really coming into play at times. If only they'd matured more for this! Potentially, they could have done Randy and Elizabeth ABSOLUTE justice with their hosting, but instead it comes out being really flawed.
Match-wise, Macho Madness is without doubt one of the strongest collections I've ever seen. The majority of matches are absolutely spot-on. There are so many classics and so many outstanding bouts. The worst matches are the intergender tag match featuring Dusty Rhodes and Sensational Sherri (which is bogged down by the useless Sapphire) and the tag bout for the WCW title featuring Sting, Sid and Kevin Nash (where Randy was past his prime and involved in the COMPLETELY lame `Team Madness' gimmick) but even these are still good watching. All other bouts are just so high in quality, thanks to Savage's expertise and all the white-hot feuds he was involved in.
Obviously, they HAD to include the Intercontinental Championship match from WrestleMania 3 against Ricky `the Dragon' Steamboat. This bout surpassed everything that was on the card (even the awesome spectacle of Hogan vs. Andre). Over twenty years later, people are still talking about it, and with good reason. This is a timeless, PERFECT contest filled with thrilling exchanges, drama and storytelling. It's a bout that DOESN'T disappoint and is the undisputed highlight of the whole set.
Other diamonds include the Macho Man's unforgettable WWE Championship victory in the WrestleMania 4 tournament (shown in highlights with the thrilling finals against Ted Dibiase shown in full). There's also the godlike WrestleMania classics for the WWE title against Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair, and an absolutely intense fight against Jake `The Snake' Roberts, all of which feature Miss Elizabeth playing such a strong emotional role. The Retirement bout against the Ultimate Warrior is yet another must-see classic, as is the Falls-Count-Anywhere match with Diamond Dallas Page, and the Intercontinental title bout against the legendary Bruno Sammartino is absolutely incredible.
Multiple bouts against Hogan, Flair, Steamboat and Dibiase, random bouts against Shawn Michaels and Yokozuna, a rare tag-team outing with Bret Hart, and IC title bouts against Tito Santana and the Honky Tonk Man are just nothing short of excellent. Even his WWE debut match against Rick McGraw is outstanding. The quality of the selection is just so consistent. Extras-wise, there's the beautiful wedding ceremony angle with Randy and Elizabeth from SummerSlam 1991, the legendary segments where he unveils Elizabeth for the first time and is crowned the Macho King, as well as a cracking batch of his interviews which are funny, hypnotic and classic.
Striker and Maria's flawed hosting stops this from being perfect but the staggering number of awesome matches, the brilliant special features and the well-presented subject matter succeed in (finally!) making sure this legend's career will NEVER be forgotten. Macho Madness: The Randy Savage Ultimate Collection is TRULY essential. We can all see a flawless artist at work once again. Oooooooooohhhh, yeeeeeeaaaaaaahhhh!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent set, 3 Jul 2009
Excellent set, still working my way through it. Highlights so far would be Gorilla Monsoon stating that"...Randy Savage is not a regular guy..." - understatement! And Lord Alfred Hayes wetting his pants and hero worshipping Hogan in the Savage-Hogan title match. Highly recommended.
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