Los Angeles Sports Arena
|
Event: | Wrestlemania VII |
| Date: | 24/03/91 | |
| Location: | Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles Sports Arena |
|
| Opponent: | Macho Man Randy Savage |
|
Career Match: The Ultimate Warrior vs. "Macho King" Randy Savage
This is for all the marbles. The loser must retire from the WWF. You lose, your career is over. There's no tomorrow. Before the match begins, Bobby Heenan conveniently spots Elizabeth, Savage's former valet of many years, in the stands.
Savage enters first, with his manager, Sensational Queen Sherri. The Warrior is conserving his strength walking to the ring, not running to the ring like he usually does. It should be noted that the previous year the Warrior did run to the ring down the much longer Skydome aisle before his all improtant World Title Match with Hulk Hogan and he won that one. See, at that time his match with Hogan was the most important match of his career and he had no problems running to the ring then, but this match is even more important than that, and he can't risk it. As both Warrior and Savage are former World Champions, Warrior's tights have the World Title on the back with the words "It Means Much More Than This" underneath. Heenan and Gorilla put over just how much is on the line here and completely stress the importance of what we're about to see. The hype is great. Both mens careers are on the line. The bell's gone and Warrior mandhandles the King from the start, but Savage is resiliant and connects with a clothesline. He heads up top and tries a crossbody but Warrior catches him and... lets him down on his feet and SLAPS him. Macho is steamed and goes outside the ring where he grabs a chair. He tosses it into the ring, hops back in, and then instead of going for it, opts to punch an unexpecting Warrior instead. A brilliant ploy, but his advantage doesn't last long as Warrior soon gets the better of him. Warrior beats the crap out of Savage in the corner but then misses a charge and spills to the floor. Savage heads up top and measures him with the axehandle all the way from the top rope to the arena floor. Sherri tries to rough up the Warrior, causing him to shove her to the ground. The distraction, though, allows Savage to attack from behind and send Warrior flying into the post. Back in the ring, Savage attempts a neckbreaker, but Warrior counters with a backslide. Savage backs off and spits in the face of the Warrior. Warrior answers with a strong clothesline but then misses a huge shoulder tackle when Savage sidesteps him and Warrior's face slams into the mat. Two count for Macho. Savage then goes to a reverse chinlock to wear down the injured Warrior, but Warrior powers out and hits a clothesline. Both men get up and go off the ropes and a double clothelsine results. Sherri tries desperately to revive Savage. She actually tries to climb in the ring and Earl Hebner, the ref, has to tell her to get out. Meanwhile, Warrior gets to his feet and traps Macho in a small package. When the ref finally turns around to see the cover, it only gets two. Warrior argues about the count with the ref and Savage plants a knee in his back, sending Warrior forward into the ref. Now Hebner is out cold. Savage holds the Warrior as Sherri takes off her shoe and climbs to the top rope. She tries to strike Warrior with it, but the Ultimate One moves, and it's Savage that takes the loaded shoe to the head. Sherri is forced to distract the Warrior until Savage comes to. As he finally does, so does the ref and a quick Savage roll up gets two. Savage takes Warrior to the buckles. Warrior argues about the count with the ref and Savage plants a knee in his back, sending Warrior forward into the ref. Now Hebner is out cold. Savage holds the Warrior as Sherri takes off her shoe and climbs to the top rope. She tries to strike Warrior with it, but the Ultimate One moves, and it's Savage that takes the loaded shoe to the head. Sherri is forced to distract the Warrior until Savage comes to. As he finally does, so does the ref and a quick Savage roll up gets two. Savage takes Warrior to the buckles. Savage now clotheslines Warrior's throat over the top rope, a pattened move of his I've dubbed a "ropeline", then bodyslams him for a two count. Now he heads up top for the Flying Elbow... and connects. But he's not finished yet. Savage goes up for a second elbow... and connects. OK, that oughta do it, but let's try a third just to be sure. But Warrior's out anyway, so why not make it four? And once you've done four, you just have to do five. And that's exactly what Macho did. FIVE Flying Elbow Drops and Savage finally covers Warrior. One, two, KICKOUT. Savage is stunned. If that didn't finish him, what will? Warrior hulks up and shakes the ropes. He levels Savage with three clotheslines in rapid succession. Gorilla press slam, big splash... KICKOUT. Warrior cannot believe it. Only Hogan had ever kicked out of the Warrior's finishing series, and even he ended up later getting pinned with the splash. Now both Savage and Warrior have kicked out of each others finishers. Warrior is shocked. He looks to the sky for a reason and actually starts to leave the ring. He's on the apron debating his position and after much deliberation and many warnings from Hebner that "This is it", Savage solves his problem for him by nailing him from behind, sending him to the floor. On the floor, Savage drapes Warrior's throat over the barricade, and a la the Steamboat incident, heads for the top rope. Sherri tries to hold Warrior in place for good measure, but Warrior tosses her aside, then catches Savage with a shot to the gut on the way down, a blow which Savage would have a tough time recovering from. Seeing his fallen opponent, Warrior now has no doubt that he should stay and fight. He tosses Macho into the ring and brings him to his feet, though by this point Savage can barely stand. Warrior bounces off the ropes and hits a big shoulder tackle. The impact sends Savage to the floor. Warrior again brings him in, again sets him up, and again hits a shoulder tackle, again sending Savage to the outside. Once more, Warrior brings him in and hits a third shoulder tackle. Macho falls to the floor, and Warrior throws him back in one last time. Then, in the center of the ring, he places one foot on Savage's chest. 1-2-3, and Randy Savage's career is history. Unbelievably emotionally draining match, and with their careers on the line, every minute was thrilling. Warrior is victorious. The end was booked terrificly. All too often matches end with a back and forth series, but here, Warrior just simply had Savage out on his feet. Bobby Heenan was in the middle of making a point when he realized there was a pinfall being counted, and it was over just like that. Great performance from both Warrior and Savage. The match was 20:47 and over those twenty minutes they told quite a story. But that would only be the half of it. After the match Sherri is furious at Savage for losing and kicks him while he's still down and out. Elizabeth, watching from the stands, can no longer stand it, hops the barrier, rushes ringside, and tosses Sherri out of the ring. Savage doesn't know what's just happened and gets to his feet, only to see Elizabeth. Savage is shocked and confused. Liz is crying. After much staring, Savage finally embraces her and the crowd goes absolutely nuts. Many fans are shown crying. Truly an emotional scene. Savage holds the ropes open for Liz, as she had done for him for so many years, and then Savage gives one last series of turnbuckle salutes for the crowd. They then leave hand in hand, reunited after more than two years. |