One of the most iconic and memorable feuds in WWE history came in the '80s and featured the biggest babyface in WWE history and one of its most beloved dastardly heels. This feud pitted The Immortal Hulk Hogan against Macho Man Randy Savage, and in the middle of their rivalry was the WWE Championship and Miss Elizabeth.
The feud was unique because it had a fully completed story, from start to finish, although there was some baggage years later in WCW. With that in mind, here is a breakdown of the entire Mega Powers storyline between Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage.
HULK HOGAN - WORLD CHAMPION
For its first 20 years, WWE was the home of superheroes battling and vanquishing villains. From Bruno Sammartino to Bob Backlund to Hulk Hogan, it was about the biggest babyface in the company proving that evil never succeeds.
When Hulk Hogan roared into Madison Square Garden and dropped the leg on The Iron Sheik to win the WWE Championship, the new hero had arrived. Now, he needed to find his greatest villain.
MACHO MAN ARRIVES
In the start, Hulkamania was threatened by two men — Rowdy Roddy Piper and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. However, Piper was never destined to win a world title, and Heenan was never destined to lead someone to the championship.
Then, in 1985, Macho Man Randy Savage showed up, and he ended up as the most exciting heel in WWE. It was clear that one day, Macho Man and Hulkamania would collide.
CRASH COURSE TO CONFLICT
Hulk Hogan was building his reputation by knocking down one monster after another. He had already pushed aside Rowdy Roddy Piper at WrestleMania and moved on to beat names like King Kong Bundy, Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff, and more.
Meanwhile, Macho Man Randy Savage was on an island to himself. He had nothing to do with Hogan at first, with Miss Elizabeth leading his career toward another title. This was the Intercontinental Championship, which he won from Tito Santana and held until losing it to Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat at the same WrestleMania that Hogan beat Andre the Giant.
INTERNAL BATTLES
With Savage no longer the Intercontinental Champion and Hulk Hogan vanquishing Andre the Giant, it made sense that the two men were on a crash course. However, something strange happened. Fans started cheering Savage.
Hogan refused to put his title on the line against anyone who might get more cheers than him, so the two did not have a prolonged program. Instead, Savage turned babyface, a death knell for anyone who wanted to be a world champion in WWE.
SAVAGE BECOMES WORLD CHAMPION
Despite that, WWE found a way to get the big title onto Savage. Hulk Hogan lost the title to Andre the Giant, who then sold it to The Million Dollar Man. WWE would not allow this and stripped the title, setting up a tournament for WrestleMania IV.
Hogan and Andre were eliminated, and that left Savage to move on to the finals. Savage beat The Million Dollar Man when Hulk Hogan showed up and evened the odds. Thanks to Hogan's interference, Macho Man was the WWE Champion.
THE MEGA POWERS
After this, Hulk Hogan and Macho Man Randy Savage continued as the Mega Powers. The two started battling The Million Dollar Man and Andre the Giant and were unstoppable.
It was strange, at first, since Savage was the WWE Champion, and Hogan was his sidekick, mostly stealing all the attention from the champion. There was also the fact that Macho Man saw red because he thought Hogan wanted to take something else.
MISS ELIZABETH
There is one thing that Macho Man Randy Savage held more dear to him than anything, including his WWE Championship. Savage was insanely jealous of anyone getting the attention of Miss Elizabeth.
That led to his feud with Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat since The Dragon was defending George "The Animal" Steele, who had a school-boy crush on Elizabeth. It also seemed Hogan had more than a passing interest in Elizabeth as well.
THE IMPLOSION
The Mega Powers exploded because of Miss Elizabeth. The partnership was already starting to crumble. Hogan accidentally eliminated Savage from the Royal Rumble, and it was Miss Elizabeth who stopped them from coming to blows.
Then, at The Main Event II, The Mega Powers took on the Twin Towers. Elizabeth was knocked down at ringside, so Hogan left his partner to carry her back for medical attention. Finally, in the locker room, Savage snapped and viciously attacked and beat down Hogan.
HOGAN BEATS SAVAGE
This led to Hulk Hogan challenging Randy Savage for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania V. One year after Savage won the title with Hogan's help, Hulk beat Macho Man and won the title back from him.
Their feud then continued for a short time after that, with Savage even bringing in a Hollywood tough guy in Zeus to team with him, but Hogan won the feud, and Savage moved on.
THE NWO
In the '90s, Hollywood Hogan led the nWo to the top of the ratings' wars against WWE. In no surprise, it was Macho Man Randy Savage that was on the receiving end of a leg drop from Hogan to start the nWo angle.
Even when Savage was in the nWo, he and Hogan never got along, playing off their decade long feud. And, just like in WWE, it was Hogan who always came out on top, beating Savage almost every time they fought.