When looking back at the WWE feud between "Macho Man" Randy Savage and The Ultimate Warrior, most fans point to their WrestleMania 7 match as the highlight of the feud. While that had the bigger wrestling moment, it wasn't their best match.
WWE fans will always remember Sensational Sherri turning on Macho Man and Miss Elizabeth making her long-anticipated return to save her man. This was also Savage's retirement match, and one that almost ended his career. However, it was after Savage made his comeback and won the WWE Championship again that he and Warrior had their best match. That match took place at SummerSlam the following year, one of the most underrated matches in the event's history.
"Macho Man" Randy Savage And The Ultimate Warrior's Original Feud
"Macho Man" Randy Savage and Ultimate Warrior had an intense feud in 1991. This feud had Savage as the Macho King, and he took on Sherri Martel as his new manager. The former women's wrestling star took on the name Sensational Sherri, or to fans, Scary Sherri, and brought something different to Savage. Macho Man became a huge villain because of how he treated Miss Elizabeth when she worked as his manager, but with Sherri, he had to take on other despicable behaviors. This put him up against one of WWE's biggest stars in Ultimate Warrior.
By this time, WWE wasn't sure what to do with Ultimate Warrior. The company already pulled the trigger and took the world title off him, so Hulk Hogan could win it back from turncoat Sgt. Slaughter. This meant Warrior had to deal with other feuds, and the first one was against Randy Savage. Macho Man wanted a world title shot before Slaughter won the title, and Warrior refused to give it to him. This meant that Savage was in a rage after Warrior lost his title and kept attacking him until he got his match at WrestleMania. Warrior only accepted if Savage put his career on the line and then beat Macho Man in a 20-minute match, one of Warrior's longer outings at the time. The match took place in the middle of the show and Dave Meltzer gave it an impressive 4.25 rating, although most people only talk about the Miss Elizabeth moment at the end.
"Macho Man" Randy Savage And The Ultimate Warrior Revive Their Feud At SummerSlam
With that in mind, the best match between the two came over a year later. Vince McMahon wanted Savage to stay retired to allow the younger generation of stars a chance to shine, but Macho Man knew he had more gas in his tank. Jake "The Snake" Roberts attacked Savage, tormented Miss Elizabeth, and after pulling out a cobra to bite Macho Man, WWE president Jack Tunney reinstated Savage to wrestle again. Savage beat Roberts and then began feuding with new world champion, Ric Flair, and went on to beat Flair for the title at WrestleMania VIII — one year after his retirement match to Ultimate Warrior.
It was only a matter of time before Ultimate Warrior came calling again. Warrior had left WWE since they last fought and had just returned. Warrior then asked for a title shot against Savage, and unlike Warrior when he was world champion, Savage agreed to the match. It showed a sense of sportsmanship Savage held that Warrior didn't when he was champion. It was also a rare match at SummerSlam, because both men were babyfaces and were no longer in an intense feud. That allowed the wrestlers to have what might be one of SummerSlam's most underrated matches.
Randy Savage Vs. Ultimate Warrior Remains A SummerSlam Classic
When looking at the two matches on paper, it would seem that WrestleMania was the better match between the two wrestlers. However, the SummerSlam match had more in the way of action and intensity, without the cheating heel actions getting in the way. While there was outside interference that hurt the end of the match, it kept both men strong and allowed them to move on after the match. This match happened at a WWE PPV in the U.K., the same one that had The British Bulldog beat Bret Hart for the IC title in the main event. The Savage vs. Warrior match still received an impressive four stars from Meltzer. Despite this, most people only talk about Hart vs. Bulldog thanks to that storyline and the match taking place in Bulldog's home country
Very few wrestlers brought the best out of Ultimate Warrior. Randy Savage topped the list, and at SummerSlam 1992, the two put on a great show at Wembley Stadium in front of 80,000 fans, telling an incredible story throughout. While WrestleMania had heel Savage trying to cheat to win, SummerSlam had both men fighting honorably, but neither actually trusting the other. Warrior believed deep down Savage was going to turn heel and Savage never trusted anyone. They used this paranoia to keep the fans guessing as well.
The end of the match had a screw-job finish, where Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect paid off planting the seeds of distrust by showing up at ringside, with Savage and Warrior both believing they were there to help the other. This led to a confusing series of events that had the fans second-guessing both men, as Flair and Perfect seemed to help Savage, before hitting Warrior with brass knuckles. The villains were not there to help either man, but to instead help Flair in his goal of winning the title back from Savage down the line. When Savage had a chance to pin Warrior after Flair hit him with a chair, he instead chose integrity and attacked Flair, only to take a chair shot himself and end up counted out for the loss, while retaining his title. Warrior ends up saving Savage from a post-match beat down and both men realized the integrity of the other, a story that might not equal the Miss Elizabeth finale the year before, but combined with the better in-match storytelling, made this the match to watch for fans of both wrestlers.