83 Weeks - Randy Savage 1996-97 [Show Notes] (Patreon)

Today we’re going to be discussing Randy Savage and his run in WCW from 1996 to 1997. You are one year into having Randy in the company. You have to be happy with what Randy has brought to the table at this point right?

When did Randy start talking to you about bringing Elizabeth in? You’ve stated you were nervous about it…why was that?

As we begin 1996 Randy is coming off his first WCW title reign which he only held for a month. Is Randy someone that cared about length of reign or being champion?

Are you thinking Elizabeth will be in a long-term role, or just see the initial reaction and go from there?

In early 1996 is when the WWF began doing the “Billionaire Ted” weekly skits which featured Savage being used as “Nacho Man.” Did Randy ever come to you regarding this or was he upset about this?

The paranoia Randy has always been portrayed as having…did you ever see it in the run up to bringing Liz in?

In a big moment on Nitro in early 1996 from Caesar’s Palace in Vegas - Savage defeats Flair to win his second WCW Title. Was this too much hot potato with the title?

The next night at the Clash we see not only Liz but Woman come in and be associated with Randy. Does this make Randy look like a bad babyface in your mind when both women end up turning on him?

At SuperBrawl Savage drops the title back to Flair in a cage match after Liz gives Flair her high heel shoe to give the Nature Boy the title. Randy and Flair had an insane chemistry together did they not?

Was there a plan to keep Randy & Liz together longer or was this always the goal?

I know this episode is about Randy but with Liz coming back I have to ask - what did you see in her to turn her heel?

Did it take Liz a while to get comfortable playing the heel role for the first time?

From the Observer in late February:
“It looks like WCW is going back into the house show business after doing $216,000 on

three weekend dates, all headlined by Ric Flair defending against Randy Savage. The

2/17 show at the Baltimore Arena drew 11,000 fans, 8,000 paid with a $102,000 gate. It

was the first legit $100,000 gate for a non-PPV show in the history of the company and

Jim Crockett probably hadn't done one going back to 1988. The 2/18 show in Norfolk,

VA drew 9,500 fans, 6,487 paid with a $72,133 house.”

Do you think it was Randy vs. Flair really getting the house show business back going again? Who started to push to increase the house show business?

Yourself and Conrad have discussed Uncensored 96 - the infamous Doomsday cage match - in length in the archives so be sure to find it on YouTube - but when something like this is put together does Randy put his hand up and say - that doesn’t work for me brother? Do you ever remember Randy saying anything like that?

The first Randy Savage vs. Hulk Hogan match in WCW is agreed upon in April according to the Observer for it to take place at Halloween Havoc. “As part of the deal to get Halloween Havoc into Caesars Palace in Vegas on October 27th and get the $300,000 sponsorship deal on the show from Slim Jims, WCW had to promise

both the site and Slim Jims the first Hogan vs. Savage match.”

Obviously when you agree to this deal you don’t know it’ll be Savage with WCW and Hogan with the nWo but kudos to you for looking that far ahead…but it bares this question…who would’ve been the heel without the nWo?

Savage and Flair continue their dance in the spring as really the focus of WCW as Hogan is gone and we still have yet to introduce Scott Hall or Kevin Nash. What was Randy like to work with during this time?

Did you consult with Randy about bringing in Scott & Kevin or did you not really have that type of relationship?

As we begin the build to Bash at the Beach - was it always going to be Randy, Lex & Sting in your mind?

Could you have pictured Savage being the 3rd man with Hall & Nash - I mean he would’ve been a better option than Mabel right?

Savage is tremendously unselfish during the Bash at the Beach match. He’s the guy in the ring for Hogan’s leg drops. He’s the guy who gets “pinned” by Hogan and has it counted by Hall. Do you think you get the same effect with Savage being the one who gets the leg dropped on or did it not matter?

Savage and Hogan are building to their match at Halloween Havoc after the turn but along the way Savage doesn’t appear on Hog Wild, loses to the Giant at Fall Brawl and gets beat up a lot by the nWo. You’ve talked in teh past about how you and Randy were having issues coming together on a deal. Was this you treading water until getting to Havoc and the guaranteed match with Hogan you promised Slim Jim?

How difficult were the negotiations with Savage? Was he using an agent?

Would you had been upset if you lost him?

Did you have any worry Savage wouldn’t show for Havoc or you knew he wouldn’t want to burn that bridge let alone the Slim Jim one?

Did Hulk ever tell you Randy was difficult to put the match together with?

Is it tough to be negotiating with someone knowing you’re going to be bringing Roddy Piper in right behind him?

How close was Randy really to leaving in your mind and do you think he himself thought he wasn’t coming back?

Did Hulk resigning in late 96 hurt Randy’s negotiating power as the Observer speculates? If Hogan decides to go back to the WWF does that place an emphasis on keeping on Savage higher do you think?

Hogan vs. Savage at Halloween Havoc you and Conrad have discussed in the past. Hogan gets the win with Giant’s help…the WWF called it Age in the Cage…and Piper debuts right after to set up Hulk’s next program.

At that point where did you & Randy stand?

When did you & Randy finally come to terms? Did it change your relationship with you two?

Was it set at this point that he would be joining the nWo or was it let’s get a deal done and see what type of creative we would come up with?

When Randy returns and as you and Conrad have been covering in your 25 year look back at the 1997 Nitros - it’s Randy and Sting together being their own entity really. Not with WCW and not with the nWo. Is that something Randy really enjoyed creatively?

When do you have the idea to pair DDP and Savage together?

Savage does turn on Sting and join the nWo when he helps Hulk Hogan defeat Roddy Piper at SuperBrawl. But Savage is a different type of character compared to the rest of the nWo where he’s almost like the caged pit bull that once he’s let out you can’t put back in. Was that something you think the nWo needed?

Did Savage really fit into standing in the background of Hulk Hogan?

The idea of you and Savage not really getting along in early 1997 - was that to play off the real life turmoil or did you think Randy would be the perfect guy to eventually split from the nWo and be able to work with Hogan again on top?

At this point in time did you envision two nWos - one headed by Hogan and one headed by Savage?

The DDP - Savage rivalry is eventually voted Feud of the Year but Dallas has talked in the past how Randy had some type of creative control and how big an honor it was for Savage to call that he was going to be losing to the Diamond Cutter. Is that just Dallas thinking Savage had that power or was it a veteran type thing?

When you put together the DDP - Savage program did you expect you would get so much out of it?

Savage and DDP main event at Spring Stampede in a no DQ match and DDP picks up the win. A central part of this story involves the women of Kimberly with DDP and Liz being back with Savage. Was it uncomfortable for those two to be back together?

When DDP gets that win over Savage - it’s really the moment that DDP is elevated. When people look back at WCW at this time there isn’t a lot of the big star veterans putting guys like DDP over. What was different about these two?

Savage is cycled in and out of TV with DDP after the match and you and Conrad just covered a Nitro where you and Randy got into it. Was Randy’s body catching up with his age and you needed to give him a break?

Savage gets his win back over DDP at Slamboree in a Falls Count Anywhere match and in the run-up to the show Savage and DDP are using words like “ass” which was really frowned upon at the time. Did you ever give them any heat over this?

This will lead to a Nitro in early June where Savage ends up knocking JJ Dillon on his ass and you come out to attempt to calm him down. Do you remember what the plan was for this?

At a house show in Buffalo, NY Jim Kelly - the former Bills quarterback - helped DDP get the win and then he started to drop elbows on Savage. Do you remember hearing about this?

In the build to Bash at the Beach - there’s a match between La Parka and Randy Savage. Parka ends up hitting Savage with the Diamond Cutter and gets the win and it’s revealed it’s DDP under the hood. This is some good shit Eric!

Savage teams up with Scott Hall to take on DDP and a mystery partner at Bash at the Beach which ends up being Curt Hennig. The nWo team get the victory after Hennig turns on DDP. Could you had seen Savage & Hall as a regular tag team?

Savage is also at ringside for that night’s main event between Hollywood Hogan & Dennis Rodman against the Giant & Lex Luger. Was there a reason to have Savage at ringside? Was it something that had to do with Rodman? Meltzer speculated in case the match fell apart…

At Road Wild Savage loses to the Giant in just under 7 minutes. It’s odd as both are pushed as big stars but here Savage just takes the loss kind of quickly. Was this just another example of Savage giving back?

The Savage - DDP feud continues at the final Clash of the Champions when Savage teams with Scott Hall - who are determined to be the tag team champions because Kevin Nash wasn’t at the show - taking on DDP & Luger for the tag titles. Were you a fan of the “Freebird” rule?

They retain the titles when a blinded DDP accidently hits a diamond cutter on Luger. Could you had seen Savage and Luger being a main event program?

Savage & DDP on the road were put into death matches in preparation for the upcoming match at Halloween Havoc. Was it a coincidence that Savage was always put into a high profile match at Havoc?

At War Games a rematch takes place again between Luger & DDP against Savage & Hall. The finish involves Larry Zybysko coming out and counts the pin after pushing Hall down and Luger gets the pin. What could’ve been if Larry and Savage had had a match right Eric?

Savage gets a diamond cutter on the floor from DDP which puts him onto a stretcher and has him carried out. This is a big time heat angle…did these two need that after the 6 month feud at this point or was it because Savage had a busted ankle?

Now this is something I really wanted to get into Eric. The infamous meeting before the October 13th Nitro where you mention that Hogan, Piper and Savage were the only three wrestlers who ever drew anything. What were you trying to drive home to the talent that day?

At Halloween Havoc Savage and DDP have another classic Las Vegas death match. Do you think by this point these two were incapable of having a bad match right?

Savage gets the win after Hogan - dressed as Sting - comes out to help and keep Page down for the 10 count. Later that night Savage does one of the craziest dives off one of the craziest cages when Hogan and Piper wrestle but the biggest part of that match people talk about was the fan who ran and attempted to get in the cage and Savage fought him off. When something like this happens what goes on backstage?

Savage had an injured ankle like we discussed - but him jumping off the top of this cage into the ring is literally insane. Was Randy just that type of crazy?

Savage interferes in a Hennig - Flair match the next night on Nitro and drops some elbows on Flair. Any thought to putting these two back into a program together just with the roles reversed?

Randy’s family had been in the business forever and considered outlaws for some time. When the Montreal Screwjob goes down in the WWF - do you ever know what Randy thought of this? He referenced it publicly once that Vince was really on a roll of bad decisions. Did you ever hear about the heat between Vince & Randy?

There’s talk in the Observer that the plan for January with Thunder launching that there would be a split of the nWo with Hogan and Savage being on one side and the Wolfpack on another. Was this ever considered?

There’s a Nitro in December in Buffalo and again Jim Kelly is programmed with Savage. From the Observer: “At the show in Buffalo, when the lights went out during the Savage vs. Hugh Morrus match, the reason they were out for so long is because Bruce Smith and Jim Kelly hopped the rail and attacked Savage, and WCW security had to grab them and get them out of there before the lights went back on. I've heard this was an angle set up by Savage, Smith and Kelly as a rib on security, although others say that Smith and Kelly were just totally out of control by that point in the show.”

What do you remember of this Eric?

Savage isn’t really involved in the Starrcade build. Did you just have too much talent and it was hard to find a top spot for Randy - I mean since you and Larry took up 15 minutes?

Well until life happens at Starrcade. Konnan has a family emergency and is unable to make it to the show. From the Observer: “This left a hole in the six-man tag match. The company wanted Randy Savage to fill the spot, and in negotiations to get him to fill the spot literally a few hours before the show was going on the air, had to agree to change the originally planned finish of The Steiners & Ray Traylor going over. To get Savage to agree, the finish was changed to where Savage got to score the pin using the elbow off the top on Scott Steiner. This left Scott Steiner visibly livid to the point he had major words with booker Terry Taylor and they tried to alleviate him by letting him do so many big moves at the end for saves before doing the job, although he still wasn't happy at all.”

What say you Eric?

Savage gets involved later on in the Buff Bagwell vs. Lex Luger match and Lex racks Savage but ends up losing to Buff and that’s where we’re going to wrap up Eric!

This 2 year period of Savage really showed that when the WWF gave up on him it was much too early wasn’t it?