Feature: Steve Anderson on Savage Historical Omissions



One of the great perks of this new job I have is that I can get my hands on WWE DVDs prior to their release. For the most part, I get them the Friday before the following Tuesday on-sale date. Still cool and not a bad way to kill a few hours over the weekend to get a review on Monday or Tuesday morning.

Yesterday, I received the Great American Bash PPV and, even more exciting, the Life and Times of Mr. Perfect on DVD (not to be released until September 9th). Being a huge fan of fellow Minnesotan Curt Hennig and having the opportunity to hang out with him, I was a giddy wrestling fan all over again. The minute I got in my house, I tore it open and started watching it.

Yes, I should have watched the GAB for a Monday/Tuesday review, but forgive me. This is Curt Hennig weâre talking about.

While I wonât be posting a formal review for a couple of weeks, two things struck me as I watched the 90-minute documentary on Curtâs âLife and Times.â

One: Vince McMahon needs to get the rights to the WWF name back in some form.

Two: Vince McMahon needs to get over his visceral hatred for Randy âMacho Man❠Savage.

On the first point, I am tired of the blurs and edits. The forced and awkward use of âWWE❠and âWorld Wrestling Entertainment❠during interviews and reflections of the WWF days. Itâs been six years since the dawn of the WWE, but itâs still weird to hear the new name. A generation is coming where the WWF name will be akin to the WWWF name from the seventies. Few will remember. Even fewer will care.

But if WWE (sigh) embraces wrestling history with their vast collection of video from practically all the wrestling promotions out there, they should embrace their own and not hide it. Contact the World Wildlife Foundation. Work something out so you can at least acknowledge your past with unedited accuracy. Pony up some dough and do it.

Getting âWWF❠back is easier said than done, but one could try to do it so WWF can be said and not blurred on these great retrospectives.

My second point deals with a glaring omission on the Curt Hennig DVD and other times when WWE (sigh) history is revisited. Iâm not sure there is any other wrestler who comes this close to being erased from existence. Randy âMacho Man❠Savage was a vital part of this promotion for nearly a decade.

I know he and Vince had a falling out. Iâve heard the rumors. I get it. If you donât want to talk to the man, fine. If you donât want to put him in the Hall of Fame, rock on! No tribute DVD? Hmmm. Now thatâs a horse of a different color.

However, as WWE moves forward with these tribute DVDs where Savage plays and integral role, ignoring him will not make him go away. It doesnât change history. It just takes out big chunks, forcing you to revise that history.

As an example and not to tip off too much for the sake of the future review, but the timeline of Curtâs career is as skewed as Marty McFlyâs in Back to the Future II. According to the DVD, Curt was forced out because of a back injury following SummerSlam 1991, but came back to manage Triple H in 1996.

No. Mr. Perfect came back prior to Survivor Series in 1992 in a rushed but amazingly effective angle that saw Curt turn away from Razor Ramon, Ric Flair and Bobby Heenan and become Savageâs tag team partner. In the course of two hours of Prime Time Wrestling, Curt went from hated heel to beloved babyface.

I may be jumping to conclusions, but I think Savage-hating had a great deal to do with it.

Seriously, when it comes to the current WWF and Randy Savage, it is time to suck it up for the sake of making WWE (sigh) history complete.

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