‘Leaping’ Lanny Poffo has revealed that a WWE Hall of Famer once pitched a WrestleMania match with a career vs hair stipulation involving Shawn Michaels.
The match would have pit Randy Savage, one of the biggest stars in the WWF in the 1980’s and early 1990s, against the talented up-and-coming ‘Heartbreak Kid’.
Macho Man Believed Match With Shawn Michaels Could Have Been Career Highlight
In 1993, Savage’s in-ring schedule had begun to dramatically decrease as WWF Chairman Vince McMahon, feeling the pressure from the steroid scandal, decided to push younger, more athletic athletes, like Michaels and Bret Hart. As a result, he was moved into a position on the commentary team. Sensing that his career was winding down, whereas Michaels’ as a solo performer was just getting started, the Macho Man faced the decision of whether to try and state his case to remain as an active WWF performer rather than a commentator, or consider a move to their rival, WCW.
Speaking on the Rene Dupree Café de Rene podcast, Poffo revealed that Savage proposed the stipulated scenario and felt that he and Michaels could feasibly topple his epic WrestleMania III tussle with Ricky Steamboat.
“He didn’t wanna leave, but he had an idea that he could end his career with a better match than he had with Steamboat by working with Shawn Michaels,” Poffo said.
“It would build it up to a giant crescendo, and his idea was if Shawn Michaels loses, he loses his hair. And if Randy loses, since his hair was nothing to speak of, he would lose his career and then be relegated to the announcer’s desk.”
According to Poffo, although Savage’s suggestion was apparently liked by WWE’s higher-ups, they still wanted him to remain part of the broadcast team instead, and as a result his brother immediately called WCW:
“They said, ‘Randy, that’s a great idea, but we’re having a youth movement and the best thing you can do is hang on to the microphone.’ He said, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I was elderly, but I think I’ll get a second opinion on that.’ So he calls the WCW, says, ‘Is that offer still on the table?’ Boom, he goes there.”
The former WWF World Champion left the promotion in 1994 for WCW and never returned.
Savage and Michaels did face each other on house shows in 1992 and 1993 but never on television or in a proper storyline.
H/t to Sportskeeda