Shore's Weekend Promo: Remembering "Macho Man" Randy Savage

In the spirit of my beloved WCW Saturday Night, welcome to the Shore Weekend Promo. Every week I will mention, the good, the bad, the ugly, and whatever else I want to talk about across all of wrestling.

Opening Series (My overall thoughts on the week): I have no idea what would have gone here this week had the news of the passing of "Macho Man" Randy Savage not broke on Friday morning. Whatever it was, it has no issues taking a back seat to the news. One of the greats has left us, and there is a time to mourn. So let's mourn together.

I was never a Savage fan. The bulk of my experience with him was in WCW where he was past his prime, and severely misused. And yet my favorite feud of that era was Savage vs. Diamond Dallas Page for the United States Championship. If you asked me to compile the top moments in Nitro history, two of them would be reserved for that feud. The first would be the moment where La Parka hit a Diamond Cutter on Savage only to pull the mask off to reveal it was DDP. The second was the next week with Savage going insane and attacking the real La Parka and trying to unmask him.

But while I was never a fan, I am not the least bit confused about where Savage belongs in history. His match with Ricky Steamboat, which I have seen many times, is still considered one of the best matches in both WrestleMania and all of history. His act with Miss Elizabeth is still iconic, even to this day. Every story I have ever heard about Savage outside of the ring make me believe that not only did the wrestling world lose a giant, but the world lost a good, honest and decent man. Whether you are a fan or not, you woke up today to a world just a little less bright than it was yesterday.

My thoughts and my prayers are with the Poffo family, and especially his new wife. They had just celebrated their one year anniversary earlier this month. My father checked out in a similar fashion after being newly married for eight months. Watching my step-mother's grief consume her was almost worse than the sorrow I was enduring from his loss. I pray that she finds some peace in the coming days.

I have felt a wide range of emotions since the news broke. I even had a moment of levity when I texted my friend who likes to pick on me for being a wrestling fan with the news. I asked him if he knew who Savage was and his response was simply, "Oooooohhhhhh yeeeeeeeeeeaaaaah!!!" But mostly right now I feel jealous. I'm jealous of my cousin who left us just a few weeks ago. I'm jealous because last night, for her main event, she got to see Savage drop the elbow again. And I bet it never looked better. Godspeed Macho Man.

Pops (The best of the week):

-In a business where it is pounded into your head from day one to always put yourself over it was beyond refreshing to see the outpouring of emotion from both the old guard and new generation of wrestlers. From TNA to ROH to, of course, WWE, wrestlers young and old shared their stories and thoughts with minimal self-promotion. I think there is no greater evidence to support the idea that Savage was in the greatest of all time discussion than to see what his peers thought of him. And they thought quite a bit of him.

Heat (The worst of the week):

-There have been many people, myself included, who have been critical of WWE's response to Savage's death. Others have also expressed concern about WWE's response going forward. Still others are defending WWE, or at least providing reasons for what and why they did or will do. All of these are legitimate concerns and will be dealt with as they play out.

But one thing I think we can all agree on is that Vince McMahon must put aside whatever it was between he and Randy and induct him into the Hall of Fame. There is no longer fear of an awkward moment between the two. There is no reason to fear an uncomfortable speech. There is only the ridiculousness of a WWE Hall of Fame without the "Macho Man" Randy Savage. The ice between the two parties had seemed to thaw over the past couple of years. It needs to be shattered and swept away now. Do the right thing Vince. Induct Savage.

Tweet This (Best Tweets from "The Boys"):

-CM Punk: "Hearing a horrible rumor. Hope it's B.S." Eight minutes later: "F---."

-Curt Hawkins: "I carry this picture in my gear bag ...7yr old Hawkins & my 1st tag team partner. RIP Macho Man." Hawkins included a picture of him as a kid with a Macho Man plush doll.

-Steve Corino: "Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat at WM3 is still 1 of my favorite matches ever. I was 14 & though I 'hated' Savage, I never booed him again"

-Obligatory Iron Sheik tweet: "Randy Savage, i find out you die. i cry. you are one of best and my brother. you be happy with the elizabeth. god bless you"

Don't forget you can follow me on Twitter @the_shore_slant

Go Home (The Big Finish, Whatever I Want):

There are literally hundreds of things I could put here. I thought about a video of Savage's match with Steamboat, or with Warrior, or even with DDP. I could have put up a link to some of Randy's breakout album. But I decided instead to go with a poem Jay Lethal, who played a Savage-esque character called "Black Machismo" during his run in TNA, wrote. Enjoy.

You were a tower of power that was too sweet to be sour,
You were funky like a monkey every minute of every hour.
For you, space was the place and time distortion had to be,
And your fans here on earth wanted the madness for eternity.
You met every challenge with fists clinched and face to face,
You even fought and defeats dragons and snakes.
Flying off the ropes with an elbow drop,
There was no way you could ever be stopped.
Identifiable by your voice alone,
Even being Dubbed the macho king while you sat on your throne.
We hung on your words with interviews memorable and classic,
And we knew it was serious when you took off your glasses.
I promise not to lose you in the sands of time,
For you will always be that all time hero of mine.

Oooooooooooh Yeeeeeeeeeeeeah! Dig it!