Jack Tunney’s decision to vacate the title marked the first time in WWE’s twenty-five-year history that there was no champion. To fill the vacancy, the president ordered a fourteen-man tournament to take place in March 1988 at WrestleMania IV. As the two most recent titlists, Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan were scheduled to face each other, but not before receiving automatic byes into the quarterfinals. Amazingly, the built-in advantage did little to help them regain the gold; both Superstars were disqualified after blatant use of a steel chair.
With Andre and Hogan no longer in the title hunt, Ted DiBiase and “Macho Man” Randy Savage advanced to the finals with relative ease. Prior to the start of the match, special guest ring announcer Bob Uecker had the honor of introducing each Superstar. The Million Dollar Man made his way to the ring first to very little fanfare. In 1988, it was still common for Superstars to walk to the ring sans entrance themes. DiBiase at the time was one of those Superstars who practiced very little pageantry.
Savage was the anti-DiBiase. Once his signature theme song—“Pomp and Circumstance”—rang out from the Trump Plaza loudspeakers, the capacity crowd erupted, making it nearly impossible to hear Uecker’s introduction. When Savage and his manager, Miss Elizabeth, finally emerged from the dressing room area, they were wearing a different ring robe and dress than earlier. It was their fourth wardrobe change of the night.
“He didn’t want to rob people of seeing him for the first time, even if it was the fourth. He took this aspect of the business very seriously,” says Savage’s brother, former WWE Superstar Lanny Poffo. “He didn’t believe the match started when the bell rang, he believed the match started when the dressing room door opened. He spent a lot of money on those robes.”
Savage was, indeed, a superior showman outside the ring. Once the bell rang, however, he was all business—something the Million Dollar Man found out the hard way. By match’s end, he found himself victimized by a Macho Man flying elbow drop. The move effectively ended DiBiase’s dreams of becoming a legitimate WWE Champion.
Savage’s victory marked the culmination of an eighteen-year journey. Making the moment even more special was the fact that he got to share it with his real-life love, Elizabeth. He also shared the spotlight with Hulk Hogan, who joined the couple in celebrating the victory. As a result, the lasting image of WrestleMania IV will forever be Savage holding Elizabeth on his shoulder while Hogan stands nearby pointing at the celebratory couple.
Hulk remained by the new champ’s side for many more months following WrestleMania IV. Known as the Mega-Powers, Hogan and Savage formed a union that struck fear into WWE’s most formidable Superstars. The only tandem they failed to impress were the Mega-Bucks (DiBiase and Andre), who confidently agreed to battle the champ and his partner in the first-ever SummerSlam main event.
Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth.
Just as they promised, DiBiase and Andre owned much of the match’s momentum. But just when it looked like they were going to pick up the win via count-out, Elizabeth climbed to the ring apron and removed her skirt to reveal a very skimpy red undergarment. By 1988 standards, the mini striptease proved to be quite risqué, and it also worked to distract the Mega-Bucks and special guest referee Jesse Ventura. Hogan and Savage used the distraction to climb back into the ring and dispose of Andre. Macho Man then landed a flying elbow drop on the Million Dollar Man, which was followed by a Hogan legdrop for the win.
The sold-out Madison Square Garden crowd roared as the victors celebrated. In an act of unadulterated jubilation, the Hulkster grabbed Miss Elizabeth and gave her a gigantic hug. Savage spotted the embrace and looked on quizzically, but he eventually shrugged it off and continued to celebrate.
Hogan kept getting closer to Elizabeth as the new year approached. With each passing month, he continued to make what Savage saw as questionable advances toward the beautiful manager, but the champ let each one slide. Finally, in February 1989, Macho Man had enough.
During a tag team encounter with the Twin Towers, a fed-up Savage slapped Hulk Hogan across the face before ultimately walking out of the match, effectively ending their nearly year-long union. To help further drive home the point that the Mega-Powers were done, Savage attacked Hogan in the locker-room area after the match. This final exclamation point helped put the wheels in motion for Hogan and Savage’s epic encounter at WrestleMania V.
For the only time in WWE history, the same venue played host to back-to-back WrestleMania shows when Trump Plaza was selected as the site for the fifth annual event. Thirteen matches made up the event’s undercard, and while each offered great intrigue, none were as heavily anticipated as the main event: Randy Savage versus Hulk Hogan for the WWE Championship.
Midway through the match, referee Earl Hebner deemed Elizabeth’s presence at ringside too distracting to the competitors, so he ejected her from the arena. With the beautiful manager out of the way, Savage and Hogan were left to decide which Superstar was the better man minus any outside distractions. In the end, the Hulkster proved to be too much for the Macho Man. With a boot to the face, followed by a trademark legdrop, Hogan put an end to Savage’s epic year-long WWE Championship reign. In the nearly twenty years that followed, such great names as Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, and Stone Cold Steve Austin went on to capture the WWE title. But none were able to hold it as long as Randy Savage. It wouldn’t be until John Cena in 2007 that the title stayed around a single waist for more than a year.
Hogan’s victory over Savage made him only the second man to hold the WWE Championship on more than one occasion (Bruno Sammartino was the other). It also helped catapult his career back to the silver screen.
In June 1989, Vince McMahon teamed with New Line Cinema to produce No Holds Barred, a major motion picture starring the WWE Champion. Hogan was cast to play the role of Rip, a popular Superstar who must prevent an evil consortium from killing his friends. Rip ultimately foils the dastardly plan when he defeats chief antagonist Zeus, who was played by Tommy “Tiny” Lister.
Despite the happy ending, No Holds Barred failed at the box office. It also spawned a large level of animosity between stars Hogan and Zeus, which eventually bled over to WWE arenas. Over the next several months, the Hulkster teamed with longtime friend Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake to systematically dismantle any hopes Zeus had of becoming a fulltime professional wrestler.
While Hogan was successfully turning back Zeus, a new force was beginning to gain favor with WWE fans. After defeating the Honky Tonk Man in record time to capture the Intercontinental Championship in August, Ultimate Warrior saw a great spike in popularity. For the next several months, fans were able to turn on their TVs with great confidence, knowing that their two favorite heroes were in complete control of WWE’s singles titles. But as 1990 approached, it was becoming apparent that there was only room at the top for one megastar. Hogan and Warrior were on a collision course. A battle between the two Superstars was inevitable, and only one event could host such a dream match: WrestleMania.