Randy Savage vs. The Ultimate Warrior

[5.0] "This was too long, and they weren't able to make this nearly as interesting as their legendary WrestleMania VII match. It was a big match-up that ended up being a disappointment. Thankfully, it wasn't the match that closed the show."

[5.0] "This could've been a great match, but it went way too long and the Flair/Perfect shenanigans kind of ruined it for me. It sorted reminded me of the drawn out "cinema" booking of today, but slightly less egregious as Savage is still a great worker and put on a good show with Warrior here."

[7.0] "Good match with a rivalry that maybe just me but didn't connect with it, the match was enjoyable but also a little slow for me, it's not bad but then with Ric Flair getting in it, made it a bit more interesting, but the result of count out, not a fan of that kind of results. 7/10 [****]"

[5.0] "Not even close to being as good as their Wrestlemania VII match. It's a passable match that goes on for a bit too long and is overbooked to hell. There's no need for multiple ref bumps and interference to get the point across."

[7.0] "It was a very good match given a lot of time with a controversial ending that hurts the match quality, but it fits in with the story they were trying to tell. I had forgotten how long the match was at nearly 30 minutes. I think the WrestleMania 7 match between them was better by a bit because of the drama that surrounded that match, but this was still very good too. The story that was teased going into the match was that Perfect and Flair were working with somebody even though they were there to cause havoc at ringside."

[8.0] "The rematch from their great encounter at WrestleMania VII. The build-up to this match was very good. Mr. Perfect, who was known to be a very good manager had teased being in the corner of either Savage or Warrior throughout the build-up. We obviously saw Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect getting involved in the match, but they actually added to the match. While it was certainly not as good as the WrestleMania VII bout, the two men pulled off a very entertaining contest. The match was full of drama and great storytelling. WWF could have done better than a count-out finish, but it didn't hurt the match. [****1/4]"

[6.0] "It wasn't close to their Wrestlemania 7 match but still entertaining. The Ric Flair side story added some questions about both sides but it had no payoff, not at the time and not by Survivor Series when Warrior was fired."

[6.0] "It was fine, but it went way too long. At some point, it just felt like they were both trying to fill time. Moreover, the stuff with Flair and Perfect was overbooked nonsense. Having them tease Warrior as a heel by having Perfect help him is one thing, but then having Perfect try to do the same but in Savage's favour was just confusing. Similarly, having Savage do the job via count out was idiotic. It made him look like crap at Warrior's expense. The finish was especially deflating given how long the bout had dragged on for leading up to it. The runtime made the lack of a definitive finish all the more unsatisfying. Ultimately, this angle would never see completion as Warrior was out of the WWF some months later due to being busted for steroid usage right in the middle of the steroid scandal. Overall, the match was okay, but would have benefitted from being ten minutes shorter, less overbooking, and a more satisfying finish. **3/4"

[4.0] "I don't know why people are so high on one. Warrior was completely useless, even more than normal. His attempts at selling here are unintentionally hilarious. Like when he tried to sell a throat injury after a neckbreaker. Yeah. Savage did everything he could. They even structured the match in a way to try and cover Warrior's weaknesses but it didn't come close to the WM 7 match. The crowd booing Savage even though he was doing all the work here also annoyed me."

[9.0] "Randy was one of those guys who could put on a great performance with Jim, and considering they already had a rich history together and the atmosphere on the show, this one was no exception. No better than their legendary encounter at Wrestlemania, but I can't help but admit that it was a very good action-packed bout worth watching, especially if you're loyal to overbooking with plenty of interference and ref bumps."

[7.0] "Not even close to their WM7 classic, but still an entertaining bout due to Savage's guiding of the match, the use of Perfect/Flair and the unique babyface vs babyface angle. The thing is, despite the nice little belt presentation character moment at the end, the match end booking just kind of sucked. This also really felt its length at near a half hour."

[4.0] "My first thoughts on this match were extremely harsh, as I thought it one of the worst matches I'd seen. While I still don't think this is very good at all, I realized I was a bit jaded by the end of the match and that clouded my judgment a bit. Savage does some really cool stuff especially early on in the match, and Warrior doesn't embarass himself. The setting is gorgeous, this match looks great visually. However, I think this is way too overindulgent, and overstays its welcome with way too many false finishes and ref bumps/interference spots. That said, I cant deny it's over with the crowd and there's a lot of heat for Flair & Perfect following the bout. Warrior's no-selling routine and overall style is the opposite of endearing to me, so the feeling of wanting him to go over isn't there for me like it may for others. Does feel about twice its actual length, and to me a forced epic from a structure and booking standpoint. Really silly and anticlimactic finish, I overreacted by calling it an all-time stinker but this is quite disappointing."

[8.0] "This was a great storyline, even if everyone at home knew neither guy sold out. This match wasn't as good as the WrestleMania VII match, but it was good in its own way with Ric Flair and Curt Hennig involved. There was a lot of drama and intrigue."

[6.0] "5.9/10: ultimate warrior was not so versatile in the ring, but savage just added a whole new level of greatness in this storyline, which was seen in ultimate warrior too, not a great match though, but memorable."

[9.0] "Savage once again carried Warrior to a great match, amazing work by Savage here, warrior tried here too (****1/4)"

[8.0] "Warrior's meat themed singlet is equal parts fascinating and horrifying. He looks a bit like a hairless (and skinless) Giant Gonzalez. That aside - this match is honestly pretty great. It doesn't have the same magic as their WrestleMania encounter, but it has a raw intensity that I really love. Both men seem desperate to get to each other. It has to be the best individual performance of Warrior's career. He sells, he bumps... It's almost like he's an actual wrestler! He doesn't exactly have the cardio to manage a match of this length, but I'd consider this to be the closest to a 'complete' performance that we've ever seen from Warrior. Unfortunately, the angle with Flair and Perfect at ringside hurts the match more that it helps, and the finish is really lame (the chair shot doesn't even connect...). There's enough here for me to still give this a high rating, but I really wish their WM match got a more appropriate follow up without all the rubbish at ringside, because judging by this bout I'd say they had another classic in them."

[7.0] "I actually really liked this match even though booking wise this match is really messy and it turns out nobody is going over for real here. The story behind this match is Mr. Perfect is supposed to be in somebody's corner here in reveal a new client; which was supposed to be a turning heel Ultimate Warrior, but Warrior didn't want to turn which gave us the awkward ending where Flair and Perfect are still together and it was all a ruse. Warrior and Savage always worked well together; Macho knew how to get stuff out of Warrior."

[4.0] "This is a decent match, but slightly to overbooked for my taste. The back and forth of the match, while not Wrestlemania 7 good, is passable for sure, which isn't always a given for Warrior. Even when a great like Savage is carrying him. I actually liked the storytelling of the Flair and Perfect interference. I just hated how it ended. I personally think this match should have ended with both man spent and out of energy, but both figure out together that Flair and Perfect have been playing them both. Flair and Perfect hit the ring for a double DQ, and Savage and Warrior fight them off and celebrate together. This way, Savage keeps the title, neither of them get beat, and it perfectly lays the groundwork for the next PPV. Having Savage take a count out while Warrior never truly figures it out until after the match feels very unsatisfying for me, which is why I gave this match 4 points instead of 5. I also think Vince expected these two to get a 50/50 reaction, but the crowd was pretty firmly in Warrior's corner, which is a HORRIBLE look for your current babyface WWF champion. It made Savage look like crap, and he did not deserve that kind of reaction. A part of me also thinks Vince made this match to see which of these two he was going to go with longer term. I think maybe the thought crossed his mind after Warrior's reaction of having Flair beat Savage for the title and then having Warrior beat him. And I think if Savage got a better reaction than Warrior, he might have gotten a longer reign. Instead, I think Vince's confidence in Savage died this night, and with Warrior getting fired, he was left with Bret as his only choice. The match might have been solid, but a sour ending, and some poor babyface match booking in hindsight left me with too bad a taste in my mouth. Change up just a few things, and I honestly think this could have competed with their Wrestlemania 7 match."

[5.0] "I liked parts of this match mostly before Flair and Perfect interfered, because after that the booking didn't really make much sense. Why are they attacking both of the guys? Who are we supposed to cheer for? What do Ric and Hennig want to achieve here? Savage carried Warrior to another nice match in terms of the in ring work but the angle sucked hard."

[5.0] "This match starts out good, but then booking kicks in. LOTS of wasted time, and the match ends up going easily 10+ minutes too long. The angle is also pretty bad, so it's just ruined what seemed to have been a decent match for this shit. Just a real shame."

[7.0] "This never had a chance of topping their incredible Wrestlemania match the year prior, but these two definitely did not phone it in here. This was back and forth with both men targeting different areas of the body and selling the damage done for the entire match. The Mr. Perfect/Ric Flair interference added an interesting wrinkle to the affair, but the overall length probably could have been reduced by five minutes or so. Still, this is a great match even with the non-decisive finish. ***1/2"

[6.0] "*EXACT RATING: 6.0* A surprisingly hard-fought and long in-ring battle that ended due to typical Vince McMahon chicanery. Too cowardly to put one over the other, they resorted to interference from Ric Flair & Mr. Perfect for a very weak countout victory for Warrior. It really marred an otherwise good match, and one of Warrior's more physical matches of his career. The "whose corner is Mr. Perfect going to be in" story was superfluous and made absolutely no sense. Nobody was buying either Savage or especially Warrior to be making a heel turn, even in '92."

[7.0] "Good match. The action was alright and both dudes were alright. Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect showed up."

[7.0] "This doesn't capture the magic of the mania match because it's too long, and Flair/Perfect doesn't add drama to the match as well as Sherri did IMO. I appreciate Warrior's effort to sell here, but he isn't particularly good at it, and he looks even worse when an all-time great seller in Savage is in the ring with him. The atmosphere for this match was still great, and they worked this overall well enough, but they definitely could've cut some time off if that was going to be the finish.***1/2"

[6.0] "29/08/92 SummerSlam WWF. Good match, the gimmick was sold well and the commentators did a great job reeling us in for who sold out to Perfect and Flair. As limited as Warrior was, he could still pull it off and sell a good big match, also helps when you have someone as magnificent as Randy Savage to spar with. Surprised looking back how much more over Randy Savage was than the Ultimate Warrior in this match. Finish a bit of an anti-climax but a solid 6*"

[7.0] "Macho Man puts in an all time performance but Warrior has no place being in a match this long. You really could have cut off about 7 minutes if you were going to do this finish. The atmosphere is great, western wrestling is so much better when the crowd is full of kids invested in the people in the ring."

[7.0] "Obviously not as good as their WrestleMania VII match, even with that special atmosphere at Wembley Stadium. The length ultimately hurts that one as The Ultimate Warrior has nothing to do in an over 25-minute match and the finish pretty much ruined both men's effort. This remains another testament to Randy Savage's greatness as he carried Warrior once again and managed to keep things compelling enough for most of the match. The red hot Wembley crowd certainly helped, the two kept a relatively high pace throughout with good intensity. The whole Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect drama was fine until it robbed fans of a legit finish, which is a shame for such a high profile match. [ = 7.5/10 ] *** 1/2"

[8.0] "This was a unique match on a unique card. There were 2 major face vs. face title matches with this being the first of the night. This would've main evented any other show, but it made sense to have it first especially with the shady ending. This was unique in that the faces tried their best to have a great match, and in many ways it was, while the heel tries to bend the match to his will. It made for an intriguing match, even if it didn't make the most sense in the world. As it turns out, neither face wanted his help and both faces come off cleaner, while the heel gets more heat and kayfabe injures his soon to be opponent with the finish. Good match, although not as good as their WrestleMania match from the year before. ***3/4-****"

[8.0] "The drama behind this match was Mr Perfect floating the idea that one of these guys paid him to be in their corner. Perfect and Flair both get involved and they jump Savage and destroy his knee and we would find out a little while later that the whole idea was to cripple up Savage for a future title match where Flair would inevitably win the belt because Savage was an easier target than Warrior. This match also started the short lived tag team between Savage and Warrior, which ended just before Survivor Series when Warrior left because he got busted for roids. Great match, cheap ending."

[8.0] "Fantastic storytelling throughout this exciting WWF World Title bout. Randy Savage always managed to get the best out of Ultimate Warrior and, while not as brilliant as their retirement match at WM7, this was still no exception to the rule. Love the dramatic story with Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect, though the finish could've been better. [****]"

[8.0] "They're definitely not going to top or even match the magic at WrestleMania last year, and that's ok. I love the storytelling aspect of the bout and the drama of whether which man is going to go heel. Great energy from the crowd as well. The finish could've been better, but either man going heel here would've been a bad decision to be fair. One of Warrior's best match ever. [****]"

[8.0] "Yeah, this is Warrior's greatest performance. I still prefer his match with Savage from Wrestlemania VII more and his offense still looks like shit, but he actually makes an effort to sell here. Speaking of selling, I think Savage might be the greatest seller ever. Flair wacks his leg with a chair and Savage hobbles about and never takes another step without milking his bad leg. The added intrigue of Flair and Perfect claiming one of the faces will sell out and side with them kept everything interesting even if it was all a ruse. I thought the interference added to the match instead of hurting it, personally."

[7.0] "Once again, Savage is able to get a good match out of the abysmal Ultimate Warrior, albeit not as outstanding as their Mania bout. This was a long war, with Savage and Warrior beating up one another for the championship belt. Savage's work in the ring was very impressive here, although Warrior's antics and no-selling were as ridiculous as usual. In the end, Flair and Perfect interfered and caused the match to come to a premature end. Definitely a standout match, and possibly the last great match to have the classic 'Golden Era' atmosphere. ***1/2"

[7.0] "So this was never going to be able to live up to their previous match, this didn't have any of the same drama coming in and the possible threat of it being Savage's last match. It did have its own story with the possibility that one of them was going to align with Ric Flair and Mr Perfect, which ultimately turned out to be a red herring. The match was ultimately very good in its own right but probably suffered from having to live up to hype that it would never be able to match."

[10.0] "If the match at WrestleMania VII thrilled me with its drama and the heel work of Savage genuinely trying to defend his career, there was a different magic here. It was nice to look at the bold and confident Randy, who tries and almost gets the desired result. The Warrior's work on Savage's back was amazing. Flair and Perfect may have ruined it all as part of a stunning finish, but the value of the story only increased. Randy succumbed to provocations and lost this match. But he defended the championship belt, as promised. Very atmospheric and underrated match (****3/4)."

[10.0] "Their match on WrestleMania VII was startling and dramatic, and I didn't think that this match would be better. And it really wasn't better, but at the same high level as the previous one. This match is very infairly underrated. Both wrestlers worked perfectly in their roles (Savage is magnificent both as a heel and as a face), they showed a great storytelling and chemistry between them. And overbooking supplied by Rick Flair and Mr. Perfect, was appropriate. Savage promised not to lose his title to Warrior, and he kept his promise."

[4.0] "Aside from the finish on a PPV and the match length unfortunately Savage couldn't carry Warrior to that WresteMania magic but that's not the only bad thing about this, the whole angle of Perfect cornering one of them just seems stupid.. why would 2 of the top babyfaces want the heel services of Perfect in the first place? Just doesn't make any sense to me"

[6.0] "This was alright, but went on far longer than it needed to (as frankly, Warrior didn't seem to have the conditioning for such a long match). The whole angle with Flair & Perfect was also rather predictable so it didn't really add any drama to the match. A shorter match with less overbooking probably would have been much better in this instance."

[6.0] "It doesn't even come close to their classic at WM 7. Exciting story told throughout the match, but it ultimately has a disappointing ending in my opinion. Still a good match to go back and watch. Solid ***1/4 for me"

[5.0] "They're Mania match was way better. This match was possible but given what they'd done in the past, it didn't love up to expectations."

[6.0] "Their match the previous year is considered one of the better matches in WWF history, with the post-match reuniting of Savage and Elizabeth the most emotional, in a positive sense, moment in WWF history. This match had none of that going for it, because it wasn't great, although it was good, and Savage and Warrior making amends just wasn't going hit any buttons."

[4.0] "I just really couldn't get very much into this, Warrior seemed out of gas almost immediately, and while Savage is good, he couldn't recreate the energy of their Wrestlemania match. There's also a tremendous amount of stuff around Flair and Perfect, and the whole thing is way too long with a lousy ending."

[10.0] "Damn I really loved this match. Savage and Warrior already had one classic so the chemistry was known and they showed it again. This was a long match but it was fast paced throughout. I think this is Warriors best performance as he didn't look out of place. The story told with Perfect and Flair was done really well. Plus with the wild crowd I felt everything just worked ****1/2"

[7.0] "I'm not the biggest fan of this match. The Ultimate Warrior was tired after the first minutes and the match slowed down with the run-ins of Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect. The conclusion is disappointing, Randy Savage deserved a clean win or at least a victory in the ring. Also, The Ultimate Warrior story did not take him anywere because he was out in a few months. ***1/2"

[10.0] "Randy Savage was on fire in 1992 and that was really evident when he was able to give The Ultimate Warrior one of his career best matches. The action between the two was way better than expected. If it wasn't for Flair and Perfect this match might nearly have been better than the match the year before."

[10.0] "Warrior running the extra long rampway all the way to the ring and despite blowing himself up, still wrestles a fast paced 30 minute match with Macho Man. This is one of the underrated matches because it gets overshadowed by their previous retirement match and Bulldog/Bret but really good. Warrior takes a neckbreaker early on and sells an injured neck for the rest of the match! Ring psychology from Warrior of all people!"

[10.0] "Great match. Savage really got good work out of the Warrior. One of the few decent Warrior matches."