Macho Man Randy Savage is one of the most iconic pro wrestlers ever, who – along with legends like Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan – defined the pop culture perception of what a pro wrestler is and how they act, thanks to his memorable voice, “Oh yeah!” catchphrase, and signature moves like the Flying Elbow Drop. He may have been second banana to Hogan, but he defined fans’ memories of WWE just as much as the Hulkster.
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Randy Savage is also a style icon, known for his extremely un-practical penchant for gigantic hats, absurdly large sunglasses, and garish jackets with an overabundance of fringe. With that in mind, let’s look at five of his best outfits and five of his worst – though his five worst are still better than some wrestlers’ best attires.
Updated December 4th, 2021 by Danny Djeljosevic: As any wrestling fan knows, Macho had a ton of awesomely ridiculous/ridiculously awesome attires throughout his career. Limiting to only five great and five less-great does a severe disservice to a legend of Randy Savage’s caliber, so let’s take another dive into the Macho Man’s proverbial costume trunk and pull out a couple more incredible looks, as well as a couple more of the icon’s misfires, including one from his early years and an outfit from what many consider to be the worst WrestleMania ever. Yes, even the great Randy Savage can have some looks that the Fashion Police would come after him for.
14 * Best: The Wedding
At 1991’s WrestleMania 7, Randy Savage lost a retirement match against The Ultimate Warrior, but stood tall in the end by reuniting with estranged valet/girlfriend Miss Elizabeth in one of the most emotional moments of the Golden Era. The lovebirds’ kayfabe wedding happened months later at SummerSlam, and Macho did not disappoint with his outfit. The white and gold number is weirdly classy for Savage, but what really puts him over the top is the gigantic white feather sticking out of his hat.
13 * Worst: Tuesday Night Titan
Seeing wrestlers in “normal” clothing rather than their ring gear is always a treat, and WWE’s in-character late night talk show pastiche Tuesday Night Titans offered countless opportunities to see wrestlers dressing casually for about two years in the mid-1980s. Randy Savage had a few good looks on this show but this particular outfit — from episode 42 on 7/19/1985 — comes across as a bit of a disaster. The ridiculous glittery jacket clashes with the ridiculous neon tiger-striped headband, and no amount of plain blue jeans can heal that stylistic schism.
12 *Best: WrestleMania 9
As alluded to above, WrestleMania 9 is considered one of the worst ever, despite the extravagant Caesar’s Palace setting. What did not disappoint, however, was Randy Savage’s outfit on that infamous evening. Decked out in an ornate purple, white, and gold number, Savage spent the show behind the commentary desk, but the outfit was so loud that fans at home could hear it over the collective groan in the arena when Hulk Hogan randomly came out of the night as WWE Champion.
11 * Worst: The Spider
Savage signed to WWE in 1985, but actually started his career back in the early 1970s, wrestling when he wasn’t playing professional baseball. He didn’t start off as Randy Savage, however, but rather donned a mask as “The Spider,” a character inspired vaguely by Marvel Comics’ iconic hero Spider-Man.
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Ironically, Savage’s Spidey connection would return in later years, as he would portray the pro wrestler Bone Saw McGraw in the first Spider-Man film.
10 Best: nWo Madness
It’s a late period entry as far as Macho’s repertoire is concerned, and the nWo isn’t looked back on all that fondly these days, but the New World Order era “Madness” outfit is actually pretty cool and perfectly fitting for Randy Savage.
It’s a black and white ensemble, but the reliance on patterns and linework gives the attire a sense of biker cool that perfectly fits the nWo aesthetic. Overall, pretty well designed.
9 Worst: nWo Red
The “Madness” gear was implemented when Macho was a heel, but when he turned babyface for the great schism that resulted in the nWo Hollywood/nWo Wolfpac dichotomy, his gear suddenly got worse and more generic.
Savage often wore red and black nWo T-shirts and gear that were disappointingly subdued given Macho Man’s berserk aesthetic standards. Fans don’t look to Randy Savage for subdued anything, so this era of attire really underwhelmed.
8 Best: A Beautiful Mess
When it comes to Macho Man Randy Savage’s outfits, there’s really only one philosophy: The more ridiculous the patterns and the more bright and loud the colors, the better. If Randy Savage is going to show up in front of eyeballs and cameras, he better look like a nuclear explosion in a Trapper Keeper factory.
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In a lot of ways, Randy Savage’s aesthetic is reminiscent of a modern star like Asuka, whose outfit is generally a maelstrom of color and patterns. Which leads to a discussion question: Is Randy Savage a Joshi icon?
7 Worst: Late Period TNA Depression
In 2004, after four years away from pro wrestling, Macho Man Randy Savage made a brief appearance for Impact Wrestling (back when it was known as TNA), hassling Jeff Jarrett at Victory Road before taking on Jarrett, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall in a six-man tag match alongside Jeff Hardy and AJ Styles.
Sadly, the blinding neon aesthetic was long gone, and in its place was black leather pants and a similarly black leather hat. It’s always nice to see Randy Savage, but during this time he looked like a country music star in 1998 trying to do an R&B collabo with, like, Babyface.
6 Best: The ‘80s Classic
The classic 1980s Macho Man Randy Savage look is honestly still one of the best: The three stars on the trunks, great big wide visor over his face, and the pastel tights and bandana.
It’s not imposing or tough by any stretch, but it is the gear he wore to take on Ricky Steamboat in his WrestleMania III classic, so it’s etched into history through that moment alone. Hilariously, compared to his berserk 1990s outfits, it’s actually kind of quaint.
5 Worst: Cheetah King
Let’s get one thing straight here – even though this is a “worst,” this is still not something a normal person would wear, which makes it extremely Macho Man. That said, by Randy Savage standards, this outfit is actually too subdued.
The real problem with this ensemble is the conflicting jungle cat prints on the headband and top. Tiger stripes and cheetah print? Usually, lots of patterns are good (by Savage standards), but because this outfit is so subdued, this comes off as a fashion faux pas rather than Macho being Macho.
4 Best: Macho King Randy Savage
While Macho Man Randy Savage won the King of the Ring tournament in 1987, he didn’t adopt a king gimmick until 1989, when he won the gimmick from Jim Duggan (who won it from Haku, who inherited it from Harley Race, who won the King of the Ring in 1986). But all of that isn’t important; what is important is that Macho Man introduced something into his ensemble that he had always been missing – a crown.
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Savage already dressed like an enthusiastic fabric store, but now he had a crown to really take the outfit to the next level.
3 Worst: Macho Patriot Randy Savage
For the Macho Man known as Randy Savage, patriotic American flag ring gear is unacceptable. It’s just…too normal. It is possible to criticize the American flag for aesthetic reasons, sure, but it’s still something a reasonable person cooked up.
Betsy Ross ain’t no Macho Man, who’s never met an eyesore he couldn’t add fringe too. Save those stars and stripes for a wrestler who really needs them, like Lex Luger.
2 Best: The Slim Jim Variation
Thanks to television ads, this Macho Man Randy Savage ensemble is one of the most recognizable of all time – so much so that in 2019 it was made into a San Diego Comic-Con exclusive action figure.
The pattern is simple but the colors are striking, and Macho Man’s energy is enough that if a person unfamiliar with wrestling was shown this picture and asked, “Does this man shill gas station beef jerky on television,” their answer would be “yes, of course.” It’s perfect.
1 Worst: This Monstrosity
This….this is just no good. Post-nWo/early 2000s WCW had Macho Man leading a stable called Team Madness, which featured Madusa, the future Molly Holly, Sid Vicious, and some bleak aesthetic times for Randy Savage.
Just look at that thing. It’s crazy but in a male stripper kind of way. His aesthetic for this whole run involved a lot of sheer mesh T-shirts and other accouterments that screamed: “Dad likes leather.”
