I've expressed this before, but like many I grew up a major pro wrestling fan. I was of the perfect age back when the then-WWF was hitting what was at that point an all-time high behind Hulk Hogan in the mid-to-late 1980s, and I won't weary you with how by the time I was 8 or 9 years old in the early 90s, I'd found out that I far preferred the more awesome NWA/WCW to the stupid WWF (because I'm such a genius), so let's go on to the aim here.
Today, all-time great pro wrestler Macho Man Randy Savage died in Florida at the age of 58. He was a main competitor and supporter of Hogan during those golden years, and likewise in boxing or any other form of entertainment or sport, a big hero does best when encountered with a great villain. Savage was a great villain in the cartoon world of pro wrestling. There was nobody quite like him, ever. Everything you wish to get to be a sense in the wrestling business, Savage had.
On February 11, 1990, a fairly lightly-regarded James "Buster" Douglas stopped Mike Tyson in Tokyo in one of the great upsets in boxing history. That role is all very well-known to boxing fans, of course, but for those who didn't follow pro wrestling at the time, or never have, it wound up sending shockwaves through that industry as well. The WWF had signed Tyson to a big contract to function as a guest referee for an upcoming network television match between Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage in Detroit, to be aired on February 23.
Once Tyson lost, his value dropped dramatically, and suddenly Buster Douglas was the star in demand. Everyone wanted a bit of the man who stopped the unstoppable Tyson. So the WWF scrambled and signed Douglas to replace Tyson for the event, the first big number of Douglas' short-lived but eventful post-Tyson superstardom.
Boxing and pro wrestling, of course, have a long history of crossovers. Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Scott LeDoux, and a great many others have been involved with wrestling at one period or another, and the great Gorgeous George was a primary influence of Ali's promotional personality.
Here's a look back at that night for those with any interest, with an awkward Douglas side-by-side with the over-the-top theatricality of the brilliant Randy Wolf and that goof Hulk Hogan, in 4 parts.
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