In the early 1990's the World Wrestling Federation's merchandising department was churning out more product than perhaps any time in history. Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior were the clear cut most merchandised stars of the era, followed by perhaps the Legion of Doom. (Remember those cheesy red plastic shoulder pad "reproductions"?)
Next in line was almost certainly Randy Savage. The interesting thing about this time period was that Savage was transitioning between iconic sets of ring gear. For years, he had worn his old school Macho Man brightly colored small tights with the three stars on the front. This look was interrupted only by the solid yellow Mega Powers look that he and Hulk Hogan sometimes sported whilst teaming up.
In 1990, Savage would evolve into his popular mid-career Macho King look with the cowboy hats, variety of highly decorated long tights, and sleeveless cutoff shirts. This is the look he had from Royal Rumble '90 and his network television return bout with Hogan on The Main Event in February until he joined the nWo in the mid-90's.
Wrestling historians might know that Savage was crowned king of the WWF in September 1989. What did he wear between then and Royal Rumble?
For that very short period of time lasting from September '89 to January '90, he wore solid purple trunks with "MACHO KING" emblazoned on the posterior with a matching crown. Here they are prominently featured at Survivor Series in November '90:
For some reason, all the Macho King merch from the early 90's featured this purple look, to the point that it is highly identifiable with the Macho King even though it was so briefly featured, most notably during the No Holds Barred feud where he teamed with Zeus against Hulk Hogan and Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake.
The reason we're discussing the riveting topic of Randy Savage ring gear is that you can be the proud owner of this important piece of wrestling history for the reasonable price of $1600. Click here for the eBay listing.
Now, whether the product is authentic is a topic about which I cannot vouch, so buyer beware. But if it is real, these beauties would look damn sharp mounted on any wrestling fan's den or office wall. In fact, when Geno signs me to my next long term deal, I might even buy these myself.
What do you think Cagesiders? Is this even legit? If so, is this something you would spend your money on and if you did, would you be able to resist trying them on?