Randy Savage officially signed with WCW in 1994, leaving WWE where he had been shifted to an announcing position.
However, WCW tried to make a big money play for Savage years prior.
"Savage was so popular with young kids. We tried to get Savage from Vince. [Jack Petrik] was at this meeting, and he couldn't go any higher, although I would have. I offered him half a million dollars and Petrik shut it down. Petrik was my boss, through Turner, and I would have gone higher. I thought he would have revolutionized our younger viewer and Petrik didn't want to bust the budget," said Jim Herd in an interview with Conrad Thompson on AdFreeShows.
Herd didn't provide a date on when they made an offer to Savage. Herd's tenure as Executive Vice President of WCW began in January 1989 and ended in 1992. Savage lost a retirement match to Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania VII in 1991, though he remained with the company in a non-wrestling role.
Elsewhere during the interview, Herd discussed the infamous Spartacus gimmick that was rumored to be for Ric Flair. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
If you use any of the quotes above, please give a h/t to AdFreeShows and link back to Fightful for the transcription.
