diff --git a/pkg/controller/controller_ref_manager.go b/pkg/controller/controller_ref_manager.go
index 2f14a353585..cb9d4ea4e14 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/controller_ref_manager.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/controller_ref_manager.go
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ func (m *PodControllerRefManager) Classify(pods []*v1.Pod) (
 				pod.Namespace, pod.Name, pod.Status.Phase, pod.DeletionTimestamp)
 			continue
 		}
-		controllerRef := getControllerOf(pod.ObjectMeta)
+		controllerRef := GetControllerOf(pod.ObjectMeta)
 		if controllerRef != nil {
 			if controllerRef.UID == m.controllerObject.UID {
 				// already controlled
@@ -90,9 +90,9 @@ func (m *PodControllerRefManager) Classify(pods []*v1.Pod) (
 	return matchesAndControlled, matchesNeedsController, controlledDoesNotMatch
 }
 
-// getControllerOf returns the controllerRef if controllee has a controller,
+// GetControllerOf returns the controllerRef if controllee has a controller,
 // otherwise returns nil.
-func getControllerOf(controllee v1.ObjectMeta) *metav1.OwnerReference {
+func GetControllerOf(controllee v1.ObjectMeta) *metav1.OwnerReference {
 	for _, owner := range controllee.OwnerReferences {
 		// controlled by other controller
 		if owner.Controller != nil && *owner.Controller == true {
diff --git a/pkg/controller/deployment/BUILD b/pkg/controller/deployment/BUILD
index 59a0e16cc81..de4044c2a7e 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/deployment/BUILD
+++ b/pkg/controller/deployment/BUILD
@@ -29,7 +29,6 @@ go_library(
         "//pkg/client/clientset_generated/clientset:go_default_library",
         "//pkg/client/clientset_generated/clientset/typed/core/v1:go_default_library",
         "//pkg/client/record:go_default_library",
-        "//pkg/client/retry:go_default_library",
         "//pkg/controller:go_default_library",
         "//pkg/controller/deployment/util:go_default_library",
         "//pkg/controller/informers:go_default_library",
@@ -49,12 +48,14 @@ go_test(
     name = "go_default_test",
     srcs = [
         "deployment_controller_test.go",
+        "recreate_test.go",
         "rolling_test.go",
         "sync_test.go",
     ],
     library = "go_default_library",
     tags = ["automanaged"],
     deps = [
+        "//pkg/api:go_default_library",
         "//pkg/api/v1:go_default_library",
         "//pkg/apimachinery/registered:go_default_library",
         "//pkg/apis/extensions/v1beta1:go_default_library",
diff --git a/pkg/controller/deployment/deployment_controller.go b/pkg/controller/deployment/deployment_controller.go
index b03dbfc725c..ae5fb644731 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/deployment/deployment_controller.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/deployment/deployment_controller.go
@@ -117,6 +117,9 @@ func NewDeploymentController(dInformer informers.DeploymentInformer, rsInformer
 		UpdateFunc: dc.updateReplicaSet,
 		DeleteFunc: dc.deleteReplicaSet,
 	})
+	podInformer.Informer().AddEventHandler(cache.ResourceEventHandlerFuncs{
+		DeleteFunc: dc.deletePod,
+	})
 
 	dc.syncHandler = dc.syncDeployment
 	dc.dLister = dInformer.Lister()
@@ -167,12 +170,12 @@ func (dc *DeploymentController) deleteDeployment(obj interface{}) {
 	if !ok {
 		tombstone, ok := obj.(cache.DeletedFinalStateUnknown)
 		if !ok {
-			glog.Errorf("Couldn't get object from tombstone %#v", obj)
+			utilruntime.HandleError(fmt.Errorf("Couldn't get object from tombstone %#v", obj))
 			return
 		}
 		d, ok = tombstone.Obj.(*extensions.Deployment)
 		if !ok {
-			glog.Errorf("Tombstone contained object that is not a Deployment %#v", obj)
+			utilruntime.HandleError(fmt.Errorf("Tombstone contained object that is not a Deployment %#v", obj))
 			return
 		}
 	}
@@ -202,7 +205,8 @@ func (dc *DeploymentController) getDeploymentForReplicaSet(rs *extensions.Replic
 	// trying to clean up one of the controllers, for now we just return the older one
 	if len(deployments) > 1 {
 		sort.Sort(util.BySelectorLastUpdateTime(deployments))
-		glog.Errorf("user error! more than one deployment is selecting replica set %s/%s with labels: %#v, returning %s/%s", rs.Namespace, rs.Name, rs.Labels, deployments[0].Namespace, deployments[0].Name)
+		glog.V(4).Infof("user error! more than one deployment is selecting replica set %s/%s with labels: %#v, returning %s/%s",
+			rs.Namespace, rs.Name, rs.Labels, deployments[0].Namespace, deployments[0].Name)
 	}
 	return deployments[0]
 }
@@ -246,12 +250,12 @@ func (dc *DeploymentController) deleteReplicaSet(obj interface{}) {
 	if !ok {
 		tombstone, ok := obj.(cache.DeletedFinalStateUnknown)
 		if !ok {
-			glog.Errorf("Couldn't get object from tombstone %#v, could take up to %v before a deployment recreates/updates replicasets", obj, FullDeploymentResyncPeriod)
+			utilruntime.HandleError(fmt.Errorf("Couldn't get object from tombstone %#v, could take up to %v before a deployment recreates/updates replicasets", obj, FullDeploymentResyncPeriod))
 			return
 		}
 		rs, ok = tombstone.Obj.(*extensions.ReplicaSet)
 		if !ok {
-			glog.Errorf("Tombstone contained object that is not a ReplicaSet %#v, could take up to %v before a deployment recreates/updates replicasets", obj, FullDeploymentResyncPeriod)
+			utilruntime.HandleError(fmt.Errorf("Tombstone contained object that is not a ReplicaSet %#v, could take up to %v before a deployment recreates/updates replicasets", obj, FullDeploymentResyncPeriod))
 			return
 		}
 	}
@@ -261,20 +265,48 @@ func (dc *DeploymentController) deleteReplicaSet(obj interface{}) {
 	}
 }
 
+// deletePod will enqueue a Recreate Deployment once all of its pods have stopped running.
+func (dc *DeploymentController) deletePod(obj interface{}) {
+	pod, ok := obj.(*v1.Pod)
+
+	// When a delete is dropped, the relist will notice a pod in the store not
+	// in the list, leading to the insertion of a tombstone object which contains
+	// the deleted key/value. Note that this value might be stale. If the Pod
+	// changed labels the new deployment will not be woken up till the periodic resync.
+	if !ok {
+		tombstone, ok := obj.(cache.DeletedFinalStateUnknown)
+		if !ok {
+			utilruntime.HandleError(fmt.Errorf("Couldn't get object from tombstone %#v, could take up to %v before a deployment recreates/updates pod", obj, FullDeploymentResyncPeriod))
+			return
+		}
+		pod, ok = tombstone.Obj.(*v1.Pod)
+		if !ok {
+			utilruntime.HandleError(fmt.Errorf("Tombstone contained object that is not a pod %#v, could take up to %v before a deployment recreates/updates pods", obj, FullDeploymentResyncPeriod))
+			return
+		}
+	}
+	if d := dc.getDeploymentForPod(pod); d != nil && d.Spec.Strategy.Type == extensions.RecreateDeploymentStrategyType {
+		podList, err := dc.listPods(d)
+		if err == nil && len(podList.Items) == 0 {
+			dc.enqueueDeployment(d)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
 func (dc *DeploymentController) enqueueDeployment(deployment *extensions.Deployment) {
 	key, err := controller.KeyFunc(deployment)
 	if err != nil {
-		glog.Errorf("Couldn't get key for object %#v: %v", deployment, err)
+		utilruntime.HandleError(fmt.Errorf("Couldn't get key for object %#v: %v", deployment, err))
 		return
 	}
 
 	dc.queue.Add(key)
 }
 
-// enqueueAfter will enqueue a deployment after the provided amount of time in a secondary queue.
+// checkProgressAfter will enqueue a deployment after the provided amount of time in a secondary queue.
 // Once the deployment is popped out of the secondary queue, it is checked for progress and requeued
 // back to the main queue iff it has failed progressing.
-func (dc *DeploymentController) enqueueAfter(deployment *extensions.Deployment, after time.Duration) {
+func (dc *DeploymentController) checkProgressAfter(deployment *extensions.Deployment, after time.Duration) {
 	key, err := controller.KeyFunc(deployment)
 	if err != nil {
 		utilruntime.HandleError(fmt.Errorf("Couldn't get key for object %#v: %v", deployment, err))
@@ -284,6 +316,42 @@ func (dc *DeploymentController) enqueueAfter(deployment *extensions.Deployment,
 	dc.progressQueue.AddAfter(key, after)
 }
 
+// getDeploymentForPod returns the deployment managing the given Pod.
+func (dc *DeploymentController) getDeploymentForPod(pod *v1.Pod) *extensions.Deployment {
+	// Find the owning replica set
+	var rs *extensions.ReplicaSet
+	var err error
+	// Look at the owner reference
+	controllerRef := controller.GetControllerOf(pod.ObjectMeta)
+	if controllerRef != nil {
+		// Not a pod owned by a replica set.
+		if controllerRef.Kind != extensions.SchemeGroupVersion.WithKind("ReplicaSet").Kind {
+			return nil
+		}
+		rs, err = dc.rsLister.ReplicaSets(pod.Namespace).Get(controllerRef.Name)
+		if err != nil {
+			glog.V(4).Infof("Cannot get replicaset %q for pod %q: %v", controllerRef.Name, pod.Name, err)
+			return nil
+		}
+	} else {
+		// Fallback to listing replica sets.
+		rss, err := dc.rsLister.GetPodReplicaSets(pod)
+		if err != nil {
+			glog.V(4).Infof("Cannot list replica sets for pod %q: %v", pod.Name, err)
+			return nil
+		}
+		// TODO: Handle multiple replica sets gracefully
+		// For now we return the oldest replica set.
+		if len(rss) > 1 {
+			utilruntime.HandleError(fmt.Errorf("more than one ReplicaSet is selecting pod %q with labels: %+v", pod.Name, pod.Labels))
+			sort.Sort(controller.ReplicaSetsByCreationTimestamp(rss))
+		}
+		rs = rss[0]
+	}
+
+	return dc.getDeploymentForReplicaSet(rs)
+}
+
 // worker runs a worker thread that just dequeues items, processes them, and marks them done.
 // It enforces that the syncHandler is never invoked concurrently with the same key.
 func (dc *DeploymentController) worker() {
@@ -332,7 +400,7 @@ func (dc *DeploymentController) syncDeployment(key string) error {
 
 	obj, exists, err := dc.dLister.Indexer.GetByKey(key)
 	if err != nil {
-		glog.Errorf("Unable to retrieve deployment %v from store: %v", key, err)
+		utilruntime.HandleError(fmt.Errorf("Unable to retrieve deployment %v from store: %v", key, err))
 		return err
 	}
 	if !exists {
diff --git a/pkg/controller/deployment/deployment_controller_test.go b/pkg/controller/deployment/deployment_controller_test.go
index 88ff4c44e3f..6ef70b78c04 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/deployment/deployment_controller_test.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/deployment/deployment_controller_test.go
@@ -231,7 +231,9 @@ func TestSyncDeploymentDontDoAnythingDuringDeletion(t *testing.T) {
 	now := metav1.Now()
 	d.DeletionTimestamp = &now
 	f.dLister = append(f.dLister, d)
+	f.objects = append(f.objects, d)
 
+	f.expectUpdateDeploymentStatusAction(d)
 	f.run(getKey(d, t))
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/controller/deployment/progress.go b/pkg/controller/deployment/progress.go
index 28d87912c8f..02a784e5c40 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/deployment/progress.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/deployment/progress.go
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ func (dc *DeploymentController) hasFailed(d *extensions.Deployment) (bool, error
 	// See https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/issues/18568
 
 	allRSs := append(oldRSs, newRS)
-	newStatus := dc.calculateStatus(allRSs, newRS, d)
+	newStatus := calculateStatus(allRSs, newRS, d)
 
 	// If the deployment is complete or it is progressing, there is no need to check if it
 	// has timed out.
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ func (dc *DeploymentController) hasFailed(d *extensions.Deployment) (bool, error
 // for example a resync of the deployment after it was scaled up. In those cases,
 // we shouldn't try to estimate any progress.
 func (dc *DeploymentController) syncRolloutStatus(allRSs []*extensions.ReplicaSet, newRS *extensions.ReplicaSet, d *extensions.Deployment) error {
-	newStatus := dc.calculateStatus(allRSs, newRS, d)
+	newStatus := calculateStatus(allRSs, newRS, d)
 
 	// If there is no progressDeadlineSeconds set, remove any Progressing condition.
 	if d.Spec.ProgressDeadlineSeconds == nil {
@@ -88,23 +88,25 @@ func (dc *DeploymentController) syncRolloutStatus(allRSs []*extensions.ReplicaSe
 	// a new rollout and this is a resync where we don't need to estimate any progress.
 	// In such a case, we should simply not estimate any progress for this deployment.
 	currentCond := util.GetDeploymentCondition(d.Status, extensions.DeploymentProgressing)
-	isResyncEvent := newStatus.Replicas == newStatus.UpdatedReplicas && currentCond != nil && currentCond.Reason == util.NewRSAvailableReason
+	isCompleteDeployment := newStatus.Replicas == newStatus.UpdatedReplicas && currentCond != nil && currentCond.Reason == util.NewRSAvailableReason
 	// Check for progress only if there is a progress deadline set and the latest rollout
-	// hasn't completed yet. We also need to ensure the new replica set exists, otherwise
-	// we cannot estimate any progress.
-	if d.Spec.ProgressDeadlineSeconds != nil && !isResyncEvent && newRS != nil {
+	// hasn't completed yet.
+	if d.Spec.ProgressDeadlineSeconds != nil && !isCompleteDeployment {
 		switch {
 		case util.DeploymentComplete(d, &newStatus):
 			// Update the deployment conditions with a message for the new replica set that
 			// was successfully deployed. If the condition already exists, we ignore this update.
-			msg := fmt.Sprintf("Replica set %q has successfully progressed.", newRS.Name)
+			msg := fmt.Sprintf("ReplicaSet %q has successfully progressed.", newRS.Name)
 			condition := util.NewDeploymentCondition(extensions.DeploymentProgressing, v1.ConditionTrue, util.NewRSAvailableReason, msg)
 			util.SetDeploymentCondition(&newStatus, *condition)
 
 		case util.DeploymentProgressing(d, &newStatus):
 			// If there is any progress made, continue by not checking if the deployment failed. This
 			// behavior emulates the rolling updater progressDeadline check.
-			msg := fmt.Sprintf("Replica set %q is progressing.", newRS.Name)
+			msg := fmt.Sprintf("Deployment %q is progressing.", d.Name)
+			if newRS != nil {
+				msg = fmt.Sprintf("ReplicaSet %q is progressing.", newRS.Name)
+			}
 			condition := util.NewDeploymentCondition(extensions.DeploymentProgressing, v1.ConditionTrue, util.ReplicaSetUpdatedReason, msg)
 			// Update the current Progressing condition or add a new one if it doesn't exist.
 			// If a Progressing condition with status=true already exists, we should update
@@ -124,7 +126,10 @@ func (dc *DeploymentController) syncRolloutStatus(allRSs []*extensions.ReplicaSe
 		case util.DeploymentTimedOut(d, &newStatus):
 			// Update the deployment with a timeout condition. If the condition already exists,
 			// we ignore this update.
-			msg := fmt.Sprintf("Replica set %q has timed out progressing.", newRS.Name)
+			msg := fmt.Sprintf("Deployment %q has timed out progressing.", d.Name)
+			if newRS != nil {
+				msg = fmt.Sprintf("ReplicaSet %q has timed out progressing.", newRS.Name)
+			}
 			condition := util.NewDeploymentCondition(extensions.DeploymentProgressing, v1.ConditionFalse, util.TimedOutReason, msg)
 			util.SetDeploymentCondition(&newStatus, *condition)
 		}
@@ -154,7 +159,7 @@ func (dc *DeploymentController) syncRolloutStatus(allRSs []*extensions.ReplicaSe
 
 			after := time.Now().Add(time.Duration(*d.Spec.ProgressDeadlineSeconds) * time.Second).Sub(currentCond.LastUpdateTime.Time)
 			glog.V(4).Infof("Queueing up deployment %q for a progress check after %ds", d.Name, int(after.Seconds()))
-			dc.enqueueAfter(d, after)
+			dc.checkProgressAfter(d, after)
 		}
 		return nil
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/controller/deployment/recreate.go b/pkg/controller/deployment/recreate.go
index 6b81063632d..54e4290a9ff 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/deployment/recreate.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/deployment/recreate.go
@@ -17,12 +17,8 @@ limitations under the License.
 package deployment
 
 import (
-	"fmt"
-
 	extensions "k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/apis/extensions/v1beta1"
-	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/client/retry"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/controller"
-	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/util/wait"
 )
 
 // rolloutRecreate implements the logic for recreating a replica set.
@@ -45,9 +41,16 @@ func (dc *DeploymentController) rolloutRecreate(deployment *extensions.Deploymen
 		return dc.syncRolloutStatus(allRSs, newRS, deployment)
 	}
 
-	// Wait for all old replica set to scale down to zero.
-	if err := dc.waitForInactiveReplicaSets(activeOldRSs); err != nil {
-		return err
+	newStatus := calculateStatus(allRSs, newRS, deployment)
+	// Do not process a deployment when it has old pods running.
+	if newStatus.UpdatedReplicas == 0 {
+		podList, err := dc.listPods(deployment)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		if len(podList.Items) > 0 {
+			return dc.syncRolloutStatus(allRSs, newRS, deployment)
+		}
 	}
 
 	// If we need to create a new RS, create it now
@@ -97,40 +100,6 @@ func (dc *DeploymentController) scaleDownOldReplicaSetsForRecreate(oldRSs []*ext
 	return scaled, nil
 }
 
-// waitForInactiveReplicaSets will wait until all passed replica sets are inactive and have been noticed
-// by the replica set controller.
-func (dc *DeploymentController) waitForInactiveReplicaSets(oldRSs []*extensions.ReplicaSet) error {
-	for i := range oldRSs {
-		rs := oldRSs[i]
-		desiredGeneration := rs.Generation
-		observedGeneration := rs.Status.ObservedGeneration
-		specReplicas := *(rs.Spec.Replicas)
-		statusReplicas := rs.Status.Replicas
-
-		if err := wait.ExponentialBackoff(retry.DefaultRetry, func() (bool, error) {
-			replicaSet, err := dc.rsLister.ReplicaSets(rs.Namespace).Get(rs.Name)
-			if err != nil {
-				return false, err
-			}
-
-			specReplicas = *(replicaSet.Spec.Replicas)
-			statusReplicas = replicaSet.Status.Replicas
-			observedGeneration = replicaSet.Status.ObservedGeneration
-
-			// TODO: We also need to wait for terminating replicas to actually terminate.
-			// See https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/issues/32567
-			return observedGeneration >= desiredGeneration && *(replicaSet.Spec.Replicas) == 0 && replicaSet.Status.Replicas == 0, nil
-		}); err != nil {
-			if err == wait.ErrWaitTimeout {
-				err = fmt.Errorf("replica set %q never became inactive: synced=%t, spec.replicas=%d, status.replicas=%d",
-					rs.Name, observedGeneration >= desiredGeneration, specReplicas, statusReplicas)
-			}
-			return err
-		}
-	}
-	return nil
-}
-
 // scaleUpNewReplicaSetForRecreate scales up new replica set when deployment strategy is "Recreate"
 func (dc *DeploymentController) scaleUpNewReplicaSetForRecreate(newRS *extensions.ReplicaSet, deployment *extensions.Deployment) (bool, error) {
 	scaled, _, err := dc.scaleReplicaSetAndRecordEvent(newRS, *(deployment.Spec.Replicas), deployment)
diff --git a/pkg/controller/deployment/recreate_test.go b/pkg/controller/deployment/recreate_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..60f19548655
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/controller/deployment/recreate_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2016 The Kubernetes Authors.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package deployment
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"testing"
+
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/api"
+	extensions "k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/apis/extensions/v1beta1"
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/client/clientset_generated/clientset/fake"
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/controller"
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/controller/informers"
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/runtime"
+)
+
+func TestScaleDownOldReplicaSets(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		oldRSSizes []int
+		d          *extensions.Deployment
+	}{
+		{
+			oldRSSizes: []int{3},
+			d:          newDeployment("foo", 3, nil, nil, nil, map[string]string{"foo": "bar"}),
+		},
+	}
+
+	for i := range tests {
+		t.Logf("running scenario %d", i)
+		test := tests[i]
+
+		var oldRSs []*extensions.ReplicaSet
+		var expected []runtime.Object
+
+		for n, size := range test.oldRSSizes {
+			rs := newReplicaSet(test.d, fmt.Sprintf("%s-%d", test.d.Name, n), size)
+			oldRSs = append(oldRSs, rs)
+
+			objCopy, err := api.Scheme.Copy(rs)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Errorf("unexpected error while deep-copying: %v", err)
+				continue
+			}
+			rsCopy := objCopy.(*extensions.ReplicaSet)
+
+			zero := int32(0)
+			rsCopy.Spec.Replicas = &zero
+			expected = append(expected, rsCopy)
+
+			if *(oldRSs[n].Spec.Replicas) == *(expected[n].(*extensions.ReplicaSet).Spec.Replicas) {
+				t.Errorf("broken test - original and expected RS have the same size")
+			}
+		}
+
+		kc := fake.NewSimpleClientset(expected...)
+		informers := informers.NewSharedInformerFactory(kc, nil, controller.NoResyncPeriodFunc())
+		c := NewDeploymentController(informers.Deployments(), informers.ReplicaSets(), informers.Pods(), kc)
+
+		c.scaleDownOldReplicaSetsForRecreate(oldRSs, test.d)
+		for j := range oldRSs {
+			rs := oldRSs[j]
+
+			if *rs.Spec.Replicas != 0 {
+				t.Errorf("rs %q has non-zero replicas", rs.Name)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/pkg/controller/deployment/sync.go b/pkg/controller/deployment/sync.go
index 94741171001..169e7d23abc 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/deployment/sync.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/deployment/sync.go
@@ -558,7 +558,7 @@ func (dc *DeploymentController) cleanupDeployment(oldRSs []*extensions.ReplicaSe
 
 // syncDeploymentStatus checks if the status is up-to-date and sync it if necessary
 func (dc *DeploymentController) syncDeploymentStatus(allRSs []*extensions.ReplicaSet, newRS *extensions.ReplicaSet, d *extensions.Deployment) error {
-	newStatus := dc.calculateStatus(allRSs, newRS, d)
+	newStatus := calculateStatus(allRSs, newRS, d)
 
 	if reflect.DeepEqual(d.Status, newStatus) {
 		return nil
@@ -570,7 +570,8 @@ func (dc *DeploymentController) syncDeploymentStatus(allRSs []*extensions.Replic
 	return err
 }
 
-func (dc *DeploymentController) calculateStatus(allRSs []*extensions.ReplicaSet, newRS *extensions.ReplicaSet, deployment *extensions.Deployment) extensions.DeploymentStatus {
+// calculateStatus calculates the latest status for the provided deployment by looking into the provided replica sets.
+func calculateStatus(allRSs []*extensions.ReplicaSet, newRS *extensions.ReplicaSet, deployment *extensions.Deployment) extensions.DeploymentStatus {
 	availableReplicas := deploymentutil.GetAvailableReplicaCountForReplicaSets(allRSs)
 	totalReplicas := deploymentutil.GetReplicaCountForReplicaSets(allRSs)
 	unavailableReplicas := totalReplicas - availableReplicas
@@ -580,23 +581,30 @@ func (dc *DeploymentController) calculateStatus(allRSs []*extensions.ReplicaSet,
 		unavailableReplicas = 0
 	}
 
-	if availableReplicas >= *(deployment.Spec.Replicas)-deploymentutil.MaxUnavailable(*deployment) {
-		minAvailability := deploymentutil.NewDeploymentCondition(extensions.DeploymentAvailable, v1.ConditionTrue, deploymentutil.MinimumReplicasAvailable, "Deployment has minimum availability.")
-		deploymentutil.SetDeploymentCondition(&deployment.Status, *minAvailability)
-	} else {
-		noMinAvailability := deploymentutil.NewDeploymentCondition(extensions.DeploymentAvailable, v1.ConditionFalse, deploymentutil.MinimumReplicasUnavailable, "Deployment does not have minimum availability.")
-		deploymentutil.SetDeploymentCondition(&deployment.Status, *noMinAvailability)
-	}
-
-	return extensions.DeploymentStatus{
+	status := extensions.DeploymentStatus{
 		// TODO: Ensure that if we start retrying status updates, we won't pick up a new Generation value.
 		ObservedGeneration:  deployment.Generation,
 		Replicas:            deploymentutil.GetActualReplicaCountForReplicaSets(allRSs),
 		UpdatedReplicas:     deploymentutil.GetActualReplicaCountForReplicaSets([]*extensions.ReplicaSet{newRS}),
 		AvailableReplicas:   availableReplicas,
 		UnavailableReplicas: unavailableReplicas,
-		Conditions:          deployment.Status.Conditions,
 	}
+
+	// Copy conditions one by one so we won't mutate the original object.
+	conditions := deployment.Status.Conditions
+	for i := range conditions {
+		status.Conditions = append(status.Conditions, conditions[i])
+	}
+
+	if availableReplicas >= *(deployment.Spec.Replicas)-deploymentutil.MaxUnavailable(*deployment) {
+		minAvailability := deploymentutil.NewDeploymentCondition(extensions.DeploymentAvailable, v1.ConditionTrue, deploymentutil.MinimumReplicasAvailable, "Deployment has minimum availability.")
+		deploymentutil.SetDeploymentCondition(&status, *minAvailability)
+	} else {
+		noMinAvailability := deploymentutil.NewDeploymentCondition(extensions.DeploymentAvailable, v1.ConditionFalse, deploymentutil.MinimumReplicasUnavailable, "Deployment does not have minimum availability.")
+		deploymentutil.SetDeploymentCondition(&status, *noMinAvailability)
+	}
+
+	return status
 }
 
 // isScalingEvent checks whether the provided deployment has been updated with a scaling event
diff --git a/pkg/controller/replicaset/replica_set.go b/pkg/controller/replicaset/replica_set.go
index e9c87fbff61..ab2160502e5 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/replicaset/replica_set.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/replicaset/replica_set.go
@@ -207,7 +207,7 @@ func (rsc *ReplicaSetController) getPodReplicaSet(pod *v1.Pod) *extensions.Repli
 		// overlap, sort by creation timestamp, subsort by name, then pick
 		// the first.
 		utilruntime.HandleError(fmt.Errorf("user error! more than one ReplicaSet is selecting pods with labels: %+v", pod.Labels))
-		sort.Sort(overlappingReplicaSets(rss))
+		sort.Sort(controller.ReplicaSetsByCreationTimestamp(rss))
 	}
 
 	// update lookup cache
diff --git a/pkg/controller/replicaset/replica_set_utils.go b/pkg/controller/replicaset/replica_set_utils.go
index 6fe67f66ac1..b9dbbbdd654 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/replicaset/replica_set_utils.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/replicaset/replica_set_utils.go
@@ -83,19 +83,6 @@ func updateReplicaSetStatus(c unversionedextensions.ReplicaSetInterface, rs exte
 	}
 }
 
-// overlappingReplicaSets sorts a list of ReplicaSets by creation timestamp, using their names as a tie breaker.
-type overlappingReplicaSets []*extensions.ReplicaSet
-
-func (o overlappingReplicaSets) Len() int      { return len(o) }
-func (o overlappingReplicaSets) Swap(i, j int) { o[i], o[j] = o[j], o[i] }
-
-func (o overlappingReplicaSets) Less(i, j int) bool {
-	if o[i].CreationTimestamp.Equal(o[j].CreationTimestamp) {
-		return o[i].Name < o[j].Name
-	}
-	return o[i].CreationTimestamp.Before(o[j].CreationTimestamp)
-}
-
 func calculateStatus(rs extensions.ReplicaSet, filteredPods []*v1.Pod, manageReplicasErr error) extensions.ReplicaSetStatus {
 	newStatus := rs.Status
 	// Count the number of pods that have labels matching the labels of the pod
diff --git a/test/e2e/deployment.go b/test/e2e/deployment.go
index 086876f5680..49056839d2f 100644
--- a/test/e2e/deployment.go
+++ b/test/e2e/deployment.go
@@ -66,9 +66,6 @@ var _ = framework.KubeDescribe("Deployment", func() {
 	It("RollingUpdateDeployment should delete old pods and create new ones", func() {
 		testRollingUpdateDeployment(f)
 	})
-	It("RollingUpdateDeployment should scale up and down in the right order", func() {
-		testRollingUpdateDeploymentEvents(f)
-	})
 	It("RecreateDeployment should delete old pods and create new ones", func() {
 		testRecreateDeployment(f)
 	})
@@ -314,7 +311,13 @@ func testRollingUpdateDeployment(f *framework.Framework) {
 
 	rsName := "test-rolling-update-controller"
 	replicas := int32(3)
-	_, err := c.Extensions().ReplicaSets(ns).Create(newRS(rsName, replicas, rsPodLabels, nginxImageName, nginxImage))
+	rsRevision := "3546343826724305832"
+	annotations := make(map[string]string)
+	annotations[deploymentutil.RevisionAnnotation] = rsRevision
+	rs := newRS(rsName, replicas, rsPodLabels, nginxImageName, nginxImage)
+	rs.Annotations = annotations
+	By(fmt.Sprintf("Creating replica set %q (going to be adopted)", rs.Name))
+	_, err := c.Extensions().ReplicaSets(ns).Create(rs)
 	Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
 	// Verify that the required pods have come up.
 	err = framework.VerifyPods(c, ns, "sample-pod", false, 3)
@@ -325,18 +328,21 @@ func testRollingUpdateDeployment(f *framework.Framework) {
 
 	// Create a deployment to delete nginx pods and instead bring up redis pods.
 	deploymentName := "test-rolling-update-deployment"
-	framework.Logf("Creating deployment %s", deploymentName)
+	By(fmt.Sprintf("Creating deployment %q", deploymentName))
 	deploy, err := c.Extensions().Deployments(ns).Create(newDeployment(deploymentName, replicas, deploymentPodLabels, redisImageName, redisImage, extensions.RollingUpdateDeploymentStrategyType, nil))
 	Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
 
-	// Wait for it to be updated to revision 1
-	err = framework.WaitForDeploymentRevisionAndImage(c, ns, deploymentName, "1", redisImage)
+	// Wait for it to be updated to revision 3546343826724305833.
+	By(fmt.Sprintf("Ensuring deployment %q gets the next revision from the one the adopted replica set %q has", deploy.Name, rs.Name))
+	err = framework.WaitForDeploymentRevisionAndImage(c, ns, deploymentName, "3546343826724305833", redisImage)
 	Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
 
+	By(fmt.Sprintf("Ensuring status for deployment %q is the expected", deploy.Name))
 	err = framework.WaitForDeploymentStatus(c, deploy)
 	Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
 
 	// There should be 1 old RS (nginx-controller, which is adopted)
+	By(fmt.Sprintf("Ensuring deployment %q has one old replica set (the one it adopted)", deploy.Name))
 	deployment, err := c.Extensions().Deployments(ns).Get(deploymentName, metav1.GetOptions{})
 	Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
 	_, allOldRSs, err := deploymentutil.GetOldReplicaSets(deployment, c)
@@ -348,114 +354,34 @@ func testRollingUpdateDeployment(f *framework.Framework) {
 	Expect(len(allOldRSs[0].Spec.Template.Labels[extensions.DefaultDeploymentUniqueLabelKey])).Should(BeNumerically(">", 0))
 }
 
-func testRollingUpdateDeploymentEvents(f *framework.Framework) {
-	ns := f.Namespace.Name
-	c := f.ClientSet
-	// Create nginx pods.
-	deploymentPodLabels := map[string]string{"name": "sample-pod-2"}
-	rsPodLabels := map[string]string{
-		"name": "sample-pod-2",
-		"pod":  nginxImageName,
-	}
-	rsName := "test-rolling-scale-controller"
-	replicas := int32(1)
-
-	rsRevision := "3546343826724305832"
-	annotations := make(map[string]string)
-	annotations[deploymentutil.RevisionAnnotation] = rsRevision
-	rs := newRS(rsName, replicas, rsPodLabels, nginxImageName, nginxImage)
-	rs.Annotations = annotations
-
-	_, err := c.Extensions().ReplicaSets(ns).Create(rs)
-	Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
-	// Verify that the required pods have come up.
-	err = framework.VerifyPods(c, ns, "sample-pod-2", false, 1)
-	if err != nil {
-		framework.Logf("error in waiting for pods to come up: %s", err)
-		Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
-	}
-
-	// Create a deployment to delete nginx pods and instead bring up redis pods.
-	deploymentName := "test-rolling-scale-deployment"
-	framework.Logf("Creating deployment %s", deploymentName)
-	deploy, err := c.Extensions().Deployments(ns).Create(newDeployment(deploymentName, replicas, deploymentPodLabels, redisImageName, redisImage, extensions.RollingUpdateDeploymentStrategyType, nil))
-	Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
-
-	// Wait for it to be updated to revision 3546343826724305833
-	err = framework.WaitForDeploymentRevisionAndImage(c, ns, deploymentName, "3546343826724305833", redisImage)
-	Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
-
-	err = framework.WaitForDeploymentStatus(c, deploy)
-	Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
-	// Verify that the pods were scaled up and down as expected. We use events to verify that.
-	deployment, err := c.Extensions().Deployments(ns).Get(deploymentName, metav1.GetOptions{})
-	Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
-	framework.WaitForEvents(c, ns, deployment, 2)
-	events, err := c.Core().Events(ns).Search(deployment)
-	if err != nil {
-		framework.Logf("error in listing events: %s", err)
-		Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
-	}
-	// There should be 2 events, one to scale up the new ReplicaSet and then to scale down
-	// the old ReplicaSet.
-	Expect(len(events.Items)).Should(Equal(2))
-	newRS, err := deploymentutil.GetNewReplicaSet(deployment, c)
-	Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
-	Expect(newRS).NotTo(Equal(nil))
-	Expect(events.Items[0].Message).Should(Equal(fmt.Sprintf("Scaled up replica set %s to 1", newRS.Name)))
-	Expect(events.Items[1].Message).Should(Equal(fmt.Sprintf("Scaled down replica set %s to 0", rsName)))
-}
-
 func testRecreateDeployment(f *framework.Framework) {
 	ns := f.Namespace.Name
 	c := f.ClientSet
-	// Create nginx pods.
-	deploymentPodLabels := map[string]string{"name": "sample-pod-3"}
-	rsPodLabels := map[string]string{
-		"name": "sample-pod-3",
-		"pod":  nginxImageName,
-	}
 
-	rsName := "test-recreate-controller"
-	replicas := int32(3)
-	_, err := c.Extensions().ReplicaSets(ns).Create(newRS(rsName, replicas, rsPodLabels, nginxImageName, nginxImage))
-	Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
-	// Verify that the required pods have come up.
-	err = framework.VerifyPods(c, ns, "sample-pod-3", false, 3)
-	if err != nil {
-		framework.Logf("error in waiting for pods to come up: %s", err)
-		Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
-	}
-
-	// Create a deployment to delete nginx pods and instead bring up redis pods.
+	// Create a deployment that brings up redis pods.
 	deploymentName := "test-recreate-deployment"
-	framework.Logf("Creating deployment %s", deploymentName)
-	deploy, err := c.Extensions().Deployments(ns).Create(newDeployment(deploymentName, replicas, deploymentPodLabels, redisImageName, redisImage, extensions.RecreateDeploymentStrategyType, nil))
+	By(fmt.Sprintf("Creating deployment %q", deploymentName))
+	deployment, err := c.Extensions().Deployments(ns).Create(newDeployment(deploymentName, int32(3), map[string]string{"name": "sample-pod-3"}, redisImageName, redisImage, extensions.RecreateDeploymentStrategyType, nil))
 	Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
 
 	// Wait for it to be updated to revision 1
+	By(fmt.Sprintf("Waiting deployment %q to be updated to revision 1", deploymentName))
 	err = framework.WaitForDeploymentRevisionAndImage(c, ns, deploymentName, "1", redisImage)
 	Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
 
-	err = framework.WaitForDeploymentStatus(c, deploy)
+	By(fmt.Sprintf("Waiting deployment %q to complete", deploymentName))
+	Expect(framework.WaitForDeploymentStatusValid(c, deployment)).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
+
+	// Update deployment to delete redis pods and bring up nginx pods.
+	By(fmt.Sprintf("Triggering a new rollout for deployment %q", deploymentName))
+	deployment, err = framework.UpdateDeploymentWithRetries(c, ns, deploymentName, func(update *extensions.Deployment) {
+		update.Spec.Template.Spec.Containers[0].Name = nginxImageName
+		update.Spec.Template.Spec.Containers[0].Image = nginxImage
+	})
 	Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
 
-	// Verify that the pods were scaled up and down as expected. We use events to verify that.
-	deployment, err := c.Extensions().Deployments(ns).Get(deploymentName, metav1.GetOptions{})
-	Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
-	framework.WaitForEvents(c, ns, deployment, 2)
-	events, err := c.Core().Events(ns).Search(deployment)
-	if err != nil {
-		framework.Logf("error in listing events: %s", err)
-		Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
-	}
-	// There should be 2 events, one to scale up the new ReplicaSet and then to scale down the old ReplicaSet.
-	Expect(len(events.Items)).Should(Equal(2))
-	newRS, err := deploymentutil.GetNewReplicaSet(deployment, c)
-	Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
-	Expect(newRS).NotTo(Equal(nil))
-	Expect(events.Items[0].Message).Should(Equal(fmt.Sprintf("Scaled down replica set %s to 0", rsName)))
-	Expect(events.Items[1].Message).Should(Equal(fmt.Sprintf("Scaled up replica set %s to 3", newRS.Name)))
+	By(fmt.Sprintf("Watching deployment %q to verify that new pods will not run with olds pods", deploymentName))
+	Expect(framework.WatchRecreateDeployment(c, deployment)).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
 }
 
 // testDeploymentCleanUpPolicy tests that deployment supports cleanup policy
@@ -494,6 +420,7 @@ func testDeploymentCleanUpPolicy(f *framework.Framework) {
 	}
 	stopCh := make(chan struct{})
 	w, err := c.Core().Pods(ns).Watch(options)
+	Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
 	go func() {
 		// There should be only one pod being created, which is the pod with the redis image.
 		// The old RS shouldn't create new pod when deployment controller adding pod template hash label to its selector.
diff --git a/test/e2e/framework/util.go b/test/e2e/framework/util.go
index 64dd28b75ce..cd7a130f1c6 100644
--- a/test/e2e/framework/util.go
+++ b/test/e2e/framework/util.go
@@ -3290,6 +3290,40 @@ func WaitForDeploymentRollbackCleared(c clientset.Interface, ns, deploymentName
 	return nil
 }
 
+// WatchRecreateDeployment watches Recreate deployments and ensures no new pods will run at the same time with
+// old pods.
+func WatchRecreateDeployment(c clientset.Interface, d *extensions.Deployment) error {
+	if d.Spec.Strategy.Type != extensions.RecreateDeploymentStrategyType {
+		return fmt.Errorf("deployment %q does not use a Recreate strategy: %s", d.Name, d.Spec.Strategy.Type)
+	}
+
+	w, err := c.Extensions().Deployments(d.Namespace).Watch(v1.SingleObject(v1.ObjectMeta{Name: d.Name, ResourceVersion: d.ResourceVersion}))
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	status := d.Status
+
+	condition := func(event watch.Event) (bool, error) {
+		d := event.Object.(*extensions.Deployment)
+		status = d.Status
+
+		if d.Status.UpdatedReplicas > 0 && d.Status.Replicas != d.Status.UpdatedReplicas {
+			return false, fmt.Errorf("deployment %q is running new pods alongside old pods: %#v", d.Name, status)
+		}
+
+		return *(d.Spec.Replicas) == d.Status.Replicas &&
+			*(d.Spec.Replicas) == d.Status.UpdatedReplicas &&
+			d.Generation <= d.Status.ObservedGeneration, nil
+	}
+
+	_, err = watch.Until(2*time.Minute, w, condition)
+	if err == wait.ErrWaitTimeout {
+		err = fmt.Errorf("deployment %q never completed: %#v", d.Name, status)
+	}
+	return err
+}
+
 // WaitForDeploymentRevisionAndImage waits for the deployment's and its new RS's revision and container image to match the given revision and image.
 // Note that deployment revision and its new RS revision should be updated shortly, so we only wait for 1 minute here to fail early.
 func WaitForDeploymentRevisionAndImage(c clientset.Interface, ns, deploymentName string, revision, image string) error {
diff --git a/test/test_owners.csv b/test/test_owners.csv
index 2345aa2afb4..df920368d1a 100644
--- a/test/test_owners.csv
+++ b/test/test_owners.csv
@@ -66,7 +66,6 @@ Density should allow running maximum capacity pods on nodes,smarterclayton,1
 Density should allow starting * pods per node using *,derekwaynecarr,0
 Deployment RecreateDeployment should delete old pods and create new ones,pwittrock,0
 Deployment RollingUpdateDeployment should delete old pods and create new ones,pwittrock,0
-Deployment RollingUpdateDeployment should scale up and down in the right order,pwittrock,0
 Deployment deployment reaping should cascade to its replica sets and pods,wojtek-t,1
 Deployment deployment should create new pods,pwittrock,0
 Deployment deployment should delete old replica sets,pwittrock,0