Randy Savage

Early life

Randy Poffo was born on November 15, 1952, in Columbus, Ohio, the eldest son of Judith (née Sverdlin) and Angelo Poffo. His father was Italian American and his mother was Jewish American; Poffo was raised Catholic. Randy's father was a well-known wrestler in the 1950s and 1960s, and his younger brother Lanny Poffo also went into wrestling.

The Poffo family lived in Zanesville, Ohio, where Randy attended Grover Cleveland Middle School. He graduated from Downers Grove North High School in the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove, Illinois. Poffo later moved to Staten Island, New York, before moving to Lexington, Kentucky, where he lived for many years. Some sources list him as an alumnus of Southern Illinois University–Carbondale, though the university stated in 2011 that it found no records of him attending.

Baseball career

Savage was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals organization as a catcher out of high school. He was placed in the minor leagues to develop, where he mostly played as an outfielder in the Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds farm systems. Savage was 18 when he began playing minor league baseball; one of his teammates on the 1971 Gulf Coast League Cardinals was Larry Herndon, who was also his roommate. Savage would swing a bat into a hanging car tire to strengthen his hands and utilize his legs during swings. The technique was so effective that Herndon used it during his career as a baseball coach. Savage injured his natural (right) throwing shoulder after a collision at home plate, and he learned to throw with his left arm instead. Savage's last season was 1974, when he played for the Class A Tampa Tarpons in the Reds organization. He played 289 games over four minor league seasons, batting .254 with 16 home runs and 129 runs batted in.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1973–1983)

Savage first broke into the wrestling business in 1973 during the fall and winter of the baseball off-season. His first wrestling character, The Spider, was similar to Spider-Man. He later took the ring name Randy Savage at the suggestion of his longtime friend and trainer Terry "The Goose" Stephens and Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW) booker Ole Anderson, who said that the name Poffo did not fit someone who "wrestled like a savage". Savage eventually decided to end his stalled baseball career and join his father and brother to wrestle full time. He wrestled his first match against Midwest Territory wrestler "Golden Boy" Paul Christy. Savage worked with his father and brother in Michigan, the Carolinas, Georgia, the Maritimes, and the eastern Tennessee territory run by Nick Gulas.

After a while, his father felt that his sons were not getting the pushes they deserved so he started the "outlaw" International Championship Wrestling (ICW) promotion in the mid-American states.

Continental Wrestling Association (1983–1985)

In December 1983, Savage began wrestling for Jerry Jarrett and Jerry Lawler's Continental Wrestling Association (the ICW's former competitor). Immediately after debuting, he began feuding with Lawler over the AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship. On December 26, Savage defeated Terry Taylor to win the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship for a second time (he had previously held the title twice in 1978–1979).

In January 1984, Savage and his father Angelo entered a tournament for the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship, but were eliminated by the Rock 'n' Roll Express. Throughout early 1984, Savage successfully defended his NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship against challengers such as Dutch Mantel, Rick McGraw, and Bugsy McGraw, as well as continuing to pursue Lawler's AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship. Savage's reign ended on April 9, 1984, when he lost to Lawler in a "loser gets ten lashes" match in the Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky. On April 23, 1984, Savage defeated Austin Idol for the AWA International Heavyweight Championship. He held the title until May 14, when Idol regained it.

Throughout mid-1984, Savage competed in the tag team division, teaming with his brother Lanny. The brothers had a series of matches against the Rock 'n' Roll Express; this feud included a match on June 25, 1984, in Memphis, Tennessee, where Savage injured Ricky Morton by piledriving him through the timekeeper's table, leading to the Express winning by disqualification.

In September 1984, Savage turned babyface and allied with Lawler against Jimmy Hart's First Family. In late 1984, Savage and Poffo had a series of matches against father-son duo Tommy Gilbert and Eddie Gilbert, including several coal miner's glove matches; the feud culminated in a loser leaves town match in the Mid-South Coliseum on November 27 that the brothers won. They also faced teams such as the Long Riders (Bill Irwin and Scott Irwin) and the Interns. In January 1985, they entered a tournament for the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship, being eliminated by the Interns.

In early-1985, Savage had a short feud with Adrian Street. In March 1985, he turned heel on Lawler again and resume his feud with him over the AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship. On March 17, 1985, Savage finally defeated Lawler for the AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship. In April 1985, Savage and Poffo had a series of matches against AWA Southern Tag Team Champions the Fabulous Ones, including several lumberjack matches, but were unable to win the titles. On May 7, Savage lost his AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship to Jerry Oske; he regained the title on May 13. On June 3, Savage lost the title back to Lawler in a no disqualification loser leaves town match in the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee. On June 6, Savage lost a second loser leaves town match to Lawyer in the Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky; this marked his final appearance with the CWA before he joined the World Wrestling Federation later that month.

World Wrestling Federation (1985–1994)

In June 1985, Savage signed with Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation (WWF). He made his WWF debut on the July 6 episode of Championship Wrestling, defeating local competitor Aldo Marino. Billed as "the top free agent in pro wrestling", Savage's first appearances on Tuesday Night Titans featured several established managers (including Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, Jimmy Hart, Mr. Fuji, Johnny Valiant, and "Classy" Freddie Blassie) offering their services to Savage. He declined their offers and chose Miss Elizabeth as his new manager on the August 24 episode of Championship Wrestling. His gimmick was a crazed, ego-maniacal bully who mistreated Miss Elizabeth and threatened anyone who even looked at her. He made his pay-per-view (PPV) debut for a 16-man tournament at The Wrestling Classic on November 7, defeating Ivan Putski, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, and the Dynamite Kid before losing via countout in the finals to Junkyard Dog.

In late 1985, Savage started a feud with then-Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion Tito Santana over that title. During the November 2 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event III, he unsuccessfully challenged Santana for the title (Savage won the match by countout, but not the title because the title did not change hands by countout). In a rematch on WWF on NESN on February 8, 1986, he won the WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship at the Boston Garden by using an illegal steel object stashed in his tights to knock out Santana. Early in his WWF career, Savage also won three countout victories (the first at the Spectrum in Philadelphia and the other two at Madison Square Garden) over his future tag team partner WWF World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan (although the belt did not change hands due to the countout) as well as engaging in feuds with Bruno Sammartino and George "The Animal" Steele.

Savage's feud with Steele began on the January 4 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event IV, when Steele developed a crush on Miss Elizabeth. At WrestleMania 2 on April 7, 1986, Savage defeated Steele in a match to retain his Intercontinental Heavyweight Title. He resumed his feud with Steele in early 1987, culminating in two Intercontinental Heavyweight title matches, both won by Savage.

His next feud was with Ricky Steamboat, where in October, Savage crushed Steamboat's throat against a guardrail. On March 29, 1987, Savage wrestled Steamboat at WrestleMania III in the Pontiac Silverdome. After 19 two-counts, Steamboat pinned Savage (with help from George Steele, who pushed Savage from the top rope seconds before he was pinned) to end his near 14-month reign as Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion. The match was extremely choreographed, as opposed to the "on the fly" nature of most wrestling matches at the time; Savage was a stickler for detail, and he and Steamboat laid out and rehearsed every spot in the match prior to WrestleMania. The match was named 1987's Match of the Year by both Pro Wrestling Illustrated and the Wrestling Observer and is regarded as one of the greatest WrestleMania matches of all time. Steamboat and Savage were seen cheering with and hugging other wrestlers after the match. The two continued to feud on house shows, including in steel cage matches. During this part of his career, he became known for his stage costumes, which were created by Florida designer Michael Braun.

World Championship Wrestling (1994–2000)

Savage made his first appearance for WCW on the December 3, 1994, episode of WCW Saturday Night, referencing the love/hate relationship he had with Hulk Hogan and stated his desire to be the WCW World Heavyweight Champion. He appeared at Starrcade '94: Triple Threat on December 27, saving Hogan from an attack by the Three Faces of Fear, shaking hands with his friend and rival. At SuperBrawl V on February 19, 1995, Savage and Sting defeated Avalanche and Big Bubba Rogers. On March 19 at Uncensored, Savage defeated Avalanche via disqualification when a fan, who happened to be Ric Flair dressed in drag, attacked Savage. This led to a feud between Savage and Flair, where, on May 21, Flair attacked Savage's father, Angelo Poffo, at Slamboree following the main event where Savage and Hogan defeated Flair and Vader.

Savage participated in the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship tournament, defeating The Butcher in the first round and "Stunning" Steve Austin in the quarterfinals. He then interfered in Flair's match against Alex Wright, attacking Flair and causing Wright to get disqualified, which set up a tournament semi-final in which the winner would face the winner of the Sting and Meng match for the title at The Great American Bash. Savage and Flair's tournament semi-final match never took place, however, due to Savage and Flair brawling in the backstage area prior to the match and both being eliminated from the tournament. At the event on June 18, Savage lost to Flair after Flair stole Angelo's cane and hit Savage with it. In a rematch on July 16, Savage defeated Flair in a lifeguard lumberjack match at Bash at the Beach. Later that year, during part of the storyline in which Arn Anderson and Ric Flair turned on each other, Flair (looking for a partner to take on Anderson and Brian Pillman in a tag match) tried to recruit Savage to be his partner. Remembering the rivalry (and how Flair had attacked Savage's father), Savage refused. At Fall Brawl on September 17, Savage, Hogan, Lex Luger and Sting defeated The Dungeon of Doom (Kamala, The Zodiac, The Shark and Meng) in a WarGames match. On October 29 at Halloween Havoc, Savage defeated Luger.

At World War 3 on November 26, Savage won his first WCW World Heavyweight Championship by winning the first-ever 60-man three-ring battle royal. On December 27, he lost the title to Flair at Starrcade '95: World Cup of Wrestling; earlier that night, he defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan. Savage won his second WCW World Heavyweight Championship back from Flair on the January 22, 1996, episode of Nitro. During this time, Savage brought Elizabeth with him into WCW as his manager once again. At SuperBrawl VI on February 11, Savage defended the title against Flair in steel cage match, however, he lost the title after Elizabeth turned on Savage when she allowed Flair to hit him with one of her high heel shoes. Flair claimed that Elizabeth gave him a sizable amount of Savage's money, taken in their divorce settlement, which he used to set up a "VIP section" at Nitro events.

NWA: Total Nonstop Action (2004)

On November 7, 2004, Savage returned to professional wrestling at NWA: Total Nonstop Action's (TNA) Victory Road pay-per-view, confronting Jeff Jarrett. He made his Impact! debut on November 19, confronting the Kings of Wrestling (Jarrett, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall). At the end of the next week's show, he led a group attack on them. On December 5, at Turning Point, Savage, Jeff Hardy and A.J. Styles defeated them in his last match. Savage never signed a contract with TNA, instead working on a per date handshake deal.

Other media

Endorsements

He was the celebrity spokesman for Slim Jim snack foods in the early-to-late 1990s. His catch phrase in the ads was "Snap into a Slim Jim, oooooh yeah!", which became a recurring theme for Slim Jim ads. In 1998, Savage accepted an award from Harvard University's humor society Harvard Lampoon as Man of the Year.

Acting career

Savage appeared in many television shows in the mid-to-late '90s. He appeared on a wrestling-themed episode of Baywatch that aired in 1996 with fellow WCW wrestlers Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Big Van Vader, and Kevin Sullivan. In 1999, he appeared on popular television shows Walker, Texas Ranger and Mad About You.

Savage appeared in his first theatrical film in 2000 making an appearance as his Macho Man character in the movie Ready to Rumble where David Arquette daydreams a sequence fighting Savage at a gas station. Savage's most famous film role was in the 2002 film Spider-Man as the wrestler Bonesaw McGraw (based on the comics character Crusher Hogan).

Savage's memorable voice gave him voice acting roles for various television and film projects. He voiced the rogue alien wrestler "Rasslor" in the Dexter's Laboratory shorts Dial M for Monkey. He also provided his voice in many other shows including the voice for "Gorilla" in an episode of King of the Hill and the voice of Space Ghost's grandfather in an episode of Space Ghost Coast to Coast. Savage served as the voice of "The Thug" in Disney's Academy Award-nominated 2008 animated film Bolt, which was his last theatrical film appearance. Savage reprised the role in Super Rhino in 2009 for the short film featuring the cast of Bolt.

Music

Savage's music debut was on the WWF-produced WrestleMania: The Album in 1993, where he sang on the song "Speaking from the Heart", one of many songs sung by then-WWF wrestlers on the CD.

On October 7, 2003, Savage released his debut rap album titled Be a Man. It includes a tribute song to "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig, as well as a diss track aimed at Hulk Hogan. Savage promoted Be a Man with a concert tour featuring Brian Adams as his bodyguard and Ron Harris as touring manager. During this time, the development of a second album was already in progress with Savage exclaiming, "We are absolutely going to have more records." However, no further albums were released.

Just three months before his death on February 2, 2011, EpicLLOYD and Nice Peter made a song along with a video for Epic Rap Battles of History of Hulk Hogan, "Macho Man" Randy Savage and Kim Jong-Il having a rap battle. They noted his death with annotations in the video.

Rapper Don Trip released a mixtape on January 24, 2014, entitled Randy Savage. All tracks have Savage's famous "Ohhh Yeah!!!" in the opening of the song; the track entitled "Cream of the Crop" has Savage's "Nothing Means Nothing" speech from an interview after WrestleMania III. In January 2015, DJ/rapper DJ Cummerbund began releasing a series of remixes that feature samples from Be a Man which has received critical acclaim.

Video games

Savage appeared in WWF WrestleMania, WWF WrestleMania Challenge, WWF Superstars, WWF WrestleMania: Steel Cage Challenge, WWF Super WrestleMania, WWF Royal Rumble, WWF King of the Ring, WCW vs nWo: World Tour, WCW Nitro, WCW/nWo Revenge, WCW/nWo Thunder, WCW Mayhem, Fire Pro Wrestling, Showdown: Legends of Wrestling, WWE All Stars, as a DLC in WWE 12 and as an unlockable character in WWE 2K14. He appears as the Macho King as a DLC in WWE 2K15, in WWE 2K16 as a starting wrestler, in WWE 2K17, WWE 2K18 as an unlockable wrestler through the in-game currency "VC" (Virtual Currency), and WWE 2K19 as an exclusive DLC character for the Collector's edition of the game, entitled the "Wooooo!" Edition, WWE 2K20 as an unlockable character through the game's currency, WWE 2K Battlegrounds as a post-launch DLC character, and is also an unlockable character in WWE 2K22, WWE 2K23, WWE 2K24, WWE 2K25, and WWE 2K26. He also appears in Brawlhalla as a crossover.

Savage's 16-plus-year absence from WWE-licensed games from 1994's WWF Raw to 2011's WWE All Stars was recognized by Guinness World Records in its 2015 gamer's edition as the longest such absence.

Personal life

Savage met Elizabeth Hulette, better known as Miss Elizabeth, at a gym in Lexington in 1982, and they married in 1984. They divorced in 1992. On May 10, 2010, Savage married Barbara Lynn Payne, whom he had previously dated in the early 1970s.

For years, Savage and Hulk Hogan were at odds and had an on again/off again friendship. He had a dog named Hercules, a German Shepherd that was given to him by Hercules Hernandez. Savage also had a cat whom he had rescued 6 months prior to his passing in 2011 which he had named “JYC” or “Junkyard Cat” after his close friend “Junkyard Dog” [175]

Death

On the morning of May 20, 2011, Savage was driving his Jeep Wrangler near his home in Seminole, Florida, with his wife Lynn Payne in the passenger seat when he became unresponsive and crashed into a tree. Paramedics arrived soon after and found him dead at the scene. He was 58 years old. Savage and Payne had been wearing seatbelts, and Payne suffered only minor physical injuries in the crash. An autopsy performed by the medical examiner's office found that he had an enlarged heart and advanced coronary artery disease (more than 90% narrowed) which had resulted in a sudden heart attack. The drugs found in his system included a prescription painkiller and a small amount of alcohol. Savage had never been treated for heart problems and there was no evidence that he was aware of his heart condition. The cause of death was officially ruled as atherosclerotic heart disease.

Five days after his death, Savage was cremated, and his ashes were placed under a favorite tree on his property in Largo, Florida, near his mother's development. Ten days before his death, he had asked his brother to pour the ashes of his dog in the same spot. When Savage's brother asked why, Savage stated that it was because he wanted him to remember that spot, since he wanted his ashes to be poured there as well.

Legacy

Vince McMahon, with whom Savage had a longtime strained relationship, paid tribute to Savage in a Time magazine article, describing Savage as "one of wrestling's all-time greats". TNA held a ten-bell salute in Savage's honor the night of his death. WWE aired a tribute video on the May 23 episode of Raw with the song "The Scientist" by Coldplay. Later that night, CM Punk paid tribute to Savage by wearing pink trunks and yellow boots, complete with white stars on the trunks, during a tag team match with R-Truth against John Cena and Rey Mysterio. Punk later adapted a version of the diving elbow drop into his moveset.

In August 2011, Kevin Eck of The Baltimore Sun lauded Savage as an all-round performer, saying that "nobody blended power, speed, agility, and technical skills like the 'Macho Man' in his prime".

WWE released a DVD documentary, Macho Man: The Randy Savage Story, in November 2014. Despite a strained relationship over the years with the WWE, the documentary featured interviews with Savage's mother and his brother Lanny Poffo, with Poffo giving insight to many of the rumors and denying some of the negative things other wrestlers said in the documentary about Savage, including his relationship with Elizabeth. Savage was never inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame during his lifetime and he was frequently described as being one of its most noticeably absent figures.

On January 12, 2015, WWE announced Savage as the first inductee to the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2015, and that his Mega Powers partner and long-time rival Hulk Hogan would induct him. Lanny Poffo, Savage's brother, accepted the honor on Randy's behalf by reading a poem. Later on the WWE Network that same night Lanny commented, "I had no thoughts. I was so excited. Intellectually, there was nothing. It was all emotional. I was happy for the fans. They waited for Bruno Sammartino for so many years and now they waited for Macho Man." He went on to say that Savage's mother and his 30-year-old daughter are both very excited and said of the WWE Network, "Randy will never die." Vince McMahon reached out to Savage back in 2010, wanting to induct only him in the Hall of Fame, but Savage refused to go in without his father and his brother.

On September 1, 2018, at the event All In, Jay Lethal was accompanied to the ring by Lanny Poffo, while dressed in one of Savage's original outfits.

Championships and accomplishments

NWA Mid-America / Continental Wrestling Association

AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

CWA International Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship (3 times)

Grand Prix Wrestling

GPW International Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling

NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Lanny Poffo

International Championship Wrestling

ICW World Heavyweight Championship (3 times)

Ilio DiPaolo Legends of the Aud

Hall of Fame (2016)

Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame

Class of 2022

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

Comeback of the Year (1995)

Feud of the Year (1997) vs. Diamond Dallas Page

Match of the Year (1987) vs. Ricky Steamboat at WrestleMania III

Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (1989)

Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (1988)