Randy Savage: Difference between revisions

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==Trivia==
==Trivia==
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{{toomuchtrivia}}
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*When Poffo played for the St. Petersburg Cardinals minor-league baseball team in [[1971]], one of his teammates was [[Keith Hernandez]]. The team was managed by [[Jimmy Piersall]].
*When Poffo played for the St. Petersburg Cardinals minor-league baseball team in [[1971]], one of his teammates was [[Keith Hernandez]]. The team was managed by [[Jimmy Piersall]].
*His name change from Randy Poffo came at the suggestion of Georgia Championship Wrestling booker [[Ole Anderson]], who said that the name Poffo didn't fit someone who "wrestled like a savage".
*His name change from Randy Poffo came at the suggestion of Georgia Championship Wrestling booker [[Ole Anderson]], who said that the name Poffo didn't fit someone who "wrestled like a savage".
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*Savage's ring entrance music in the WWF was ''[[Pomp and Circumstance Marches|Pomp and Circumstance]]'', known best as the theme played at high school graduations. Because the song was in the public domain and therefore could not be copyrighted by the WWF like most themes, Savage was able to bring it with him to WCW and used a rock version of the theme for much of his early to mid-WCW career.
*Savage's ring entrance music in the WWF was ''[[Pomp and Circumstance Marches|Pomp and Circumstance]]'', known best as the theme played at high school graduations. Because the song was in the public domain and therefore could not be copyrighted by the WWF like most themes, Savage was able to bring it with him to WCW and used a rock version of the theme for much of his early to mid-WCW career.
*Savage's two WWF and four WCW World Heavyweight Championship reigns were all ended with Savage losing the title to either [[Hulk Hogan]] or [[Ric Flair]].
*Savage's two WWF and four WCW World Heavyweight Championship reigns were all ended with Savage losing the title to either [[Hulk Hogan]] or [[Ric Flair]].
*In a WCW video about his career in WCW, he admitted to never liking Diamond Dallas Page. He later admitted that he had changed his mind and thought he was a stand up guy.
*In 1995, Savage pushed for WCW to place his father, [[Angelo Poffo]], in its [[WCW Hall of Fame|Hall of Fame]]. Commentator and wrestling legend [[Gordon Solie]] opposed this decision, because he felt wrestlers (or in this case, family of wrestlers) should not be asking for spots in the Hall—in this case, especially, since Poffo did not have much of a career in WCW. Poffo's induction went on and Solie left the company shortly after.
*In 1995, Savage pushed for WCW to place his father, [[Angelo Poffo]], in its [[WCW Hall of Fame|Hall of Fame]]. Commentator and wrestling legend [[Gordon Solie]] opposed this decision, because he felt wrestlers (or in this case, family of wrestlers) should not be asking for spots in the Hall—in this case, especially, since Poffo did not have much of a career in WCW. Poffo's induction went on and Solie left the company shortly after.
*In 1998, Savage accepted an award from [[Harvard University]]'s humor society [[Harvard Lampoon]] as '''''Man of the Year'''''.
*In 1998, Savage accepted an award from [[Harvard University]]'s humor society [[Harvard Lampoon]] as '''''Man of the Year'''''.
*On the [[June 20]], [[2006]] episode of ''[[Extreme Championship Wrestling (WWE)|ECW]] on [[Sci Fi Channel (United States)|SciFi]]'', Jack Black's character, Nacho Libre was parodied by a masked "luchador" going by the name "Macho Libre." This spoof was played by [[Tony DeVito]]. He cut a promo imitating Savage and was then interrupted by [[Jim Fullington|The Sandman]], who made quick work of the overweight luchadore to get the pinfall.


==Wrestling facts==
==Wrestling facts==

Revision as of 23:18, 8 March 2007

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Randall Mario Poffo (born November 15, 1952), better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, is a professional wrestler. Savage achieved prominence in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and later World Championship Wrestling. For much of his tenure in the WWF, he was managed by his real life wife, Miss Elizabeth, to whom he was married on December 30, 1984.

Early career

Born in Columbus, Ohio and a graduate of Downers Grove North High School in a suburb near Chicago, Illinois, Randy Poffo was a minor league baseball catcher in the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago White Sox farm systems prior to his wrestling career. He injured his natural (right) throwing shoulder at one point so he learned to throw with his left arm instead.

He is a second-generation professional wrestler; his father Angelo Poffo was a well-known wrestler in the 1950s and 1960s, who was featured in Ripley's Believe it or Not for his ability to do sit-ups for hours on end. Randy's brother Lanny had a moderately successful career as a wrestler too most notably under the names "Leaping Lanny Poffo" and "The Genius".

Randy first broke into the business in the early 1970s during the fall and winter of the baseball off season. When he decided to abandon his baseball career he became a full time wrestler working with his brother and father. He wrestled his first match against Midwest territory wrestler, the "Golden Boy" Paul Christy. Randy 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. Randy dated fellow wrestler Debbie Combs for five years while they were working for ICW.

Eventually ICW disbanded and Randy and Lanny entered the Memphis scene, joining Jerry Lawler's Continental Wrestling Association (their former competitors). While there, Savage feuded with Lawler over the AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship and he and Lanny battled the Rock 'n' Roll Express including one infamous match on June 25, 1984 in Memphis, where Savage (kayfabe) injured Ricky Morton by piledriving him through the timekeeper's table which led to the Express winning by disqualification. Later in 1984, Savage turned face and become allied with Lawler against Jimmy Hart's First Family stable, only to turn heel on Lawler again in early-1985 and resume their feud over the title, which ended when Lawler beat Savage in a loser-leaves-town match on June 8 in Nashville, Tennessee.

World Wrestling Federation 1985-1994

File:Mega Powers.jpg
Randy Savage, along with "Mega Powers" partner Hulk Hogan

In June 1985, Savage signed with Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation. One of Savage's first appearances was on Tuesday Night Titans where the established WWF managers all made their cases to offer their services to Savage (including Bobby Heenan, Jimmy Hart, and "Classy" Fred Blassie). Savage eventually rejected all these offers in favor of his new manager, the debuting Miss Elizabeth. He made his pay-per-view debut at The Wrestling Classic on November 7, 1985, where he defeated Ivan Putski, Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat and the Dynamite Kid on his way to finishing runner-up to Junkyard Dog in a sixteen man tournament.

He eventually beat Tito Santana to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship at the famed Boston Garden in February 1986 by using an illegal steel object stashed in his tights. Early on in his WWF career Savage also won two countout victories in Madison Square Garden over his future tag-team partner WWF Champion Hulk Hogan (although the belt did not change due to the countout) and engaged in brutal feuds with Bruno Sammartino and George "the Animal" Steele.

Ricky Steamboat

Savage wrestled in what is widely considered to be one of the greatest matches in North American wrestling history when he faced Steamboat at WrestleMania III in the Pontiac Silverdome. The match was the culmination of a long and bitter feud (which saw Savage crush Steamboat's larynx in kayfabe) and featured tremendous athleticism and in-ring storytelling. After nineteen 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 champion. The match was extremely choreographed, as opposed to the "on the fly" nature of most wrestling matches. Savage was a stickler for detail and he and Steamboat laid out and rehearsed every spot in the match prior to WrestleMania, at his home in Florida. It still stands up to the test of time and is cited by such wrestling luminaries as Chris Jericho as their inspiration for becoming a wrestler. The match was voted Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Match of the Year for 1987.

The birth of the Mega Powers

Savage turned face later in 1987 after drawing increasingly positive reactions for his charisma, in-ring ability and the estimable presence of Miss Elizabeth and began to feud with the Honky Tonk Man. On Saturday Night's Main Event in October 1987 he solidified his status as a face when Elizabeth got Hulk Hogan to save him from a beatdown by Jimmy Hart's cronies, The Honky Tonk Man and the Hart Foundation. As a result, The Mega Powers were born. Hogan and Savage together ruled the WWF for the next sixteen months.

First World Championship run

Savage reached the pinnacle of his career to date during WrestleMania IV when after defeating Butch Reed, Greg Valentine and One Man Gang that same day, he defeated "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase in the final of a tournament for the vacant WWF Championship. Savage held the title for a full year before losing it to Hogan at WrestleMania V in 1989. Prior to his WrestleMania V match, he turned heel on Hogan, getting jealous of him over Miss Elizabeth as well as his self-perceived third-banana standing in the Mega Powers. He eventually replaced Elizabeth as his valet for Sensational Sherri. Savage would co-main event SummerSlam '89, where he teamed with Zeus, a character from Hulk Hogan's movie, No Holds Barred, against Hogan and Brutus Beefcake. In this match Hogan "no-sold" Savage's flying elbow by standing straight up after Savage hit it in the centre of the ring.

"The Macho King"

He adopted the moniker "Macho King" after defeating Jim Duggan for the makeshift King's Crown Championship (A moniker originally given to Harley Race on his WWF arrival.) After the match, Savage proceeded to give Duggan five big elbow drops from the top rope and Sherri did several splashes from the top to further humiliate Duggan. On a later wrestling episode, he had a coronation as the new "King of the WWF" led by wrestler The Genius (actually Savage's brother, Lanny Poffo), with Dibiase giving him a sceptor as a gift. Savage would use that sceptor as a weapon numerous times during his duration as "The Macho King".

In 1990, the "Macho King" feuded with the "commoner" Dusty Rhodes, meeting him in a mixed tag team match involving Sherri and Rhodes' valet Sapphire at Wrestlemania VI and a singles match at SummerSlam.

Ultimate Warrior

Savage got into a feud with The Ultimate Warrior after the Warrior, then WWF Champion, refused to grant Savage the No. 1 contendership, as Sgt. Slaughter had already been promised. Savage had sent "Sensational Queen" Sherri out during the 1991 Royal Rumble to try and convince the Warrior in a face-to-face interview laced with sexual innuendos and gestures. This failed to get anywhere with the champion. Outraged, Savage promised revenge, which he sought during the Slaughter-Warrior title match. Sherri goaded the Warrior out of the ring causing the Warrior to leave and run down the aisle only to be clotheslined by Savage, who was hiding behind the stage. He followed up by smashing Warrior across the back with a light stand. Warrior managed to make it back to the ring, where (after being dominated for several minutes by Sgt. Slaughter) he rallied and was nearing victory when Savage and Sherri interfered again. At an opportune moment the King smashed the Warrior on the head with his scepter, costing him the WWF Championship against Sgt. Slaughter. Savage went on to score several tainted cage-match victories over Warrior in venues across the country due usually to the interference of Sherri.

This led to a career-ending match at WrestleMania VII. Savage lost the match even after delivering five consecutive flying elbow drops as the Warrior somehow managed to kick out and return to score the victory after several flying clotheslines and shoulder blocks. After the match, Savage was attacked by Queen Sherri as he lay dejected in the ring. This was too much for Miss Elizabeth who happened to be in the audience. Elizabeth rushed to Savage's aid, fighting off Sherri and reuniting with her one-time love to huge crowd appreciation. The match was far from a legitimate "retirement" match especially since Savage stayed in WWF afterwards and the Ultimate Warrior himself eventually left at SummerSlam that year.

Jake "The Snake" Roberts

Savage returned to TV in a non-wrestling role as the "Macho Man" after WrestleMania VII as a broadcaster. Meanwhile the angle with Miss Elizabeth continued, culminating with Savage "proposing" to her in the ring leading to an on-air "wedding" at SummerSlam 1991, dubbed The Match Made in Heaven. It was at this time that Savage was targeted by Jake Roberts who was by now a dastardly heel. On an episode of "Prime Time Wrestling" prior to SummerSlam, the announcers and several other babyface wrestlers threw a "bachelor party" for Savage, with Roberts' arrival deemed unwelcome by the rest of the contingent due to his recent heel turn. In response, Roberts ambushed Macho Man and Miss Elizabeth at the wedding reception by putting a snake in their pile of wedding presents. Later, while Savage began a public campaign to get himself reinstated, Roberts forced a cobra to bite Savage's arm as the Macho Man was tied up in the ropes (seen on WWF Superstars). Due to fan pressure brought on by Savage's lobbying Savage was "re-instated" as a wrestler by WWF president Jack Tunney so that he could do battle with Roberts. During the Tuesday in Texas pay-per-view Roberts — after losing to Savage — beat him down with three DDTs, then forced Elizabeth to beg for mercy towards her husband; when Roberts was dissatisfied with her he slapped her hard across the face. The feud finally ended after a Saturday Night's Main Event match in February 1992.

Ric Flair

Savage then found himself with another run as WWF Champion defeating "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair at WrestleMania VIII in 1992 and holding it until September of that year, when he lost it back to Flair at a WWF TV taping in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Savage and Flair later swapped the WCW World Heavyweight Championship during their 199596 feud making them the only duo to win and lose both the WWF/E and WCW versions of the world title to each other.

The Ultimate Maniacs

He formed a tag team with The Ultimate Warrior known as the Ultimate Maniacs after defending the title against the Warrior at SummerSlam 92. Flair and Mr. Perfect inflicted (kayfabe) knee injuries on Savage during the match resulting in a countout loss and ultimately costing Savage the title to Flair in September. Savage backed Warrior to be the man to dethrone Flair. Savage and Warrior were scheduled to face Flair and Ramon in a tag team match at that year's Survivor Series. However, Warrior was fired from the WWF weeks before the event, so Savage chose Mr. Perfect, executive consultant to Flair, as his partner to replace Warrior. Perfect turned face and teamed with Savage. The duo defeated Flair and Ramon via a disqualification.

Departure

When Monday Night RAW began in January 1993, Savage served primarily as a color commentator, wrestling only occasionally against characters such as Doink, The Repo Man, and Crush. He also defeated Crush in a "Falls Count Anywhere Match" at WrestleMania X after Crush punctuated his heel turn by attacking Savage and dropping him face-first on the guardrail, lacerating Savage's tongue. Savage also made periodic appearances in Jim Cornette's Smoky Mountain Wrestling promotion in fall 1994. His final WWF pay-per-view appearance was at SummerSlam 1994 where he served as host.

World Championship Wrestling 1994-1999

Savage signed a $6 million contract with WCW, joining his "friend" Hulk Hogan, who was feuding with the 3 Faces of Fear and the Dungeon of Doom.

1995

Savage resumed his rivalry with Ric Flair during this time. During the 1995 WCW United States Championship tournament (created when former champion Leon White (Vader) was stripped of the belt for attacking WCW on-air Commissioner Nick Bockwinkel), Savage interfered in Flair's match vs. Alex Wright, attacking Flair and causing Wright to get disqualified, setting up a tournament semifinal match where the winner would face the winner of the Sting/Meng match for the United States Championship at The Great American Bash that June. Savage and Flair's match never took place, as Savage and Flair brawled in the backstage area prior to the bell ringing. They were both eliminated from the tournament, and had their own match in the main event of the Bash, which Savage won. Later on that year, during part of the storyline where Arn Anderson and Ric Flair turned on each other, Flair (in looking for a partner to take on Anderson and Brian Pillman in a tag match) tried to recruit Savage to be his partner. However, remembering the rivalry (and how Flair had attacked Savage's father, Angelo Poffo, which was the catalyst for their feud back in May), he refused, telling Flair point blank to "get the hell out of here!"

On November 26, 1995 at World War 3, Macho Man won the WCW World Title by winning the 60-man three-ring battle royal. He lost the title to Flair a month later. Macho Man won the title back a month afterwards but lost the title back to Flair another month later.

1996

In January 1996, he brought Elizabeth with him into WCW as his valet once again. Elizabeth turned on Savage in his last title loss to Flair. Thereafter, Flair claimed that Elizabeth had given him a sizable amount of Savage's money, taken in their divorce settlement, and which Flair used to set up a "VIP section" at Monday Nitro events. Flair and Savage continued to feud through the Great American Bash in June 1996.

In July 1996, the nWo was formed when Hulk Hogan turned on Savage and joined The Outsiders, a tag team of former WWF wrestlers Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. After their inception, one of their main enemies became Macho Man himself. At Halloween Havoc 1996, Macho Man faced Hogan for the WCW Title but lost when the rest of the nWo interfered.

1997

After months of abuse from the nWo, Savage joined them at SuperBrawl VII in 1997, when he helped Hogan defeat Roddy Piper in a rematch from their Starrcade match the previous year. He also reunited with Elizabeth, who had joined the nWo several months earlier. He began feuding with Diamond Dallas Page and Kimberly. When Hogan failed to recapture his "nWo" Title from Sting, it was Savage's turn, and he got his shot at Spring Stampede 1998. Hogan tried everything he could to make sure that Savage would not win the title because Hogan felt that he was the only nWo member who should be World Champion, since he was the leader of the stable. With the help of Nash, however, Savage beat Sting for the belt, despite tearing the ACL in his knee during the match.

The following night on WCW Monday Nitro, Hogan faced Savage for the championship. For a while it looked like Hogan had Savage beat, but for the second consecutive night, Nash came to Savage's aid, powerbombing Hogan. Savage tried to capitalize, but an interfering Bret Hart attacked Savage and preserved the victory for Hogan.

After that, Savage joined with Nash and others to form the nWo Wolfpac, a split from Hogan's group, which became known as nWo Black and White or nWo Hollywood. He went on to feud with both Bret Hart and Roddy Piper before leaving the company due to his knee injury.

1998 and 1999

For nearly a year, Randy Savage took a hiatus from the company due to recover from at least two major knee surgeries. He made only one more appearance in 1998, helping Ric Flair defeat Eric Bischoff for the Presidency of WCW on the December 28 episode of Monday Nitro. When Macho Man returned, he came back with a new look and new attitude and also brought with him his then 22-year-old girlfriend Gorgeous George as a valet. His first action was as the guest referee in the WCW world title matchup at Spring Stampede 1999, which was won by Diamond Dallas Page. For a short time after, Randy interfered in DDP's matches to make sure that Page kept his World Title (for reasons unknown and never explained by WCW), but when Kevin Nash won it at Slamboree 1999, Savage went after the title himself. It was around that time that Madusa and Miss Madness joined Macho Man as his other two valets; together they were known as Team Madness.

At The Great American Bash 1999, Sid Vicious returned to WCW and helped Macho Man attack Kevin Nash. This led to a tag team match between Kevin Nash and Sting against Randy Savage and Sid Vicious, in which whoever pinned Nash (including Sting) would win the World Title, at Bash at the Beach 1999. Savage won the WCW title for the fourth time when he pinned Nash but lost the title again to Hollywood Hogan the next night, when Nash interfered and powerbombed Macho Man (in a reversal of the situation from the previous year, where Nash had attacked Hogan to help Savage keep his title, albeit unsuccessfully).

Departure

After that, Team Madness slowly started to disband as Madusa and Miss Madness started fighting each other because they blamed the other for Savage's title loss. Savage soon fired both of them and started a feud with Dennis Rodman, defeating him at Road Wild 1999. He eventually joined the Millionaire's Club with Hogan, Jim Duggan, Flair, DDP, and other popular veteran wrestlers. When Vince Russo came to WCW and Savage's WCW contract expired, Savage and George left WCW and never returned.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling 2004

Savage made his return to wrestling for TNA at Victory Road 2004 and feuded against Jeff Jarrett, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall. At Turning Point 2004 he teamed up with Jeff Hardy and A.J. Styles to defeat the Kings of Wrestling (Jeff Jarrett, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall). The main event of Final Resolution 2005 was going to be Jeff Jarrett and Randy Savage for the NWA Title. Savage's plan was to win the belt and then drop it back to Jarrett at the next pay per view. When TNA Management didn't like the idea Savage left because neither party would budge. There were also stories of a confrontation between Savage and Hulk Hogan, who was backstage at the TNA tapings. Hogan only wished to shake Savage's hand and wish him luck; Savage however had harsh words for Hogan, who asked if Savage wanted to "step outside" to settle matters; Savage apparently declined. Savage then claimed TNA was an "unsafe working environment" and actually left one time prior to leaving TNA for good, for this reason; he returned after being promised his own private dressing room and allowed his own personal security, which consisted of one of the Harris Brothers and ex-wrestler Brian Adams. While this pacified tensions between Macho and TNA management for a while, his eventual departure was in fact indeed due to the title match proposed outcome.

Post-wrestling career

His former wife Elizabeth Hulette was found dead in the home of professional wrestler Lex Luger on May 1, 2003 from a drug overdose.

In 2005, Savage told a Missouri newspaper that he can't wrestle right now because of "health concerns," as he had apparently injured his back and shoulder blade.

Jakks Pacific tried to sign him up for the Classic Superstars line up only to be denied by Vince McMahon, despite the fact that he allowed them to sign a number of wrestlers on bad terms with WWE, including The Ultimate Warrior (signed twice by Jakks), Bruno Sammartino, The Honky Tonk Man, and even Bret "The Hitman" Hart. Savage remains one of the only big stars who hasn't signed up with Jakks for a figure.

On January 13, 2007, it was reported that Hulk Hogan let a list of possible Hall of Fame inductees slip out and Randy Savage was on that list.[1]

Outside of the ring

Acting career

File:Tv weird al Macho Man Randy Savage.jpg
The Weird Al Show (1997) was one of Savage's earliest guest television appearances. Savage shows self-parody by busting through Weird Al's wall, looking for a wrestling match. Savage then had to wrestle Al's pet hamster, Harvey the Wonder Hamster, featuring a match in which he was defeated by the rodent.
  • Savage provided the voice for the character, Rasslor, on an episode of the "Dial M For Monkey" segment on Dexter's Laboratory.
  • He has also lent his voice to the online cartoon College University in which he voiced himself.
  • He also appeared in one of the more popular episodes of the television program Space Ghost Coast to Coast, entitled "Piledriver." In the episode, Savage supplied the voice of Space Ghost's grandfather, a former professional wrestler. Zorak commented, "That sounds like Randy Savage," and the character also referenced Elizabeth, his brother, "Leapin" Lanny Poffo, "Wildfire" Tommy Rich and Haystacks Calhoun, a now obscure wrestler from forty years ago.
  • Savage beat out rival former wrestler Goldberg as the casting choice to appear in Spider-Man (2002) as the underground wrestler "Bonesaw McGraw." The original character from the comics is named Crusher Hogan.
  • In 2005, he provided the voice of Sasquatch in the Nickelodeon show The X's.
  • He's also appeared on The Jeff Foxworthy Show as himself.
  • Savage played pro wrestler James "Pretty Boy" Carter on the sitcom Nikki, Ep# 14, Season 1, "Fallback". His character's financial bankruptcy and physical injuries led Dwight (Nick Von Esmarch) his long-time fan, to rethink his own options between college education and passion for wrestling.
  • He played a prison inmate who was forced to fight other inmates in a cage in the episode "Fight or Die" of Walker, Texas Ranger.
  • In 1999, Macho Man appeared as himself on Mad About You, Ep #17, Season 7. In the episode Savage wrestles "Gorilla Boy" (Marvin), and wins only after Ira, Marvin's manager, tells him to bite Marvin on the back of the foot, his achilles heel. Savage responds by asking "is he basically a clean guy" before he bites Marvin. Marvin's mom then attacks Savage resulting in a brawl in the ring.

Music career

Savage had pursued a career as a rap artist; his debut album Be a Man was released on October 7, 2003. His album was met with scathing reviews; according to a review by Dan Aquilante of the New York Post, his album "defies the laws of physics by blowing and sucking at the same time." Another critic described the vocals as sounding like "Nick Nolte after a whiskey and sandpaper binge." The title track of the album was intended to make fun of Hulk Hogan. There is also a track entitled "Perfect Friend", a tribute song for Curt Hennig.

Television

When Phil Hellmuth did an interview on Sirius Satellite Radio recently, he said that Savage will be on the next season of VH1's Surreal Life along with Playboy Playmate Tina Marie Jordan and rock musician Peter Steele. This has been verified by Savage himself in a press release, though VH1 has not released the official cast list yet.

Trivia

  • When Poffo played for the St. Petersburg Cardinals minor-league baseball team in 1971, one of his teammates was Keith Hernandez. The team was managed by Jimmy Piersall.
  • His name change from Randy Poffo came at the suggestion of Georgia Championship Wrestling booker Ole Anderson, who said that the name Poffo didn't fit someone who "wrestled like a savage".
  • His first wrestling character was similar to Spider-Man. Ironically, he would appear as a wrestler in the first Spider Man film.
  • During the late 1980s and early 1990s, he also became known for a supposed friendship with Hogan that quickly developed into a very open (and unscripted) rivalry after Savage accused Hogan of sleeping in Elizabeth's bed during a road trip. Savage and Elizabeth were divorced on September 18, 1992. Savage and Hogan have a strained relationship to this day. It has been speculated that Savage punched Hogan in the face just prior to WrestleMania IX, causing Hogan to have a swollen eye during the event. The story was found to be untrue and Hogan's swollen eye was due to a jet-ski accident.
  • Savage has never been able to defeat Hulk Hogan in any type of match, with the exception of a series of countout victories in the mid-1980s on the house show circuit and a disqualification win on WCW Monday Nitro in 1998.
  • Savage's ring entrance music in the WWF was Pomp and Circumstance, known best as the theme played at high school graduations. Because the song was in the public domain and therefore could not be copyrighted by the WWF like most themes, Savage was able to bring it with him to WCW and used a rock version of the theme for much of his early to mid-WCW career.
  • Savage's two WWF and four WCW World Heavyweight Championship reigns were all ended with Savage losing the title to either Hulk Hogan or Ric Flair.
  • In 1995, Savage pushed for WCW to place his father, Angelo Poffo, in its Hall of Fame. Commentator and wrestling legend Gordon Solie opposed this decision, because he felt wrestlers (or in this case, family of wrestlers) should not be asking for spots in the Hall—in this case, especially, since Poffo did not have much of a career in WCW. Poffo's induction went on and Solie left the company shortly after.
  • In 1998, Savage accepted an award from Harvard University's humor society Harvard Lampoon as Man of the Year.

Wrestling facts

Finishing and signature moves

File:SavageElbow.jpg
Savage hits Yokozuna with the Savage Elbow.

Quotes

  • "I'm the tower of power, too sweet to be sour- I'm funky like a monkey, sky's the limit and space's the place!" <(Most of these are actually "Superstar" Billy Graham's catch phrases)
  • "Ohhhhh yeahhhh!"
  • "The madness is running wild!"
  • "Snap into a Slim Jim!"
  • "Dig it!"
  • "History beckons the Macho Man!"
  • "Who's in the danger zone!"
  • "Its not a smorgabsorg, its the WWF."
  • "Ohhhhh yeahhhh! I want everybody to freak out, freak out! The Macho Man is right here and I'm gonna take it to the limit, yeah!"
  • "Best there is...past, present and future! Ohhhhh yeahhhh!"
  • "I'm too hot to handle, and too cold to hold!"
  • "Mean Gene Okerlund, meet the Macho Man Randy Savage, and I just happen to be the World Heavyweight Champion."
  • "You been running from Macho like I got a disease."
  • "I've been everywhere from soaring with the eagles to slithering with the snakes."
  • "Bow down to the kingdom of the madness!"
  • "Macho Madness is coming at ya!"
  • "Expect the unexpected, in the kingdom of madness!"
  • "Here comes the magic finger..."
  • "Bonesaw is ready!" (As Bonesaw McGraw in the film Spider-Man)
  • "Hey, freakshow! You're goin' NOWHERE! I got'cha for three minutes! Three minutes of playtime!" (As Bonesaw McGraw in the film Spider-Man)
  • "Dusty Rhodes, do you think you're what our forefathers were thinking about when they thought up the American Dream? Ooooh, yeah, I don't think so."
  • "I'm the Macho Man Randy Savage and I'm the World Wrestling Federation Champion and YOU'RE NOT."

Managers

Championships and accomplishments

  • International Championship Wrestling
ICW Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
  • PWI ranked him # 9 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003.
  • PWI ranked him # 57 of the best tag teams of the "PWI Years" with Hulk Hogan.
  • PWI Wrestler of the Year Award (1988)
  • PWI Most Popular Wrestler Award (1988)
  • PWI Most Hated Wrestler Award (1989)
  • PWI Comeback of the Year Award (1995)
  • PWI Match of the Year, versus Ricky Steamboat (1987)
  • PWI Feud of the Year, versus Diamond Dallas Page (1997)

References

External links