Randy Savage - Professional Wrestler, Family and Family

He was born Randy Mario Poffo, on November 15, 1952, in Columbus, Ohio, US, to Judy and Angelo Poffo. His mother was Jewish, and his father was Italian–American. His father was a well-known wrestler and wrestling promoter of his time. Randy’s younger brother, Lanny Poffo, was also a professional wrestler.

He was raised in Zanesville, Ohio, and studied at the ‘Grover Cleveland Middle School.’ Later, he completed his graduation from the ‘Downers Grove North High School’ in Illinois. After completing his education, he moved to Staten Island, New York, and later to Lexington, Kentucky.

He joined the professional baseball team ‘St. Louis Cardinals’ as a catcher after finishing high school and started playing minor league at the age of 18. He soon injured his right shoulder in a collision and started throwing with his left arm. He played his last season for the ‘Tampa Tarpons’ in 1974.

He got his first taste of wrestling during the off-season of baseball in 1973. He soon came to be known as “The Spider.” He later went by the ring name of “Randy Savage,” on the recommendation of his trainer, Terry Stephens. His first professional wrestling challenge was against Paul Christy.

He soon gave up baseball and became a full-time professional wrestler, following in the footsteps of his father and younger brother. In order to promote his two sons, his father started the ‘ICW’ promotion, based in Lexington, Kentucky. The ‘ICW’ operated from 1978 to 1984.

Randy and his brother, Lanny, joined Jerry Jarrett and Jerry Lawler’s ‘Continental Wrestling Association’ in Memphis and feuded over the ‘AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship’ title. He teamed up with his brother and fought ‘The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express’ in a feud. He was subsequently disqualified for piledriving his opponent through the timekeeper’s table.

Professional boxing took him through the phases of being the good guy, or the “babyface,” against Jimmy Hart in 1984 and the bad guy, or the “heel,” against Lawler in 1985, ultimately ending in Lawler defeating Savage in a ‘Loser Leaves Town’ match.

In mid-1985, he signed up with Vince McMahon and appeared on ‘Tuesday Night Titans.’ He made his pay-per-view debut at ‘The Wrestling Classic’ event in November 1985, in which he defeated The Dragon and Dynamite Kid and lost to Junkyard Dog in the finals.

In the latter half of 1985, he had a feud with the ‘Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion’ Tito Santana, in the course of which he was beaten in October 1985. He later won by countout in November 1985. However, he won the match but not the title, as the title did not change hands by countout.

He won the ‘WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship’ title from Santana on a ‘Prime Time Wrestling’ episode, at the ‘Boston Garden,’ in February 1986, using an unauthorized metal object to knock out his opponent.

He formed a tag team with Jesse Ventura, also known as “The Body,” who remained his supporter till 1990. During this period, he had an ongoing feud with George “The Animal” Steele, who had a crush on Miss Elizabeth. The feud culminated in an ‘International Heavyweight’ title match, which was won by Savage.

He lost his ‘Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion’ title in a match against Ricky Steamboat at ‘WrestleMania III’ in 1987. The bout was heavily choreographed and rehearsed for the audience and was named the “Match of the Year” by ‘Pro Wrestling Illustrated’ and the ‘Wrestling Observer.’

Later, he won the ‘King of the Ring’ tournament and began a feud against The Honky Tonk Man, who had declared himself “the greatest Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion of all time” and was making advances at Miss Elizabeth. Savage finally defeated him by countout, but could not regain the title.

In 1989, he developed differences with Hogan, who, at that time, wished to have Miss Elizabeth as his manger. Randy ultimately left Elizabeth and replaced her with former ‘WWF Women’s Champion’ Sensational Sherri.

Later that year, Savage suffered a defeat against The Warrior at ‘WrestleMania VII,’ after which Sherri attacked him in the ring. This brought Miss Elizabeth to his rescue and spelt his retirement.

He continued with non-wrestling roles on the show and married Miss Elizabeth on stage. Later, he was reinstated. He participated in a ‘WCW’ bout in 2000 and then made his final appearance at a ‘Total Nonstop Action Wrestling’ event (2004–2005).

He appeared in the movies ‘Ready to Rumble’ (2000), ‘Spider-Man’ (2002), and ‘Glago’s Guest’ (2008).

He also appeared in a number of TV serials, such as ‘Baywatch’ (1996), ‘The Jeff Foxworthy Show’ (1997), ‘Walker, Texas Ranger’ (1999), ‘Mad About You’ (1999), ‘Arliss’ (1999), and ‘College University’ (2003).

His lent his voice to the video game ‘Cars Race-O-Rama.’

He won the ‘AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship’ twice, the ‘NWA Mid American Heavyweight Championship’ thrice, the ‘Grand Prix Wrestling (GPW) International Heavyweight Championship’ twice, the ‘ICW World Heavyweight Championship’ thrice, and the ‘WCW World Heavyweight Championship’ four times.

He was inducted into the ‘Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame’ in 2009, the ‘World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Hall of Fame’ in 2015, and the ‘llio DiPaolo Legends of the Aud Hall of Fame’ in 2016.

In 1998, he accepted ‘Man of the Year’ award from ‘Harvard Lampoon,’ the humor society of ‘Harvard University.’

He married Elizabeth Hulette, known as “Miss Elizabeth” in the ring, in 1984. Initially, she was his manager too. They divorced in 1992. Following this, he married his high-school sweetheart, Barbara Lynn Payne, in May 2010.

A year later, he died due to a sudden heart attack while driving his jeep in Florida. He was 58 years old at that time. He had no previous history of heart-related ailments. However, the autopsy revealed advanced coronary artery disease, with 90% blockage.

He had chosen Miss Elizabeth as his manager and had built his in-ring persona as a bully who mistreated Elizabeth and could not tolerate anyone who looked at her.

He sang a number of songs, such as ‘Speaking from the Heart’ from ‘WrestleMania: The Album.’ He also released his own rap album, ‘Be a Man.’