Professional Wrestler, Randy Savage

By: Thomas Davila

"Macho Man" Randy Savage whose real name was Randall Mario Poffo was born on Nov. 15, 1952 in Columbus, OH. Poffo was a standout baseball player and was drafted by Major League Baseball Team St. Louis Cardinals right out of high school. Poffo broke into the wrestling business in 1973 during his early 20s and when baseball was in its off-season. His given birth name did not seem like he was a professional wrestler. Some wrestling promoters suggested he change his name to "Macho Man" Randy Savage because they said he wrestled like a savage. Thus, "Macho Man" Randy Savage was born and he would continue to go by that ring name throughout his entire career.

Professional wrestling was in Savage's blood, as his father Angelo Poffo and his younger brother Lanny Poffo were professional wrestlers. Lanny is most known by his ring name "The Genius" who was a heel or bad guy character. 

Savage decided to give up his career as a professional baseball player and focused on professional wrestling full-time with his brother and father. Savage teamed with his brother to wrestle the legendary tag team The Rock n' Roll Express in Memphis, TN in 1984. 

His big break came in 1985, when Savage signed with now-billionaire Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation known today as World Wrestling Entertainment or WWE. He had his then-real life wife Miss Elizabeth as his on-screen manager/valet. Savage would go on to achieve success, as he won the WWF Intercontinental Championship from Tito Santana at a Prime Time Wrestling television taping in Boston, MA. He played a heel character around this time and won the match by using some type of steel object to get the win.

Savage would feud with George "The Animal" Steele who was trying to gain the affection of Savage's wife, Miss Elizabeth. But, his most famous feud was with Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat. Savage defended his Intercontinental Championship against Steamboat at Wrestlemania III at the Pontiac Silverdome, in which Savage would go on to lose due to outside interference from George "The Animal" Steele, ending his nearly fourteen month reign as Intercontinental Champion. 

Savage's most memorable moments in the WWE are when he formed a tag team with the legendary "Immortal" Hulk Hogan. Savage and Hogan together were known as The Mega Powers and they feuded with the likes of "The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase and Andre The Giant at Summerslam in 1988, which saw Savage's then-wife and valet take off her skirt to distract the opposing team in order for The Mega Powers to score the winning pinfall. 

In Savage's later career in the WWF, he feuded with The Ultimate Warrior, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, and Ric Flair. Savage would leave the WWF in 1994 to join WWF's competition WCW where he became the WCW Heavyweight Champion on four different occasions and feuded with the likes of Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and Diamond Dallas Page. He would leave WCW in 2000 before the promotion was sold to the World Wrestling Federation in 2001. 

Savage did not wrestle much after he left WCW and pursued other interests like acting and even had a short-lived career as a rapper. He wrote rap songs about the passing of his friends Brian "Crush" Adams and "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig, both of whom were professional wrestlers. He wrote a song on the album that was aimed towards Hulk Hogan entitled "Be A Man". Savage and Hogan had a tumultuous relationship throughout the years and made amends shortly before Savage passed away.

Sadly, Savage died on May 20, 2011 after suffering a heart attack while he was behind the wheel of his car with his wife and hit a tree. The impact of the accident did not kill Savage or his wife. What killed Savage was his heart as he had undiagnosed heart problems. 

Savage's in-ring career ended in 2005. However, the stories about Savage, both in the ring and outside, will last a lifetime.