Macho Man Randy Savage - 11/15/52 - 5/20/11 - Gone Too Soon

I have the unfortunate task of reporting the tragic death of the Legendary Macho Man Randy Savage. On May 20, 2011 at 10AM EST, Randy Savage (real name Randall Poffo) suffered a fatal heart attack while driving on a highway in Tampa, Florida. The heart attacked caused Randy to lose control of his 2009 Jeep Wrangler, veering across the lanes through oncoming traffic and ultimately crashing head-on into a tree. Savage’s wife was a passenger in the vehicle but escaped with only minor injuries, as both she and Randy were wearing their seatbelts.

Macho Man Randy Savage is an ICON in the sport of Professional Wrestling, amassing multiple championships, accolades and honors. He was a second-generation wrestler who left behind a stellar and promising baseball career to pursue success in the ring. In 1973 he made his wrestling debut and traveled many circuits such as the Georgia territory, the Carolinas, Mid-West and Portland area where he had a classic feud with Dirty Dutch Mantel. The last of his independent days culminated in Memphis where he lost a Loser Leaves Town match to WWE Hall of Famer Jerry The King Lawler; which opened the door for his greatest opportunity as a part of the WWF. It didn’t take Savage long to establish his self; after debuting for the company in 1985 he captured his first gold in under a years time by defeating Tito Santana for the Intercontinental Championship. Though a victory is usually the means of catapulting ones career, he’ll forever be remembered for when he dropped the title to Ricky The Dragon Steamboat at Wrestlemania III in front of 93,000 screaming fans at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. Twenty-four years later, that match is still hailed as one of (if not the greatest) match in Wrestlemania history. In defeat, Savage became the victor and headlined multiple Wrestlemanias afterwards including Wrestlemania IV where he won his first of two WWF Championships. As the WWF was focusing on building younger stars, Savage was relegated to the commentary booth for a large part of his remaining time with the company. He had great interaction with Vince McMahon, Rowdy Roddy Piper as well as Bobby the Brain Heenan during this time. In 1994 he left the WWF and signed on with rival company WCW where he could actively compete once again. While there, he feuded with regular nemesis Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair and was a top draw once more as he won the WCW Championship on four occasions. After 5 years of service with WCW, Savage took an additional 5-year hiatus before briefly returning to the ring in 2004 for upstart company TNA. This would be the last time we saw Randy Savage have anything to do with professional wrestling again.

Savage will always be remembered by his eccentric personality, raspy voice and colorful appearance. All of those characteristics helped propel Randy into mainstream media. He served as the long time sponsor for Slim Jim, embedding into many people’s minds the famous catchphrase, “Need a little Excitement? Snap into a Slim Jim! Ooooh Yeeaaa!!” Movies and television was the next stop for the Macho Man as he starred in shows like Baywatch, The Jeff Foxworthy Show and Walker, Texas Ranger along with bigger budget films like Spider-Man, Ready to Rumble and Disney’s animated film Bolt. Rumor had it that there was tension between Vince McMahon and Randy Savage, and that’s what attributed to the near non-mention of his existence by the WWE over the last several years despite all of his accomplishments while working for the company. To many fans surprise and delight, Randy Savage was once again working with the WWE in July of 2010 on an action figure for the Mattel line. It was at a press conference for the Defining Moments figure that Randy recorded a message, in which he was in character for the first time in many years and said the following,

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“Ooooh Yeeaa! Freak Out, Freak Out.. San Diego Comic Con, here’s the deal.. Uh Huh! Ride the edge of a lightning bolt across the sky! A blast from the past, I AM the Macho Man Randy Savage yea. And I am here to tell you that I am very, very, VERY excited about teaming up with Mattel yea. And Mattel’s partnership with the WWE is unbelievable Yea! You’re going to be the Ultimate Tag Team of All Time! Ooooh Yeeaaa! And right here this is my Defining Moment figure, which commemorates my match against the Ultimate Warrior at Wrestlemania VII. Check It Out! Check out the details.. Yea! Check out the quality.. Uh Huh! And look at this right now, it exactly looks like me.. Not Now, but Then! And this is just the beginning, Yes It Is! It’s not the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning, cuz Right Now.. me and Mattel are doing something unbelievable special Yea! Read between the line, we’re making more Macho Man Randy Savage figures from different eras from my career! Uh Huh.. Yea! That’s a secret that’s not a secret, no it isn’t is it? Ok, here’s the deal; now here’s what’s going to happen. Personal guarantee from the Macho Man, everybody get amped.. Everybody get enthusiastic! ‘Cuz 2011 will be the Macho Man’s year. Totally, all the way. Ohh Yea! Dig it.. Tough Guy!!”

Randy was also recently included in the WWE’s latest video game WWE All Stars, which marked his first WWE video game appearance since 1994’s WWF RAW.

Randy Savage had just recently lost his father, former professional wrestler Angelo Poffo on March 4, 2010 and his first wife and legendary long time manager Miss Elizabeth Hulette in 2003. Savage is survived by his brother, Lanny Poffo and current wife Lynn. Pomp and Circumstance was the backdrop to his celebrated and historical 20 Championship compiling career. With all that being said, I still feel he had so much more to offer a business so sapped of originality and excitement. I looked forward to seeing him inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame and hearing first hand accounts of the glory he attained throughout a twenty plus year professional wrestling career. The wrestling world is devastated and horribly shaken. Macho Man Randy Savage will forever be remembered and missed. Our hearts are full of pain and our minds are filled with memories of one of the greatest wrestlers to ever bless this business.

Rest In Peace.

By: Cameron McBride-Gee
ProWrestling-fans.com Wrestling Writer