The Macho Man Randy Savage is one of the most influential wrestlers in the history of the industry. Born Randy Poffo in 1952, Savage would embark on a wrestling career after his short-lived baseball career ended. To say The Macho Man was a pioneer and trailblazer would be an understatement.
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He was one of the first American wrestlers to use the top rope as part of his move set. At 6'1 and 235 lbs., he was one of the smaller wrestlers in WWE in the 1980s. He got his start in the now-defunct ICW and in Memphis before signing with WWE in 1985. Randy was a character both in and out of the ring; here are ten stories that are simply unbelievable.
10 1,000 Situps... A Day
Randy Savage always had a reputation for being a perfectionist. Most every one of his opponents has all told stories about how he would lay out matches and practice them over and over again to make sure they were just right. This did not start with his professional wrestling career. Legend has it when asked to do 100 situps in gym class, he did over 1,000. Situps run in the family; his father Angelo set a world record for situps while in the Navy. While playing minor league baseball for the St. Louis Cardinal organization, Savage began the habit of doing over 1,500 situps every day.
9 I'm No Has Been
According to the late Chris Kanyon's book, Randy Savage threatened to kill him. Apparently Savage was being literal, not euphemistic. Many wrestlers that worked with Savage in the ring or in the same promotion have talked about how intense the Macho Man is when he's getting ready for a match. Apparently Savage is intense outside of the ring as well. Despite his intensity, Savage is surprisingly sensitive. He was sensitive about his hair loss, and he was sensitive about aging. That is why it is no surprise that when Kanyon called Savage a has been while doing an interview on Good Morning America, Savage took offense. Savage had motive, however. Those comments almost took Savage out of a million-dollar Slim Jim endorsement deal.
8 Randy Savage...Wrestling Company Owner?
When Vince McMahon purchased WCW in 2000, he bought it on the cheap. Nearly half of what he paid for the company was for the tape library. When the price of the company came to light, many wrestlers including Chris Jericho came out and said they would have put in a bid for the company.
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Former WCW President Eric Bischoff was in discussions with AOL-Time Warner for the company, but they would not sell him any television time. Before WWE stepped in and purchased the company, Randy Savage was interested in purchasing the company. He was, however, a bit late to the party.
7 Randy's Got A Gun
Savage cut his teeth in Tennessee. First in the now-defunct ICW then in Memphis where Jerry Lawler was the #1 talent. During Savage's time in Memphis, he and his father Angelo would cut promos threatening a real-life invasion of the Memphis territory. This generated so much heat, that Lawler and much of the crew of Memphis wrestling would travel around with firearms just in case the Poffos was serious about invading. Legend has it during a confrontation with Memphis' second-biggest star Bill Dundee, Savage pistol-whipped him after wrestling the gun away from Dundee. According to Dundee, Savage ran when he saw the gun, but with no witnesses, we will never know what really happened.
6 Just Body Slam The Talent, Randy
During the time Randy Savage wrestled, there was something called "living the gimmick." When a promotion came to a town, babyfaces stayed in one hotel and heels stayed in another. When you were a heel, you made the sacrifice at the merchandise stand because heels were hated by fans back then.
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They most certainly did not sign any autographs. In 1986 while driving, a fan noticed him and stopped him at a red light for an autograph. Randy promptly got out of the car and body-slammed the fan. The fan sued Savage and they settled out of court. That is definitely a case of when keeping it real goes horribly wrong.
5 Thanks, Mom
A professional wrestlers' name comes from different places. Shawn Michaels--real name Michael Shawn Hickenbottom--is a play of his real name. Finn Balor--real name Fergal Devitt--is a combination of his uncle's name and a king from Irish folklore. Some wrestlers like John Cena and Eddie Guererro use their real-life names. Randy "Macho Man" Savage is the only wrestler to get part of his name from his mother. It was his trainers that commented he trained and worked like a savage and that's how they came up with his last name. It was his mother, however, who came up with the moniker The Macho Man. She read an article from Reader's Digest and saw it was going to be the new hot saying. She suggested it to Randy and it stuck.
4 Just Because You're Paranoid
In addition to being obsessive-compulsive about his matches and being super-intense all the time, Randy Savage was notoriously paranoid. He was especially paranoid about his former wife known as Miss Elizabeth. When he would take her on the road, Savage would only leave her with people he trusted. When he signed with WWE, he asked to make her on-screen talent. Many believe Randy wanted to take her on the road so he would not have to worry about who she was with while he was on the road 300 nights a year. One person he would leave Elizabeth with was Linda Hogan, wife of Hulk Hogan.
3 MC...Randy???
Everyone in the business knows how hard Macho Man works. He is meticulous about everything he did in the ring. From the costumes to the promos, he wanted everything just right. Savage was a perfectionist outside the ring as well. It did not matter what he did, Randy Savage wanted to do his absolute best.
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That included his 2003 rap album Be a Man. That is not a typo ladies and gentlemen. "The Macho Man" Randy Savage went into a recording studio and made a rap album. By all accounts, Savage worked extremely hard on the album despite it being a colossal failure.
2 I Don't Need A Stunt Double
When Randy Savage auditioned for the first Spider-Man movie, he had been away from wrestling for three years. Because of this, he wanted to prove that he was the perfect man for the job. He treated the audition like he would a wrestling show. He cut promos on all of the fans and became the Macho Man for the big screen. Movies producers absolutely loved his audition especially Randy's unique voice and he got the part. When they were shooting the movie, Savage did all of his own stunts. Why you may ask? There are no stunt doubles in the business.
1 Randy Cares For Children
Of all of the little known things about Randy Macho Man Savage, Randy's love for children might be least known. While in WWE Randy would take time to visit children's hospitals on his own in addition to doing charity events for children while in WWE and WCW. After his retirement, he even befriended kids whose grandparents lived in his condo complex in Florida. Savage especially loved kids with disabilities. During the last years of his life, Savage volunteered for the Florida Special Olympics as well as various camps and programs for young people with special needs and disabilities. He might have been intense in the ring, but young people mellowed him.
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