Intro:
Randy Poffo was born on November 15, 1953, on the campus of Ohio State University, He is the son of wrestler Angelo Poffo and the brother of "Leaping" Lanny Poffo. Randy was a baseball player and was in the farm systems of the Cardinals, Reds and White Sox. He became a wrestler in 1975.
WWE:
Randy Savage gained national attention in 1985 when he joined the WWE. In a surprise, he named the lovely Miss Elizabeth to be his manager. In real life he was married to the late Elizabeth Heulette. Within months, he had beaten Hulk Hogan twice at Madison Square Garden before winning the Intercontinental Championship from Tito Santana.
The Longest Reigning Intercontinental Champion:
His title reign lasted over a year and was the longest title reign to that point. His most notable feuds were with George Steele, who had a crush on Elizabeth, and Ricky Steamboat. He crushed Steamboat's larynx and lost the title to Steamboat in a classic match at WrestleMania 3. Later in the year he feuded with the Honky Tonk Man over the belt and became friends with Hulk Hogan in the process.
The Mega-Powers:
Savage and Hogan teamed up to form the Mega-Powers. When Hogan was cheated out of his title, Savage won the belt in a tournament by beating four men at WrestleMania IV with some help from Hogan. For the next year their relationship started to get sour and finally collapsed on NBC in a prime time Main Event special. Hogan beat Savage for the title at WrestleMania V.
The Macho King, Marriage and World Champ Again:
Shortly after losing the title Savage became the Macho King. At WrestleMania VII, he lost a retirement match to the Ultimate Warrior but after the match made up with Elizabeth. A few weeks later he proposed to her and they were married at SummerSlam. Jake Roberts gave her a cobra as a wedding gift which led to his eventual return. He would win the WWE Title from Ric Flair at WrestleMania VIII in a feud where Flair claimed that "Elizabeth was mine before she was yours!".
WCW:
After being relegated to announcing, Randy Savage went to the WCW in 1994. His feud with Flair was reignited when his father was attacked. Savage was turned on by Hogan when Hollywood Hogan formed the New World Order. A little while later, Savage joined the NWO and feuded with Dallas Page. In 1999, Savage wasn't resigned by WCW due to cost cutting.
Retirement:
In his retirement, Savage stared in Spider-Man as Bonesaw McGraw. He also made a rap album in which he challenges Hulk Hogan to a fight due to his real life beef with Hogan over the breakup of several of his relationships. On May 1, 2003, his ex-wife Miss Elizabeth died from an overdose of a combination of alcohol and pain pills at the home of her boyfriend, former WCW Champion, Lex Luger.
WWE & WCW Title Victory History:
WWF
Intercontinental Title
2/8/86 - Tito Santana
World Title
3/27/88 WrestleMania IV - beat Ted DiBiase in the tournament final for the title
4/5/92 WrestleMania VIII - Ric Flair
WCW
World Title
11/26/95 World War III - won a battle royal for the vacant title
1/22/96 - Ric Flair
4/19/98 Spring Stampede - Sting
7/11/99 Bash at the Beach - Kevin Nash
(Sources: PWI Almanac & Machoman.com)
