Every generation of wrestling fans has its own pantheon of greats. In the 1980s, viewers looked up to Andre the Giant, went wild for Hulk Hogan, weathered hard times with Dusty Rhodes, and were wooed by Ric Flair. But during that time of physically and figuratively huge stars, "Macho Man" Randy Savage shone more brightly than just about anyone. A man who enthralled audiences with his rabid intensity and mostly unmatched in-ring ability, Savage made fans believe he was liable to snap like a Slim Jim at the drop of a hat and had the muscles to break you to bits.
Savage's fantastic promos and dramatic clashes with Ricky Steamboat, Hulk Hogan, and Jake "The Snake" Roberts, to name a few, are indelibly etched in the memories of grateful fans. Through those timeless moments, the Macho Man character will live forever. Sadly, the man himself, born Randy Poffo, passed away on May 20, 2011. At just 58 years old, one of the brightest lights in the wrestling world was extinguished.
In his prime, he put the madness in "Macho Madness." This was a guy who got into a real-life brawl with a newlywed at a Waffle House and by his own admission got so carried away that according to CBS Sports, he was, quote, "billy-clubbed and bitten by a police dog for being uncooperative."
And according to Bleacher Report, The Macho Man was so macho that instead of breaking character, he allegedly broke a rival wrestler's jaw during an unscripted conflict in which Savage disarmed the wrestler and pistol-whipped him with his own gun.
But with the passage of time came a taming of the Savage. As recounted by Bleacher Report, toward the end of his life, he apparently became, quote, "a recluse." His home was his fortified castle protected by fences and guard dogs, and he kept a gun in his glove compartment. And Savage also confronted heartbreak in his final years, as his father, Angelo Poffo, whom Savage idolized, gradually wilted away from dementia before dying in 2009.
Things seemed to be looking up in 2010 when Savage married his second wife, Lynn. Tragically, though, their happiness would be brief.
According to Bleacher Report, on May 20, 2011, Savage was driving with his wife Lynn, whom he married the previous year, when he lost consciousness. He already felt unwell that day but insisted on getting behind the wheel of his Jeep. Before turning down a Florida road, he suddenly uttered,
"I think I'm going to pass out."
Sitting in the passenger seat, Lynn steered the vehicle out of the path of traffic as best she could, and the couple careened into a tree. While the impact was reportedly so slight that the airbags didn't even deploy, Savage died at the scene.
Though it was widely assumed that Macho Man's death was due to the car accident, it turns out it wasn't. The medical examiner listed the official cause of death as, quote, "an enlarged heart with severe atherosclerosis of his coronary arteries."
In other words, Savage had a heart attack.
According to Cageside Seats, Savage's brother Lanny Poffo confirmed this, indicating that the heart attack was induced by ventricular fibrillation. Though many later speculated whether or not Savage's rough and tumble lifestyle contributed to his early death, it's impossible to say. But what is certain is that far too many wrestlers have passed away far too soon.
And Savage was a wrestler to his core. His father began wrestling professionally in 1949, three years before Randy was born. Angelo Poffo's mentor was the legendary Gorgeous George, whose theme music was the popular graduation march "Pomp and Circumstance." As a tribute to both his father and Gorgeous George, Savage adopted the song as his own theme when he began wrestling, and out of respect for Gorgeous George, Savage left instructions that the song not be played at his own funeral, as he wanted it reserved for his idol.
Rest in peace, Macho Man.
#MachoMan #RandySavage #WWF
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