Athletes - Randy Savage

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	Athletes - Randy Savage

Randall Mario Poffo, (born November 15, 1952), better known by his stage name "Macho Man" Randy Savage (and alternately Randy "Macho Man" Savage), is a professional wrestler who achieved prominence in the World Wrestling Federation and later World Championship Wrestling. He has also performed under the names "Macho King" and " Macho Man."

Early career

Before he started his full-time wrestling career, he was a minor league baseball catcher in the St. Louis Cardinals farm system. He injured his natural throwing shoulder at one point, so he learned how to throw with his left arm instead.

He is a second-generation professional wrestler; his father Angelo Poffo was a well-known wrestler in the 1950s and 1960s, who was featured in "Ripley's Believe it or Not" for his ability to do sit-ups for hours on end. His brother Lanny Poffo had a moderately successful career as a wrestler, under the stage names Leaping Lanny Poffo and The Genius.

In the early 1980s, Angelo Poffo ran the "outlaw" ICW promotion in the mid-American states that featured his sons Randy and Lanny. The promotion competed with Jerry Lawler's Memphis promotion (later the USWA). Eventually, the Poffo promotion disbanded and Randy and Lanny entered the Memphis scene.

World Wrestling Federation

In June 1985, Savage signed with Vince McMahon's WWF and soon became a top heel. He made his pay-per-view debut at The Wrestling Classic on November 7, 1985, where he defeated Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat among others on his way to finishing runner-up to Junkyard Dog in a sixteen man tournament. He eventually beat Tito Santana to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship at the famed Boston Garden in January 1986.

Savage wrestled in what is widely considered to be one of the greatest matches in North American wrestling history when he faced Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat at WrestleMania III in the Pontiac Silverdome. The match was the culmination of a long and bitter feud between the two and featured tremendous athleticism and in-ring storytelling. After nineteen two-counts, Steamboat pinned Savage to end his reign as Intercontinental Champion. The match was an extremely choreographed one, as opposed to the "on the fly" nature of most wrestling matches. Savage was a stickler for detail, and he and Steamboat laid out and rehearsed every spot in the match prior to WrestleMania, at his home in Florida. It still stands up to the test of time and is cited by such wrestling luminaries as Chris Jericho as their inspiration for becoming a wrestler.

The Macho Man is known to wrestling fans and non-fans alike for his distinctively deep, husky voice and his trademark loud, drawn-out cry of "Ohhhhhhhhhh, yeahhhhhhhhhhhh!", made even more popular by a series of Slim Jim ads. For much of his tenure in the WWF, he was managed by the late Miss Elizabeth, to whom he was married on December 30, 1984. The couple had twin boys.

Savage would turn face later in 1987 after the fans started cheering him for his exceptional in-ring ability. On Saturday Night's Main Event in October 1987 he solidified his status as a face when Elizabeth got Hulk Hogan to save him from a beatdown by Jimmy Hart's cronies the Honky Tonk Man and the Hart Foundation. As a result, the Mega Powers were born. Hogan and Savage would together rule the WWF for the next sixteen months.

Savage achieved his greatest fame during WrestleMania IV when he defeated "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase in the final of a tournament for the vacant WWF Championship. Savage would hold the title for a full year before losing it to Hogan at WrestleMania V in 1989. Prior to his WrestleMania V match, he turned heel on Hogan, getting jealous of him over Miss Elizabeth. He eventually left Elizabeth as his valet for Sensational Sherri. He adopted the moniker "Macho King" after defeating "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan for the WWF's unofficial "King" title. After the match, Savage proceeded to give Duggan five big elbow drops from the top rope, and Sherri did several splashes from the top to further humiliate Duggan.

The Macho King got into a feud with The Ultimate Warrior after hitting him with his scepter at the 1991 Royal Rumble, costing him the WWF Championship against Sgt. Slaughter. It led to a career-ending match at WrestleMania VII. Savage lost the marathon match; even after receiving five consecutive flying elbow drops, the Warrior somehow managed to kick out. After the match, Savage was attacked by Queen Sherri as he lay dejected in the ring. This was too much for Miss Elizabeth, who happened to be in the audience. Elizabeth rushed to Savage's aid, fighting off Sherri and reuniting with her one-time love to huge crowd appreciation.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Randy Savage ]

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Athletes - Randy Savage

Early career

World Wrestling Federation

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