Macho Man Randy Savage, we hardly knew ye

[DeToxRox]

A shame.

Macho Man Randy Savage Dies In Car Accident

Macho Man Randy Savage -- one of the most famous wrestlers of all-time -- died today in a car accident in Tampa, Florida ... TMZ has learned.


TMZ spoke with Randy's brother, Lanny Poffo, who tells us the wrestling legend suffered a heart attack while he was behind the wheel around 10 AM ... and lost control of his vehicle.

Earlier this month, Savage celebrated his 1-year anniversary with his new wife Lynn.

Savage was 58.

Macho Man began wrestling in the WWF in 1985 and became a superstar with his trademark catchphrase "Ooooooh Yeaahhhhh."

[Qwikshot]

Damn

[Noop]

Damn it man.

:(

Rest In Peace

[molson]

It sucks to have go like that a day before the rapture....

Too bad he never had his big nostalgia return to the WWE - I guess he didn't really want it. It will be interesting to see how the company acknowledges it.

[Sun Tzu]

Damn. What's weird was, I was just thinking about the Macho Man two days ago. About a minute into my thought process, I started to wonder "wait...is he still alive?"

Awful news that will put a damper on my day. One half of the Mega-Powers...I may very well find myself tearing up before I hit the hay tonight.

RIP Champ. You will be missed, but never forgotten.

<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/X9qGSYPc42E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Lathum]

a little piece of my childhood just died...

[Chief Rum]

Man, that sucks. RIP Macho Man

[cartman]

So, the Rapture begins...

[Neon_Chaos]

:(

[JonInMiddleGA]

:(

[Sun Tzu]

FWIW, now he can be with Elizabeth again.

[PackerFanatic]

FWIW, now he can be with Elizabeth again.

Very true. RIP Macho Man :(

[JonInMiddleGA]

My wife (who has now suffered through 4 generations of men who were wrestling fans) recalled him from very early days working for a smaller promotion in Chattanooga, TN. That started me thinking about the irony of surviving all those miles back in the driving 6-nights-a-week era of wrestling only to die behind the wheel 30 some years later.

[Sun Tzu]

Sounds like he had a heart attack while driving, drifted over the meridian into on-coming traffic, and slammed head-on into a tree. His wife was with him...she suffered minor injuries.

[Sun Tzu]

Also, for you baseball/wrestling fans out there.

Randy Poffo Minor League Statistics & History - Baseball-Reference.com (http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=poffo-001ran)

[PurdueBrad]

I interviewed him once when I was a reporter and found him to be very likable despite only speaking in 'that' voice. Sad day.

[RomaGoth]

RIP Macho Man.....you will most definitely be missed. :(

[Crapshoot]

As many many people put it, its like a part of my childhood is gone. May he kick Jake the Snake Roberts' ass for eternity.

[kingfc22]

Damn.

[DaddyTorgo]

Damn

[PilotMan]

RIP Macho Man

Certainly one of my favorites from childhood as well.

[Schmidty]

Noooo!! :(

[molson]

WWE.com has a little blurb

WWE: Homepage > Inside WWE > Randy "Macho Man" Savage passes away (http://www.wwe.com/inside/randy-savage-passes)

WWE is saddened to learn of the passing of one of the greatest Superstars of his time, Randy Poffo, a.k.a. Randy Macho Man Savage. Poffo was under contract with WWE from 1985 to 1993 and held both the WWE and Intercontinental Championships. Our sincerest condolences go out to his family and friends. We wish a speedy recovery to his wife Lynn. Poffo will be greatly missed by WWE and his fans.

[molson]

You could spend a good couple of hours checking out Savage promos and matches on youtube, he had so much great stuff. I definitely think he's in the discussion for the best all-around pro wrester of all time, factoring in everything a pro wrestler needs to do to be successful.

[Schmidty]

Back in the '80s, Macho Man, JYD, Andre and Piper were my favorite wrestlers. I guess Piper better be watching his back.

[tyketime]

Oh, nooooooo . RIP

[DeToxRox]

You could spend a good couple of hours checking out Savage promos and matches on youtube, he had so much great stuff. I definitely think he's in the discussion for the best all-around pro wrester of all time, factoring in everything a pro wrestler needs to do to be successful.

For me, as far as guys who could talk, work matches with anyone and draw, I'd have to go Savage, Flair, Austin and Michaels as the big four.

[wade moore]

For me, as far as guys who could talk, work matches with anyone and draw, I'd have to go Savage, Flair, Austin and Michaels as the big four.

Hrm, interesting conversation. If The Rock had not left for movies, would you put him in here?

[DeToxRox]

Hrm, interesting conversation. If The Rock had not left for movies, would you put him in here?

He'd be in there. He was a very good worker, but wasn't in those guys stratosphere in the ring.

[Sun Tzu]

The Rock was great on the mic, but IMO half way through his career he fell victim to the fatal "five signature moves" virus.

[wade moore]

He'd be in there. He was a very good worker, but wasn't in those guys stratosphere in the ring.

The Rock was great on the mic, but IMO half way through his career he fell victim to the fatal "five signature moves" virus.

Gotcha.. I liked the wrestling when I was a kid, then for a phase when the WCW was big, and that's about it.. so I lack perspective on it at times.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jQjdHUX2T4c" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Heart attack? Maybe he should have advertised salads...

[molson]

It's interesting to see Savage's picture below Obama's on the front page of foxnews.com. He also gets front page story links on espn.com and cnn.com.

[Maple Leafs]

Coincidentally also in the news today: ConAgra wraps up N.C. Slim Jim line | CharlotteObserver.com & The Charlotte Observer Newspaper (http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/05/20/2310210/conagra-wraps-up-slim-jim-line.html)

[Vince, Pt. II]

Sad news :(

[BYU 14]

Shocked when I heard this. 58 is still damn young, but all those years in that lifestyle takes a toll as we have all become far too familiar with in the last 20 years.

RIP Macho Man

[saldana]

a little piece of my childhood just died...
wow...you were the last person i expected to see posting in this thread

I interviewed him once when I was a reporter and found him to be very likable despite only speaking in 'that' voice. Sad day.

thing was, he really talked like that...during the early 90's one of the NY radio stations had a morning DJ that also worked for the WWF...todd pettingill...one of their regular radio bits was to prank call people or organizations, so one morning, they started calling savage at around 5am...first thing in the morning, woken out of a sound sleep, he had the exact same mannerisims and tone as the Macho Man persona.

one of the best performers ever, in the ring, on the mike, and in spiderman.

[Comey]

Two great videos...one I posted in the YT video awhile back, and one I just found tonight. I've transcribed the first one to NotePad...that's how mesmerized I was by it. The second one is, quite possibly, the funniest video I've ever seen.

<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/53hiHAkK6KA" allowfullscreen="" width="425" frameborder="0" height="349"></iframe>



<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lr_ehvSPynw" allowfullscreen="" width="425" frameborder="0" height="349"></iframe>

[cuervo72]

FWIW, now he can be with Elizabeth again.

There's a Redd Foxx joke in there somewhere.

(Too soon? Too soon. RIP, Macho Man.)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

That second video was fantastic. Great review of just how good Mean Gene was in those pieces as well. He could keep those interviews flowing without any hesitation.

[Maple Leafs]

Like everyone else on the planet, I spent too many of the last 24 hours watching old Savage clips on youtube.

The most surprising ones: his appearances on Arsenio Hall. Stay with me. He was in character, but working without a script in front of an audience that didn't really take him seriously, and he killed it. It turns out that while his character was never booked to be a Cena/Rock-style funny guy, he could handle himself in that area just fine.

Check him out here:
<iframe width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/OQxyD0Q7GtU?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Radii]

ML, that's brilliance right there, Amazing appearance.

[tarcone]

My favorite wrestler. I got the chance to meet him and get a picture taken with him when I worked at Wal-Mart. I was at the big stakeholder meeting in Arkansas. He was there for Slim Jims. I wanted to get my picture with me putting him in a sleeper hold. He wasnt real interested in that.

[Edward64]

Always enjoyed the Macho Man. Had a crush on Miss Elizabeth also. They always seemed good together. RIP both of you and thank you for the entertainment.

The wrestler that had the biggest impact on me as a kid was Mr. Wrestling II with his atomic knee ... this was before wrestling really exploded. Jake the Snake and his DDT was cool also and really liked the Road Warriors when they first came on the scene, wonder how they would compare nowadays.

[molson]

Wrong, but funny.

http://fastcache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/11/2011/05/mm11_01.jpg

[Schmidty]

Is that supposed to be George the Animal Steele on the left?

[Neuqua]

I could never figure out if Macho Man was black or white.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

I could never figure out if Macho Man was black or white.

He probably was.

[Sun Tzu]

Heh, King Kong Bundy.

[Chubby]

who am i missing in the pic...

Hillbilly Jim, Mr Fuji, Hogan, BamBam Bigelow, George the Animal Steele, King Kong Bundy, Roddy Piper. I cna't make a couple of them out... Sid and Tatanka?

[molson]

who am i missing in the pic...

Hillbilly Jim, Mr Fuji, Hogan, BamBam Bigelow, George the Animal Steele, King Kong Bundy, Roddy Piper. I cna't make a couple of them out... Sid and Tatanka?

I thought the one between hillbilly jim and piper might be brutus beefcake.

[Sun Tzu]

I think the guy on the far left is Brutus Beefcake, yeah, good call. The guy on the top left with the facepaint is probably either A.) Sting, B.) Chono, or C.) Muta

[Maple Leafs]

Hillbilly Jim, Mr Fuji, Hogan, BamBam Bigelow, George the Animal Steele, King Kong Bundy, Roddy Piper. I cna't make a couple of them out... Sid and Tatanka?
I think the guy in the back with the claw hands was Steamboat.

[Suicane75]

Hillbilly Jim, Beefcake, Piper, George The Animal Steel, Honky Tonk Man, Steamboat, Bundy, Bigelow, Fuji, Hogan, Looks like both Killer Bees cause there are two arms and another Honky Tonk Man.

[Sun Tzu]

Suicane FTW.

[Suicane75]

1. Complete knowledge of LJN figures.
2.
3. Profit

[molson]

Hillbilly Jim, Beefcake, Piper, George The Animal Steel, Honky Tonk Man, Steamboat, Bundy, Bigelow, Fuji, Hogan, Looks like both Killer Bees cause there are two arms and another Honky Tonk Man.

Well done.

That extra arm next to that one Killer Bee (the second arm on Hogan's shoulder) has a clear "thumbs up" though. Perhaps that's Jim Duggan?

I love that the figures are time appropriate for Savage's WWF run. A lot of thought went into this. I'd like to see a wider shot though.

[molson]

Found a wider image

Edit: It looks like the only one Suicane missed was Bobby Heenan instead of another Honkytonk man. But I'm not sure who the two in the back are.

http://www.google.com/url?source=imgres&ct=img&q=http://static.sportressofblogitude.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/macho-man-randy-savage-funeral-action-figures.jpg&sa=X&ei=CAXcTaTtGJCisQPz26G6Dg&ved=0CAQQ8wc&usg=AFQjCNEaUlw42_LD1lUBDssItBaTAiLRXA

[MikeVic]

Did you mentioned Junkyard Dog and Bam Bam Bigelow? I pretty much have all these figures.

[MikeVic]

There's also definitely Steamboat and Jesse Ventura standing together (one in front of the other). I think that covers them all?

[MikeVic]

Also, a column on Macho Man by Bill Simmons:

Bill Simmons: Macho Man brought together the die-hards, the bandwagon fans and the '80s - ESPN (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/110524)

[digamma]

Did you mentioned Junkyard Dog and Bam Bam Bigelow? I pretty much have all these figures.

Nice touch that JYD is buried also. RIP and Grab Them Cakes.

[Suicane75]

Oh snap, I didn't have the whole picture in my sights, wtf. Yeah, JYD & Ventura and that's obviously Heenan and not a 2nd Honky Tonk Man. What the hell was I looking at?

[Suicane75]

Oh snap, I didn't see that it's a 2nd picture. I'm on a roll.

[Maple Leafs]

Having JYD coming out of the ground zombie style was a nice touch...

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Autopsy reveals Randy ‘Macho Man’ Savage died of natural causes - Y! Sports Blogs - Yahoo! Sports (http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/post/Autopsy-reveals-Randy-8216-Macho-Man-8217-Sa?urn=top-wp159)

[Dr. Sak]

Jessie Ventura has the blue bandana on.