Macho Man Randy Savage Also Was Legendary at DGN

OK, time to ’fess up:  I used to following professional wrestling through my childhood and into my formative years.

I know, I know. Each match is choreographed and scripted, and the outcome is predetermined. But the athleticism is real, and yes, so is the blood.

How do I know the latter? A few years ago, I interviewed Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, one of the squared circle’s most famous managers and “villains.” He provided all the necessary insight. (Click here to read the entire interview, if you’re not the squeamish type.)  

The athleticism and the blood notwithstanding, I have to say what kept me glued to the TV set each weekend back in the day were the wrestling personalities themselves.

Yet of all the professional ’rasslers I’ve seen—on the tube and whenever they’d come to the Chicago area as part of a big card—no one captured my imagination more than “Macho Man” Randy Savage, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion, and later, the World Championship Wrestling (WCW) heavyweight champ.

WWF Superstars was must-see TV for me each Saturday. I’d eagerly anticipate announcer “Mean Gene” Okerlund’s weekly interview with “the Macho Man,” as Savage called himself.

Usually, the Macho Man—decked out in his signature sunglasses and multi-colored hats/bandanas—would either begin or end his interviews with his signature catch phrase, “ohh, yeah!” in that unmistakable raspy, bellicose voice.  

I did a double-take and gasped, “ohh, no!” when the headline flashed across my monitor that Savage, 58, died from injuries sustained in a car accident near Tampa, FL, Friday morning.

Savage reportedly lost control of his Jeep Wrangler after suffering a heart attack and crossed the median. The Jeep crashed head-on into a tree. Savage’s wife, Lynn, was a passenger and survived the crash with minor injuries. She and Savage had just celebrated their first wedding anniversary earlier this month.

Of course, Randy Savage was his wrestling name.

His real name? Randy Poffo.

Born in Columbus, Ohio, Randy moved to the Chicago area with his family and settled right here in Downers Grove.

Randy’s father, Angelo Poffo (who died in March 2010), was a longtime professional wrestler. His younger brother, Lanny, wrestled under the names “Leaping” Lanny Poffo and “The Genius.”

However, Randy didn’t follow in either his father’s or his brother’s footsteps right away. He was quite a talented baseball player.

A 1971 graduate of North High School and a member of the National Honor Society, Randy played baseball all four years. He hit .500 for the Trojans his junior year and .525 his senior year when he was named team MVP.

The St. Louis Cardinals drafted Randy right out of North, and he played outfield in the Cardinals, White Sox and Cincinnati Reds’ organizations. He ended up hurting his right (throwing) shoulder and left professional baseball in 1974.

That’s when Randy went into the wrestling business full-time with his father and brother.

Randy wrestled with various organizations over the next decade until he signed on with Vince McMahon and the WWF in June, 1985. From there, he skyrocketed to international stardom.

Wrestling fans will undoubtedly remember Randy being managed and accompanied to the ring by the beautiful Miss Elizabeth. Well, Randy and Elizabeth actually were married in real life.

They exchanged vows in 1984, before he signed with the WWF (her real name was Elizabeth Ann Heulette). The couple divorced in 1992. She died in 2003 at the age of 42 from an apparent drug overdose.

Randy was inducted into Downers North’s Hall of Fame in 1994. He was part of the Hall of Fame's inaugural class.

It goes without saying that “The Macho Man” will be missed.

Ohh, yeah!