'Macho Man' Savage dies in car wreck

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NewsCore


Updated May 20, 2011 1:33 PM ET
LARGO, Fla.

Former pro wrestling star "Macho Man" Randy Savage died Friday of injuries suffered in a car accident in Tampa, Fla., TMZ reported.

He was 58.

The Florida Highway Patrol told TMZ that Savage was driving his 2009 Jeep Wrangler when he veered across the center median and struck a tree. He did not hit any oncoming vehicles.

Savage died of his injuries at Largo Medical Center, TMZ reported.

Savage's wife, Lynn, was a passenger in the vehicle and suffered minor injuries, authorities said. She was treated at a separate hospital.

Savage's brother, Lanny Poffo, told TMZ the wrestling legend suffered a heart attack while behind the wheel.

Savage, whose real name was Randy Poffo, was one of wrestling's biggest stars through the mid-1980s and 1990s. He retired in 2005.

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Ohhhhh Yeaaaah Snap into a Slim Jim.

Very sad news....

Actually - latest reports say he had a heart attack while driving.

Randy "Macho Man" Savage Killed in Car Accident

Today 11:44 AM PDT

Randy "Macho Man" Savage, the flamboyant Slim Jim-chomping, sunglasses-sporting wrestler who grappled with the likes of Hulk Hogan, Jesse Venture, Andre the Giant and Rowdy Roddy Piper while collecting scores of WWE championships during his '80s heyday, died Friday in a car accident. He was 58.

Savage was driving in Tampa this morning at around 10 a.m. when he apparently suffered a heart attack behind the wheel and lost control of his vehicle, according to officials.

A spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol tells E! News that the pro grappler's 2009 Jeep Wrangler ended up barreling over a concrete median into oncoming traffic lanes before it "collided head-on with a tree."

According to the FHP, Savage's wife, Lynn, was also in the vehicle and both were wearing their seatbelts. Randy was taken to nearby Largo Medical Center where he died; Lynn sustained "minor injuries" but was expected to make a full recovery.

Authorities added that alcohol was not involved in the crash, citing "a medical event" as a possible cause. An investigation has been launched into the crash, and an autopsy is scheduled for Saturday.

Upon learning of the tragic news, the WWE posted a statement on its site: "The WWE is saddened to learn of the passing of one of the greatest Superstars of all time, 'Macho Man' Randy Savage, who died in an automobile accident. 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."

Savage was born Randy Poffo on Nov. 15, 1953, in Columbus, Ohio. He first fell in love with the sport that made him famous watching his father, Angelo Poffo, who was also a wrestler, as was his brother, "Leaping" Lanny Poffo, aka "The Genius."

After a short stint in minor league baseball, Randy took up wrestling in 1973 and shortly thereafter took the stage name "Savage."

After testing his mettle in the various circuits (International Championship Wrestling, Continental Wrestling Association), in 1985 he signed with Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation (which later changed its name to World Wrestling Entertainment) and became a legend.

At the WWE, Savage launched some of his fiercest rivalries, fighting (and beating) the likes of Hulk Hogan on his way to winning the Intercontinental Championship over Tito Santana in a heavily watched broadcast of Saturday Night's Main Event.

He held onto the title for a year—the longest up until that point—all the while engaging in feuds with the likes of George "The Animal" Steele and Jake "The Snake" Roberts.

Savage, accompanied by then-wife Elizabeth as valet, gave fans some of the most memorable, highly choreographed matches in Wrestlemania history. In Wrestlemania III, Randy "crushed" the larynx of Ricky Steamboat before Steamboat managed to pin him for the win in what was then hailed as one of the greatest matches of all time by wrestling magazines.

During late '80s, Savage continued to be one of the WWE's main attractions, known for his trademark "Oooh Yeahhh!" phrase and teaming up with Hulk Hogan to form the popular Mega Powers. The duo had rivalries with Honky Tonk Man and fellow stars Andrew the Giant and Ted Biase, aka The Mega Bucks.

By Wrestlemania V however, Savage (now known as the "Macho King") and Hogan were done as a pair, especially when the latter beat Randy for the title. Around the same time, the superstar also separated from Elizabeth; they divorced in 1992. She would later be found dead in 2003 of a drug overdose in the home of Lex Luger.

Savage retired after losing a match at Wrestlemania VII in 1991. After a short stint on the sidelines as a color commentator, Randy got back in the ring and joined the World Championship Wrestling before retiring again in 2000.

During his time off from the ring, Savage turned to acting, appearing on TV shows like Walker Texas Ranger, Mad About You and Baywatch. His most memorable big screen appearance was playing the wrestler Bonesaw McGraw in the 2002 blockbuster Spider-Man and also played himself in the 2000 comedy Ready to Rumble.

Randy, also showed off his musical side with the 2003 release of a rap album, Be a Man. On one of the tracks, he couldn't help but diss the Hulkster.

In 2010, Savage tied the knot again with Lynn Payne, his longtime girlfriend.

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Originally Posted by Carol

Actually - latest reports say he had a heart attack while driving.

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It does say that in the story I posted towards the end.

And we all owe him a vote of thanks. After all...it's widely rumored that he stopped the apocalypse that was supposed to occur this past Saturday. ;)

R.I.P. Randy.

It was sad to hear about this. He was my favorite wrestler when I was growing up. If you haven't already guessed, that's where the "Macho" in "Darth Macho" was inspired from. :(

Growing up in Tennessee I remember watching Randy every Saturday morning. Before he got hisd national break in the WWF, he wrestled primarily for the Tennessee and Kentucky promotions. I remember seeing him wrestle Jerry Lawler in Nashville. He was a great bad guy back then.

When I was a little girl, my brother always watched WWF. Being a typical younger sibling, I looked up to him and "liked" whatever he did, so I got into WWF as well. I idolized Miss Elizabeth, and closely followed the saga between her and Macho Man. Anyone who follows wrestling knows about her tragic passing, and I'm Sad to hear about his passing now. I am usually one that is able to find humor in a lot of things, but for some reason it has me sorta bummed that so many people have reduced his death to an oooh yeaahhh/Slim Jim joke. No offense meant to the OP But so many people had that as their status on Facebook. Rest in Peace Randy.