Memories of a Macho Man

Memories of The Macho Man

On the morning of May 20, 2011, Randall Mario Poffo died after a single vehicle accident while driving on a street in Seminole, Florida, a town on the Pinellas County side of Tampa Bay. He was 58 years old. It is suspected he may have had a heart attack which led to his losing control of the vehicle and crashing into a tree. He is survived by his wife, Lynn Poffo, who sustained injuries, but is not critical.

He was the 1-time WCW and 2-times WWE Champion, Macho Man Randy Savage,

I have never had the opportunity to met the man, and so have never known him person to person. I have never spoken to him, nor contacted him in any way. I have never sent him emails that consisted of question marks as I once did to the Ultimate Warrior. Yet, with the news of his passing, I am saddened and the world is lessened. It is not often that the death of a celebrity moves me, whilst I find it unfortunate and sad, my lack of emotional attachment to the person, rather than the work that they have done, means it will not affect me in day to day life.

This time however, I have thought and rethought a fitting tribute, and each time it has come up lacking. How do you define a personality as strong as Savage's? How do you actually convey the words for the loss? In this case, I can only do the following, I can only pay witness to the events in the world of Professional Wrestling that shaped my childhood, and beyond.

Randy Savage was never a stage persona, That was him, loving playing up to the crowd. With his trademarks, both attire and raspy catchphrases, and his OTT entrance music (Pomp and Circumstance), Randy owned the mic, owned the ring, and owned the hearts and minds of his fandom. Weather he was feuding with Jake 'The Snake' Roberts (Another of my personal favourites, and one of the most unappreciated feuds in wrestling history) or Ric Flair, whether he was popping insults at President Jack Tunny or old foes while commentating. Randy owned the stage and screen.

Not only in wrestling did he shine, once he began to slow down on his in-ring work, he turned his eye to other mediums. Not for nothing was he awarded Man of the Year from Havard University in 1998. Savage turned up in shows ranging from Baywatch to Space Ghost (“I met yer father in a steel cage match!”) and once turned up in what appears to be the only episode of the sitcom “Nikki” that was ever shown in UK television. He also created a memorable appearance in what should have been a one-note role in 2002's Spider-Man movie.

It would be remiss of me to not mention his 2003 album, Be A Man, which contained a fitting and heartfelt tribute to Curt 'Mr Perfect' Henning, and the latest in a long line of verbal attack on Hulk Hogan, who it seems had finally opened up communications with Savage again after many years of a cold relationship.

Finally, I would like to quote a saying from Savage's old feuding partner, Ric Flair.
“You wanna be the man, you gotta beat the man”
With the passing of The Macho Man Randy Savage, nobody in professional wrestling will ever be the man, as nobody will ever be able to beat the Macho Man.

Until next time, I remain.