Legendary professional wrestler “Macho Man” Randy Savage died today due to injuries sustained in a car accident in Tampa, Florida.
Often regarded as one of the greatest pro-wrestlers ever, the 58-year-old Savage (real name: Randall Poffo) was reportedly driving his 2009 Jeep Wrangler at around 10 a.m. when he lost control of the vehicle, crossed a concrete median, careened through oncoming traffic and hit a tree head-on. Randy was transported to a nearby hospital where he died from his injuries. His wife, Lynn – who Savage married just one year ago – was a passenger in the car, but sustained only minor injuries. Both were wearing seatbelts.
Randy’s brother, former pro-wrestler Lanny Poffo, told TMZ that his brother suffered a heart attack behind the wheel, causing the deadly crash. No official cause has been given and an investigation is underway.
“Macho Man” rose to fame in the mid ’80s as a part of Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Federation. Savage claimed many of the organization’s top honors, including the WWF World Championship, Intercontinental Championship and “King of the Ring” title. Randy’s televised marriage to wrestling manager Miss Elizabeth, as well as his feuds with Hulk Hogan and Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat are legendary among wrestling fans.
Savage’s success carried over to Ted Turner’s World Championship Wrestling (WCW) organization, where he was instrumental in the company’s ratings dominance through the mid-’90s.
As of late, the former Slim Jim spokesman has been somewhat of a recluse, retiring from wrestling and enjoying a short stint as a rap artist and actor ("Spider-Man"). Though the WWF (now WWE) has often – and inexplicably – ignored Savage’s contributions to pro-wrestling, he was just recently featured in a DVD collection and included in the “WWE All-Stars” video game. Many assumed he would soon be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
