Lanny Poffo has confirmed to TMZ that his brother, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, died in a car wreck early this morning after suffering a heart attack behind the wheel.
Savage, who was 58 at the time of his death, was one of the biggest names in the WWF in the late 80s and early 90s before jumping ship to WCW, and even spending a brief period of time in TNA Wrestling. Mostly retired, he was about to celebrate the 1 year anniversary of his marriage to his wife, Lynn.
Early reports from the Florida Highway Patrol and the assisting personal injury attorneys in New York say Savage was driving the vehicle and his wife was a passenger. Savage veered across into oncoming traffic, and collided head-on with a tree. Savage died later in the hospital; Lynn survived with only minor injuries. At this time, it is unclear if Savage’s death was caused by injuries from the accident, the heart attack, or a combination. They have confirmed both were wearing seatbelts, and alcohol was not a factor in the wreck.
While remembered fondly for his loud and vibrant in ring style and his memorable theme song, “Pomp and Circumstance”, Savage is perhaps best remembered outside of wrestling for his outrageous Slim Jim commercials, and for his role as “Bonesaw” McGraw in 2000’s Spider-Man. Controversially, Savage has been consistently snubbed by the WWE for entrance into the Hall of Fame, and only recently had begun to reunite with the company to promote the game WWE All-Stars.
Savage was a 2 time WWF Champion and 4 time WCW Champion, and won the 1987 King of the Ring tournament, after which he began to call himself the “Macho King”. He was typically accompanied to the ring in the WWF by his first wife Elizabeth Hulette, who was known in the WWF as “Miss Elizabeth”. Savage and Hulette divorced in 1992; Hulette herself died in 2003 at the age of 42.
