Savage Inducted To Hall O Fame

Tha O Show is proud to announce our second inductee into Tha Hall O Fame: "Macho Man" Randy Savage. Savage received 38 of a possible 52 first place votes. 52 professional wrestlers across North America were sent ballots by e-mail, and asked to vote for three names.

The second-generation legend is one of the most recognizable stars in the history of professional wrestling as he was a main event star for the World Wrestling Federation during their peak in the 1980s.

Savage was a controversial figure in the latter part of his career as he shocked the wrestling world by releasing a rap album in 2003 entitled Be A Man and briefly appearing in Total Nonstop Action wrestling in 2004.

However, his reputation as one of the best in-ring performers of his generation is undeniable as he has competed in some of the most memorable matches in the history of this business.

Randy Savage began wrestling after a shoulder injury forced him to retire from a promising baseball career where he played for the St. Louis Cardinals farm team. Beginning his career using his real name Randy Poffo, Savage began wrestling for Georgia Championship Wrestling in the early part of the 1970s and it was there where he dropped Poffo and became known as Randy Savage.

Savage was unique at the time as there were few men standing 6'3" with his agility. People were amazed to see such a big man fly off the top rope with such ease. With his reputation growing among many wrestling promoters, Savage entered Continental Championship Wrestling in Memphis where he was quickly placed in a feud with Jerry Lawler.

Randy Savage signed with the WWF in 1985 and was immediately placed with his wife, Miss Elizabeth. Savage quickly climbed the ranks and became the Intercontinental Champion in February of 1986 defeating Tito Santana. It was this title reign and the subsequent feud with Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat that made Savage into a bonified top-talent in the WWF.

In what can now only be described as one of the most famous matches in the history of the WWF, Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat did what they set-out to do at WrestleMania III: steal the show. Ricky Steamboat ended the 14-month Intercontinental title reign of Savage in a match filled with near-falls and high-risks that left the Pontiac Silverdome buzzing.

In several interviews, Steamboat has claimed that every single move in this match was rehearsed and laid-out in meticulous detail. The two men carried around a notebook that had their entire move sequence written out and numbered in preparation for this famous match.

Savage became WWF Champion at WrestleMania IV in a one-night tournament where he defeated Butch Reed, Greg Valentine, One Man Gang and "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase. Savage would go onto become WWF Champion on two more occassions in legendary feuds with Ric Flair and The Ultimate Warrior.

In what was one of the most famous angles WWF did in this period, Ric Flair claimed to have had pictures showing he was having an affair with Miss Elizabeth. The pictures, which showed a superimposed Ric Flair feeding Elizabeth strawberries, were shown on a "Superstars" telecast which left Savage infuriated and puzzled.

In another infamous angle, Savage was attacked by Jake "The Snake" Roberts on "Superstars." Roberts went on to tie Savage to the ropes and then had his snake, Damien bite Savage's arm. The angle was incredibly well-executed and memorable as it was one of the most horrific scenes ever produced for WWF television at the time. The two unfortunately could not capitalize on the success of the angle as their blow-off match came just a month before Savage challenged Flair for the WWF title at WrestleMania VIII.

Savage left WWF after a brief stint as a color commentator and signed with WCW in 1994. It was in WCW where Savage was once again programmed with Ric Flair as the feud between the two legends was credited in large part for WCW's turnaround in the mid-90s. The two feuded through 1995 and in that year Savage won the WCW title in the 60-Man battle royale called World War III.

After being one of WCW's most popular babyface wrestlers for two years, Savage was used to turn Hogan heel in the now infamous Bash At The Beach angle where Hogan joined the NWO. After feuding with the NWO, Savage joined them in 1997.

The latter part of Savage's run in WCW saw the legend form a group called Team Madness in which he was escorted to the ring by his new girlfriend, Gorgeous George, Madusa and a young Nora Greenwald who went on to become Molly Holly in WWE. It was also at this time that Savage was temporarily programmed with Dennis Rodman which saw the two cut profanity- laced promos on each other where Rodman claimed he was sleeping with Gorgeous George.

After Savage's contract expired in 2000, he left wrestling completely focusing more on his acting and music careers. Savage did return to the ring in 2004 for TNA at their Victory Road pay-per-view where he teamed with Jeff Hardy and AJ Styles to take on Jeff Jarrett, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall.

Among the workers, Savage was greatly respected as one of the hardest working performers in the industry. In a period in wrestling where big physiques dominated, Savage was among the few main event performers in the WWF that could put together a classic match.

Along with not only performing in some of the most memorable matches ever, Savage is also remembered for his unique promo ability and the ever infamous, "ooohhhh yeeaaaah, dig it!". His presence and likeness are still remembered to this day as Jay Lethal is now performing as Black Machismo, paying homage to "The Macho Man."

We here at Tha O Show are very proud to induct "The Macho Man" Randy Savage into Tha Hall O Fame.

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