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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It was just after 9 p.m. on March 20, 1994, and the greatest ladder match in pro wrestling history had just concluded. The two combatants, Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon (n\u00E9e\u200B Scott Hall), limped backstage after 25 minutes in the ring. There hadn\u2019t been many ladder matches\u2014in which an item (in this case a championship belt) is suspended above the ring and the winner is the wrestler who climbs a ladder and retrieves it\u2014up to that point. \u201CExtreme\u201D wrestling was in its infancy and jumping off the top rope was still considered a big deal. Not&amp;nbsp;only had Michaels and Ramon used the ladder in ways never before seen, but they had also done so at&amp;nbsp;WrestleMania, the biggest event of the year.&amp;nbsp;One by one, wrestlers in the locker room approached the duo to congratulate them on the match. All except one, that is.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Randy (Macho Man) Savage was furious. Yes, Savage agreed, it had been a great match. But Ramon and Michaels had also used more time than they were supposed to. This meant that the next match\u2014a 10-man tag\u2014\u200Bhad to be cut from the card. It also meant that the 10 wrestlers who had been scheduled to fight would not receive a check on the biggest payday of the year. This was too much for Savage to take. &amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CFirst of all,\u201D Savage told Ramon as he walked backstage through the curtain,&amp;nbsp;\u201CI want to say that was a great match. Second of all, I want to say you\u2019re both very selfish.\u201D\r\n\r\n\r\n\tMORE PRO WRESTLING: WrestleMania&amp;nbsp;31 Predictions\r\n\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201C \u2018Mach\u2019 told his truth,\u201D Ramon says. \u201CHe wouldn\u2019t say it behind your back. He\u2019d walk up and say it right to you. Shawn and I were both nodding the whole time he spoke.&amp;nbsp;All I could say was, \u2018You\u2019re right.\u2019 \u201D&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Whether he was sticking up for his fellow wrestlers or stealing the show in front of 93,000 fans, Savage was one of the most important pro wrestling figures of the last 50 years. But personal feuds and a promise to his family had prevented him from receiving wrestling\u2019s highest honor\u2014induction into the WWE Hall of Fame. That will change on Saturday when Savage, who died at age 58 of cardiac arrhythmia in May 2011, finally gets his place among the top stars of all time. But now that the Macho Man is set to be enshrined, two pressing questions still linger: Who, exactly, was he? And why did it take so long for wrestling to honor him?\r\n\r\n&lt;h2&gt;The Early Years&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u200B\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Randall Mario Poffo\u200B&amp;nbsp;was born in Columbus, Ohio, on Nov. 15, 1952, and raised by his parents, Angelo and Judy. Angelo played collegiate baseball and wrestled as an amateur. He also did a short stint in the Navy, setting the world record for consecutive sit-ups by doing 6,033 in four hours and ten minutes. He wanted to play professional baseball, but couldn\u2019t cut it. A friend recommended that he try pro wrestling, a vocation Angelo pursued for the next three decades. The two Poffo boys fell in love with their dad\u2019s line of work. Like Randy, Lanny Poffo also wrestled in the WWE, \u200Bunder the moniker of \"the Genius.\" \r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CThe boys always wanted to be part of wrestling,\u201D says Judy, who\u2019s now 88. \u201CThey used to practice as if they were being interviewed on TV when they were kids. After all those years of practicing, the first time Randy was interviewed he was so nervous. All he could say to the announcer was, \u2018Thank you very much.\u2019 \u201D\r\n\r\n\r\n\tMORE PRO WRESTLING: The Worst Promos of All Time\r\n\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Though only 25 months older than Lanny, Randy embraced his role as a big brother, especially when the boys\u2019 dad was off wrestling.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CRandy was like having a second father,\u201D Lanny says. \u201COur parents were products of the Great Depression. They made their own way in this world. Our dad used to always say, \u2018Success is not an accident.\u2019 Randy believed in that.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Savage's first love was baseball\u2014he worked his way into the minor league systems of the St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox between 1971 and \u201975\u2014but never rose above Class A ball. He&amp;nbsp;started as an outfielder before finding his niche as a catcher. His career was nearly derailed after a home plate collision in \u201973 left his right shoulder badly damaged. The righthander could barely throw after the injury, so Savage trained himself to throw lefty by hurling a baseball against a wall a thousand times a day.&amp;nbsp;While his dedication did not translate to a big-league call up, it did catch the eye of a baseball legend.&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CRandy was a super athlete,\u201D says Pete Rose, a spring-training teammate of Savage\u2019s in 1974. \u201CHe was very limber, flexible, so it didn\u2019t surprise me he was a pretty good baseball player.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Despite Savage\u2019s desire, the truth was unavoidable\u2014Class A ballplayers with a lifetime batting average of .254 don\u2019t play in the major leagues.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CRandy had put his whole life into baseball,\u201D Judy says. \u201CWhen he got released for the last time, he was devastated. He broke all his bats and his equipment.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;With his baseball career behind him, the 6'1\", 195-pound Savage turned to the family business. The only problem was his size, or lack of it.&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n\r\n\tMORE PRO WRESTLING: Five worst moments from the \u2018Attitude Era\u2019\r\n\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CWrestlers in the 1970s consisted of some very horrible looking men,\u201D Lanny says. \u201CRandy was a muscle man in baseball, but considered very skinny as a wrestler.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;While Savage worked on his physique, he learned the nuances of pro wrestling from veteran grappler Harley Race.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u200B\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CI knew Randy right from day one when he started wrestling,\u201D says Race, a longtime friend of Savage\u2019s father. \u201CI helped him put together that image of the Macho Man. He&amp;nbsp;had a way about him. He grabbed your attention through his voice. That allowed him to present himself as a type of a character. He and Angelo were both great, but his dad couldn\u2019t talk like him. That got Randy over with the people.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;After training with Race for a few years, the former baseball player had the skills and the body to be successful in the ring. He still needed a strong identity.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CHis name was conjured up by some promoter,\u201D says longtime wrestling broadcaster \u201CMean\u201D Gene&amp;nbsp;Okerlund. \u201CPoffo sounded a little soft. But he thought Randy fought like a savage. Hence \u2018Macho Man\u2019 Randy Savage.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;And with that, a star was born.\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 class=\"p4\"&gt;Introduction To Pro Wrestling&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u200B\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In 1978, three years after Savage retired from baseball, Angelo started a new wrestling circuit in Lexington, Ky., called International Championship Wrestling. Unlike rival organizations, however,&amp;nbsp;ICW was not a member of the powerful National Wrestling Alliance. Therefore, the group was dubbed an \u201Coutlaw\u201D promotion within the industry.&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CThe Poffos had a promotion that was going against the one run by Jerry (the King) Lawler&lt;b&gt; &lt;/b&gt;and Jerry Jarrett ... known as the Continental Wrestling Association,\u201D says Jimmy (Mouth of the South) Hart. \u201CWhen [ICW wrestlers] came into [the CWA\u2019s hometown of] Memphis, they would do their interviews challenging us. But Jarrett\u2019s motto was always, \u2018Don\u2019t say anything about our opposition. If we don\u2019t talk about them, pretty soon they\u2019ll go out of business.\u2019 \u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The&amp;nbsp;ICW folded in 1984 and a frustrated Savage needed work. His time in ICW had angered many promoters and his future looked bleak. He penned an apology letter to Lawler, saying:&amp;nbsp;\u201CIn all due respect, you have a great product. We tried to come in and do something that was unethical at the time and it didn\u2019t work. If you could ever use us, we\u2019re available.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Hart still remembers sitting in Lawler\u2019s kitchen reading Savage\u2019s apology.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CLawler had originally planned a main event for the next week between the Road Warriors and The Fabulous Ones,\u201D he said. \u201CBut we just had to change that. I said, \u2018King, with you and Savage main-eventing, this card will be a sell-out.\u2019 Jerry agreed and reached out to Randy.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Savage\u2019s migration to Lawler\u2019s CWA culminated with a grudge match between the two at Kentucky\u2019s Rupp Arena.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CThe first time we worked together, when it was \u2018promotion against promotion,\u2019 we sold out at the arena with 23,000 people,\u201D Lawler says. \u201CThat was unheard of in wrestling. But Randy was so cool. He was a great athlete, and he was a little bit out there. He had a bit of a temper, and he was moody at times, but he was his own guy. I really grew to respect him.\u201D\r\n\r\n\r\n\tMORE PRO WRESTLING: Best documentaries of all time\r\n\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Savage\u2019s work with Lawler still resonates within the wrestling community, particularly with \u201CStone Cold\u201D Steve Austin.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CMacho Man, that guy\u2019s stuff back when he was in Tennessee, was incredible,\u201D Austin says. \u201CHis intensity, his promo style\u2014he was the Macho Man 24/7, 365\u2014and he was that before he got to the WWF. Vince [McMahon] didn\u2019t make him, he made himself. Vince then made him a superstar all over the world.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;By the time Savage was 32, McMahon and his front office asked Hart\u2014whom they had recently poached from the CWA\u2014to bring the Macho Man to the World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment).\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CI managed Randy and his father Angelo in Memphis,\u201D Hart says. \u201CThen I left to go to New York. [Author\u2019s note: Signing with the Connecticut-based WWE is referred to in wrestling circles as going to New York.] I had only been working for Vince for about three months and I was heading for a short trip back home to Memphis. The office said to me, \u2018Jimmy, do us a favor. We saw these tapes on Randy Savage. Can you call him when you\u2019re back home?\u2019 When I called Lawler\u2019s promotion and asked to speak with Randy, they needed to know why I was calling.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The call needed to be handled delicately. McMahon had been pilfering the best talent from wrestling territories all over the nation and promoters had stopped accepting calls from his office. But Hart, one of the greatest wrestling managers of all time, knew how to handle the situation. Wrestling managers constantly bend rules and cheat to win, and this instance was no different. So, naturally, he lied.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CRandy was selling some kind of vitamin,\u201D Hart says. \u201CI called and told them I had somebody who wanted to buy $150 worth of [the stuff], so they put Randy on the phone right away.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;As soon as Savage answered, Hart explained the real reason behind the call.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CI said, \u2018I got to be honest with you\u2014Vince saw your tapes and wants to know if you want to come to New York,\u2019 \u201D Hart says. \u201CRandy said to me, \u2018Brother, I\u2019ll meet you over on Summer Avenue in 15 minutes.\u2019 He jumped in his car to meet me, I gave him the [WWF] phone number and the rest was history.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;[pagebreak]\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 class=\"p6\"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 class=\"p6\"&gt;The First Lady of Wrestling&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;No story of Randy Savage is complete without Elizabeth Hulette.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The beautiful \u201CMiss Elizabeth\u201D was brought in to be Savage\u2019s first manager in the WWF, and fans later learned that the two were married. More than just a valet, she played a major role in every Savage story line from the second WrestleMania&lt;i&gt; &lt;/i&gt;to the eighth.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Savage first met Hulette, fittingly, at a gym in Lexington, Ky., in 1982. He and Lanny were getting ready for a workout when the young, soft-voiced beauty caught Randy\u2019s eye.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Savage and Elizabeth famously tied the knot in 1991 on pay-per-view. Billed as the \u201CMatch Made in Heaven,\u201D the two said, \u201CI do,\u201D at&amp;nbsp;SummerSlam. Their real wedding, however, was in stark contrast to the one held in the middle of the ring at Madison Square Garden. They had actually gotten married seven years earlier, at the home of Hulette\u2019s mother in Frankfurt, Ky., on Dec. 30, 1984.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CRandy wanted to elope,\u201D Judy says. \u201CBut Elizabeth\u2019s mother said no. She wanted to have the wedding in her house. Randy agreed to that, but he didn\u2019t want anyone to be there, so he only invited the two of us, his mother and father.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Lanny skipped the ceremony. He was booked to wrestle and Savage would have been furious if his brother canceled. Hulette\u2019s mother and grandparents were present, and a friend of Elizabeth\u2019s mother\u2014who wasn\u2019t wearing a collar\u2014performed the ceremony.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CIt was very quiet,\u201D Judy says. \u201CBut that was Randy. He didn\u2019t want anyone around, and the wedding was very quick. He didn\u2019t want anybody to know that it was so special to him, so he was quiet about the whole thing.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201COn the night of the wedding, they had some refreshments,\u201D she says. \u201CThat was it. They got their own place in Kentucky. And, when Randy needed a manager, the WWF was going to give him some pretty girl. Randy said, \u2018Well, how about my wife?\u2019 \u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;At Savage\u2019s request, McMahon hired the 24-year-old Elizabeth Poffo in 1985. The couple enjoyed a \u201Cwrestling\u201D honeymoon.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CFor a while, they were living with Angelo and I in Florida,\u201D Judy says. \u201CThey moved into a quiet complex and then they bought a house, but that was the end of the romance.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;From the time Hulette became his manager, Savage guarded her every move on the road. The nomadic world of pro wrestling is not known for long romantic relationships. Fidelity is a big problem, and Savage was known to keep his wife in her own locker room, and to limit her access to the other wrestlers.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CIf you even looked at Elizabeth the wrong way, then, &lt;em&gt;Holy s---&lt;/em&gt;,\u201D says Hulk Hogan. \u201CRandy would freak out. If you ever wanted to get him lit up, you\u2019d just have to look at Liz.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Wrestlers criticized the way Savage treated Hulette, grumbling that they did not see her until she appeared in the ring, and that she was then whisked away after every match.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CI would never consider having my wife around a bunch of wrestlers,\u201D says \u201CMillion Dollar Man\u201D Ted DiBiase. \u201CRandy tried to protect Elizabeth, but that created some tension between the two of them.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;McMahon, a genius at turning real-life events into wrestling angles, masterfully worked the love story into an in-ring proposal and an on-air wedding ceremony.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CRandy was a loose cannon,\u201D says Okerlund. \u201CIn the early days, Randy was very protective of Elizabeth to the point where it bothered a lot of the boys.&amp;nbsp;But what could you do, take it to Vince McMahon and make yourself look like a powder puff?&amp;nbsp; You just ignored it and worked with it.\u201D\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The stress of working together became too much for Savage and Hulette. Wrestling\u2019s most famous couple divorced just months after their &lt;i&gt;SummerSlam &lt;/i&gt;nuptials, failing to reach their eighth wedding anniversary.\r\n\r\n&lt;h2&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Perfect Match&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Savage wanted to improve his interviews, improve his look and deliver moments that no one had ever before seen. There was no piece of his repertoire that he did not micromanage.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CAbsolutely everything had to be perfect,\u201D says George (the Animal) Steele.&amp;nbsp;\u201CAt one point, I went to Japan and came back with zippers on my boots.&amp;nbsp;Randy saw that the boots actually zipped up, and he couldn\u2019t believe it. He said, \u2018What are you, &lt;i&gt;a lazy wrestler&lt;/i&gt;? You need to zip up your boots?\u2019 With Randy, everything had to be precise.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Savage\u2019s best match took place against Ricky (the Dragon) Steamboat&lt;b &gt; &lt;/b&gt;in front of 93,000 fans in the Pontiac Silverdome at WrestleMania III.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201COn paper, Randy and I were a great matchup,\u201D Steamboat says. \u201CThat\u2019s why the company put us together. He was so edgy, even from the way he talked with his hands and his fingers. Then you had me\u2014I wasn\u2019t edgy, and I didn\u2019t scream and holler. But I did do a couple interviews with Savage where I talked about how the Dragon was going to be breathing fire. I only tried to do that at times when it was needed, and the moment was right.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Jesse (The Body) Ventura called the match alongside Gorilla Monsoon.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CThat was the greatest match I\u2019ve ever seen in my life,\u201D Ventura says. \u201CIt was as perfect as you would ever get for a match. Now granted, Hogan and the Giant were the headliners, but for pure wrestling excitement and what happened in the ring, Macho Man and Steamboat is the greatest match I ever saw.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Two opponents should never be seen together planning out a match. That was usually no problem for Steamboat. He always called his matches in the ring, usually after having reviewed the big moments with his opponents in the dressing room beforehand. Unbeknownst to Steamboat, however, Savage worked\u2014and planned\u2014much differently.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CIt was probably around mid-January, early February when we started putting this match together,\u201D Steamboat says. \u201CTo be upfront with you, my old-school nature allowed me to call 90% of the match in the ring. But Savage, unlike anyone I\u2019ve ever worked with in my career, wanted to have every step\u2014A-B-C-D-E-F-G\u2014planned out.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CWe fought on house shows to prepare for WrestleMania, and we talked about things that worked and didn\u2019t work in the ring. We both had those yellow legal tablets, and we started making notes. Randy would have his set of notes and I would have mine. Then we got everything addressed\u2014number 1, number 2, number 3\u2014and we went up to number 157. Randy would say, \u2018OK, here is up to spot 90, now you tell me the rest.\u2019 I would have to go through the rest, then I would quiz him. I\u2019d never planned out a match that way, so it was very stressful to remember everything.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Ventura did not mind that Savage meticulously planned out his matches. He was more focused on the way Savage harnessed his Macho Man character.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CRandy knew his persona and he exploited it the best of anyone,\u201D said Ventura. \u201CMacho Man was one of the greatest performers I ever witnessed. From a professional standpoint, just from the things he could do, and his knowledge and psychology in the ring, I just had great admiration for him. His work in the ring matched up to everything he did.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If one match could go in the wrestling time capsule, Steamboat\u2013Savage would be the one. In Bret (the Hitman) Hart\u2019s opinion, that was the match that forever changed wrestling.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CMacho Man and Steamboat raised the bar,\u201D Hart says. \u201CIt was the first really great wrestling match, and it was between two good wrestlers. You look at that whole card and it had a lot of cartoon kind of matches, but this was a real wrestling match. Savage raised the bar for everybody in the dressing room.\u201D\r\n\r\n\r\n\tMORE PRO WRESTLING: Bret Hart opens up about infamous \u201CMontreal Screwjob\u201D\r\n\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Savage\u2019s wanted to keep fans enthralled in a match with a seemingly never-ending array of false finishes. It was another of his enduring legacies in the business.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CGuys were asking us after the match, \u2018How did you remember all that?\u2019 \u201D Steamboat says with a laugh. \u201CBut what really put the icing on the cake was after, when Vince had his WrestleMania party. Randy and I were sitting at a table in the Silverdome, and all the guys were congratulating us. I\u2019m even talking about the legends, like Arnold Skaaland and Gorilla Monsoon, just tapping us on the back and shaking our hands, congratulating us on what we did for the company. It was the &lt;em&gt;Who\u2019s Who&lt;/em&gt; of wrestling, and it was nonstop, all night long. Now I\u2019d thought we put something together that was good, but people were telling us it was off the hook.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The bout between Hogan and Andre the Giant had sold out the Silverdome, but it was the match between Savage and Steamboat that everybody remembers.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CWe stole the show in the biggest live event arena in the world,\u201D Steamboat says. \u201CI always wanted to give the fans their money\u2019s worth, and Savage would bring it all to the ring. I remember the finish of that match, when he picked me up for a slam and I just hooked him in a small package. I finally got the 1-2-3. There must have been a two-second lull in the audience, wondering if\u2014after all those false finishes\u2014they heard the count reach three. Then there [were] 93,000 people erupting, and that memory will stay with me forever.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;h2&gt;An Accidental Star&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CI\u2019d love to be this era\u2019s Macho Man,\u201D says WWE superstar Daniel&lt;b&gt; &lt;/b&gt;Bryan. \u201CThere are a lot of similarities between the two of us. He was so good and just had that connection with the crowd. You can watch him to this day, he\u2019s so entertaining.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Bryan and Savage share more in common than scruffy beards. Both men needed an assist to win their first WWE championship. Bryan received help from a rabid fan base ready to riot had Dave Bautista won the belt at WrestleMania XXX. And Savage, who was also extremely popular with the fans, would not have won his first title if not for some insubordination from Wayne Ferris, aka the Honky Tonk Man.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;On Feb. 5, 1988, nearly a year after Hogan and Andre the Giant had first hooked up, over 30 million viewers tuned in to watch their rematch on NBC\u2019s &lt;em&gt;The Main Event&lt;/em&gt;. But the real main event that night occurred backstage at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, where the decision was made for Savage to defeat Ferris and win his second Intercontinental title. But the Honky Tonk Man felt otherwise.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u200B\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CI was finally in a situation where my character had finally come to life,\u201D Ferris says. \u201CAll of a sudden, the company wanted to go in another direction, but I just did not feel like losing the belt was the best thing for me on a personal or professional level.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Ferris refused to drop the belt. Savage won their match, but on a count-out with Ferris outside the ring, not on a pin, a technicality that allowed Ferris to keep his Intercontinental championship.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;With Savage's popularity rivaling that of Hogan, McMahon had Savage finally win the WWF heavyweight title at WrestleMania IV.&amp;nbsp;The Macho Man won the championship by fighting his way through a 14-man tournament.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;On March 27, 1988, after 13 years in the sport and at the age of 35, Savage was finally on top of the pro wrestling world. His peers, however, weren't so thrilled.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CRandy was the coolest character in wrestling,\u201D Hart says, \u201Cbut there was a lot of jealousy and resentment. He got to travel first-class with his wife, and they got treated like royalty. I remember the sentiment in the dressing room when he became champion was, &lt;em&gt;Watch now\u2014Randy\u2019s not the guy. He won\u2019t be able to carry the load. You\u2019ll all find out Randy can\u2019t draw&lt;/em&gt;.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CEveryone was surprised that attendance never dropped. I remember when he lost the belt, I told him how proud I was of him. He proved he was the rightful king of the company at that time.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Savage had another huge fan in Hogan, who had one of his finest wrestling matches against the Macho Man at WrestleMania V.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CThe cool thing about Macho was that he lived the gimmick,\u201D Hogan says. \u201CSome wrestlers I could go with one time, or if it was something really special I could get a return match out of it, but I could go four times in the same building with Randy.&amp;nbsp;The fans knew he was the real deal.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Jake (The Snake) Roberts was another fan. Savage abruptly retired after he lost the Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania VII, but Roberts forced the Macho Man back into the ring. Roberts goaded Savage, who was then in the broadcast booth, by insulting his manhood and even his wife. The climax came when Roberts tied Savage up in the ropes and let his cobra loose to attack the Macho Man.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CThe favorite moment in my career was when that damn cobra chewed on his arm,\u201D Roberts says. \u201CThat was awesome.&amp;nbsp;We worked our asses off to build that storyline. Randy and I were just naturals. He was a good listener out there in the ring, and he would let me lead him. Randy was never boring. He was a ball of raw energy.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Though the pair seemed destined for a grudge match at WrestleMania VIII, the program was cut short and both men were placed in separate feuds.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CThe WWE rushed the whole thing because it was just too powerful,\u201D Roberts says. \u201CSometimes Vince got in a hurry because he would try to get ready for something else, but sometimes something explodes that is so good that you could get many more months out of it. It didn\u2019t fit their timeline, and that was stunning because we could have wrestled each other for years. It was supposed to lead into WrestleMania, but it didn\u2019t. That really pissed me off. I felt like I got robbed.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Savage\u2019s last great WrestleMania&amp;nbsp;moment occurred in 1992 when he defeated \u201CNature Boy\u201D Ric Flair for the world championship.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CWe brought the best out in each other,\u201D Flair says. \u201CWhen you have that kind of chemistry and respect for each other, it doesn\u2019t take a lot of thought-process to go out there and make music in the ring.&amp;nbsp;Randy was still playing minor league baseball when I first met him. I was there in his corner during his infancy in the business, saw him blossom and become so much better. I was proud of him, and wrestling him at WrestleMania was awesome.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;[youtube:https://youtu.be/DWNIDeSfixc\u200B]\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Hoosier Dome, packed to the rafters with over 62,000 fans, watched as Savage pinned Flair\u2014the self-proclaimed&amp;nbsp;\u201Cdirtiest player in the game\u201D\u2014to regain the championship. The win, in theory, allowed the Macho Man to restore order to his life. Not only did he reclaim his place as the face of the company, he also defended the honor of Miss Elizabeth. As part of the storyline, Flair had claimed that he and Hulette had been in a relationship before she married Savage.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CWrestling him in that spotlight was awesome,\u201D Flair says. \u201CBut it was a difficult point in time on a personal level for Randy. Emotions are difficult, and personal lives are difficult to deal with on a lot of levels.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Marriage and wrestling did not mix for the first couple of the WWF. Savage was intensely private and overly protective of his gorgeous wife. The pressure of working together\u2014and the stress from constantly being around one another\u2014caused their bond to break. When Savage wrestled Flair for the title, he and Hulette had already separated.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;While Savage was savoring victory inside the ring, his life was unraveling outside of it. It was time for a change. Ted Turner was offering massive salaries to wrestling stars for his own promotion, World Championship Wrestling, and there was no bigger star than the Macho Man. WCW&amp;nbsp;president Eric&amp;nbsp;Bischoff&amp;nbsp;reached out to Savage\u2019s attorney. Savage accepted an offer from&amp;nbsp;WCW. On&amp;nbsp;Dec. 4, 1994, Savage made his debut on&amp;nbsp;WCW&amp;nbsp;Saturday Night.&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Outside of his family, Savage\u2019s true love was wrestling. His marriage had failed and he had lost some friends, the ring had always been there for him.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;[pagebreak]\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 class=\"p9\"&gt;The WCW Years&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;As Savage entered a new locker room for the first time in a decade, a familiar figure was pushing for him behind the scenes.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CHulk Hogan was really the one to convince me Randy was a good asset,\u201D Bischoff says. \u201CHulk and Randy had\u2014for the longest time, even right up until the end\u2014a very on-again, off-again, hot-and-cold relationship. But when Hulk came to WCW, he wanted to bring in some of the biggest names he could. Despite what was then a relatively tense relationship between the two of them, Hulk was the one who kept after me to reach out to Randy.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Hogan lobbied for Savage from the moment he arrived in WCW. Hogan knew that, despite their differences, acquiring Savage would be good for business.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CRandy\u2019s deal was one of the best deals I ever made,\u201D said Bischoff. \u201CIt literally paid for itself the first couple years because of the Slim Jim sponsorship.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In 1995 Omaha-based conglomerate ConAgra Foods ended its sponsorship deal with McMahon, but stayed with Savage as the spokesman for Slim Jim beef jerky snacks. Bischoff was ecstatic not only because Savage was able to come to WCW, but also because he brought a very sizable piece of business along with him.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Money, however, was never the deciding factor in any of Savage\u2019s decisions while working with Bischoff.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CRandy was making good money at WWF,\u201D said Bischoff. \u201CIt\u2019s not that we paid him substantially more than he was making. Randy was a smart guy and he knew the dynamic was changing. WCW [which was formed in 1988] was growing, had a network and we had Ted Turner behind [us]. This was his opportunity for a fresh start and new opportunity.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Savage\u2019s knack for bringing out the best in others throughout his career left an enduring mark on \u201CDiamond\u201D Dallas Page.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CRandy wanted to put me over,\u201D Page says. \u201CHe knew that would elevate me to the next level. We\u2019re out in South Carolina in the months leading up to Spring Stampede in \u201997, and [WCW wrestler] Arn Anderson came in and asked Randy what he wanted to do that night. Randy was putting on his boots, looked over at me, and said, \u2018I think I want to take the diamond cutter.\u2019 Arn almost fell over, and so did I. Arn looked at me and said, \u2018Dallas, I hope you know what an honor this is.\u2019 \u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Page did not need a reminder. Savage had creative control over his character and could choose whether Page won or lost. The Page\u2013Savage feud became one of the top draws of the year.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201COur whole feud had started in March, and our program went strong all the way to Halloween Havoc,\u201D Page says. \u201CThanksgiving came around, and I was thinking about who I was thankful to that wouldn\u2019t have known it, and I thought Randy wouldn\u2019t have known. So I called him, but he never answered his phone, so I left a message.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CI know I\u2019m not in the position today without you doing what you did for me,\u201D Page told Savage. \u201CAnd I just want to thank you.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;By the time the two men reconnected, Page had forgotten the phone call. But Savage remembered.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CRandy was an intense guy who talked exactly the way you saw him on TV,\u201D Page says. \u201CWhen he saw me later, he said, \u2018Diamond, Diamond, get over here.\u2019 And I\u2019m thinking, \u2018Wow, this doesn\u2019t sound good.\u2019 When I got close to him, he grabbed me and pulled me in close. With the same intensity he [had when he] beat up guys in the ring, Randy said, \u2018I got your message and I\u2019ve got to tell ya\u2014I called my dad and played it for him. I said, \u201CDad, have you ever had anyone in the business ever do this for you?\u201D And he said no. He\u2019d never heard of anyone doing that before.... I just want to let you know, it meant a lot to me.\u2019 \u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Macho Man\u2019s impact in WCW left lasting impressions on even the biggest of wrestling superstars, including Steve Borden, aka Sting.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CRandy Savage, ironically, is one of the guys I looked up to,\u201D says the former WCW World Heavyweight Champion.&amp;nbsp;\u201CI loved him.&amp;nbsp;He was so out far out there with his character.&amp;nbsp;There was something about it I could identify with.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CI used to tease him a little bit in the dressing room in front of all the guys, and say, \u2018Come on, just talk in your normal voice,\u2019 \u201D Borden says.&amp;nbsp;\u201C \u2018This is my normal voice, what are you talking about?,\u2019 he\u2019d say.&amp;nbsp;It was funny.&amp;nbsp;We\u2019d always try to get him, but I never heard him talk &lt;i&gt;any other way than just like this, brother!&lt;/i&gt; Living the character helped him, absolutely it did.\u201D\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Another thing that helped Savage were the size of the rings in WCW.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CThe rings in the WWE were really stiff boards without a lot of give,\u201D says Razor Ramon. \u201CYou had to attack the mat or else it really hurt. So I attacked the mat one time in WCW, and I literally almost bounced back to my feet. I remember telling Kevin Nash, \u2018Oh my God, wait until you take a bump. It\u2019s unbelievable....\u2019 The rings were 18 by 18, but Vince\u2019s were 20 by 20. I wanted to make the rings bigger, and I remember that making \u2018Mach\u2019 upset. He told me, \u2018Brother, these rings are fine just the way they are.\u2019 \u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201C \u2018Mach, what are you talking about?\u2019 I asked him. \u2018Those extra two feet make a difference.\u2019 \u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201C \u2018They make me look faster,\u2019 he said.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CI had mad respect for Mach. So I said, \u2018You know what, Mach? You\u2019re right.\u2019 Though I\u2019d preferred them bigger, I\u2019d yield to Mach.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Savage reconnected with Hulette in WCW.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CTheir issues were behind them,\u201D said Bischoff. \u201CThey were friends. Randy still cared an awful lot for her and was a little protective of her. It wasn\u2019t anything romantic, but he respected her and wanted to make sure she wasn\u2019t taken advantage of.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;But Savage couldn\u2019t save Hulette from herself. She had messy affair with WCW superstar Lex Luger, whose wife subsequently filed for divorce. She died at age 42 on May 1, 2003, from an overdose of painkillers and vodka.\r\n\r\n&lt;h2&gt;Living the Macho Man persona&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Savage\u2019s success was far from accidental. It was the result of pouring his whole life into his character.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Bischoff still fondly recalls his time with Savage. He knows with full certainty that one of his encounters with the Macho Man could not have occurred in any other walk of life.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CIt goes back to a Halloween Havoc when we were in Las Vegas,\u201D Bischoff says. \u201CRandy\u2019s contract was coming up within a couple weeks. MGM Garden was sold out and we were at the peak of our success at that point. I got to Las Vegas late on a Friday evening, and there\u2019s already a message waiting for me.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It was from Savage. \u201CBrother, I gotta see ya. Come to my room eight o\u2019clock tomorrow morning.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CNow, I\u2019m in Vegas,\u201D Bischoff says. \u201CNothing good happens at eight in the morning. But I ended up, half hungover, there in Randy\u2019s room that next morning. This was the part with negotiations where Randy was a little more defensive, where his armor came out.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Savage\u2019s armor may have been out, but he was otherwise completely naked.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CHe\u2019s in the bathroom,\u201D Bischoff says. \u201CHe\u2019s half talking to me, he\u2019s trimming and dying his beard, doing all the things he did in preparation for his match 12 hours later. I\u2019m sitting on his bed and he\u2019s in the bathroom, and we\u2019re negotiating across the room. It\u2019s getting a little bit more intense because there was a certain finish involved that, if you knew Randy, &lt;i&gt;Oh brother, what are we doing here&lt;/i&gt;&lt;em&gt;?&lt;/em&gt; So I\u2019m trying to address the issues and calm everything down.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CI hear a knock on the door, so I\u2019m thinking, \u2018Who could this be?\u2019 The way the room was situated, the bathroom was right next to the door, and I opened up the door to see room service with two big plates of food and about 30 beers in a cooler. The room service guy comes into the room. He stops about halfway and looks over to his left, and there\u2019s Randy standing there just stark-ass naked. This guy looks at Randy, he looks at me, he looks at Randy again, and he looks at me. I thought, \u2018Oh my God. The next thing I know, I\u2019ll be reading about what\u2019s going on with Randy Savage and Eric Bischoff behind closed doors.\u2019 \u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Those in the business agree that the Macho Man lived his gimmick better than any other wrestler.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CWhether it was personal or it was business, he remained that character all the time,\u201D says wrestler Kurt Angle. \u201CI thought that was really intriguing. The voice, the way he moved, the mannerisms, he just never broke character. I believe he started thinking he was the Macho Man. That\u2019s pro wrestling, and he did it better than anyone else.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CSometimes I thought I was talking to the character instead of my brother,\u201D Lanny says. \u201CHe\u2019d call me up and say, &lt;i&gt;Heeeeeeey, how ya doin&lt;/i&gt;? &lt;i&gt;Here\u2019s the thing&lt;/i&gt;.... But that is the way he talked.&amp;nbsp;So does art imitate life or vice versa? We just don\u2019t know.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Hogan says that for Savage, art was life.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CThere\u2019s two people with me,\u201D Hogan says. \u201CThere is Hulk Hogan in the ring, and then there\u2019s Terry Bollea when I get home. I take the bandana off and I\u2019m not wearing red and yellow. But Randy was special. He lived and breathed the business, just like I did. The business was in his blood. But what was so different about Randy was that voice that he had, that talk that he had, his attitude. That was Randy 24 hours a day.\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CIt was just so weird that such a character in the ring was the same way in the ring as he was at home. That made it harder for Elizabeth, but being around him so much, she got used to it. For the rest of us, he was the perfect guy to do business with. He never wavered. You knew he was the Macho Man 24 hours a day. Whether you were walking down the street with him or you were in the ring with him, he was nothing but money. As far as business goes, that\u2019s the perfect dancing partner to have. When you have someone who lives their gimmick 24/7, you know he\u2019s always on. Wherever he goes, whether he was at the mall and someone asked [him] a question about Hulk Hogan, &lt;i&gt;Oh yeah, that Hulk Hogan, I can\u2019t wait to beat him, brother&lt;/i&gt;. He was always in that business mode and always drawing money. He was a very special person.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 class=\"p4\"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Life After Wrestling&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u200B\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;By 2000, Savage had finished up his tenure with&amp;nbsp;WCW&amp;nbsp;and all but disappeared from the spotlight. He appeared in the \u201902 film, &lt;em&gt;Spider-Man,&lt;/em&gt; as the wrestler Bonesaw McGraw, and he briefly wrestled for TNA two years later. He also reconnected with Barbara Lynn Payne, who had been his sweetheart in 1971. The couple wed on May 10, 2010. Once Savage retired from the ring, he was at peace away from it. Unlike so many other wrestlers who struggle to leave the mat behind, Savage was at peace outside of the business.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Tragically, Savage\u2019s life ended on the morning of May 20, 2011. He was driving with his wife near Tampa Bay when he suffered a heart attack and his Jeep Wrangler crashed into a tree. An autopsy&amp;nbsp;revealed an enlarged heart and advanced coronary artery disease. The WWE honored Savage with a video tribute on its May 23, 2011, edition of &lt;em&gt;Monday Night Raw&lt;/em&gt;. It seemed a no-brainer that the Macho Man would be part of the \u201912 WWE Hall of Fame class. But it wasn't that easy.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;No stats are involved in a wrestler\u2019s induction into the Hall of Fame, and the decision ultimately comes down to the popularity of a potential inductee with a handful of people at WWE. The issue regarding Savage and the Hall of Fame is complicated. \r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;McMahon lost money when Slim Jim spurned him for Savage after the wrestler jumped to the WCW in 1994. The WWE responded by spoofing its departed superstars with vignettes featuring characters called the Nacho Man and the Huckster. The series of skits played up how Hogan and Savage were old and past their prime. Years later, there was another incident that considerably lessened any chance for reconciliation.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;[youtube:youtu.be/1sCTi31Z2jA\u200B]\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CA reporter asked [WWE heavyweight champion] Triple H what he thought of Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage,\u201D Lanny says. \u201CTriple H responded with, \u2018They were great, but they\u2019re dinosaurs.\u2019 Randy saw this as a deliberate attempt to hurt his brand.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Savage responded with his infamous and distasteful &lt;i&gt;Members Only &lt;/i&gt;interview.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CRandy insinuated he [wanted] to take Triple H, slap him in the face, take his girl, Stephanie McMahon [the daughter of Vince McMahon and the wife of Triple H], and drive her around the block, then give her back to him,\u201D Lanny says. \u201CIt wasn\u2019t right, but Randy was provoked.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;That&lt;i&gt; &lt;/i&gt;interview led to the nasty rumor that Savage had had an affair with Stephanie&amp;nbsp; before leaving for WCW\u2014the reason why he was never welcomed back. The rumor has \u201Cno truth whatsover,\u201D Lanny says.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The final issue with the Hall of Fame was that Savage had promised his father that the three Poffo men\u2014Angelo, Randy and Lanny\u2014would be inducted together for the family\u2019s contributions to the wrestling business.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Savage was intensely loyal to his family. He never second-guessed his father for starting an outlaw promotion, supporting him every step of the way. Savage would not work with Lawler unless his father and brother were also hired. And he had made sure to bring his brother to the WWE, too.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;McMahon actually reached out to Savage in 2010, but neither man had been willing to bend. McMahon wanted to induct only the Macho Man into the Hall of Fame, while Savage refused to go in without his father and his brother.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CBut ultimately, the Hall of Fame is for the fans,\u201D says Lanny, explaining why he recently accepted the WWE\u2019s offer to induct only his brother. \u201CRandy wanted all the Poffo\u2019s in, but I felt I had an obligation to all of the fans who wanted Randy inducted. They deserve a little respect, too.\u201D &amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Savage\u2019s exclusion from the WWE Hall of Fame stirred much debate. Ultimately, the Hall of Fame needed Savage\u2019s presence far more than he ever needed the honor. And on Sunday, he will finally earns his place among pro wrestling's all-time greats.&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Justin Barrasso can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso&lt;/em&gt;\r\n&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2015/03/24/randy-macho-man-savage-wwe-hall-of-fame>