Randy Savage

Born Randy Mario Poffo on November 15, 1952, in Columbus, Ohio, into a famous wrestling family, Savage initially pursued professional baseball, playing as a catcher and outfielder in the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds minor league systems. Transitioning to professional wrestling in the late 1970s, he adopted the ring name 'Randy Savage' and signed with Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1985. Accompanied by his real-life wife and elegant manager, Miss Elizabeth, Savage skyrocketed to superstardom with his electrifying charisma, sequined neon cowboy hats, wraparound sunglasses, and thunderous, gravel-voiced promos. His legendary March 1987 Intercontinental Championship match against Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat at WrestleMania III in the Pontiac Silverdome is universally acclaimed by wrestling historians as one of the greatest, most meticulously choreographed matches in sports entertainment history. In 1988, Savage captured the WWF World Heavyweight Championship in the tournament at WrestleMania IV. He later formed the mega-popular 'Mega Powers' tag team with Hulk Hogan before their dramatic on-screen feud culminated at WrestleMania V. Moving to World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1994, Savage won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship four times. Outside the ring, he became a commercial pop icon as the explosive pitchman for Slim Jim snack sticks ('Snap into a Slim Jim!') and voiced Bonesaw McGraw in Sam Raimi's 'Spider-Man' (2002). Savage passed away on May 20, 2011, and was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015.