“Macho Man” Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth had a storied relationship. They had their bad moments too and even got divorced but continued working together even after the separation.
Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth are often referred to as “the first couple of professional wrestling” and they shared excellent chemistry, on-screen especially. They met at a gym in Lexington, Kentucky. At this point, Randy Savage and his brother Lanny Poffo were trying to stop their father’s promotion ICW from shutting shop. Elizabeth and Randy Savage began their relationship as the former was seen appearing on camera as an announcer for ICW events.
They didn’t take too long to tie the knot as the couple got married towards the end of 1984. After ICW folded in 1984, Randy Savage had fruitful talks with Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment during the time and signed on the dotted lines in favor of the company. He wanted to have Elizabeth as an announcer but Vince had other ideas.
Randy Savage made his debut in 1985 and was portrayed as a free agent looking for a manager. He announced his selection soon after and it was of course Elizabeth. The real-life married couple became a huge hit from the get-go. Elizabeth would get involved in the Macho Man’s matches. Randy would hide behind her after taunting or blindsiding his opponents. They were heels and they did their job to perfection and the deafening boos they received at the shows from the fans was a great indicator.
George “The Animal” Steele and Savage competed in a “Winner gets Elizabeth” match at Saturday’s Main Event. Savage won the match via count-out. The Hart Foundation and the Honky Tonk man brutally attacked Savage when he became a babyface. Elizabeth went to Hulk Hogan so that the Hulkster would come for help.
Savage was jealous of Hogan and didn’t like the fact that Elizabeth went to him for help. However, they started teaming up but the fire of jealousy continued burning inside Savage. During a match against The Twin Towers, Hogan left midway carrying Elizabeth backstage after the manager had taken a fall. This made Randy Savage furious as he fired Elizabeth and called upon Sherri to be her manager.
At WrestleMania VII, Savage and The Ultimate Warrior had a match. After the match that Savage lost, Sherri turned on him and attacked him. Elizabeth came to the aid of his real-life husband and took out Sherri. Elizabeth and Savage reunited once again and had the wedding ‘Match Made in Heaven’ at SummerSlam 1991.
It wasn’t all rosy in their marriage at that time. Tensions started building and this had led to Savage being more agitated. He incorporated this into his in-ring persona. He became more intense than ever.
In 1992, Hogan and his wife had invited Elizabeth to spend some time with them in Miami. However, they learned later on that she left home without informing anything to her husband.
They had their divorce soon after. They left WWE and started working together at WCW. Elizabeth still had the same role. Savage, however, had become much calmer than how he was when their marriage was on its last wheels.
Elizabeth and Lex Luger got involved in a steadily flourishing relationship but that didn’t last long as the former passed away soon after.
Elizabeth was at Luger’s residence in 2003 when the 42-year-old was found unresponsive. She didn’t respond to mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. She was rushed to the WellStar Kennestone hospital where she was pronounced dead. Reports stated ‘Acute Toxicity’ as the cause of her death. This reportedly happed due to the mixing of painkillers and liquor.
Savage had publicly expressed his condolences for Elizabeth and her family and mentioned that there were no hard feelings between them.
Savage went on to marry a high school girlfriend named Lynn Payne. He died in 2011 but his combination with Miss Elizabeth will be remembered forever by wrestling fans. There have been many managers in the pro wrestling world. Many have idolized Elizabeth. She had a charisma that very few could match. Macho Man Randy Savage wouldn’t have had many of his memorable moments in WWE without the presence of Elizabeth by her side.
Elizabeth won the Slammy Award for the Woman of the Year in 1987. Savage was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015.
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