- 1 day ago
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:01If you were to try to package intensity and electricity and just pure explosiveness into one package, that would have
00:12been the Macho Man Randy Savage.
00:14Oh my God, Macho Man. It's a stick of dynamite that is lit. The fuse has gotten very short. 100
00:23% of men, he's going to come at you with 100%.
00:26The Macho Man Randy Savage, he was loud. The cream of the crop! He was colorful. He was intense. Oh
00:33yeah! Miss Elizabeth was not.
00:37Elizabeth was an icon and a role model for so many women. Her character was something that brought a lot
00:42of feeling and emotion to the matches.
00:44Elizabeth, I love you!
00:47Randy, Macho Man Savage and Miss Elizabeth were wrestling royalty and their rollercoaster romance captivated audiences around the world.
00:56It's Bonnie and Clyde. It's Romeo and Juliet.
00:59They were the first, you know, male-female package that was created in that new WWF model.
01:08They were the first and they were the best.
01:12Dysfunctional, as it may have been in some respects, but I saw it.
01:17It's a love story.
01:20On this episode, art imitates life as we examine a fictional love story surrounding a real-life marriage that explodes
01:28beyond the ring with tragic consequences.
01:38Well, first, actually, tell us who you are.
01:40I don't want to do that.
01:41Okay.
01:42Look at how ripped I was. Look at that belly. Good God.
01:47He's in fighting shape right there.
01:48My name is Bruce Prichard, and I have actually worked in the wrestling business for about 45 years.
01:55First time I met Randy Savage was in 1987 in Houston, Texas.
02:01Randy got into the wrestling business. He's a second-generation wrestler.
02:05His father, Angelo Poffo, was one of the greats.
02:08And Angelo had a wrestling territory.
02:11It was considered, back in the day, an outlaw wrestling territory.
02:17Can't do nothing against the macho man here.
02:19Number one professional wrestler, complete, middle, infinity, yeah!
02:24What a champion, Randy.
02:26You're going down and his feet is the greatest.
02:29The greatest.
02:30I also broke this chair by sitting down!
02:33Then all of a sudden, it's time for Randy Savage to appear.
02:37Jimmy, baby, the best thing that you can do is probably just stand back and let the macho man talk,
02:41because there's nothing that you could say that I couldn't say better myself.
02:44There was a period in the wrestling business where if you were crazy on screen,
02:49you were crazy off screen.
02:51You had to live your gimmick.
02:53And Randy played crazy really well.
02:56And he lived it 24-7.
03:01Just personally, do you think it'd be okay if I came out that Randy was a bedwetter?
03:10What was it like growing up with Randy as a brother?
03:13He's the same as any other alpha male, except his dial is not only past 10, but it's broken and
03:20it's gone off the hinges.
03:22I was upstaged every day, but I knew it was getting over, so I was proud to be holding the
03:28rope.
03:28He had a dream that he could be a villain, a bad guy, a ruffian.
03:32He wanted to be an antagonist because he felt he had more creativity than just being the pawn of the
03:39villain.
03:40Randy would take a lot of risks.
03:43He would say,
03:44Yeah, I stare under a candle for two hours.
03:48I stare under a candle for about two hours and cut my head together.
03:53Some people loved him, some people hated him.
03:55But everybody respected him because when you see that kind of athleticism, you have to buy into it.
04:04So this is my autograph table.
04:07Okay, this was another night where I think everybody was drinking too much red wine.
04:10And right here is that little saying,
04:14You'll never know what he meant by it.
04:16But that's what Macho carved into the table and it used to say,
04:20Whatever it takes.
04:22I'm Linda Bollea, married to my ex-husband, professional wrestler Hulk Hogan for 25 years.
04:29Oh, that was back when we loved each other.
04:31In the olden days.
04:33So once I met Miss Elizabeth, we ended up being friends because I was really the only other female on
04:38the road.
04:39Elizabeth was from Frankfort, Kentucky.
04:42Good upbringing.
04:43She addressed her mom as mother.
04:45And she said,
04:46We were broke.
04:47My dad left early.
04:49It was just me and my mom and my brother.
04:51And money was always really tight.
04:53There was a gym called Sintay Sports Center.
04:55And Randy worked out there.
04:57And then one fine day, a new girl came.
05:00And that was Elizabeth Hulett.
05:02And she said Randy was in the gym about 6 in the morning.
05:05And she's working the front desk.
05:07And he comes in and she goes,
05:09Oh my, your eyes are so red.
05:11And he goes,
05:12You should see them from this side.
05:14And I looked at Liz and said,
05:16That did it for you?
05:17That one line?
05:18Like, real duet?
05:19My name is Scott Oliver Hall.
05:22I also was wrestled as Razor Ramon, the bad guy.
05:25I don't know.
05:26If I was a chick, I'd have backed Randy.
05:27I thought he was cool as hell.
05:29Randy would always tell the story that there was love at first sight.
05:32Yeah, she saw me and fill in love.
05:35What more could she want?
05:37Liz would always be like,
05:39Yeah, it took a little while to get used to it.
05:42She was beautiful.
05:43She was phenomenal.
05:45And she was excellent.
05:46What a nice person too.
05:48And I think that came across on television.
05:51Elizabeth got involved in ICW as an announcer.
05:55And she also helped with the editing.
05:57Because it was a mom and pop shop.
05:59We did everything.
06:00And she was adaptable and brilliant and very quick to learn.
06:05Their first wedding was in Frankfort, Kentucky,
06:08at the home of Elizabeth's mother.
06:12And that was about six months before Randy made his debut with WWE.
06:18All right, this is going to be a Jimmy Hart one.
06:19Here we go.
06:20Hey, it's me, the mouth of the South Jimmy Hart.
06:22The sun is shining.
06:23Life is great.
06:25There's Randy and myself and Hulk in WCW when I managed them for a few matches.
06:30The rest was history.
06:31He goes, how's New York?
06:32I said, it's great.
06:33I said, look, they just saw your tapes.
06:35They want you in New York.
06:36The macho man, Randy Savage, who is quite a competitor making his World Wrestling Federation debut.
06:43Vince and Linda McMahon had come down to Florida to get the contract signed before WrestleMania won.
06:51Is that Vince?
06:52Oh, my gosh.
06:53Whoa.
06:53When Vince took over, he went around every territory and took the very best of what was available.
06:58He made you bigger than life.
07:01Vince was taking it to a whole completely new level that none of us were ready for or even knew
07:07about or used to.
07:08And we were all in for a big, huge learning curve.
07:11You know, when Macho came on board, Vince was like, well, you know, we really want your character to have
07:16a valet, a woman, a manager.
07:19Yeah, I think Randy probably just sat down and said, look, you know, I want to come up here and
07:23I think I can make you money in this territory.
07:25Can we work a spot out for Liz? Because she's going to go with me on the road.
07:29She's going to be with me.
07:30Randy, if he loves somebody, whether it was his brother or whether it was Liz or whoever, he was going
07:35to be very loyal to them.
07:36Macho Madness is at this peak right now. And we don't know who the manager is going to be.
07:45They fell in love with her as soon as she opened up the door and stepped into wrestling history.
07:49He comes.
07:51Uh-oh.
07:52Uh-oh.
07:52Oh, my.
07:55Liz was very demure, very quiet, gentle soul. The person and the character were really one and the same.
08:03As far as the persona of the Macho Man and the package of the Macho Man and Miss Elizabeth was
08:12they were two opposites.
08:14And Randy so intense and Elizabeth so subdued. They wanted you to love Elizabeth and hate Randy.
08:22Picture of Elizabeth, no picture of the Macho Man and Randy Savage. That's very, very, very bad Elizabeth.
08:28Randy would bring her out. She'd stand at ringside. He'd get into Randy. He'd circle around. Then he'd get out.
08:33No, I told you to stand here. And people were hating Randy just for browbeating the beautiful young girl.
08:39Like, you know, you can do better than him, honey. Get away from him.
08:41And there would be times that Randy would give Liz a look and just turn his head and give her
08:48those eyes and she would almost be subservient.
08:51Macho Man and Randy Savage, isn't that right, Elizabeth?
08:54That's right, Randy.
08:55Shut up and keep polishing. If I lose today, it's your fault.
08:58Each time he did it, they just, oh, you're sorry, son of a, you know, and that's exactly what they
09:03wanted.
09:03And you want Liz to see the light. But Liz, underneath this, you're seeing, man, she loves her man.
09:11And you infer that Randy mistreats her, but he never really does. He's just a little intense.
09:20By the spring of 1987, Elizabeth and Randy are red hot and are about to make history in front of
09:25a record-breaking crowd of 93,000 fans.
09:28WrestleMania III was, at the time, the largest indoor attendance record. I mean, the largest gathering indoor of any event
09:35in the world.
09:37Oh, Jesus. It's unbelievable, man. 90,000 people. I had Alice Cooper with me. I mean, the electricity from the
09:47crowd was just unbelievable. I mean, your skin is crawling. It feels like your hair is growing.
09:52Randy Savage, Ricky Steamboat match, WrestleMania III, I think a lot of people consider one of the greatest matches of
09:59all time.
09:59Two of the greatest athletes that I have ever seen in my life. All that athleticism, all the drama, all
10:07that excitement, it killed him that he could never surpass that match.
10:11He was a perfectionist, and perfectionists are never happy.
10:16The thing with Savage, I learned later on, of course, when I started working with Savage, was trying to hold
10:22him down.
10:24Because he always wanted to give more.
10:27Well, sometimes, you can give too much.
10:30Two years after their debut, Randy and Elizabeth are taking the WWF by storm.
10:35But a surprising twist in their storyline would propel them to the top of the wrestling world.
10:44I pulled out a bunch of pictures.
10:45I tried to find them.
10:46I had Liz and Randy.
10:47This is sweet.
10:50It was Randy and Liz.
10:51This was just at the condo.
10:52We were just hanging out in Florida.
10:54Polaroid picture.
10:56Macho.
10:57A little picture of Elizabeth.
10:59She's so sweet.
11:00So Macho Man, he always kept Elizabeth in the dressing room.
11:02So nobody really knew her.
11:04Then one night, Macho came into our dressing room and said,
11:08Where's Linda?
11:11And Liz needs some help with her hair.
11:15And she had her hair kind of, like, coiffed and tightly curled.
11:19And it was just sort of church girl.
11:21And I said, Bitch, you need to just bring that stuff out, you know?
11:24And so I started, like, getting her hair teased up and kind of stacked it out.
11:27She's like, Oh, yeah, I like that.
11:29Once we all realized that, Hey, I live in Tampa.
11:32Oh, you live in Tampa?
11:32Yeah, I live in Clue.
11:33I live in Largo.
11:34You know, we all kind of lived in this area.
11:36So we thought, Hey, let's all get together, you know?
11:38It was nice because when we did get a few days off,
11:41I could call on her and she could call on me.
11:43And we could either go shopping or we could hit the beach.
11:46And it was just great because at least you had somebody to do something with.
11:50Hulk would have big parties over there, invite everybody.
11:53You know, and Randy and Liz would go to it.
11:55And it seems like that's when she was the most happiest,
11:58when she could be out around the people and kind of be herself.
12:00You know, we'd be barbecuing in the backyard the weekend before.
12:03Terry would always like kind of lay it out.
12:05Here's how I want to run it.
12:06And then Randy throw in some ideas, you know,
12:08and Liz would always just go along with whatever talking about the angle.
12:12The hotter the heel and people after a while will begin to respect you.
12:17And Randy was so good.
12:19He was hard to boo.
12:21The audience liked him and it was hard to ignore.
12:23Randy Savage was really catching on as a baby face.
12:26And people had grown to really love the Macho Man.
12:32By the end of 1987, the fans' love for Randy Savage inspires a revelation in Vince McMahon.
12:38A partnership with the company's top hero to create a team unlike anything pro wrestling has ever seen.
12:44The two biggest names in the wrestling business at that time.
12:47Gonna combine forces.
12:48You know, the Madness and Hulkamania combining forces.
12:52Brother.
12:52With the Madness and the Mania.
12:54Bigger powers, yeah!
12:55I mean, who's gonna match up against them?
12:57By the summer of 1988, Hogan and Savage with Elizabeth as their manager appear invincible.
13:02They've destroyed all challengers and the only place left to turn is on each other.
13:07What we knew is that we would have the mega powers explode.
13:10You create the mega powers for the mega powers to explode.
13:13Especially when one is a paranoid schizophrenic and the other is the all-American dude.
13:19And what is the easiest thing for two men to argue?
13:25A woman.
13:27Summerslam 88.
13:28Randy hoist lives up on his shoulder and goes around and when he does, there's like a little slip.
13:33Hulk puts his hand up, steadier.
13:36Freeze it!
13:37Look at how long his hand is on Elizabeth.
13:41Huh?
13:42Nobody touches Elizabeth.
13:44Uh-uh.
13:45There was Hulk.
13:46Say your prayers.
13:46Take your vitamins.
13:47You know, here's the American flag and here's Randy going, you know, I don't think you're as truthful as everybody
13:53thinks you really are.
13:54They don't realize that underneath, he's been boiling.
13:58You got lust in your eyes and in your black heart for Elizabeth!
14:04Randy is the jealous raving lunatic and Hulk is the best friend who's trying to screw his best friend's girl.
14:11Pick her up and put Elizabeth where she has never been before, on top of another man's shoulder!
14:18It's easy for him to blow it out of proportion because you can tell the jealousy side of it.
14:23He's blinded by love and he's blinded by rage.
14:27He's paranoid.
14:28He's got the championship.
14:29He's got the whole world on his back.
14:31So of course everybody's trying to knock him off.
14:33Even his best friend.
14:34His best friend's not only trying to knock him off, he's trying to take my girl.
14:37They were really playing off of Randy's paranoia and it was real.
14:40So that's what made it really work.
14:42The Twin Towers, Big Boss Man and Hakeem against Randy and Hulk, the mega powers.
14:48But there was a point in the match where Randy took a bump out and ended up taking Liz out.
14:54Hulk sees that she's hurt, carries her back to get her help.
14:59You're hovering over, over the bed. How dare you?
15:03I'm out there fighting for my life.
15:06But you're more concerned about her. It all makes sense now.
15:09When you take a look at the madness's eyes, all you're gonna see is complete and utter rings!
15:21Match made.
15:23What corner is Elizabeth gonna be in?
15:25A lot of people wonder, did Randy really control her in and out of the ring? Absolutely.
15:32Randy, very protective of my God. You have no idea.
15:37And he would get visibly upset with anybody.
15:41Tried to talk to her, carry on a conversation with her.
15:45He just did not like it.
15:47When they would be getting ready for an event, we didn't want any malfunctions.
15:52The wardrobe, so he would literally take the tape and like wrap it all around her whole body.
16:00And then the other big thing was, because she was always in a short dress,
16:03was getting into the ring and entering the ring over the rope.
16:06And was she gonna go over the second rope? She should go under it.
16:09This was all a big, huge thing for Randy, because this was his wife.
16:12He loved and respected her.
16:14And he didn't want anybody to be making fun of her.
16:16He was definitely in charge of that relationship, and she was just the tag-alongs.
16:21And I think that that started to grow on her.
16:24I think that started to just unnerve her.
16:27That may have been where a lot of the issues started.
16:30In WrestleMania V, are you gonna be a macho man?
16:33Randy Savage is cornered.
16:35When you take real-life situations and you put it in front of the camera,
16:40it's great because it's usually very relatable.
16:43No! No!
16:46However, when you take your real-life feelings and you put them on camera,
16:50and you make it a part of a storyline,
16:53because they don't know you.
16:55They don't know what you guys do when the door's shut at night.
17:00They have no clue.
17:01But they know you're really married and they know what you said on TV,
17:05you sorry son of a bitch.
17:07Life imitating art.
17:10And sometimes art imitates life.
17:13And then you get really fucked up.
17:19Being on the road 24-7 with your spouse,
17:23it's not an easy task.
17:25You know, Elizabeth, as his wife, had those same duties as I did.
17:30I did travel with Randy and Liz a lot.
17:33And their relationship was that of a married couple on the road.
17:38They didn't go out and party.
17:39Went back to the room, went to bed.
17:41And they had their privacy.
17:43You'd get back to the room,
17:44and she would have to scrub the blood off the boots,
17:46like I did to have to Terry's from their wrestling match.
17:50You know, you'd put the wrestling boots in the bathtub of the hotel
17:53and wash them off, get all the blood off,
17:55because they had to wear them the next night.
17:56And I'm sure he probably wanted to get laid.
17:58And I'm sure she probably didn't.
18:00You know, and maybe she did and he didn't.
18:02Then her, unlike me, she has to think about herself.
18:06What the hell dress is she gonna wear?
18:08I had my wife involved for a while, man.
18:10It's brutal, man, having your wife around the guys.
18:12They did practical jokes that were cruel.
18:14I'm telling you, they used people's suitcases as toilets.
18:20There were no boundaries.
18:21That was the problem.
18:22I mean, you know, cutting somebody's hair off
18:24while they're passed out.
18:25I mean, I wouldn't want my wife around that shit.
18:27The pattern seemed to be that Randy wanted
18:29to keep Elizabeth away from the boys as much as possible.
18:35I don't blame him, really.
18:37Randy being so intense and being so watchful over her,
18:41she couldn't have freedom.
18:43And I think you can't smother somebody all the time like that.
18:47Elizabeth wanted to leave the road,
18:49and she wanted Randy to quit.
18:51Randy wasn't done yet.
18:53Randy was still enjoying it.
18:54I knew she needed to have more socialization
18:56and more friends, and she missed having the normal life,
19:00but Liz apparently was looking for something more than that
19:04than I realized at the time.
19:06By 1990, an exhausted Elizabeth
19:09asked for some time off the road,
19:10and the WWF sees this as an opportunity
19:13to reinvent the Macho Man into a new kind of villain.
19:17We did Randy as the heel.
19:18We made Randy the Macho King
19:20and thought that the sensational Sherry,
19:22to be his manager, another female,
19:25and make the queen.
19:26Sherry was a women's wrestler,
19:28and the guys loved working with Sherry
19:29because she could take it.
19:31She was tough as nails.
19:32Queen Sherry adds a whole new dimension
19:34to the Macho Man's character,
19:36but the fans demand to see wrestling First Lady
19:38back in her rightful place.
19:40Every day that Randy spent with Sherry,
19:43everybody said, let's bring Elizabeth.
19:45Where's Elizabeth?
19:45Where's Elizabeth?
19:46I mean, the people hungered for Elizabeth.
19:49Going into WrestleMania,
19:51Randy was looking to take the summer off.
19:52He and Liz were looking to spend time together
19:55as husband and wife, not being on the road all the time.
19:59So the idea was that WrestleMania 7 have a career match
20:04with the Ultimate Warrior.
20:05If the Warrior lost, he was gone.
20:07If Randy lost, he was gone.
20:08We had shown earlier in the night
20:10that in attendance that night was Elizabeth in the crowd,
20:15sitting like in the fourth row.
20:16And when Sherry started to kick Randy and go after Randy,
20:20Liz made her way to the ring and pulled Sherry off,
20:24and, you know, Liz is there fighting for a man.
20:26And people are slowly applauding,
20:29and you see grown men with tears in their eyes.
20:33That's emotional, that's good stuff.
20:35We got them.
20:37Because it was, they felt it, you know,
20:39and people could feel that too, you know,
20:42getting back together,
20:43getting back to the one you really love.
20:45Elizabeth, will you marry me?
20:51Despite being married in real life for seven years,
20:54which was kept secret from fans,
20:56Randy and Elizabeth's characters
20:57finally tied the knot on live television
20:59on August the 26th, 1991.
21:02Oh, yeah!
21:05And they were excited.
21:06I mean, they were like two kids
21:09planning for their wedding.
21:10I think it was just the first time you ever saw
21:12the Macho Man break down and have a human emotion,
21:14other than anger.
21:15You saw him actually happy,
21:17and you saw him emotionally care for someone outwardly,
21:21which you had never seen before.
21:24Liz and Randy are having this beautiful wedding ceremony.
21:29Now cue the devil.
21:33They did the reception bullshit.
21:35Put the snake in the box and all that crap.
21:38They got it started, they kicked it off.
21:4014, 15-foot king cobra.
21:43Look at that son of a bitch.
21:45A beautiful, beautiful fucking animal.
21:48Randy came to me and he said,
21:50um, so tonight I hear we're gonna do something
21:54a little different.
21:55I'm like, yeah, man, the snake's biting.
21:58And he's like, yeah.
21:59So, uh, is the snake, uh, been fixed?
22:04Fuck yeah.
22:05It's the fucking cobra, you dumb shit.
22:08Of course it's been fixed.
22:10Maybe it has and maybe it hasn't.
22:13How about the snake biting you first?
22:16Fuck you, man.
22:17I ain't fucking like...
22:18Oh, you don't want it to bite you.
22:21Cause if you won't let the snake bite you,
22:23that tells me it hasn't been fixed.
22:26He was dead fucking serious, man.
22:27So I went and got the snake, rolled up my pants leg
22:31and let it bite me.
22:33And, uh, he's like, don't move.
22:34Don't take no pills.
22:36Don't take no antidote.
22:37Don't take no serums.
22:39No fucking nothing, brother.
22:41Fuck.
22:42For like 20 minutes, man, he's like,
22:44I'm gonna get you a little key.
22:45You know how you feel, man?
22:47I'm a bit pissed off right now, all right?
22:48To be honest with you.
22:50So it was time for that snake to bite him.
22:51I got the snake out and turned my back to him
22:53and I fucking paintbrushed the shit out of that snake.
22:56And he pissed it off.
22:59And then whenever I turned around,
23:00that snake was just...
23:02You know, he was great, ready.
23:04And I got in close to Randy and he latched on
23:07and would not let go.
23:10I mean, the time that you see it on television
23:13was nothing to the real time.
23:15It went on forever.
23:17Vince finally ended up sending Elizabeth down.
23:19Get the snake off of it.
23:21Get it off of it.
23:22Vince said, now.
23:23I'm like, I'm fucking trying.
23:24And I'm pulling on the snake
23:26and wouldn't let go.
23:27He's just chewing on it.
23:29And it's like anything else.
23:30First time it's ever been done.
23:32It shocks people, man.
23:33The visual, you know?
23:35Bottom line is nobody ever felt sorry for Randy.
23:38They felt sorry for her.
23:40It's not a good situation like with me
23:42whenever I slapped Elizabeth.
23:44And then they tried to go home to see her family.
23:49Grandpa meets him on the porch and says,
23:52you're not coming in this house, boy.
23:54You promised us you'd always protect our little girl.
23:57The only way he could gain access back into their home
24:01was basically kicking my ass and getting even.
24:05So it's for...
24:05You know, these are Tennessee folks, bro.
24:08You know?
24:10Rats was real.
24:10People are fake.
24:12What was the state of their relationship at the time
24:14when they were getting married again?
24:15I would say tumultuous.
24:17On the verge of breaking up.
24:21So Terry had been cast in a movie called Mr. Nanny.
24:24It required us to be down in Miami for about eight weeks.
24:27So Liz called and goes,
24:29when are you going to be back home?
24:30And I said, I'm going back the next week.
24:33She's like, oh.
24:34She's like, Randy, can I please go?
24:36I heard her talking to him on the back of the phone.
24:37She's like, can I please go?
24:38I want to go help Linda with the kids.
24:40I just want to go see them
24:41and hang out with Nick and Brooke in the pool and stuff.
24:44And he's like, whoa.
24:45Only if you're going to be babysitting,
24:47you're going to be with Linda.
24:48She flew down with us.
24:49It was so much fun.
24:50She helped me unload the kids.
24:52We got the toys.
24:52We were hanging out.
24:53We're all going to go out to dinner, you know?
24:55I said, so I'll just go get ready.
24:57Do whatever.
24:57Come back from your workout or whatever.
24:59And 7.30, I'm thinking like,
25:01aren't we going to do our makeup together
25:02and our hair together, which is what we always did.
25:04So I'm kind of like knocking on her door.
25:06And I see the light is on.
25:08You can see under the door.
25:10But she's not answering.
25:12Where's Liz?
25:18In 1992, leaving her husband Randy Savage behind,
25:21Elizabeth travels alone to Miami
25:23to stay with Hulk Hogan and his wife Linda.
25:27Terry had to film the next morning.
25:28And the whole next day goes on.
25:30And I see her at the pool.
25:31I'm like, Liz, where were you?
25:32You know, we were worried about you.
25:34And she's like, oh, well, I met this other gentleman
25:36that lives in the building.
25:37And he has an extra room here in the building.
25:40And he thought maybe I'd want to take it.
25:43The way I heard the story was that Liz wanted away from Randy.
25:46And so she contacted Hulk's wife Linda
25:49and went and stayed with them.
25:52Now, meanwhile, Randy is freaking out
25:54because he doesn't know where the love of his life is.
25:58Randy kept calling my room wanting to talk to Liz.
26:01And I was like, Liz is not here.
26:04I didn't say she had her own room.
26:05I just said, she's not here.
26:06I think she's with friends or something like that.
26:08And he goes, well, where is she?
26:09I was like, she's not here.
26:10She's not here.
26:11Randy was like, I'm going to fly down.
26:13You know, don't tell her because I don't like this.
26:15You know, she's never, like, missed my calls.
26:17And she should be answering or she should at least be calling me back.
26:21Three hours later, he lands, comes in blazing in the door, blazing,
26:26guns fired, looking for Liz.
26:28And I'm sitting there and he's like, where's Liz?
26:31I was like, Randy, look, I don't know.
26:35He's like, what?
26:36You know, where do you think she is?
26:39You know, who was she with last?
26:41What did you guys do?
26:42I'm going to go find Liz.
26:44And I want you sitting here in the chair.
26:46And if you so much as leave this chair
26:48and you smarten her up and tell her that I'm here looking for her,
26:51you're going to hear about it.
26:52I had never seen Randy like this before in my life
26:55because I had never even seen him argue or fight.
26:57Seriously, I really hadn't.
26:59So him and Terry went out the door and I didn't know what was going on.
27:03I just knew I wasn't leaving the chair.
27:05And I guess he found her.
27:07Terry came back to the room and said, I left them on their own.
27:09They're sorting it out.
27:10So they got in their rental car and they drove back home.
27:13And he basically told Terry in so many words or less,
27:15like, Liz is not coming back to Miami.
27:17And there's no more hanging out.
27:22I think Randy felt, you know, again, life imitating art,
27:27that Hulk was taking Liz's side.
27:31Well, that was the beginning of the end for them,
27:33but the beginning of the end for Randy and Hulk too,
27:35because Randy always thought that Hulk had something to do with it.
27:38And I've been Hulk for 39 years.
27:40Hulk had nothing to do with that.
27:42He was shooting the dadgum movie.
27:43I think that when you separate and, like, she's at home and he's on the road,
27:50that all of a sudden it's a newfound freedom.
27:53And that's a whole brand new life on both parts.
27:56You know, it was just a normal day.
27:58I was just home with the kids, beautiful day out.
28:01And this is probably, like, five, six weeks after we wrapped filming and we left Miami.
28:07You know, hard line phones.
28:08I'm in the kitchen.
28:09I'm giving Nick a bottle or whatever.
28:11And it's Liz.
28:12I'm like, hey, Liz.
28:13God, I miss you.
28:14How are you?
28:15You know?
28:16And it was, like, dead silent on the other end of the phone.
28:19I was like, Liz?
28:21She's like, Linda?
28:24I left Randy.
28:28I was listening to her and she was, like, sounded like she was at a gas station or something.
28:32I could hear cars going by on the freeway, you know?
28:34I was like, oh, my God.
28:35She goes, I'm done.
28:36I left him.
28:37And I said, oh, my God.
28:38I said, are you home?
28:39Can I come help you?
28:40Can I talk to you?
28:40I was like, I need to talk some sense to this girl, you know?
28:43And she wasn't home.
28:44She goes, nope, I'm halfway to Miami.
28:46I'm going back.
28:46I met some people there and I've got a place to stay.
28:49She goes, just promise me don't tell Randy that I'm on the road.
28:55She had a convertible little red Cadillac.
28:57And I just, the mental picture in my mind was her, like, a country music video or something
29:02with two suitcases in the back and her just driving her convertible down to Miami
29:06with the wind blowing through her hair.
29:08Probably feeling free and relieved.
29:11The constant submission that Randy had on her.
29:15And it wasn't that he was trying to do it out of being mean or anything.
29:19It was just his protective way, but she had just had enough of that suppression.
29:24When Randy and Liz split up, you could tell there was a change in the mancho man.
29:29You know, he was a little drawn back.
29:31He really wasn't as intense as he was when they were together.
29:36Once she was gone, he really kind of just went silent.
29:40He lost all, he didn't really care about the business.
29:45You know, it was like the lights were on but nobody's home.
29:48Sad, but yet there was that exterior that was, okay, I gotta move on.
29:53I think Randy was tormented.
29:56You know, I mean, he had all the money, all the stuff and all that, but he always, you know,
29:59was never...
30:01I don't know, he was always so wound up.
30:03And I'm thinking, Mosh, like, you've made it, bro.
30:06Like, what's missing?
30:07Like, what's it gonna take to make you happy?
30:09One day, we were sitting in the car, waiting for Vince to come down, take him forever.
30:17And Vince gets in the car and shuts the door and says,
30:20Gentlemen, Randy Savage is now the proud property of World Championship Wrestling.
30:27And we're like, what happened?
30:37WCW was owned by Ted Turner, competition to the WWF.
30:42Ted Turner had started to try and lure talent from the WWF over to WCW.
30:50Hulk Hogan was the first talent that made the big job.
30:53The Macho Man, Randy Savage, he's interested in coming over because in WWE,
30:58Randy had been put out to pasture by Vince McMahon.
31:01This man basically said, Randy, you're too old.
31:04Your gimmick's over.
31:05Your shtick is done.
31:06You're gonna be a color commentator.
31:08And that hurt Randy.
31:10I didn't want to reinvent a wheel that I believed already worked.
31:13And by the way, when Randy Savage came over...
31:17What a lighter for your life!
31:19Yeah!
31:20Give me those Slim Jim!
31:21$750,000 a year of Slim Jim money came with him.
31:25And Slim Jim wasn't interested in changing Randy Savage.
31:30WCW has given the Macho Man a renewed career, but his protective nature won't allow him to leave his one
31:36true love behind.
31:37Randy called her up and said, come on in, you can be a part of the storyline, make some money.
31:42He's divorcing Elizabeth at this point, but cares about her enough that he gets her a $250,000 a year
31:48contract.
31:48Just to kind of stand around and look pretty.
31:50She wasn't even on camera much.
31:52But he wanted her looked after.
31:54Except this time, she was the villain and Randy was the babyface.
31:57It was perfect.
31:58She had changed so much.
31:59She wasn't like the same little quiet girl I remember.
32:03She was more talkative.
32:04So I said, what's happening?
32:05I go, were you dating anybody?
32:07She goes, well, I'm kind of like seeing Lex.
32:11And I go, you're like seeing Lex.
32:14I go, Lex is married.
32:15And she goes, I know.
32:17That's the problem.
32:18I go, this.
32:20That's not good.
32:23Lex Luger was oftentimes considered, you know, the second coming of Hulk Hogan.
32:27Lex had a million dollar body and he had a great look.
32:32Lex Luger is one of the top names ever in the professional wrestling industry.
32:37He's easy to hate because it's like, there's nothing wrong with him.
32:41She was head over heels over him.
32:45I could tell that.
32:47Paired together as part of a wrestling storyline,
32:50Elizabeth and Lex Luger's professional relationship evolves into a secret love affair.
32:55They were a very happy couple.
32:57They'd go work out in the gym together.
32:58They would spend a lot of time together.
33:00They were being a little bit sneaky, but adjoining rooms and stuff.
33:03And I guess you can't help who you're attracted to and who you fall in love with.
33:07And I always liked Lex and I always liked Liz.
33:09And hey, if you guys make each other happy, go for it.
33:12So when the idea started bouncing around about blurring the lines, if you will,
33:18between scripted and reality with regard to Elizabeth's relationship with Randy
33:23and their marriage and their divorce.
33:25Randy, she's your ex-wife.
33:27At least you owe her this much, man.
33:30I was really shocked at first that Randy would entertain some of those ideas.
33:34I'm really lost and I need you.
33:37And I don't think I can reach you.
33:40He was still very protective of Elizabeth, but in a much different way.
33:45He watched Lex like a hawk.
33:46It wasn't just that they were in a relationship.
33:49Lex was married and had kids.
33:51Everybody knows that that's going to end badly one way or the other.
33:54Where are you living?
33:56Do you have an apartment or whatever?
33:57She's like, no.
33:58He's got another place.
33:59He's keeping me in.
34:01But the weird thing is that it's in the same complex as where he and his wife live.
34:04I go, oh.
34:05I said, this is not good.
34:07It was pretty apparent also that they were both, um, they were pilled up.
34:15They were just spending too much time doing too many drugs.
34:20I've never witnessed her doing any kind of drugs or pills.
34:23And in fact, when we'd go out and drink, she'd have two glasses of wine and she'd be already, like,
34:29feeling it.
34:30I'm like, oh, it's time to go home, you know?
34:32Thing is, Liz doesn't weigh 270 like me and Lex.
34:35Liz weighs about 85 pounds.
34:39So she's taking the same amount of pills that a 300-pounder was taking.
34:43You know, they had some kind of a fight and she fell down the stairs and she ended up with
34:48two black eyes.
34:50In April of 2003, squad cars respond to a domestic disturbance at the home of Lex Luger.
34:55Upon their arrival, the police notice Elizabeth has bruised eyes.
34:59At first, she denies the injuries are from Luger, but she eventually admits to the authorities that he did hit
35:04her.
35:04Luger was charged with misdemeanor counter-battery and released on bail.
35:08I thought falling down the stairs gave her two black eyes.
35:12Hmm.
35:14Talk about the idea of getting Lex Luger on your podcast and talk about that process and what you wanted
35:19to talk to him about.
35:20When Nick, my producer and co-host, suggested that, you know, that we bring Lex on, you know, I was,
35:27I had mixed emotions because I, I still, honestly, Lex, I'm sorry, but I still had some resentment even during
35:37the time we were making the call.
35:39But Lex rose to the occasion. He was, he was brutally honest.
35:45I'll, I'll never forget, um, that the, uh, it was actually early morning hours.
35:52We were having just, uh, an evening watching movies together and checking back and having, uh, sipping on some vodka
35:59and popping pills and literally, um, before the 911 call, I realized she had stopped breathing.
36:07Okay, what I want you to do, I want you to go over and see if she's breathing.
36:12I think.
36:13Help, please send somebody here so she knows what they're doing.
36:16I understand that, sir. I have somebody on the way.
36:20But if she's not breathing, you need to help her breathe.
36:24You need to find out whether or not she's breathing.
36:27Go over to her, sir.
36:29Oh, my God.
36:30Lay down and check to see if she's breathing. Look at her chest. See if it's rising.
36:36Doesn't work like it is. I'm scared of death.
36:39Terry called me and he just said, you know, really, really bad news.
36:44Liz is dead.
36:46And, like, when he said that, I, I just felt like somebody poured a bucket of ice on me.
36:51Oh, I was at home in Atlanta. Heard it on the morning news.
36:59I was pissed. I was pissed because I saw Lex manipulating and exploiting a vulnerable person
37:11and using prescription drugs to do it.
37:13They told me that Elizabeth had just passed.
37:16I thought she was going to make it and she was going to go to the hospital
37:18and they're going to admit that she didn't make it.
37:20And then I was arrested on, I think, 17 felony counts and all the drugs they found in my house.
37:27I thought I had the drugs under control, but ended up having, getting control of Elizabeth and I.
37:33The tragedy of that, to witness that firsthand, it was, it was a very dark time, without a doubt.
37:40I knew he was telling the truth. I knew he was being honest and accepting responsibility.
37:45I look at him so differently now. I respect him, which I never thought I'd hear myself say.
37:54I want to ask you about, you know, Miss Elizabeth, you know, her, her loss and everything.
37:59And you, earlier in your career, you, you guys helped each other out in your careers.
38:04Yeah, we were actually married and we got a divorce, like, which happens in life sometimes.
38:09And we had separation, we had closure, but, uh, I really feel real bad for her and her family.
38:15And, uh, it was a situation where we hadn't seen each other in about maybe five, six years,
38:19but, you know, we had closure and we said hello and everything was all good.
38:23But, uh, I feel bad for her family.
38:25Elizabeth tragically passed away at the age of 42,
38:28but grieving fans would have no idea that this epic saga was approaching its final chapter.
38:39This is my brother getting married for the second time to the lovely Lynn Payne Poffel.
38:46In 2010, seven years after Elizabeth's death, Randy Savage finds love once again.
38:53He, you know, weathered the storm through his divorce and he was finally kind of on his feet.
38:57He was remarried and, and just starting to kind of really enjoy his life.
39:03When Randy retired from wrestling, he was able to devote a lot of his time to the Special Olympics.
39:09That was his passion and he, uh, enjoyed his, uh, final years as a sedentary person.
39:16I was supposed to go to San Jose, California.
39:18American Airlines stopped in Dallas.
39:20I turned on my phone and there was a message on there and it said, uh,
39:24this is Lago Medical.
39:26Your brother and his wife were in a, uh, automobile accident.
39:32Um, and she's banged up and your brother's in critical condition.
39:36But the way they said it, I knew.
39:37I got a phone call early that morning from Lanny Poffel.
39:40Jimmy, yeah, Lanny.
39:41I hadn't had time to call yet cause it's early.
39:43He goes, no, listen, I'm coming back home. Why?
39:45And I could tell his voice was really shaky.
39:47He goes, what? He goes, I just got a phone call.
39:50He said, my brother just got killed.
39:52We want to share some breaking news with you now regarding, uh, Randy Macho Man Savage.
39:56Uh, you may know him, uh, well.
39:58He is a pro wrestler.
39:59Uh, we have just confirmed that, uh, Randy Macho Man Savage has died, uh,
40:04coming from the Florida Highway Patrol.
40:06Uh, there was a car accident.
40:07I was literally on my way to the airport to leave Clearwater
40:10when I got the phone call from Hulk or Terry.
40:14He crashed into a tree and died, uh, as a result of a heart attack.
40:18It was, it's hard to believe.
40:20Even now, sitting here doing this interview, it's hard to believe.
40:22It's true.
40:22Cause he, he was so full of life.
40:24He was so full of energy, brother.
40:26It's hard to imagine that.
40:28He's not here.
40:29Really.
40:32We're going to the site where my brother lost control,
40:36and you're gonna see the tree.
40:37They've still got a few flowers,
40:39although they've taken some of them, some of them down.
40:42It's been seven years, you know.
40:53I judge people by the way, for example, Randy treated my kids.
40:59Oh, and that, that was it for me.
41:01If I start thinking about that too much, I'll cry.
41:03He went out of his way to be really, really good to kids,
41:08and that's how I judge people.
41:10He loved Brooke and he loved kids.
41:12I'm sure he probably would have said yes at any time
41:16and loved to have kids with Liz.
41:18I think it's a shame Liz isn't in the Hall of Fame.
41:20I think that she was called the first lady of wrestling for a reason.
41:24She was the first significant female star who never wrestled.
41:30Because he had her at his side made him even more special
41:34because she was so special.
41:37She was the first female that was depicted in a,
41:41in a powerful role.
41:43She was beautiful, quiet, but she was class.
41:46Elizabeth was class.
41:47Maybe a boy named Timmy would come up with his father,
41:52and they say,
41:53May I have your autograph, sir?
41:56He's, oh, yeah, here's the deal.
41:59Timmy, I'm gonna sign your autograph,
42:01but you gotta do something for me.
42:04What's that?
42:06How you doing in school, Timmy?
42:08How you doing in school?
42:09Are you doing your best?
42:11Because Timmy, I'm gonna sign your autograph,
42:13but if you don't do well in school,
42:15if you don't do your best every single day,
42:18it's gonna be real, real bad for you.
42:21Randy and Elizabeth were greater
42:23than the sum of their parts.
42:25They were undoubtedly key to each other's legacy.
42:28Fans had never before experienced
42:29a more emotional and relatable storyline
42:32on the complexity of love.
42:34Together, they transcended television and,
42:36well, wrestling, too.
42:39Even after the divorce,
42:40they still had a tremendous amount of love
42:42and respect for each other.
42:44They were true, true celebrities and icons.
42:47There's not one person on the whole planet Earth
42:48that doesn't know who they were.
42:50From a wrestling point,
42:51you just want to raise the floor,
42:52you know.
42:53While both passed too soon,
42:55they left their legions of fans
42:57with an epic love story
42:58that will last long after they're gone.
43:01To me, Randy Savage is on the Mount Rushmore of wrestling.
43:05Could perform, could do an interview,
43:07had the right look.
43:08He was the macho man.
43:10He was an innovator.
43:11He was a creator.
43:12And he made the business better, in my opinion.
43:17I would call Randy Savage one of the all-time greats without doubt.
43:20And the real human being, Randy Poffo,
43:24was really a very good man and a loving man.
43:27There was a lot of art imitating life.
43:30You know, sometimes in the world what really happens
43:32is not really planned.
43:33After you roll with it,
43:35then all of a sudden you really turn into that character,
43:37or turn into that dilemma that takes place.
43:39I think people will always want to think of her as Miss Elizabeth
43:43for wanting to be with Randy.
43:45You don't want to remember her being with somebody else.
43:48It just doesn't seem right.
43:49I mean, that's what we were fed, you know.
43:51That's what we believed.
43:53Well, be so good.
43:59Thank you!
44:00.
Comments