Savage’s big personality captured in new book

When you think of professional wrestlers in the 1970s and ’80s, one of the first words that might come to mind is big.

Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior were massive individuals. Andre the Giant was beyond belief. Other stars such as John Studd were simply nicknamed “Big.” It almost seemed like a job requirement for superstardom.

That was the landscape when a 24-year-old Randy Poffo came to wrestling after a failed baseball career. His passion and ability were ready for the world, but his body was 6-foot-1, 175 pounds.

So Randy needed something to stand out right away. A garish outfit. An unsettling intensity. An unmistakable voice.

And soon Randy Poffo was Randy “Macho Man” Savage. Bigger than life.

Savage, a legendary champion who spent much of his life in Florida, is the subject of a new book, “Macho Man: The Untamed, Unbelievable Life of Randy Savage,” hit bookstores Tuesday. Its author, Wellington’s Jon Finkel, said the story of Savage’s transformation was one thing that interested him most.

Savage had spent his young life getting ready for a pro baseball career, Finkel said, “but the transition to wrestling is just glossed over. Nobody understood what that took out of him, basically going from 185 pounds to 240 in a year and a half. So many of the top guys were former football players. … Macho is one of the only guys to come from baseball because the physiology doesn’t match up.”

Finkel’s book goes deep into Savage’s upbringing, beginning with father Angelo Poffo’s record 6,033 consecutive sit-ups (and his showmanship while doing it). Poffo became a legendary wrestler and promoter before Randy’s older brother Lanny gained fame as “The Genius” in the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE).

So when a separated shoulder quashed his diamond dreams in the minor leagues, Savage returned to the sport that was in his blood.

Through extensive research and new interviews, especially with Lanny, Finkel documents Savage’s journey through wrestling training, working in a small Tennessee territory with his family, then rocketing to stardom as a cornerstone of the WWF alongside Hogan, Warrior and others. His personality also made him a favorite talk-show guest and ad spokesman, including a long association with Slim Jim (“snap into it!”) that has lived on past his death.

“The reason Macho did all of the gimmickry was that he was very self-conscious about size,” Finkel said. “He learned to walk on his tiptoes in public, basically giving himself an extra two inches all his life. When he went to become a wrestler, I found great articles in the Tampa Tribune from the 1970s where he said he just ate steaks and protein shakes.”

One sense gleaned from the book is that Savage didn’t have many friends. He kept up a rough exterior, Finkel wrote, in part because the Macho Man character demanded it. But if you were in the inner circle, Randy was loyal.

“He figured out that he didn’t need anybody, but he was kind of OK with all of that. He knew he had to play the part,” Finkel said. “He appreciated anyone who respected the sport, who cared as much as he did. Some people thought he was really nuts, but that’s why so few got to know him — because he didn’t care.”

One obvious exception was Elizabeth Hulette, who rose to fame as “the lovely Miss Elizabeth,” Savage’s manager, while building a real-life marriage with Randy Poffo. They met at a gym in Lexington, Ky., and were married in 1984, not long before Savage made it to the WWF. Savage portrayed a bad guy at first, with Elizabeth as the focus of his abusive verbal wrath. Later, when he came to her rescue, it was the impetus for his good-guy turn. Finkel details their relationship on screen and off … the two were divorced in 1992 but worked together in WWF and World Championship Wrestling for years.

“[Elizabeth] had an amazing ability in front of the camera,” Finkel said. “In a different life she could have been an actress or a broadcaster. Her innocence, her softness against Macho, worked so well. Playing the character meant that at work, her husband has to treat her like garbage in front of the world. He said things that wouldn’t fly today, demeaning her. But when ultimately his charisma took over [and he became a babyface], she became the linchpin to so many stories as the damsel in distress.”

Even as Savage “lived his gimmick” offstage quite often, he was a long way from two-dimensional — for example, one of his backstage hobbies was playing chess, often with “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan.

Finkel calls his 10th book a passion project. As a WWF fan for nearly 40 years, he said he wanted to write it for a long time but made sure he had Lanny Poffo on board before getting started. Lanny died in February 2023, just as Finkel was finishing the project.

“I had all the toys and figures going back to age 6 or 7,” Finkel said. “I even called myself Little John Studd. But Macho was my guy for as long as I can remember. I grew up around Boston and had two posters on the wall: Mike Greenwell and Macho.”

The love comes through on every page.