Remembering Randy Savage
by Trista Timson
Finding out that Randy Savage died on Friday hit close to me because of how much I admired him when I was little. Though my memory is fuzzy on what made me like him so much, I remember two things that really caught my attention: elbow drops, and Miss Elizabeth. I. Love. Elbow. Drops.
I remember the first time I was legit mad at my parents. This is going to sound silly, but it’s been on my mind a lot lately, especially with the events that occurred Friday afternoon.
Anyway, I was four years old when I was first angry with my parents. They had just bought a spotter off of my grandma of Peter Pan , one of my favourite movies. The problem here is that the poster would be going on the back of my door, where I already had a picture of Randy and his wife, Miss Elizabeth, all decked out in their wedding outfits. I refused to tear this picture down. Peter Pan could wait.
I also remember going to a birthday party and my mom telling me that not all little girls have two older brothers, so not all little girls will want to talk about wrestling.
I’ve never met anyone that hated anything as much as my Dad hated wrestling. Savage had just gotten bitten by Jake the Snake’s uh, snake. It was tragic AND DAMNIT, IT MADE ELIZABETH CRY. This was the moment where Dad decided to tell my brothers and me that wrestling was fake.
As I got older, Mach moved over to WCW. When I started watching WCW, he had formed Team Madness. He and Elizabeth were no longer together, as she was managing Lex Luger and matching her outfits with his trunks. But Team Madness was something else, as it introduced us to Miss. Madness (AKA: Molly Holly), and Medusa. Of course, there was Gorgeous George, but what did she ever do. The important thing here is that Randy Savage had once again drawn me to him and still remained one of my favourites. I also had a thing for tassels.
When Liz died in ’03, it felt like some of my childhood had died. To me, she was one of the most beautiful women ever, and as I got older, I recognized the grace she had brought to being a manager. Watching the DVD that WWE put out recently (or within the last few years), I noticed how proudly she always looked at him. Whenever he won and hoisted her on his shoulder, she was always beaming for him. There will never by a dynamic duo like Liz and Randy.
Friday afternoon took that other part of my childhood. He hadn’t been seen in a wrestling capacity in years, but yet there were still tons of fans (FANs? ;)) that remember what it was that drew them to Macho Man. Who hasn’t impersonated his voice? Don’t lie; I know you snapped into a Slim Jim during your childhood, and I know it was because Mach told you to. I know I did.
Of course my deepest condolences go out to the Poffo family, as well as his wife. I hope they can find comfort in knowing that Randy had touched many lives and left even more impressions as we fans grew older. There’s plenty more I could say about Randy, and my childhood, but for now, I want to leave it at this.
Thank you for being who you were, Mr. Savage. Thank you for your brightly coloured ring attire, and your tassels, elbow drops, Miss Elizabeth, and of course, your wrestling skills. You inspired an entire generation of wrestlers. May you rest in peace, and maybe convince my Dad why it was OK to keep a picture of you and Liz up on the back of my door.
Thank you.
Signing off,
Trista~