For years there has been a lot of speculation of bad blood between late wrestling legend "Macho Man" Randy Savage and WWE CEO Vince McMahon which kept the wrestling icon, whose real name is Randy Poffo, from being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Savage's brother Lanny Poffo recently spoke about the reported rift between McMahon and the former two-time WWE Champion.
Savage was a popular star in the WWE from the mid-1980s through 1994 before departing for WCW, and there have always been rumors of McMahon having an issue with Savage. The stories range from Savage jumping ship for rival WCW drawing the ire of McMahon to Savage being involved with McMahon's daughter Stephanie McMahon in a sexual relationship, but none of those have been confirmed.
Lanny Poffo spoke to the Tampa Tribune and said the bad blood stemmed from McMahon's treatment of the Poffo family in general.
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Poffo says a rift started forming between Savage and McMahon in 1987 when WWE held an "old timers" event and Savage wanted his father, Angelo Poffo to be involved but McMahon said no.
"Randy didn't ever forgot that," Poffo told the Tampa Tribune. "My father deserved to be in that match."
Poffo also said that his brother was upset over the fact that McMahon wanted Savage to end his in-ring career and strictly be on commentary in late 1993 up until his departure in 1994. He was also upset over the "Nacho Man' skits that the WWE did to mock him in 1996 when he was in WCW, especially since they insinuated that Hulk Hogan was involved romantically with Miss Elizabeth, who Savage was married to in real life for a number of years.
"He thought he still had a lot of good years in the ring left in him," Poffo told the paper while adding that the "Nacho Man" skits made him furious.
Savage went online in 2000 and ranted about the "Nacho Man" skits and even took some shots at Stephanie McMahon. Despite years of turmoil, the WWE reportedly reached out to Savage to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010, however he wanted his whole family to be inducted or he wouldn't accept.
"He wanted the Poffo family to go in," Poffo told the publication. "He knew it would mean a lot to my dad."
After the WWE declined to put the whole family in the Hall, Angelo Poffo passed away shortly after and Savage was upset when WWE didn't call to offer condolences.
"It was about respect to our family. Randy was furious," said Poffo. "He told me if anything ever happened to him, he should not be put into the Hall of Fame unless it was as the Poffo family."
Savage died unexpectedly a year later when he suffered a sudden heart attack while driving. The WWE tried to posthumously induct Savage in 2012, but Poffo said he was upset because the WWE once again never offered condolences.
McMahon did have nice things to say about Savage during a Time Magazine interview about his passing, describing him as "one of the all-time greats," but a lack of a phone call upset Poffo.
"They again did not say they were sorry for my father or brother's passing, even though they had the chance" he told the Tampa Tribune. "I told them that I would honor my brother's wishes and only say yes if the entire Poffo family was inducted."
Poffo has since softened his stance.
"This is for the fans," Poffo told the paper. "They want to honor Randy and see him get his respect. So if the WWE wants Randy in the Hall of Fame but not my father or me, they should do it. Unless they call my mother and offer their condolences, I will not be there."
It remains to be seen if Savage will enter the Hall of Fame at any point, however some of the mysteries behind his strange relationship with McMahon have been revealed.
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