Elizabeth's Impact On Randy Savage's Career

[The Brain]

There’s no doubt that Randy Savage was one of the most talented and charismatic wrestlers in WWF history. He was involved in many great matches, had a flamboyant look, a unique personality, and was a part of some of the most intense feuds of his generation. He had all the makings of a true superstar. It seems logical that Savage would have been a success on his own but it was his manager that got Savage immediate attention upon his arrival to the WWF.

Savage’s WWF career started with a bidding war from the best managers of the day. Bobby Heenan, Jimmy Hart, and Freddie Blassie were all hoping to sign the hottest new star. Savage shocked everybody by eventually signing with an unknown woman named Elizabeth. The truth is Elizabeth didn’t have much personality. She was very shy and quiet but her beauty drew the attention of the fans which in turn drew their attention to Savage. My apologies to the women of the WWF before her, but Elizabeth was by far the most attractive woman the fans had seen up to that point. It was a unique situation where the fans loved Elizabeth but hated Savage. Savage’s obnoxious arrogance was enough for the fans to hate him but it was his mistreatment of Elizabeth that really got under their skin. For two years Savage degraded Miss Elizabeth and became more and more hated because of it. Everyone was waiting for Elizabeth to finally stand up for herself and leave Savage on his own. Instead something else happened. Savage grew to appreciate Elizabeth and changed his attitude toward her. He began to defend her honor against others and call her his inspiration. With the change in attitude Savage went from one of the most hated to one of the most popular wrestlers. In fact he was so popular he was the one chosen to succeed Hulk Hogan as champion after four years on top. During his time as champion Savage became jealous of Elizabeth’s friendship with Hogan. His old attitude about her returned instantly making him the most hated wrestler in WWF again.

Not only did Savage’s attitude toward Elizabeth determine where he stood with the fans but several of his most intense feuds revolved directly around her. Elizabeth was the driving force in feuds with George Steele, Honky Tonk Man, Bad News Brown, Hulk Hogan, Jake Roberts, and Ric Flair. The feuds with Honky, Hogan, Roberts, and Flair were among the hottest in the company at the time and among Savage’s best ever. Elizabeth was at the center of them all.

So how much of an impact did Elizabeth have on the career of Randy Savage? Would he have been as successful if she never came to the WWF with him? As I mentioned Savage had tremendous talent and charisma so I think he still would have been a success but I’m not sure he would have been as successful. Because of Elizabeth the fans had an emotional connection to Savage whether he was playing the good guy or he bad guy. Over the years we’ve seen plenty of guys with talent that can’t establish that connection with the fans. We still hear a lot about Savage today and most people recognize his greatness but not many people mention Elizabeth when discussing him. If they do they mention her as more of a side note. For as much as I love Savage I think it’s fair to recognize what Elizabeth did for his career and give her credit for helping Savage become a legend.

 

[BigThunder]

At the time, the adulation and attention that the announcers gave to Elizabeth really irked me, because I was a huge Randy Savage mark and I didn't like seeing his incredible talent overshadowed.

However, over the long term, Liz helped Savage set himself apart from the other wrestlers of his era and certainly greatly contributed to his legacy. She was the Audrey Hepburn of the WWE, a woman of incredible grace and beauty and class and she made for some great storylines and helped set up a lot of Randy's best feuds (Flair, Roberts, Hogan).

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Sounds horrible but there is no way Savage would have been as successful without Liz.

She was an ongoing storyline that touched people. She kept him interesting. I remember when he was being pursued by all the managers thinking "Why?". Sure he's talented and this is all scripted but he didn't appear to be that great that every manager should be pursuing him.

Liz made him more interesting because we cared about her. Anyone can wear robes and pink tights and talk in the third person. Other than her association with him, there was nothing bad about her. They strung us along with their relationship. We knew when he would win or lose most of the time but what we didn't know is when she would leave him or could she change him. It kept him relevant because we wanted to see what would happen to them. WWE wrote a terrific soap opera that Macho and Liz executed perfectly.

(This was poorly written but I think you get my point)

 

[Moneyinc]

She definitely had a big impact on Savages career. Savage would have founds ways to prosper if there would have never an Elizabeth in my opinion, but as a kid Elizabeth was a big reason I enjoyed the Macho Man. Now that I am an adult, she is still legendary, but I realize that Macho Man carried her everywhere he went. Macho is easily the best promo guy in the WWF from 1988-1992 in my opinion. Hogan was great at promos as was Flair, but Macho took it to another level getting so damn mad it is just hard not to laugh at everything he says, even though he is delivering it all perfectly. Macho somehow mixes being serious and being hilarious perfectly.

Elizabeth was so shy and nervous behind the camera there is no doubt in my mind that Macho basically kind of convinced her to get started in the business, and also coached her and continued to try to keep her interested. She might have loved doing it, but she never seemed to comfortable to me. I think Macho could see what she brought to the table, so he basically created her character and the idea. Even though her character was just her being herself, it was still Macho's idea in the beginning. It was also Macho's acting that made it work.

It is definitely possible that Macho Man would have never been as much of a baby face without Elizabeth. When Macho won the belt at Wrestlemania 4, it was definitely fun watching the unsure crowd slowly turn to his favor. It helped that his last match was against the best heel of all time Ted Debiase, but having Elizabeth to hoist on his shoulders after the match definitely helps the baby face value. At the same time, having Hulkster there to save you from Andre, Debiase, and Virgil is about as much as a push you need to get over on the crowd.

There is no doubt that he used her to his advantage in all of his story lines, but Macho was so brilliant inside the ring and out, he would have been as big without her.

Macho deserves the credit of basically coming up with the all of the story lines she was in, though a lot of the time they weren't incredibly deep, it is never easy to make a good WWF story line.

 

[Slash-LN]

I think she played a huge role in his career. So much of what he did involved her. The George Steele feud. The Mega Powers feud with Hogan revolved around her, his feud with Ric Flair revolved around her, him being bitten by the snake was dramatic but it really sold when Liz ran out and tried to help him. The ending of the WM 7 match meant so much because of Savage and Liz reuniting. Almost all of his WWF memories involve Liz or centered around her.

 

[HBsam31]

It is kind of funny in that I always took Liz for granted. She was just always there, and I never really sat down and thought about how much she meant to Savage's career. Honestly, she was a major part of almost ever angle Savage was in. I am sure he would have found a way to get over even with out her but still. She was a major player in the feud with George Steele, Hulk Hogan, Jake Roberts, Ric Flair, and she even made an appearance along side Dusty Rhodes when he and Savage were feuding. They had the whole reuniting angle when Savage lost to The Warrior which led to their wedding being part of the main event at that year's Summerslam. She was a constant for Savage. Savage was one of the greatest ever, and he probably still would have been without here, but if and when Savage goes into the HOF Elizabeth should be inducted right with him. RIP to both Randy Savage and Elizabeth.

 

[Jacjac]

Miss. Elizabeth gave Savage dept, class and built in storylines. The two of them as a team was brilliant. Liz wasn't a wrestler, she didn't take bumps, she offend anyone. Liz was a lady; the beauty to Savage's beast. Could he have been as big of an ass without her being as demure as she was? probably not. Liz had honor and anyone who defended it was cheered and whoever breathed hard in her direction was booed. Savage is the only person who has done both. He's gone from grabbing her by the wrists to singing "wind beneath my wings". Silently, Liz really was the wind beneath Savage's wings. She was a huge part of his character. I loved him with Sheri Martel but we all knew she could probably take Savage. Sheri was very impactful to his career but his character was already established when she came onto the scene. Let's not bother to mention Miss. Madness and George. So, to answer the question.. No, Savage wouldn't have been the same character without Liz.

 

[Dirk]

I think you guys are overselling her beauty. She's okay, but it was a lot more about her innocence. Being coy and gentle was her main function, the foil to the manic Macho Man.

Not really the empowered woman we see today, but for that time she was a trailblazer. Savage was a great wrestler in his own right, but Miss Elizabeth added a very important extra dimention. Ohh yeahh!

 

[justtxyank]

She was pretty darn beautiful for a woman in the 1980s world of professional wrestling. She's a pretty darn classic beauty.

Hot women didn't get into wrestling really back then. Prior to Sunny, Sable, Kimberly, etc. most of the women in wrestling were average.

Babydoll wasn't smoking by any stretch. Madusa was ugly. Wendi Richter? Moolah? Sunshine? Precious? Some were attractive, but Elizabeth actually was very pretty. She didn't look like the type of woman who belonged in wrestling.

Now, I'd argue she got much better looking with age.

As to how much she played in the success of Savage, she was obviously a big part. I think she just made it easy for bookers to book Savage. It was so easy to book Savage in the WWF because of Elizabeth. That doesn't mean he couldn't have been exactly as popular without her, but changing to heel or face was so easy for him because of her.

 

[jacdnwarrior]

Randy was a star no matter who was his manager. He had charisma, great in-ring ability and was some one who knew how to work the crowd. I think with Elizabeth, and their interaction, he gained more as a performer especially with the crowd. It may not have made him the great mega star that Hogan was, he and Elizabeth still became icons in their own right. He gained boos from the crowd when he ill-treated her and adoration from the crowd when he protected her or did right by her. The WM7 reunion alone shows how beloved a couple they were.

Now to be honest, she came at a time when Wrestling was truly at a height it hadn't seen before and the spotlight cast on her makes her more popular than maybe she would have, had she came up in a different time period. She wasn't on the mike a lot, she served mainly as some one who gave looks when the camera was on her more than anything else. Still I think Randy and Elizabeth were the power couple of wrestling.

 

[Mustang Sally]

She was the Audrey Hepburn of the WWE....

Not bad, not bad at all. Liz did have the quality that made Audrey Hepburn a revered movie star; her vulnerability, tempered by an inner strength that made you suspect she wouldn't put up with the indignities forever.

Randy and Liz were unique in that you almost never saw a pairing of wrestler and manager with different leanings: Elizabeth was as good a person as could possibly be, while Randy was the quintessential bad guy. They were polar opposites who functioned together.....and when did you ever see that in pro wrestling? When we saw Edge play a heel while Lita accompanied him as a face, all I could see was Randy and Liz.

Savage & Elizabeth did it brilliantly; you hated him and loved her. Still, even as young as I was at the time, I figured one of them would eventually change.....and because of Randy's bullying, I reasoned they would turn Liz bad, the idea of which revolted me. Instead, Randy changed, in what had to be one of the most genuine emotional moments I ever saw (with Sensational Sherri in a role traditionally reserved for men). Yeah, it was a storyline, but you couldn't have convinced me of that at the time.

It was a fairy tale, in which Beauty rescues the Beast. Say what you will about Randy Poffo.....all the stuff about his refusing to work matches unless every move was scripted in advance.... but his willingness to work a program that night in which he took the "weak" character role....almost the submissive role..... made him my favorite performer in pro wrestling of all time.

Savage would have had a great career alone, but with Liz, it was better by solar years.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Liz was essential to getting Savage's character over. Remember, they were doing this act before he came to WWE, Vince simply signed him and used him as the same character he'd been playing elsewhere.

Liz, her character essentially a goody too shoes, helped draw immemse heat for Savage as he belittled and bullied her. Maybe more than anything other than the time keepers bell on the throat incident with Steamboat, Liz established Randy's cred as a viscious mega heel with the audience.

She also played a key role in the 2nd half of his career, her shocking heel turn and alliance with Ric Flair as payback for everything Randy had put her through during their time together made perfect sense in relation to their prior storyline but at the same time helped garner Randy extra sympathy as a fan fave he lacked before when he was simply viewed by the audience as Hogan's buddy. The "This one's on Randy" promos they did with his credit cards were priceless.

 

[thebarber]

she was massive towards Savages career. His feud with Hogan would have had no reason to occur without Savages intense real life jealousy being played out in story line mode