What About Elizabeth?

[Mustang Sally]

How does WWE put her in their Hall of Fame?

How do they not?

As a non-wrestler with impact in WWE, Liz certainly qualifies for entry, yet the only graceful way to put her in would be alongside Randy Savage, no? Without him, she never would have been a factor.

I watched her in WCW at the Great American Bash in '96 and was surprised and disappointed at how little she mattered. Standing with Woman and Arn Anderson as Arn was being interviewed, Elizabeth did absolutely nothing....didn't speak, barely even moved. Her character was built to interact with Macho Man, even in WCW.

But how does WWE put her in as a couple with Randy when the two of them were divorced in real life? True, what they did when married shouldn't be negated just because they later split, but with today's political correctness and strict (read: stupid) adherence to what is right and proper, I don't believe they will give Liz her due.

Someone just wrote to me, asking how Sunny could be placed in the HOF while Elizabeth isn't.....and it's a damn good question. Do you think Sunny's influence in WWE was greater than Elizabeth's? I mean, c'mon now.

Still, Savage is going in this year and Elizabeth isn't. To me, that ends any opportunity she might have had to be inducted.

So, there's the quandary; they can't induct her with Macho Man......and can't induct her without him.

Sad.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

How many wrestlers who've died of drug related deaths have WWE out into the Hall Of Fame in recent years? It's easier to ignore some wrestling personalities than explain how they died.

If she goes in, and she will at some point, Hogan will induct her. Or they'll do a lame induction where they bring out generic Diva's and they talk about her influence and other bullshit.

 

[Dmbfantomas]

Her family also might not want her to go into the Hall. I've read that they blame pro wrestling and the pro wrestling lifestyle for her passing. If that is truly the case, then I can't blame them for not wanting WWE to profit off of their deceased daughter's name.

 

[Messiah]

They're not going to induct her with Savage. Savage only wanted to get inducted into the Hall of Fame if the entire Poffo family (Lanny and Angelo) was inducted with him. Since Randy is not with us anymore to decide this, it's up to Lanny Poffo. It's very unlikely Lanny would want Savage to get inducted with his ex-wife unless he knew Savage was ok with it. Lanny finally gave WWE the thumbs up to induct Randy Savage, that's what the fans have been waiting for.


You really think Liz is not going to get inducted in the future? Oh please, WWE will eventually induct every big name in the HOF. They got Sammartino, Bret Hart, Ultimate Warrior and now Savage.. All people who had bad blood with WWE in the past.. WWE is not going to ignore Elizabeth's credentials because of some stupid drug bullshit. She definitely qualify's for the WWE Hall of Fame and WWE knows that, even if her family is against it, WWE will find a way like they always do.

 

[Wald]

They can only put so many wrestlers who have passed away in each year, in fact I'd go along with what they seem to be doing and just include one per year. The speech on the behalf of the wrestler being inducted is never great and is, if we're being honest, a bit of a waste of time. I honestly couldn't care less what anyone has to say about Macho Man's career outside of Macho Man when it comes to looking back on it.

I would expect Elizabeth to go in some year anyway. WWE still big her up as the first woman to really bring femininity and beauty to the valet role.

 

[closet_fan]

Was never a big Miss Elizabeth fan. She was always in the background and barely had much of a personality.

She was basically the opposite of most lady valet's back in the day. Didn't help Randy cheat, didn't do much aside from pretending to be the damsel in distress character.

The only time she did matter was the storyline between Savage and Hogan splitting up.

I watched her in WCW at the Great American Bash in '96 and was surprised and disappointed at how little she mattered. Standing with Woman and Arn Anderson as Arn was being interviewed, Elizabeth did absolutely nothing....didn't speak, barely even moved. Her character was built to interact with Macho Man, even in WCW.

Most of the time that's how her character ALWAYS was.

 

[QuadrupleH]

The guy mentioning the drug abuse issue is right - that is probably what is really keeping her out at the moment.

If she ever does get in, maybe Lex Luger will induct her. They were a couple when she died I believe.

 

[Pedigree1]

This is the one question you can ask me and I will Fume over it for days to come.. This seriously pisses me off to no end..

How can you have a HOF without the lovely Mrs Elizabeth the first lady of wrestling.. Her contributions to the industry warp those of Madusa's and Sunny combined together.. So so many memories of Miss Liz its a damn shame she is not in the HOF.. Seriously was Sunny's contribution greater than Liz?? Hell no it wasn't..

I have absolutely no idea why she isn't in the HOF. I always thought her and Macho would be a package deal and it should be like that. The WWE seriously missed the boat on this one.. The way she was used in WCW in later days goes to show you what kind of show WCW was,run by a bunch of no talent ass-clowns who had no clue what they were doing..

I know Trips is doing his best at repairing the bridges that were burned with ex employees.. He has done a great job so far by Bruno and the Warrior.. If Liz is ever to get in,i just dont want it to be a passing moment and some Half-ass Lame introduction.

 

[FlairFan2003]

This is the one question you can ask me and I will Fume over it for days to come.. This seriously pisses me off to no end..

How can you have a HOF without the lovely Mrs Elizabeth the first lady of wrestling.. Her contributions to the industry warp those of Madusa's and Sunny combined together.. So so many memories of Miss Liz its a damn shame she is not in the HOF.. Seriously was Sunny's contribution greater than Liz?? Hell no it wasn't..

I have absolutely no idea why she isn't in the HOF. I always thought her and Macho would be a package deal and it should be like that. The WWE seriously missed the boat on this one.. The way she was used in WCW in later days goes to show you what kind of show WCW was,run by a bunch of no talent ass-clowns who had no clue what they were doing..

I know Trips is doing his best at repairing the bridges that were burned with ex employees.. He has done a great job so far by Bruno and the Warrior.. If Liz is ever to get in,i just dont want it to be a passing moment and some Half-ass Lame introduction.

Liz best work was in WCW circa 1996 when she turned on Savage - In WWE she rarely if ever spoke and almost never did promos for matches or feuds, here in WCW she was speaking (fairly well) on a regular basis, the whole "Don't Worry - It's On Randy..." series of vignettes were more entertaining than practically anything she did in WWE. In WCW, at least during that time, she was allowed to be much more full character, a villain, an effective cheater at ringside, and she was allowed to speak on a regular basis. The advent of the NWO & the end of The Horsemen storyline basically ended her but at least during that 1996 run, complete with her "This one's on Randy" promos & catered ringside buffets she was quite entertaining.

 

[enviousdominous]

I'm going to have to come back after I've repped up some folks so I can rep up Ms. Sally, there's very few threads out there that I can relate this well toward.

Elizabeth had a HUGE impact on pro-wrestling. Anyone who disagrees probably didn't grow up around the 1980's.

Macho Man was marketed as a wild unstable brute who carried Ms. Elizabeth around like a trophy to make other men jealous. George Steele was smitten for Liz, but in the end she showed her resiliency and stood by Macho Man having never lost faith in him. Eventually; Macho Man became more sensitive to her feelings and was totally reliant on her unwavering faith in him. Ms. Elizabeth had a place in our hearts because she was beautiful, loyal and above all she had class. If you tried to put ANY other female performer in that role, it wouldn't have come across so spectacularly.

They divorced, sure. That's real life, that's not the fairy tale in front of the curtain. What Macho Man and Ms. Elizabeth had on screen was special, it was pure and it deserves to be honored. I don't think that a business like pro-wrestling will ever be able to capture that kind of magic ever again.

 

[BattleCat]

Was never a big Miss Elizabeth fan. She was always in the background and barely had much of a personality.

She was basically the opposite of most lady valet's back in the day. Didn't help Randy cheat, didn't do much aside from pretending to be the damsel in distress character.

The only time she did matter was the storyline between Savage and Hogan splitting up.



Most of the time that's how her character ALWAYS was.

You're an idiot. Not for being misinformed about her contributions, but for talking so passionately about her without knowing what the hell you're talking about.

Randy Savage was a great wrestler and one of my all-time favorites. And you know what else? His biggest moments don't happen without Elizabeth. Without HIM she wouldn't have been as big a star?? True. And vice versa, people. He needed her to achieve his level of greatness.

Savage/Steele WrestleMania 2 - over Elizabeth
MegaPowers Exploding - over Elizabeth
Savage/Flair WrestleMania 8 - over Elizabeth
Savage/Honky Tonk Man - over Elizabeth
Savage/Roberts - over Elizabeth
Not to mention WrestleMania 7 where they stole the show together and SummerSlam 91 where their characters got married.

Very little of Macho's great feuds didn't include her in some integral way. Anyone who was around back then should know that. Anyone who wasn't should do some research or shut the hell up since you know nothing.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

There is no problem with Elizabeth, but with the circumstances of her death. That is why Lex Luger has never been inducted or even on WWE TV.

They can't have him show up and risk "You Killed Liz" chants breaking out...Sadly Hunter's misguided "Google" premise also applies to Elizabeth. A simple google search will show a very unsavoury account of her death, even the Wiki page.

There is always of course the "being alive" aspect. Alundra/Madusa goes in ahead cos she's alive to pick up the honor... it's shocking when you see how many of the women involved in WWE during that early era are not here any more... Sherri, Elizabeth, Luna...

Elizabeth is someone whose image does not match the reality of her life and death, so it's an "awkward" one for WWE. They can show all the Randy/Liz stuff but it then has the negativity of how he treated her... They can portray her as "The First Lady", demure and pure but she was anything but when she died as she was battling multiple addictions.

Perhaps she is one who hits a "little too close to home" for the WWE, she is someone you can point to and say "The Business Did This", not Lex, not Randy, but being in Wrestling. That's not the kind of scrutiny they want on Hall Of Fame night.

 

[FlairFan2003]

There is no problem with Elizabeth, but with the circumstances of her death. That is why Lex Luger has never been inducted or even on WWE TV.

They can't have him show up and risk "You Killed Liz" chants breaking out...Sadly Hunter's misguided "Google" premise also applies to Elizabeth. A simple google search will show a very unsavoury account of her death, even the Wiki page.

There is always of course the "being alive" aspect. Alundra/Madusa goes in ahead cos she's alive to pick up the honor... it's shocking when you see how many of the women involved in WWE during that early era are not here any more... Sherri, Elizabeth, Luna...

Elizabeth is someone whose image does not match the reality of her life and death, so it's an "awkward" one for WWE. They can show all the Randy/Liz stuff but it then has the negativity of how he treated her... They can portray her as "The First Lady", demure and pure but she was anything but when she died as she was battling multiple addictions.

Perhaps she is one who hits a "little too close to home" for the WWE, she is someone you can point to and say "The Business Did This", not Lex, not Randy, but being in Wrestling. That's not the kind of scrutiny they want on Hall Of Fame night.

About as well said as could be....hard to expand or improve on this

 

[WWEWrestleFest]

WWE's Hall of Fame is honestly about two things, good PR and selling tickets.

There is no problem with Elizabeth, but with the circumstances of her death. That is why Lex Luger has never been inducted or even on WWE TV.

They can't have him show up and risk "You Killed Liz" chants breaking out...Sadly Hunter's misguided "Google" premise also applies to Elizabeth. A simple google search will show a very unsavoury account of her death, even the Wiki page.

There is always of course the "being alive" aspect. Alundra/Madusa goes in ahead cos she's alive to pick up the honor... it's shocking when you see how many of the women involved in WWE during that early era are not here any more... Sherri, Elizabeth, Luna...

Elizabeth is someone whose image does not match the reality of her life and death, so it's an "awkward" one for WWE. They can show all the Randy/Liz stuff but it then has the negativity of how he treated her... They can portray her as "The First Lady", demure and pure but she was anything but when she died as she was battling multiple addictions.

Perhaps she is one who hits a "little too close to home" for the WWE, she is someone you can point to and say "The Business Did This", not Lex, not Randy, but being in Wrestling. That's not the kind of scrutiny they want on Hall Of Fame night.

That pretty much sums it up as to why it's a bad PR move.

As far as selling tickets - Who would accept on Elizabeth's behalf? Randy's gone. Luger? That wouldn't feel right considering how she died. It would probably be some family member of Elizabeth, and that person isn't going to sell any tickets.

Rick Rude, on the other hand, guys like Steve Austin, Paul Heyman, and Kevin Nash rode with him, and Bobby Heenan was his mouthpiece in WWF, and guys like Jake Roberts, Sting, or Ric Flair had memorable feuds with him, so you could get one of them to induct him and they'd actually help sell some tickets.

 

[CaptainObvious]

Should she be in? Absolutely. Will she get in? I'm sure eventually. She's too much of an influence to be ignored. (But of course so was Randy and look how long it took them to put him in) I believe she was one of, if not the first, woman manager (I could be wrong on that) She was integral to several storylines in Macho Man's career (WM 3 with Steele, Hogan, Flair, Randy's retirement and marriage angle) And believe she helped bring in a lot of female viewers during that time as well. The obvious elephant in the room is the manner in which she died, the same could be applied for Eddie Guerrero and he's in. WWE needs to give Elizabeth her due and put her in.

 

[FlairFan2003]

WWE's Hall of Fame is honestly about two things, good PR and selling tickets.



That pretty much sums it up as to why it's a bad PR move.


Rick Rude, on the other hand, guys like Steve Austin, Paul Heyman, and Kevin Nash rode with him, and Bobby Heenan was his mouthpiece in WWF, and guys like Jake Roberts, Sting, or Ric Flair had memorable feuds with him, so you could get one of them to induct him and they'd actually help sell some tickets.

I don't know why Rude isn't in.....maybe the whole jumping ship to Nitro incident, I don't know....he had a long and distinguished career between World Class, The NWA, a lengthy and fairly successful WWE run, and very good run in WCW, he main evented against Jake Roberts, Savage, Hogan, Flair, Sting, Vader, Steamboat, as well as The Rock & Roll Express & The Road Warriors.

 

[MrTDG]

You're an idiot. Not for being misinformed about her contributions, but for talking so passionately about her without knowing what the hell you're talking about.

Randy Savage was a great wrestler and one of my all-time favorites. And you know what else? His biggest moments don't happen without Elizabeth. Without HIM she wouldn't have been as big a star?? True. And vice versa, people. He needed her to achieve his level of greatness.

Savage/Steele WrestleMania 2 - over Elizabeth
MegaPowers Exploding - over Elizabeth
Savage/Flair WrestleMania 8 - over Elizabeth
Savage/Honky Tonk Man - over Elizabeth
Savage/Roberts - over Elizabeth
Not to mention WrestleMania 7 where they stole the show together and SummerSlam 91 where their characters got married.

Very little of Macho's great feuds didn't include her in some integral way. Anyone who was around back then should know that. Anyone who wasn't should do some research or shut the hell up since you know nothing.

Thank you. You know, I can't understand for the life of me how ANYONE can say Elizabeth did nothing. I really believe it's a case of Attitude-era and later wrestling fans going back and watching old WWE PPVs through the network or something, or just regurgitating something they heard someone else say about her.

Anyone that was alive during the 1980s and was a fan of wrestling then knows the impact she head. As for her not talking, that isn't entirely true. I can recall countless interviews where someone would attempt to strike up a conversation with her or she could exchange a few lines and here comes the Macho Man shutting all of that down. She was HUGE in getting Randy's character over. As the above poster stated, she was also involved in virtually every major feud the Macho Man had. She also could communicate more with that audience by simply standing at ringside with her looks of worry or concern than most people today can doing a 450-splash through flaming tables.

When she made a move, it meant something. And she IMO, next to Sherri are the greatest women to have ever been involved in wrestling. Her place in the HOF is inarguable in my book. Now whether it happens sooner or later is the question.