Randy Savage “Whipped” in Real Life
Friends Say Liz Wears Pants in Family
SARASOTA-FL — Current World Wrestling Federation (WWF) champion Randy “Macho Man” Savage is clearly #2 in the household these days, behind his real-life wife Elizabeth Poffo. That’s what their friends and family are saying, at least. And it marks a stark difference from how the husband and wife duo act both in front of the camera and backstage at wrestling events.
“He’s p*ssy whipped, that’s for damn sure,” said neighbor John Matthews, who has known the couple since 1983.
“He might act all mach for the camera, but when he’s home, Liz is clearly in charge. The men in the neighborhood laugh at him. He’s just a big softy.”
“If Lizzie says to jump, Randy asks ‘how high?’” said Lanny Poffo, Savage’s half-brother, who also wrestles for the WWF.
“I could be killing his whole image here, but the truth is that us Poffos are pansies when it comes to women. Myself, I play an effeminate character on television, and that’s largely who I really am. Randy’s the same way, but acts different on TV.”
If Randy takes a backseat to Elizabeth, it’s news to the WWF locker room. In front of the boys, many say, Savage is an overprotective, condescending, overbearing husband who goes out of his way to act macho.
“None of us (the wrestlers) are allowed to touch her, talk to her, or make eye contact with her,” said “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan.
“If we do, he’ll rip us a new one. It’s understood among the all the boys: don’t f*ck with Liz.”
But brother Lanny, who is able to see Randy both backstage and at home in Sarasota, knows the real story.
“When you act overly macho, you’re trying to hide and cover up an inner insecurity,” he explained. “An inner wuss, if you will. It’s like the blatant homophobe who deep down is 100% fruit. Randy is a blatant brute because deep down he hides behind Elizabeth’s skirt. I’m not saying anything is wrong with that, but that’s the way it is.”
Those who have seen the couple in private say Randy carries Elizabeth’s bags, massages her nightly, makes her dinner every night, and feeds her breakfast in bed on Sunday morning as they read the comics. On dates, Randy opens the door for her, buys her flowers, and blows her nose at whim. Elizabeth reportedly keeps a bell nearby, which she rings whenever she wants Randy to do something for her.
Dan Rosenberg, the couple’s accountant, says all their bank accounts and financial papers are in Elizabeth’s name.
“She’s got her name on title,” he said, referring to the Savage’s Sarasota home.
“Randy doesn’t even have his own bank account. All paychecks he receives, he has to sign over to her, which she then deposits into her account. They have no credit card debt now, but when they did, all the credit cards were in Randy’s name so that if they ever defaulted on them, he’d be responsible, not her. She’s got him tied around her pinky finger, and pulls him in like a jacked up Yo-Yo. He’s the puppet and she pulls the strings.”
Friends who have hung out with Randy say Elizabeth pages him ’round the clock when he goes out with the guys.
“When Randy and us guys go out for a beer, his beeper goes off every second, it seems,” said Brian Blair, who also wrestles for the WWF. “If they ever invent portable phones one day, look out. He’ll never have a free moment.”
Not that Randy gets a chance to go out much anyway.
“Seeing Randy beg his wife to go out for a beer with the guys is perhaps the single most pathetic thing you’ll ever see,” continued Brian. “She’ll berate him in public, totally let him have it. She belittles him, often with physical abuse. He just sits there and takes it like a man… or like a woman, I should say. No man with one-fifth a testicle would ever let his wife treat him like that.”
But as part of their agreement, Randy gets to act macho on camera and in the locker room. And since that’s all the wrestling fans get to actually see, Randy will forever be the Macho Man in their eyes. And for the WWF, that’s fine with them.
WWF officials declined to comment for this story.