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00:01If you were to try to package intensity and electricity and just pure explosiveness into one package, that would have been the Macho Man Randy Savage.
00:14Oh my God, Macho Man. It's a stick of dynamite that is lit. The fuse has gotten very short. 100% of men, he's going to come at you with 100%.
00:26The Macho Man Randy Savage, he was loud. The cream of the crop! He was colorful. He was intense. Oh yeah! Miss Elizabeth was not.
00:37Elizabeth was an icon and a role model for so many women. Her character was something that brought a lot of feeling and emotion to the matches.
00:44Elizabeth, I love you!
00:47Randy, Macho Man Savage and Miss Elizabeth were wrestling royalty and their rollercoaster romance captivated audiences around the world.
00:55It's Bonnie and Clyde. It's Romeo and Juliet. They were the first, you know, male-female package that was created in that new WWF model. They were the first and they were the best.
01:10Dysfunctional, as it may have been in some respects, but I saw it. It's a love story.
01:19On this episode, art imitates life as we examine a fictional love story surrounding a real-life marriage that explodes beyond the ring with tragic consequences.
01:30Well, first, actually, tell us who you are.
01:39I don't want to do that.
01:41Okay.
01:42Look at how ripped I was. Look at that belly. Good God.
01:46He's in fighting shape right there.
01:48My name is Bruce Prichard, and I have actually worked in the wrestling business for about 45 years.
01:55First time I met Randy Savage was in 1987 in Houston, Texas. Randy got into the wrestling business. He's a second-generation wrestler.
02:05His father, Angelo Poffo, was one of the greats. And Angelo had a wrestling territory. It was considered, back in the day, an outlaw wrestling territory.
02:17You can't do nothing against the macho man here. Number one professional wrestler! Complete! Metal! Infinity! Yeah!
02:25What a champion, Randy! You're going down in the street of the greatest! The greatest!
02:30I also broke this chair by sitting down!
02:33Then, all of a sudden, it's time for Randy Savage to appear.
02:37Jimmy, baby, the best thing that you can do is probably just stand back and let the macho man talk,
02:41because there's nothing that you could say that I couldn't say better myself.
02:44There was a period in the wrestling business where if you were crazy on-screen, you were crazy off-screen.
02:51You had to live your gimmick. And Randy played crazy really well. He lived it 24-7.
02:59Just personally, do you think it'd be okay if I came out that Randy was a bedwetter?
03:06Uh...
03:10What was it like growing up with Randy as a brother?
03:12He's the same as any other alpha male, except his dial is not only past 10, but it's broken and it's gone off the hinges.
03:22I was upstaged every day, but I knew it was getting over, so I was proud to be holding the rope.
03:28He had a dream that he could be a villain, a bad guy, a ruffian. He wanted to be an antagonist,
03:34because he felt he had more creativity than just being the pawn of the villain.
03:40Randy would take a lot of risks. He would say,
03:44Yeah, I stared under a candle for two hours.
03:47I stared under a candle for about two hours and got my head together.
03:52Some people loved him, some people hated him, but everybody respected him, because when you see that kind of athleticism, you have to buy into it.
04:05So this is my autograph table. Okay, this was another night where, like, I think everybody was drinking too much red wine.
04:11Right here is that little saying, you never know what he meant by it, but that's what Macho carved into the table, and it used to say, whatever it takes.
04:22I'm Linda Bollea, married to my ex-husband, professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, for 25 years.
04:29Oh, that was back when we loved each other.
04:32In the olden days.
04:33So once I met Miss Elizabeth, we ended up being friends, because I was really the only other female on the road.
04:39Elizabeth was from Frankfort, Kentucky.
04:42Good upbringing. She addressed her mom as mother, and she said,
04:46We were broke. My dad left early. It was just me and my mom and my brother, and money was always really tight.
04:53There was a gym called Sintay Sports Center, and Randy worked out there, and then one fine day, a new girl came, and that was Elizabeth Hewlett.
05:02And she said Randy was in the gym about 6 in the morning, and she's working the front desk.
05:07And he comes in, and she goes, Oh, my. Your eyes are so red.
05:11And he goes, You should see them from this side.
05:14And I looked at Liz and said, That did it for you? That one line? Like, real duet?
05:19My name is Scott Oliver Hall. I also was wrestled as Razor Ramon, the bad guy.
05:25I don't know. If I was a chick, I'd have begged Randy. I thought he was cool as hell.
05:29Randy would always tell the story that there was love at first sight.
05:32Yeah, she saw me and Bill in love. What more could she want?
05:37Liz would always be like, Yeah, it took a little while to get used to it.
05:42She was beautiful. She was phenomenal, and she was excellent. What a nice person, too.
05:48And I think that came across on television.
05:51Elizabeth got involved in ICW as an announcer, and she also helped with the editing.
05:57Because it was a mom and pop shop. We did everything.
06:00And she was adaptable and brilliant and very quick to learn.
06:05Their first wedding was in Frankfort, Kentucky, at the home of Elizabeth's mother.
06:12And that was about six months before Randy made his debut with WWE.
06:18All right, this is going to be a Jimmy Hart one. Here we go.
06:20Hey, it's me, the mouth of the South, Jimmy Hart.
06:22The sun is shining. Life is great.
06:24There's Randy and myself and Hulk in WCW when I managed them for a few matches.
06:29The rest was history. He goes, How's New York? I said, It's great.
06:32I said, Look, they just saw your tapes. They want you in New York.
06:36The macho man, Randy Savage, who is quite a competitor, making his World Wrestling Federation debut.
06:43Vince and Linda McMahon had come down to Florida to get the contract signed before WrestleMania 1.
06:50Is that Vince? Oh, my gosh. Whoa.
06:53When Vince took over, he went around every territory and took the very best of what was available.
06:58He made you bigger than life.
07:00Vince was taking it to a whole completely new level that none of us were.
07:05ready for or even knew about or used to.
07:08And we were all in for a big, huge learning curve.
07:11You know, when Macho came on board, Vince was like, Well, you know, we really want your character to have a valet, a woman, a manager.
07:19Yeah, I think Randy probably just sat down and said, Look, you know, I want to come up here and I think I can make you money in this territory.
07:25Can we work a spot out for Liz? Because she's going to go with me on the road.
07:29She's going to be with me. Randy, if he loves somebody, whether it was his brother or whether it was Liz or whoever,
07:34he was going to be very loyal to them.
07:37Macho madness at this peak right now. And we all know who the manager is going to be.
07:45They fell in love with her as soon as she opened up the door and stepped into wrestling history.
07:49He comes.
07:51Oh, my.
07:55Liz was very demure, very quiet, gentle soul. The person and the character were really one and the same.
08:04As far as the persona of the Macho Man and the package of the Macho Man and Miss Elizabeth was they were two opposites.
08:14And Randy so intense and Elizabeth so subdued. They wanted you to love Elizabeth and hate Randy.
08:22Picture of Elizabeth. No picture of the Macho Man, Randy Savage. That's very, very, very bad Elizabeth.
08:28Randy would have bring her out. She'd stand at ringside. He'd get in a rain circle.
08:32And then he'd get out. No, I told you to stand here.
08:35And people were hating Randy just for browbeating the beautiful young girl.
08:39Like, you know, you can do better than him, honey. Get away from him.
08:41And there would be times that Randy would give Liz a look and just turn his head and give her those eyes and she would almost be subservient.
08:51Macho Man, Randy Savage. Isn't that right, Elizabeth?
08:54That's right, Randy.
08:55Shut up and keep polishing. If I lose today, it's your fault.
08:58Each time he did it, they just, oh, you're sorry, son of a, you know, and that's exactly what they wanted.
09:04And you want Liz to see the light. But Liz, underneath this, you're seeing, man, she loves her man.
09:10And you infer that Randy mistreats her, but he never really does. He's just a little intense.
09:19By the spring of 1987, Elizabeth and Randy are red hot and are about to make history in front of a record-breaking crowd of 93,000 fans.
09:28WrestleMania III was, at the time, the largest indoor attendance record.
09:32I mean, the largest gathering indoor of any event in the world.
09:36Oh, Jesus.
09:38It's unbelievable, man. 90,000 people.
09:43I had Alice Cooper with me. I mean, the electricity from the crowd was just unbelievable.
09:48I mean, your skin is crawling. It feels like your hair is growing.
09:53The Randy Savage-Ricky Steamboat match, WrestleMania III, I think a lot of people consider one of the greatest matches of all time.
09:59Two of the greatest athletes that I have ever seen in my life. All that athleticism, all the drama, all that excitement.
10:09It killed him that he could never surpass that match. He was a perfectionist. And perfectionists are never happy.
10:16The thing with Savage, I learned later on, of course, when I started working with Savage, was trying to hold him down.
10:23Because he always wanted to give more.
10:26Well, sometimes, you can give too much.
10:29Two years after their debut, Randy and Elizabeth are taking the WWF by storm.
10:34But a surprising twist in their storyline would propel them to the top of the wrestling world.
10:40I pulled out a bunch of pictures. I tried to find them. I had Liz and Randy. This is sweet.
10:50It was Randy and Liz. This was just at the condo. We were just hanging out in Florida.
10:54Polaroid picture. Macho. A little picture of Elizabeth. She's so sweet.
11:00So Macho Man, he always kept Elizabeth in the dressing room, so nobody really knew her.
11:04Then one night, Macho came into our dressing room and said,
11:08Where's Linda? And Liz needs some help with her hair.
11:15And she had her hair kind of, like, coiffed and tightly curled.
11:19And it was just sort of church girl. And I said,
11:21Bitch, you need to just bring that stuff out, you know?
11:24And so I started, like, getting her hair teased up and kind of stacked it out.
11:27She's like, Oh, yeah, I like that.
11:29Once we all realized that, Hey, I live in Tampa. Oh, you live in Tampa? Yeah, I live in Cluj. I live in Largo.
11:34You know, we all kind of lived in this area.
11:36So we thought, Hey, let's all get together, you know?
11:38It was nice because when we did get a few days off, I could call on her and she could call on me.
11:43And we could either go shopping or we could hit the beach.
11:46And it was just great because at least you had somebody to do something with.
11:50Hook would have big parties over there, invite everybody.
11:53You know, and Randy and Liz would go to it.
11:55And it seems like that's when she was the most happiest, when she could be out around the people and kind of be herself.
12:00You know, we'd be barbecuing in the backyard the weekend before.
12:03Terry would always, like, kind of lay it out.
12:05Here's how I want to run it.
12:06And then Randy would throw in some ideas, you know?
12:08And Liz would always just go along with whatever, talking about the angle.
12:12The hotter the heel and people after a while will begin to respect you.
12:17And Randy was so good, he was hard to boo.
12:21The audience liked him and it was hard to ignore.
12:23Randy Savage was really catching on as a babyface.
12:26And people had grown to really love the Macho Man.
12:32By the end of 1987, the fans' love for Randy Savage inspires a revelation in Vince McMahon.
12:38A partnership with the company's top hero to create a team unlike anything pro wrestling has ever seen.
12:44The two biggest names in the wrestling business at that time, gonna combine forces.
12:48You know, the Madness and Hulkamania combining forces, brother.
12:52With the Madness and the Mania, bigger powers, yeah!
12:55I mean, who's gonna match up against them?
12:57By the summer of 1988, Hogan and Savage with Elizabeth as their manager appear invincible.
13:02They've destroyed all challengers and the only place left to turn is on each other.
13:07What we knew is that we would have the mega powers explode.
13:10You create the mega powers for the mega powers to explode.
13:13Especially when one is a paranoid schizophrenic and the other is the all-American dude.
13:20And what is the easiest thing for two men to argue?
13:25A woman.
13:27Summerslam 88.
13:28Randy hoist lives up on his shoulder and goes around and when he does,
13:32there's like a little slip, Hulk puts his hand up, steadier.
13:36Freeze it!
13:37Look at how long his hand is on Elizabeth, huh?
13:42Nobody touches Elizabeth.
13:44Uh-uh.
13:45There was Hulk, say your prayers, take your vitamins, you know.
13:48Here's the American flag and here's Randy going, you know, I don't think you're as truthful as everybody thinks you really are.
13:54They don't realize that underneath he's been boiling.
13:58You got lust in your eyes and in your black heart for Elizabeth!
14:04Randy is the jealous raving lunatic and Hulk is the best friend who's trying to screw his best friend's girl.
14:11Picked her up and put Elizabeth where she has never been before, on top of another man's shoulder!
14:18It's easy for him to blow it out of proportion because you can tell the jealousy side of it.
14:23He's blinded by love and he's blinded by rage.
14:26He's paranoid.
14:28He's got the championship, he's got the whole world on his back.
14:31So of course everybody's trying to knock him off.
14:33Even his best friend.
14:34His best friend's not only trying to knock him off, he's trying to take my girl.
14:37They were really playing off of Randy's paranoia and it was real.
14:40So that's what made it really work.
14:42The Twin Towers, Big Boss Man and Hakeem against, you know, Randy and Hulk, the mega power.
14:47But there was a point in the match where Randy took a bump out and ended up taking Liz out.
14:53Hulk sees that she's hurt, carries her back to get her help.
14:59You're hovering over, over the bed. How dare you?
15:02I'm out there fighting for my life.
15:05But you're more concerned about her. It all makes sense now.
15:09When you take a look at the madness's eyes, all you're gonna see is complete and utter ring!
15:22Match made.
15:24What corner is Elizabeth gonna be in?
15:26A lot of people wondered, did Randy really control her in and out of the ring? Absolutely.
15:31Randy, very protective of my God. You have no idea. And he would, um, get visibly upset with anybody.
15:41He tried to talk to her, carry on a conversation with her. He just did not like it.
15:47When they would be getting ready for an event, we didn't want any malfunctions, the boardrobes.
15:53So he would literally take the tape and, like, wrap it all around her whole body.
15:59And then the other big thing was, because she was always in a short dress, was getting into the ring and entering the ring over the rope.
16:06And was she gonna go over the second rope? Did she go under it?
16:09This was all a big, huge thing for Randy, because this was his wife. He loved and respected her.
16:14And he didn't want anybody to be making fun of her. He was definitely in charge of that relationship, and she was just the tag-alongs.
16:21And I think that that started to grow on her. I think that started to just unnerve her.
16:27That may have been where a lot of the issues started.
16:30In WrestleMania V, are you gonna be a macho man? Randy Savage is cornered.
16:35When you take real-life situations, and you put it in front of the camera, it's great because it's usually very relatable.
16:43No! No!
16:45However, when you take your real-life feelings, and you put them on camera, and you make it a part of a storyline,
16:53because they don't know you. They don't know what you guys do when the door's shut at night. They have no clue.
17:01But they know you're really married, and they know what you said on TV, you sorry son of a bitch.
17:07Life imitating art, and sometimes art imitates life. And then you get really fucked up.
17:16Being on the road 24-7 with your spouse, it's not an easy task.
17:25You know, Elizabeth, as his wife, had those same duties as I did.
17:30I did travel with Randy and Liz a lot, and their relationship was that of a married couple on the road.
17:38They didn't go out and party, went back to the room, went to bed, and they had their privacy.
17:42You'd get back to the room, and she would have to scrub the blood off the boots like I did to have to Terry's from their wrestling match.
17:49You know, you'd put the wrestling boots in the bathtub of the hotel and wash them off, get all the blood off,
17:54because they had to wear them the next night. And I'm sure he probably wanted to get laid.
17:58And I'm sure she probably didn't, you know? And maybe she did and he didn't.
18:02Then her, unlike me, she has to think about herself. What the hell dress is she gonna wear?
18:08I had my wife involved for a while, and it's brutal, man, having your wife around the guys.
18:12They did practical jokes that were cruel. I'm telling you, they used people's suitcases as toilets.
18:19There were no boundaries. That was the problem. I mean, you know, cutting somebody's hair off while they're passed out.
18:25I mean, I wouldn't want my wife around that shit.
18:27The pattern seemed to be that Randy wanted to keep Elizabeth away from the boys as much as possible.
18:34I don't blame them, really.
18:37Randy being so intense and being so watchful over her, she couldn't have freedom.
18:43And I think you can't smother somebody all the time like that.
18:46Elizabeth wanted to leave the road, and she wanted Randy to quit.
18:51Randy wasn't done yet. Randy was still enjoying it.
18:54I knew she needed to have more socialization and more friends, and she missed having the normal life.
19:00But Liz apparently was looking for something more than that than I realized at the time.
19:06By 1990, an exhausted Elizabeth asked for some time off the road.
19:10And the WWF sees this as an opportunity to reinvent the Macho Man into a new kind of villain.
19:16We did Randy as the heel. We made Randy the Macho King and thought the sensational Sherry to be his manager.
19:23Another female and make the Queen. Sherry was a women's wrestler.
19:28And the guys loved working with Sherry because she could take it. She was tough as nails.
19:32Queen Sherry adds a whole new dimension to the Macho Man's character.
19:36But the fans demand to see wrestling First Lady back in her rightful place.
19:40Every day that Randy spent with Sherry, everybody said, let's bring Elizabeth. Where's Elizabeth? Where's Elizabeth?
19:46I mean, the people hungered for Elizabeth.
19:49Going into WrestleMania, Randy was looking to take the summer off.
19:52He and Liz were looking to spend time together as husband and wife, not being on the road all the time.
19:59So the idea was WrestleMania 7 have a career match with the Ultimate Warrior.
20:05If Warrior lost, he was gone. If Randy lost, he was gone.
20:08We had shown earlier in the night that in attendance that night was Elizabeth in the crowd, sitting like in the fourth row.
20:17And when Sherry started to kick Randy and go after Randy, Liz made her way to the ring and pulled Sherry off.
20:24And, you know, Liz is there fighting for a man.
20:26And people are slowly applauding and you see grown men with tears in their eyes.
20:33That's emotional. That's good stuff. We got them.
20:37Because it was, they felt it, you know, and people could feel that too, you know.
20:42Getting back together, getting back to the one you really love.
20:45Elizabeth, will you marry me?
20:51Despite being married in real life for seven years, which was kept secret from fans,
20:56Randy and Elizabeth's characters finally tied the knot on live television on August the 26th, 1991.
21:02Oh, yeah.
21:05And they were excited. I mean, they were like two kids planning for their wedding.
21:10I think it was just the first time you ever saw the Macho Man break down and have a human emotion other than anger.
21:15You saw him actually happy and you saw him emotionally care for someone outwardly, which you had never seen before.
21:23Liz and Randy are having this beautiful wedding ceremony.
21:28Now cue the devil.
21:33They did the reception and bullshit.
21:36Putting the snake in the box and all that crap.
21:38They got it started and they kicked it off.
21:4014, 15 foot King Cobra.
21:43Look at that son of a bitch.
21:45A beautiful, beautiful fucking animal.
21:48Randy came to me.
21:50He said, um, so tonight I hear we're gonna do something a little different.
21:55I'm like, yeah, man.
21:57The snake's biting.
21:58He's like, yeah.
21:59So, uh, is the snake, uh, been fixed?
22:03Fuck yeah.
22:05It's the fucking Cobra, you dumb shit.
22:08Of course it's been fixed.
22:10Maybe it has and maybe it hasn't.
22:13How about the snake biting you first?
22:16Fuck you, man. I ain't fucking like...
22:18Oh, you don't want it to bite you.
22:21Cause if you won't let the snake bite you, that tells me it hasn't been fixed.
22:25He was dead fucking serious, man.
22:27So, I went and got the snake, rolled up my pants leg and let it bite me.
22:32And, uh, he's like, don't move.
22:34Don't take no pills.
22:35Don't take no antidote.
22:36Don't take no serums.
22:38No fucking nothing, brother.
22:40Fuck.
22:41For like 20 minutes, man.
22:43He's like, I'm gonna get you a little key.
22:45You know how you feel, man?
22:46I'm a bit pissed off right now, all right?
22:48To be honest with you.
22:49So then it was time for that snake to bite him.
22:51I got the snake out and turned my back to him.
22:53And I fucking paintbrushed the shit out of that snake.
22:57Pissed it off.
22:59And then whenever I turned around, that snake was just...
23:02You know, he was great, ready.
23:05And I got in close to Randy and he latched on and would not let go.
23:10I mean, the time that you see it on television was nothing to the real time.
23:15It went on forever.
23:17Vince finally was sending Elizabeth down.
23:19Get this snake off of it.
23:21Get it off of it.
23:22Vincent now.
23:23I'm like, I'm fucking trying.
23:25And I'm pulling on the snake and it wouldn't let go.
23:27It's just chewing on me.
23:29And it's like anything else.
23:30First time it's ever been done.
23:32It shocks people, man.
23:33The visual, you know.
23:35Bottom line is nobody ever felt sorry for Randy.
23:38They felt sorry for her.
23:39It's not a good situation like with me whenever I slapped Elizabeth.
23:44And then they tried to go home to see her family.
23:49Grandpa meets him on the porch and says, you're not coming in this house, boy.
23:54You promised us you'd always protect our little girl.
23:57The only way he could gain access back into their home was basically kicking my ass and getting even.
24:04So it's true.
24:06You know, these are Tennessee folks, bro.
24:08You know.
24:09Rats was real.
24:10People are fake.
24:12What was the state of their relationship at the time when they were getting married again?
24:15I would say tumultuous.
24:17On the verge of breaking up.
24:21So Terry had been cast in a movie called Mr. Nanny.
24:24It required us to be down in Miami for about eight weeks.
24:27So Liz called and goes, when are you going to be back home?
24:30And I said, I'm going back the next week.
24:33She's like, oh.
24:34She's like, Randy, can I please go?
24:36I heard her talking to him on the back of the phone.
24:37She's like, can I please go?
24:38I want to go help Linda with the kids.
24:40I just want to go see them and hang out with Nick and Brooke in the pool and stuff.
24:44And he's like, whoa.
24:45Only if you're going to be babysitting and you're going to be with Linda.
24:48She flew down with us.
24:50It was so much fun.
24:51She helped me unload the kids.
24:52We got the toys.
24:53We were hanging out.
24:54We're all going to go out to dinner, you know.
24:55I said, so I'll just go get ready.
24:57Do whatever.
24:58Come back from your workout or whatever.
24:59And 730, I'm thinking like, aren't we going to do our makeup together and our hair together,
25:03which is what we always did.
25:04So I'm kind of like knocking on her door.
25:06And I see the light is on.
25:08You can see under the door.
25:10But she's not answering.
25:12Where's Liz?
25:18In 1992, leaving her husband Randy Savage behind, Elizabeth travels alone to Miami to stay with
25:24Hulk Hogan and his wife Linda.
25:26Terry had to film the next morning and the whole next day goes on.
25:30And I see her at the pool.
25:31I'm like, Liz, where were you?
25:32You know, we were worried about you.
25:34And she's like, oh, well, I met this other gentleman that lives in the building.
25:37And he has an extra room here in the building.
25:40And he thought maybe I'd want to take it.
25:42The way I heard the story was that Liz wanted away from Randy.
25:46And so she contacted Hulk's wife Linda and went and stayed with them.
25:51Now, meanwhile, Randy is freaking out because he doesn't know where the love of his life is.
25:56Randy kept calling my room wanting to talk to Liz.
26:01And I was like, Liz is not here.
26:03I didn't say she had her own room.
26:05I just said, she's not here.
26:06I think she's with friends or something like that.
26:08And he goes, well, where is she?
26:09I was like, she's not here.
26:10She's not here.
26:11Randy was like, I'm going to fly down.
26:13You know, don't tell her because I don't like this.
26:15You know, she's never like missed my calls.
26:17And she should be answering or she should at least be calling me back.
26:21Three hours later, he lands, comes in blazing in the door, blazing, guns fired, looking for Liz.
26:28And I'm sitting there and he's like, where's Liz?
26:31I was like, Randy, look, I don't know.
26:34He's like, what?
26:36You know, where do you think she is?
26:38You know, who was she with last?
26:41What did you guys do?
26:42I'm going to go find Liz and I want you sitting here in the chair.
26:46And if you so much as leave this chair and you smarten her up and tell her that I'm here looking for her, you're going to hear about it.
26:52I'd never seen Randy like this before in my life because I'd never even seen him argue or fight.
26:57Seriously, I really hadn't.
26:59So him and Terry went out the door and I didn't know what was going on.
27:03I just knew I wasn't leaving the chair.
27:05And I guess he found her.
27:07Terry came back to the room and said, I left them on their own.
27:10They're sorting it out.
27:11So they got in their rental car and they drove back home.
27:13And he basically told Terry in so many words or less, like, Liz is not coming back to Miami.
27:17And there's no more hanging out.
27:19Party's over.
27:20This is ridiculous.
27:21She just went too crazy, you know?
27:23I think Randy felt, you know, again, life imitating art, that Hulk was taking Liz's side.
27:30Well, that was the beginning of the end for them, but the beginning of the end for Randy and Hulk too.
27:35Because Randy always thought that Hulk had something to do with it.
27:38And I've been Hulk for 39 years.
27:40Hulk had nothing to do with that.
27:42He was shooting the dadgum movie.
27:44I think that when you separate and, like, she's at home and he's on the road, that all of a sudden it's a newfound freedom.
27:54And that's a whole brand new life on both parts.
27:56You know, it was just a normal day.
27:58I was just home with the kids.
28:00Beautiful day out.
28:01And this is probably, like, five, six weeks after we wrapped filming and we left Miami.
28:07You know, hard line phones.
28:08I'm in the kitchen.
28:09I'm giving Nick a bottle or whatever.
28:11And it's Liz.
28:12I'm like, hey, Liz.
28:13God, I miss you.
28:14How are you?
28:15You know?
28:16And it was, like, dead silent on the other end of the phone.
28:19I was like, Liz?
28:21She's like, Linda?
28:24I left Randy.
28:25I was listening to her and she was, like, sounded like she was at a gas station or something.
28:32I could hear cars going by on the freeway, you know?
28:34I was like, oh, my God.
28:35She goes, I'm done.
28:36I left him.
28:37And I said, oh, my God.
28:38I said, are you home?
28:39Can I come help you?
28:40Can I talk to you?
28:41I was like, I need to talk some sense to this girl, you know?
28:43And she wasn't home.
28:44She goes, nope, I'm halfway to Miami.
28:46I'm going back.
28:47I met some people there and I've got a place to stay.
28:50She goes, just promise me don't tell Randy that I'm on the road.
28:54She had a convertible little red Cadillac.
28:57And I just, the mental picture in my mind was her, like, a country music video or something
29:02with two suitcases in the back and her just driving her convertible down to Miami
29:06with the wind blowing through her hair, probably feeling free and relieved.
29:11The constant submission that Randy had on her.
29:15And it wasn't that he was trying to do it out of being mean or anything.
29:19It was just his protective way, but she had just had enough of that suppression.
29:24When Randy and Liz split up, you could tell there was a change in the mancho man.
29:29You know, he was a little drawn back.
29:31He really wasn't as intense as he was when they were together.
29:35Once she was gone, he really kind of just went silent.
29:40He, he lost all, he didn't really care about the business.
29:44You know, it was like the lights were on but nobody's home.
29:47Sad, but yet there was that exterior that was, okay, I gotta move on.
29:53I think Randy was tormented.
29:55You know, I mean, he had all the money, all the stuff and all that,
29:58but he always, you know, was never, I don't know, he was always so wound up.
30:03And I'm thinking, Mach, like you've made it, bro.
30:06Like, what's missing?
30:07Like, what is, what's it gonna take to make you happy?
30:10One day, we were sitting in the car,
30:13waiting for Vince to come down, take him forever.
30:17And Vince gets in the car, shuts the door and says,
30:20gentlemen, Randy Savage is now the proud property
30:23of World Championship Wrestling.
30:26And we're like, what happened?
30:37WCW was owned by Ted Turner, competition to the WWF.
30:42Ted Turner had started to try and lure talent from the WWF over to WCW.
30:50Hulk Hogan was the first talent that made the big job.
30:53The Macho Man, Randy Savage, he's interested in coming over
30:56because in WWE, Randy had been put out to pasture by Vince McMahon.
31:01Vince McMahon basically said, Randy, you're too old.
31:04Your gimmick's over, your shtick is done.
31:06You're gonna be a color commentator.
31:08And that hurt Randy.
31:10I didn't want to reinvent a wheel that I believed already worked.
31:13And by the way, when Randy Savage came over...
31:16What a light of your life!
31:19Yeah!
31:20What happened to a Slim Jim?
31:21$750,000 a year of Slim Jim money came with him.
31:25And Slim Jim wasn't interested in changing Randy Savage.
31:30WCW has given the Macho Man a renewed career,
31:33but his protective nature won't allow him to leave his one true love behind.
31:37Randy called her up and said,
31:39come on in, you can be a part of the storyline, make some money.
31:42He's divorced from Elizabeth at this point,
31:44but cares about her enough that he gets her a $250,000 a year contract.
31:49Just to kind of stand around and look pretty.
31:51She wasn't even on camera much.
31:52But he wanted her looked after.
31:54Except this time, she was the villain and Randy was the babyface.
31:57It was perfect.
31:58She had changed so much.
31:59She wasn't like the same little quiet girl I remember.
32:03She was more talkative.
32:04So I said, what's happening?
32:05I go, were you dating anybody?
32:07Or she goes, well, I'm kind of like seeing Lex.
32:11And I go, you're like seeing Lex.
32:14I go, Lex is married.
32:15And she goes, I know.
32:17That's the problem.
32:18I go, this.
32:20That's not good.
32:22Lex Luger was oftentimes considered, you know, the second coming of Hulk Hogan.
32:27Lex had a million dollar body and he had a great look.
32:32Lex Luger is one of the top names ever in the professional wrestling industry.
32:37He's easy to hate because it's like, there's nothing wrong with him.
32:41She was head over heels over him.
32:45I could tell that.
32:46Paired together as part of a wrestling storyline,
32:49Elizabeth and Lex Luger's professional relationship evolves into a secret love affair.
32:55They were a very happy couple.
32:56They'd go work out in the gym together.
32:58They would spend a lot of time together.
33:00They were being a little bit sneaky, but adjoining rooms and stuff.
33:03And I guess you can't help who you're attracted to and who you follow.
33:06And I always liked Lex and I always liked Liz.
33:09And hey, if you guys make each other happy, go for it.
33:12So when the idea started bouncing around about blurring the lines, if you will,
33:18between scripted and reality with regard to Elizabeth's relationship with Randy
33:23and their marriage and their divorce.
33:24Randy, she's your ex-wife.
33:26At least you over this much, man.
33:29I was really shocked at first that Randy would entertain some of those ideas.
33:34I'm really wrong and I need you.
33:37And I don't think I can reach you.
33:40He was still very protective of Elizabeth, but in a much different way.
33:44He watched Lex like a hawk.
33:46It wasn't just that they were in a relationship.
33:49Lex was married and had kids.
33:51Everybody knows that that's going to end badly one way or the other.
33:54Where are you living?
33:55Do you have an apartment or whatever?
33:57She's like, no, he's got another place.
33:59He's keeping me in.
34:00But the weird thing is that it's in the same complex as where he and his wife live.
34:04I go, oh, I said, this is not good.
34:08It was pretty apparent also that they were both, um, they were pilled up.
34:16They were just spending too much time doing too many drugs.
34:20I've never witnessed her doing any kind of drugs or pills.
34:24And in fact, when we'd go out and drink, she'd have two glasses of wine
34:28and she'd be already like feeling it.
34:30I'm like, oh, it's time to go home, you know?
34:32Thing is, Liz doesn't weigh 270 like me and Lex.
34:36Liz weighs about 85 pounds.
34:39So she's taking the same amount of pills that a 300-pounder's taking.
34:43You know, they had some kind of a fight and she fell down the stairs
34:47and she ended up with two black eyes.
34:50April of 2003, squad cars respond to a domestic disturbance at the home of Lex Luger.
34:55Upon their arrival, the police notice Elizabeth has bruised eyes.
34:59At first, she denies the injuries are from Luger, but she eventually admits to the authorities that he did hit her.
35:04Luger was charged with misdemeanor counter-battery and released on bail.
35:08I thought, falling down the stairs gave her two black eyes? Hmm.
35:13Talk about the idea of getting Lex Luger on your podcast and talk about that process and what you wanted to talk to him about.
35:20When Nick, my producer and co-host suggested, you know, that we bring Lex on.
35:26You know, I was, I had mixed emotions because I, I still, honestly, Lex, I'm sorry, but I still had some resentment.
35:35Even during the time we were making the call.
35:39But Lex rose to the occasion. He was, he was brutally honest.
35:43I'll, I'll never forget, um, that the, uh, it was actually early morning hours.
35:52We were having just, uh, an evening watching movies together and kicking back and having, uh, sipping on some vodka and popping pills and literally, um, before the 911 call, I realized she had stopped breathing.
36:07Okay, what I want you to do, I want you to go over and see if she's breathing.
36:13Help, please send somebody here so she knows what they're doing.
36:16I understand that, sir. I have somebody on the way.
36:20But if she's not breathing, you need to help her breathe.
36:24You need to find out whether or not she's breathing.
36:27Go over to her, sir.
36:30Oh, my God.
36:31Lay down and check and see if she's breathing.
36:34Look at her chest, see if it's rising.
36:36It doesn't look like it is. I'm scared of death.
36:39Terry called me and he just said, you know, really, really bad news.
36:44Liz is dead.
36:46And, like, when he said that, I, I just felt like somebody poured a bucket of ice on me.
36:51Oh, I was at home in Atlanta.
36:54Heard it on the morning news.
36:59I was pissed.
37:01I was pissed because I saw Lex manipulating and exploiting a vulnerable person and using prescription drugs to do it.
37:14They told me that Elizabeth had just passed.
37:16She, I thought she was going to make it and she was going to go to the hospital and they're going to regret that she didn't make it.
37:20And then I was arrested on, I think, 17 felony counts and all the drugs they found in my house.
37:26I thought I had the drugs under control, but ended up having, getting control of Elizabeth and I.
37:33The tragedy of that, to witness that firsthand, it was, it was a very dark time, without a doubt.
37:40I knew he was telling the truth.
37:42I knew he was being honest and accepting responsibility.
37:45I look at him so differently now.
37:48Um, I respect him, which I never thought I'd hear myself say.
37:54I want to ask you about, you know, Miss Elizabeth, you know, her, her loss and everything.
37:59And you, earlier in your career, you, you guys helped each other out in your careers.
38:04Yeah, we were actually married and, uh, we got a divorce, like, which happens in life sometimes.
38:09And we had separation, we had closure, but, uh, I really feel real bad for her and her family.
38:14And, uh, it was a situation where we hadn't seen each other in about maybe five, six years.
38:19But, you know, we had closure and we said hello and everything was all good.
38:23But, uh, I feel bad for her family.
38:25Elizabeth tragically passed away at the age of 42.
38:28But grieving fans would have no idea that this epic saga was approaching its final chapter.
38:34This is my brother getting married for the second time to the lovely Lynn Payne Poffo.
38:46In 2010, seven years after Elizabeth's death, Randy Savage finds love once again.
38:52He, you know, weathered the storm through his divorce and he was finally kind of on his feet.
38:58He was remarried and, and just starting to kind of really enjoy his life.
39:03When Randy retired from wrestling, he was able to devote a lot of his time to the Special Olympics.
39:09That was his passion and he, uh, enjoyed his, uh, final years as a sedentary person.
39:16I was supposed to go to San Jose, California.
39:18American Airlines stopped in Dallas.
39:20I turned on my phone and there was a message on there and it said, uh,
39:24this is Largo Medical.
39:26Your brother and his wife were in a, uh, automobile accident.
39:31Um, and she's banged up and your brother's in critical condition.
39:36But the way they said it, I knew.
39:37I got a phone call early that morning from Lanny Poffo.
39:40Jimmy, yeah, Lanny.
39:41I hadn't had time to call yet cause it's early.
39:43He goes, no, listen, I'm coming back home.
39:45Why?
39:46And I could tell his voice was really shaky.
39:47He goes, what?
39:48He goes, I just got a phone call.
39:50He said, my brother just got killed.
39:52We want to share some breaking news with you now regarding, uh, Randy Macho Man Savage.
39:57Uh, you may know him, uh, well.
39:58He is a pro wrestler.
39:59Uh, we have just confirmed that, uh, Randy Macho Man Savage has died.
40:04Uh, coming from the Florida Highway Patrol, uh, there was a car accident.
40:07I was literally on my way to the airport to leave Clearwater when I got the phone call from Hulk or Terry.
40:14He crashed into a tree and died as a result of a heart attack.
40:18It was, it's hard to believe.
40:20Even now, sitting here doing this interview, it's hard to believe.
40:22It's true.
40:23Cause he, he was so full of life.
40:24He was so full of energy, brother.
40:26It's hard to imagine that.
40:28He's not here.
40:29Really.
40:32We're going to the site where my brother lost control and you're gonna see the tree.
40:37They've still got a few flowers, although they've taken some of them down.
40:42It's been seven years, you know.
40:54I judge people by the way, for example, Randy treated my kids.
40:59Oh, and that, that was it for me.
41:01If I start thinking about that too much, I'll cry.
41:03He went out of his way to be really, really good to kids.
41:08And that's how I judge people.
41:10He loved Brooke and he loved kids.
41:12I'm sure he probably would have said yes at any time and loved to have kids with Liz.
41:17I think it's a shame Liz isn't in the Hall of Fame.
41:20I think that she was called the first lady of wrestling for a reason.
41:24She was the first significant female star who never wrestled.
41:30Because he had her at his side made him even more special because she was so special.
41:36She was the first female that was depicted in a, in a powerful role.
41:43She was beautiful, quiet, but she was class.
41:46Elizabeth was class.
41:47Maybe a boy named Timmy would come up with her, his father, and they say,
41:53May I have your autograph, sir?
41:55He said, Oh, yeah. Here's the deal.
41:59Timmy, I want to sign your autograph, but you got to do something for me.
42:04What's that?
42:06How you doing in school, Timmy?
42:08How you doing in school? Are you doing your best?
42:10Because Timmy, I'm going to sign your autograph, but if you don't do well in school,
42:15if you don't do your best every single day, it's going to be real, real bad for you.
42:21Randy and Elizabeth were greater than the sum of their parts.
42:25They were undoubtedly key to each other's legacy.
42:28Fans had never before experienced a more emotional and relatable storyline on the complexity of love.
42:34Together, they transcended television and, well, wrestling, too.
42:39Even after the divorce, they still had a tremendous amount of love and respect for each other.
42:44They were true, true celebrities and icons.
42:47There's not one person on the whole planet Earth that doesn't know who they were.
42:50From a wrestling point of view, it's just one of the reasons for me.
42:53While both passed too soon, they left their legions of fans with an epic love story that will last long after they're gone.
43:01To me, Randy Savage is on the Mount Rushmore of wrestling.
43:05Could perform, could do an interview, had the right look.
43:08He was the macho man. He was an innovator. He was a creator.
43:12And he made the business better, in my opinion.
43:17I would call Randy Savage one of the all-time greats without a doubt.
43:21And the real human being, Randy Poffo, was really a very good man and a loving man.
43:27There was a lot of art imitating life.
43:29You know, sometimes in the world what really happens is not really planned.
43:33After you roll with it, then all of a sudden you really turn into that character or turn into that dilemma that takes place.
43:39I think people will always want to think of her as Miss Elizabeth Gordon, you know, Randy.
43:45You don't want to remember her being with somebody else.
43:48It just doesn't seem right.
43:49I mean, that's what we were fed, you know, that's what we believed.
43:53It's a great day.
43:54We went for two years after the past week.
43:55That was really great.
43:56But the likeness of Nintendo won some great things here.
43:58It didn't seem right.
43:59They were the most important part of everything.
44:00They only wanted to be able to find it.
44:01It isn't it.
44:02It's about the fact that they both were one of the most important things.
44:03They were like, everybody.
44:04I'm sorry.
44:05That was so.
44:06I don't know.
44:07It was a good day.
44:08I'm sorry.
44:09I was.
44:11I'm sorry.
44:12I got to be like.
44:14I'm sorry.
44:16I'm sorry.
44:17I'm sorry.
44:18I am sorry.
44:19I got to be like.
44:20I was.
44:21What?