Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
When talking about Lanny Poffo, there are many memories that come to mind about him. He is the son of pro wrestler Angelo Poffo, he is the brother of the late, great Macho Man Randy Savage, he was the “wrestling poet” Leaping Lanny and he was also known as “The Genius”…manager of The Beverly Brothers and Mr. Perfect. He holds a victory over Hulk Hogan albeit a count out win and he use to toss Frisbees to the fans at ringside.
He is mostly remembered as a lower to mid card talent during his tenure in the WWF. Many people, however, don’t recall he also worked for WCW for 4 years starting in 1995. Why? Because he never worked one match…never cut a single promo…never appeared at ringside…never did color commentary….he was simply never used. This…despite signing a pretty lucrative contract with WCW according to some at six figures. In fact, Chris Jericho wrote about this in his book stating that Lanny Poffo made more money in WCW sitting at home than he did working night after night stealing the show.
Before we criticize Lanny though, it wasn’t his choice. There were plans for him at one point in time. According to Poffo, his brother Randy Savage and WCW purchased the rights to the name “Gorgeous George” from independent wrestler Robert Kellum. In exchange for the name, Kellum secured a job within the company and a decent push under his new name of “The Maestro.”
Lanny was to debut under that moniker and be a wrestler/manager to the Macho Man. Lanny went as far as dying his hair blonde and watching countless hours of Gorgeous George tapes to prepare himself for the role. The only problem was…WCW never called him. He waited for a call that never came and when he called the offices in Atlanta to find out when he would debut…he received the cold shoulder. It was almost as if Eric Bischoff signed so many talents that he lost track of a few here and there.
The Gorgeous George moniker eventually went to Randy Savage’s then girlfriend Stephanie Bellars, who served as Savage’s valet. Now, without a gimmick, Lanny Poffo was rendered even more useless to WCW management.
There was/is an Urban Legend that to get their (WCW) money’s worth out of Lanny Poffo…Bischoff used Lanny as WCW’s one time mascot…Wild Cat Willie. It is a rumor that Poffo vehemently denies as being factual.
In the end, Lanny Poffo became WCW’s answer to JTG. A man who was paid to do absolutely nothing. A shame really…because Lanny although not as well rounded as his brother…was a solid performer. A wrestler who certainly could have added something to the promotion. Was it an oversight not to use him? Was it simply Bischoff’s ego to acquire and just collect former WWF talents? Whatever the reasoning, definitely a missed opportunity for both Lanny and WCW.
David Fullam
And no wonder they went out of business.