Lanny Poffo has passed away

[Chris]

Lanny Poffo has died.

The 68-year-old's passing was revealed on Thursday in a Facebook post by "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan. A cause of death has not been reported.

Duggan posted to Facebook:

With a very, very heavy heart, I've been asked to let everyone know about the passing of our friend and colleague Lanny Poffo, The Genius.

RIP Lanny

Poffo's father, wrestler/promoter Angelo Poffo passed away at 84 years old in 2010. His brother, "Macho Man" Randy Savage died in 2011 at the age of 58.

Poffo made his pro debut in 1974 for the short-lived All-South Wrestling Alliance before heading to the NWA's Big Time Wrestling territory along with his father. He spent the next decade working for promotions such as Portland Championship Wrestling, The Continental Wrestling Association, International Championship Wrestling, and had a short stint with Mid-South before joining WWE in 1985.

As "Leaping" Lanny Poffo, he was known for reciting poetry and tossing frisbees to the crowd in his early WWE career. In 1989, he then adopted "The Genius" gimmick and once defeated WWF Champion Hulk Hogan via count out on an episode of Saturday Night's Main Event. He also presided over his brother's coronation as "Macho King" in September 1989.

Poffo would sign with WCW in 1995 and there were plans for him to adopt the "Gorgeous George" gimmick that his brother purchased the rights to. He would tell Slam Sports that Gorgeous George was pivotal to the Poffo family's involvement in wrestling after George convinced Angelo not to quit the business in 1952. Angelo would later pay for George's funeral in 1964 when he passed away destitute at 48 years old.

Despite preparing for the role, WCW never booked Poffo but continued to pay him over the next five years. The Gorgeous George moniker ended up being given to Savage's girlfriend at the time, Stephanie Bellars.

Poffo inducted his late brother into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015.

He is a two-time holder of NWA Detroit's World Tag Team titles, once with his father and once with Chris Colt. He also held the NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Championships once along with his brother. Additionally, he is a former NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Champion and once held the NWA Mid-America Tag Team Championships along with Bobby Eaton.

Poffo spent his final years retired and living in Ecuador. An authorized biography of him was released in 2018.

https://www.f4wonline.com/news/wwe/former-wwe-star-lanny-poffo-passes-away-at-68-years-old

 

[Deezy]

Never grabbed me as a performer if I'm being honest, but his shoot interviews is where he was entertaining.

:RIP to a guy who could suck his own dick, that's admirable

 

[Cwalker]

The Genius. His brother dying absolutely killed me.

Lanny was a good hand and like Deezy said he was a hell of an interview

 

[Vegeta]

RIP

 

[Sky]

RIP Genius

 

[Chris]

 

[Sabretooth]

RIP. Have fun with the Macho Man for eternity.

 

[Chris]

 

[Gentleman Jake]

I did not expect this one




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[Wiseman]

For some reason, I thought he was older than that. With saying that RIP to Lenny.