Remembering a Genius: Lanny Poffo's greatest moments
With the news of Jay Briscoe's passing still fresh, we now bid farewell to The Genius Lanny Poffo.
On the morning of February 2nd WWE Hall of Famer and friend of Poffos', Hacksaw Jim Duggan took to Facebook with the news that Lanny had passed away:
" 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,' Duggan wrote on social media. 'RIP Lanny."
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 https://t.co/4ve4J2HSHT
Poffo was a second-generation wrestler, descending from the legendary Poffo family. His father was the late Angelo Poffo, and of course, his brother was WWE Hall of Famer Macho Man Randy Savage.
Lanny was best known for his time as a WWE Superstar in the late 1980s, until the early 1990s. Lanny was a well-spoken and a very fan-friendly person who is remembered for his poems that he would recite and the frisbees he would often toss into the crowd before his matches.
In this article, we will look at some of the greatest moments from the career of the legendary Lanny Poffo.
#3 - NWA World Tag Team Championship(Detroit version) with Angelo Poffo
In the early 1970s, Lanny Poffo broke into the wrestling business during the peak of the territory era. The National Wrestling Alliance was the premier company to work for at the time, with events being held in every corner of the country with the best and biggest names in the industry.
Detroit and St. Louis were two of the biggest and most popular regions under the NWA umbrella for quite some time. As Lanny began his career, the Detroit and St. Louis regions were two areas where Poffo broke out and made a name for himself.
Lanny started teaming up with his father, Angelo, while he was in Detroit and together they had legendary feuds with some of the biggest names of the time, including The Mongols and Bobo Brazil, just to name a few. Lanny and Angelo eventually captured the NWA World Tag Team Championships in early 1975 and defended their titles against the very best tag teams until finally losing the belts while in the St.Louis territory.
#2 - Lanny Poffo becomes the first ICW World Heavyweight Champion
Angelo Poffo wanted to create a competitive alternative for fans to compete against the National Wrestling Alliance. In 1978 he started International Championship Wrestling. ICW featured stars like Ernie Ladd, The Masked Assassin, Ronnie Garvin, and of course, Randy Savage and Lanny Poffo. Lanny and Randy would go on to become the primary faces of the company for most of its storied history.
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ICW created several championships. They had the ICW United States Heavyweight Championship, the ICW Television Championship, the ICW Southeastern Tag Team Titles, and several other championships as well. But the premier and main event title for ICW was the World Heavyweight Championship. The title was the first championship for the company and Lanny Poffo was the first person to hold the title, becoming the inaugural ICW Heavyweight Championship on May 10, 1978, after defeating Joe Banek. Lanny held the title for nearly a whole year during his first of three title reigns.
#1 - Lanny Poffo inducted Macho Man Randy Savage into the WWE Hall of Fame
Macho Man Randy Savage is undoubtedly one of the most charismatic wrestlers of all time. Wrestlers today still emulate his style and attempt to replicate his maneuvers. Savage was iconic by all means and was certainly worthy of being in the Hall of Fame. With that said, Randy had a desire for his father and brother to be inducted along with him...or not at all. However, Lanny Poffo decided to allow WWE to induct Randy solo and his acceptance speech was absolutely legendary.
After being introduced by Hulk Hogan, Lanny came up to the podium and delivered his best form of poetry ever. During his acceptance speech, Lanny spoke about the pain of the past and the importance of moving forward. He talked about his brother and his audacity to live life on his terms. Lanny definitely made the Macho Man proud.
Lanny Poffo was years ahead of his time. He was incredibly intelligent and as talented as anyone. He had great feuds and matches with some of the very best, but his greatest moment came on March 28, 2015, when he stepped up to the stage and proudly inducted his brother, Macho Man Randy Savage, into the WWE Hall of Fame.