Lanny Poffo Talks Strange WCW Run, Randy Savage In WWE HOF, Seeing Eric Bischoff, Savage DVD

I recently interviewed Lanny Poffo, who wrestled on and off for the WWF for almost ten years. In the second and final part of the interview below, Poffo discussed his strange four-year run with WCW, the only time he saw Eric Bischoff, why Randy Savage had heat with WWE, the new Randy Savage DVD, why we shouldn't "hold our breath" for a Savage WWE Hall of Fame induction and more.

Click here for part one of the Lanny Poffo interview, where Poffo discussed getting into the business, the WWF signing him and brother Randy "Macho Man" Savage at the same time, getting busted open by Andre the Giant, the Genius gimmick, being paired with Curt Hennig and more.

You can follow Poffo on Twitter @LannyPoffo. You can also check out his website at GeniusLannyPoffo.com and purchase his two Amazon best-selling books, Wrestling With Rhyme and Limericks From The Heart (And Lungs!).

Wrestling INC: Your brother [Randy "Macho Man" Savage] also got you the job at WCW right?

Lanny Poffo: Yes.

Wrestling INC: During that time did you talk to Eric Bischoff or any of the higher-ups?

Poffo: There was a party at a Biltmore, and right next to me at a urinal was Eric Bischoff. We didn't say hello and I've never met the guy. Randy had an idea to make me Gorgeous George. I bleached my hair and got extension. Randy kept up with me, he wanted me to tan every day, and work out every day. He'd always check on me and say "when that phone rings you better be ready," and the phone never rang. I bleached my hair so much it left silver streaks in my naturally dark hair. Instead of looking like Gorgeous George, I looked like the scarecrow from Wizard of Oz. They never contacted me.

Wrestling INC: Did you ever try to use the gimmick on the indy scene?

Poffo: That's a hard gimmick to live up to, and I'd have to bleach my hair blonde. I don't wanna color my hair, I just wanna be myself-- I'm about to be 60. Don't get me wrong, if Vince McMahon called me tonight and said I needed dark hair I'd touch it up by the morning. If nobody is going to make me do it, then I'm not doing it. They're natural highlights.

Wrestling INC: What were your thoughts of WCW at the time?

Poffo: I thought it was great that they were using the luchadores. A lot of great talent you wouldn't normally see, like Rey Mysterio. The people were responding. The fact of the matter is, after the Montreal Screwjob, Vince McMahon turned a negative into a postive. When Vince McMahon because Mr. McMahon that was the straw that broke the camel's back and changed the momentum. People were watching WWE to see what was going on.

Wrestling INC: Did Randy [Savage] ever mention any desire to go back to WWE at all, or if he had any heat with Vince?

Poffo: We all enjoyed it there. I was lucky that I never drank, smoke, did drugs or spent all my money. On November 6, 1987, Randy started to hate WWE (referencing <Randy Savage asking that his father be included in a legends battle royal, only for WWE to turn it down). They said Killer Kowalski, Pat O'Conner, Lou Thesz, Bobo Brazil is gonna be there. My dad looked at Randy and said "there's a battle royal on the Meadowlands, can you get me on it?" Dad was always proud of how good he looked, and he still did. Randy said "don't worry, it's done," and thought he would have the stroke to do it. Later Randy grabbed me by the wrist and says "(expletives), they're not gonna let Dad in the battle royal because they're no good (expletives)."

Randy blamed the authority that Vince gave to Pat Patterson and Chief Jay Strongbow, and Randy used to treat those guys with a lot of respect. After this, Strongbow evidently got thrown out (in the battle royal) and broke his arm. Backstage he's walking around in the ring and Strongbow says, "Lou Thesz broke my arm," and Randy says, "Lou didn't break your arm, you're too fat to be in the ring, you're a disgrace." So Randy decided to not have respect for them. It didn't make him any friends, but they didn't like him anyway evidently. That was the time he changed his smile to a scowl and spent the rest of his time in WWE with a chip on his shoulder. I just saw a copy on the (new Randy Savage) DVD, the rough cut. I tell ya what, Pat Patterson's in it, and he verifies about everything I said about him. If Randy were alive today, he'd be really disappointed that one of them were dead.

Wrestling INC: There was a period in 1998 when his contract came up with WCW where many wondered if he were going back to WWF. Was that even an option for him of was he done with WWE by that time?

Poffo: If you get the new DVD, it'll go in depth about not only my opinion but every wrestler's opinion about the question you're asking. Even if there's an element of the truth to what I'm telling you, it's only one side of the coin. I certainly have nothing in it for me to fabricate. A lot of stuff happened. Triple H made a magazine interview and (called Hulk Hogan and Savage dinosaurs) and Randy got so upset that he went on his website and made a video. I don't suppose that got over in Connecticut. I couldn't believe how believable the WWE DVD was. They asked me questions like a shoot interview, and I answered like a shoot interview and I never thought in a million years they would use any of that, yet they used all of it. They even added excerpts from (Savage's website interview). Fans will have a lot of questions will be answered by this DVD.

I just wanted to say Randy was a great man, and you know he was. He was also a good man, and I think that's even more important. Randy knew deep in his heart that he was thankful to Vince McMahon for all he had. He was 32 when he finally got his break and the window of opportunity was closing. Whatever small argument they may have had, I think it's just ridiculous to not see the big picture that Randy loved Vince and Vince loved Randy.

Wrestling INC: Were you all contacted at all for the first DVD?

Poffo: I had nothing to do with it, nothing at all.

Wrestling INC: How was it working with them on this project?

Poffo: The head of this project, Kieran Bent, he's a phenomenal person. He said "do you think you can get your mother to do an interview?" and I said probably not because she's still upset that nobody from WWE sent condolences when my father died or my brother died, and she holds a grudge. I said I would talk to her. I said "mom do you want to be in this DVD?", and she said "absolutely not, they didn't send their condolences." I told her that this is for the "Macho fans", not the "Macho Man." The "Macho fans" that gave Randy his lifestyle and she is in a unique position as the surviving mother of the Macho Man and can provide stories about his childhood that nobody else can.

She did a fantastic job and I give credit to Kieran Bent. After my father and brother died I sold my house and live with my mother. She needs a little bit of help and I give her what I can. Bent came over with his sound crew and cameras and he brings in a bouquet of flowers, well an actual plant of flowers. Some people would do that and it would seem phony, but this didn't. This guy was excellent, and what a fantastic job he did on that DVD.

Wrestling INC: There's been a lot of talk about the Hall of Fame, have they contacted you about that?

Poffo: Don't hold your breath, that's all I have to tell you. The Ultimate Warrior had an opportunity to get a lot off his chest right before he died. No matter what, Randy's not going to get that opportunity. Who's going to make the speech? It's not going to be as good as the Macho Man. They waited so long to do it, and if they want to I'll help any way that I can. Randy enjoyed not being in the Hall of Fame because he was overqualified for the position. There's 120 people in the Hall of Fame and you probably can't name 60. We've all seen a million wrestlers, but we'll always remember the Macho Man. There's nothing the Hall of Fame that can give or take away from what he did.

Wrestling INC: You've wrote two books, Wrestling With Rhyme and Limericks From The Heart, how did those come about?

Poffo: The Limerick From The Heart did five printings and we sold out. They asked if I wanted to do a sixth printing or go on Kindle, and we decided on Kindle and they were very pleased. I was number 1 in Canada in wrestling books. I don't want to be childish, but do you know who Eric Cartman from South Park is? I got turned down by all the major publishers and WWE for my back. Now my books are international bestsellers, in the words of Eric Cartman "Na-na-na-na-na!"

Wrestling INC: I really appreciate you taking the time to speak with us. Do you have any other upcoming appearances or projects?

Poffo: November 2-7 I'm going to Ecuador. I don't like to travel much, but if the price is right I'll be there tomorrow night.

You can follow Poffo on Twitter @LannyPoffo. You can also check out his website at GeniusLannyPoffo.com and purchase his two Amazon best-selling books, "Wrestling With Rhyme" and "Limericks From The Heart (And Lungs!)".