Randy Savage biography in the works

Greg Oliver

Randy Savage biography in the works

There will soon be a reason to cry out “Oooohhhhhh yeaaahhhhhh!” in the aisle at your local bookstore. We can dig it, since there’s a biography on Randy “Macho Man” Savage in the works.

The author is Jon Finkel, who has also done books such as Hoops Heist, The Athlete, “Mean” Joe Greene, The Dadvantage, Heart Over Height and Jocks in Chief.

Finkel’s agent pitched around in the fall of 2022, and ECW Press bought it.

“I’ve been just cranking out interviews and writing and all that kind of stuff ever since,” Finkel recently told SlamWrestling.net.

It will be called Macho Man: Life of a Savage, and is scheduled for a spring 2024 publication.

The veteran author is a fan at heart, even if this is his first pro wrestling-only book (though 1996: A Biography covers some wrestling).

“Macho was one of my favorite entertainers / athletes growing up, and it was one of those that I always wanted to do when the time was right for it,” said Finkel. “I had a couple other books lined up with other publishers, in 2017, ’18, ’19, and finally decided it was time to get his out there — and they were really into it.”

There are countless biographies and autobiographies out there on wrestlers now, but nothing on the man who was born Randy Poffo.

“No one had tackled the definitive Macho biography. It seemed like a good time,” said Finkel.

Savage died in May 2011, a year after his father, wrestler Angelo Poffo, died. Angelo’s wife/Randy’s mother, Judy, died in 2017.

Lanny Poffo, who died suddenly on February 2nd, always fiercely protected his brother’s legacy. Finkel had numerous conversations with Poffo. “I didn’t want to move forward without Lanny onboard or I wouldn’t have done it,” Finkel said.

Finkel has been covering the gamut, from childhood friends of the Poffos in Downers Grove, Illinois, to fellow minor league ballplayers, to wrestlers.

Savage never gave many in depth interviews. Finkel’s job is to sort it all out.

“With someone like Macho where there’s so many conflicting stories … when you write a biography, you can stick with one, or you can say, ‘here’s a couple of versions.’ But with him, there’s so many in print that are just, not even contradictory, just completely different versions of some big moments in his life,” noted Finkel.

TOP PHOTO: Randy Savage in the WWF during a show in London, Ontario. Photo by Terry Dart

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