1. Lanny Mark Poffo better known by his ring names "Leaping" Lanny Poffo and the Genius, was a Canadian-American professional wrestler, motivational speaker, poet, and actor.
57 Facts About Lanny Poffo
1. 2.
Lanny Poffo's brother, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was a professional wrestler.
3.
Lanny Poffo was the younger brother of "Macho Man" Randy Savage and grew up in Downers Grove, Illinois.
4.
Lanny Poffo made his debut in 1974, losing to Wayne Cowan in the opening match of an All-South Wrestling Alliance card held in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 16.
5.
Lanny Poffo remained in the promotion for several months, defeating Cowan in a rematch and gaining a win over The Great Fuji.
6.
On May 29,1976, Lanny Poffo received his first shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, losing a televised match to Terry Funk on Wrestling at the Chase.
7.
Lanny Poffo then defeated wrestlers such as Don Red Cloud, Raoul Guzman, and Gary Fulton.
8.
Lanny Poffo next moved to NWA affiliate Pacific Northwest Wrestling and made his debut on November 16,1979, when he wrestled Kurt von Steiger to a draw at an event in Portland, Oregon.
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Lanny Poffo faced a variety of opponents in PNW, including Adrian Adonis, Hiro Ota, and Tully Blanchard.
10.
Lanny Poffo became a star in ICW and eventually became the promotion's champion, where he wrestled with and against Randy Savage.
11.
Lanny Poffo remained a mainstay of the promotion until it folded in 1984.
12.
Shortly before the dissolution of ICW, Lanny Poffo began making appearances in Bill Watts' Mid-South Wrestling.
13.
Lanny Poffo then moved back into singles competition and wrestled Buddy Landel in numerous matches.
14.
On June 18,1984, Lanny Poffo joined his brother Randy Savage who had jumped to the Continental Wrestling Association, defeating Bart Batten and Johnny Wilhoit at an event in Memphis.
15.
In June 1985, his brother departed for the World Wrestling Federation, and Lanny Poffo was signed to a contract there as well.
16.
Lanny Poffo debuted in the World Wrestling Federation on June 21,1985 at Madison Square Garden defeating Terry Gibbs.
17.
Lanny Poffo was initially undefeated in the WWF, defeating opponents such as Mr X, Rene Goulet, Terry Gibbs, Barry O, and Moondog Spot.
18.
Lanny Poffo found great success on house shows, where he continued to defeat other undercard wrestlers.
19.
Lanny Poffo performed an agile, athletic, high-flying style at a time when big, heavy power wrestlers still dominated the promotion.
20.
Lanny Poffo was one of the first wrestlers in North America to use moves like the Senton Bomb and the moonsault, though commentators of the time referred to the latter as a "leaping backflip".
21.
Lanny Poffo made his first Saturday Night's Main Event appearance on October 5,1985, when he recited a poem at the wedding of Uncle Elmer.
22.
Lanny Poffo attained some infamy in late 1986 and early 1987 by competing in a series of Bunkhouse Battle Royals in full knight's armor.
23.
Lanny Poffo is noted for competing in a Battle Royal on Saturday Night's Main Event X at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit in 1987, where he was headbutted and eliminated by Andre the Giant, causing him to bleed heavily all over the floor and have to be carried out on a stretcher.
24.
In January 1988, Lanny Poffo defeated Sika the Savage Samoan on a series of upsets, and during the following month he began a lengthy house show series with the newly heel-turned Dan Spivey.
25.
Lanny Poffo continued to receive a strong push against lower-level competition like Barry Horowitz, but was unable to break through as a top tier member of the roster.
26.
Lanny Poffo entered a house show series with Jim Neidhart following the temporary dissolution of The Hart Foundation, but was unsuccessful in these contests.
27.
Lanny Poffo's fortunes changed somewhat later in the summer when he feuded with "Dangerous" Danny Davis on the house show circuit, pinning Davis on multiple occasions.
28.
Lanny Poffo continued to compete against opening card talent for the remainder of the year and was largely successful.
29.
Lanny Poffo began 1989 with a loss to Iron Mike Sharpe at a house show on January 1 in West Palm Beach, Florida, and this was followed by a televised defeat on January 13 in Boston to The Brooklyn Brawler.
30.
Lanny Poffo berated the local Boston sports teams, insulting them in his poetry, and instantly drew heat from the Boston crowd.
31.
Lanny Poffo was reintroduced as "The Genius", a highly intelligent, arrogant heel who wore an academic cap and gown to the ring.
32.
Lanny Poffo began a house show series against Jim Powers that spring and embarked on a lengthy winning streak.
33.
The Genius was featured on WWF Superstars during the coronation of Randy Savage as the new "King of the WWF"; Lanny Poffo read the proclamation for his real-life brother.
34.
Lanny Poffo continued to win in his house show series with Koko B Ware and at the same time began to serve as "executive consultant" for Mr Perfect.
35.
Lanny Poffo made his first PPV appearance at the 1990 Royal Rumble and wrestled Brutus Beefcake to a double disqualification after "The Barber" began cutting his hair and Hennig interfered.
36.
Lanny Poffo teamed with Hennig in losing efforts against Hulk Hogan and various partners.
37.
Lanny Poffo made a guest appearance on the October 13,1990, episode of Saturday Night's Main Event XXVIII, participating in Oktoberfest activities along with The Hart Foundation, Jim Duggan, Mr Fuji, and The Orient Express.
38.
Lanny Poffo continued to manage them until the 1992 Survivor Series before being released in December 1992.
39.
Lanny Poffo worked later that year for the International Championship Wrestling Alliance and wrestled Manny Fernandez, Jeff Bradley, and Brutus Beefcake.
40.
Lanny Poffo signed a WCW contract in 1995, but may have wrestled only once during his time there.
41.
Savage, who had purchased the Gorgeous George gimmick, offered the character to Lanny Poffo, feeling that his brother would generate heat as a heel.
42.
Lanny Poffo signed the contract with WCW, began an intense training regimen, and bleached his hair blonde in preparation for his return to the ring.
43.
Lanny Poffo's own repeated calls to the office went unreturned, and he was simply never used by WCW.
44.
Lanny Poffo wrestled in Canada as part of the Supershow later known as Great North Wrestling from 2007 to 2008 in Ottawa, Pembroke and Hawkesbury, Ontario.
45.
Sometimes Lanny Poffo teamed with The Honky Tonk Man and feuded with Hannibal.
46.
Lanny Poffo has toured the East Coast of Canada with UCW, wrestling in Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.
47.
On September 3,2011, Lanny Poffo won a 25-man battle royal for the vacated Great North Wrestling Canadian Championship in Hawkesbury, Ontario.
48.
Lanny Poffo dropped to title to Jeremy Prophet three weeks later in Perth-Andover, New Brunswick.
49.
On May 6,2012, in Reading, Pennsylvania, Lanny Poffo teamed with JD Smooth for a disqualification loss to "Pretty Ugly" in Regional Championship Wrestling's Rumblemania 8.
50.
On March 28,2015, Lanny Poffo returned to WWE at the 2015 Hall of Fame induction ceremony to induct his late brother, Randy Savage.
51.
Lanny Poffo read poems and shared memories of Savage, before representing him the next day with the other inductees at WrestleMania 31.
52.
On September 1,2018, Lanny Poffo appeared at All In in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, accompanying "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal as Lethal successfully defended the ROH World Championship against Flip Gordon.
53.
Lanny Poffo appeared on ROH telecasts announcing the action, doing commentary from ringside using his extended vocabulary that he made famous during his Leaping Lanny Poffo days of the past.
54.
Lanny Poffo wrestled his last match on March 5,2020, at The Reena Rumble in Toronto, alongside wrestlers Papa Shango, Virgil, Brooklyn Brawler and local stars The Megan Boys Buck Gunderson and Mysterion the mind reader.
55.
Lanny Poffo was married and had a daughter named Meghan from whom he had grandchildren.
56.
In March 2013, Lanny Poffo played a K9 police officer in the Investigation Discovery network's I Got Away With It.
57.
On February 2,2023, Jim Duggan, a longtime personal friend of the Lanny Poffo family, revealed that Lanny Poffo had died in New York City at the age of 68.