Lanny Poffo, the brother of Macho Man Randy Savage and the former WWE Superstar known as The Genius, has passed away at age 68.
His death was announced by “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan in a tweet who wrote, “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.”
Details surrounding his death remain unknown at this point.
Poffo started his professional wrestling career in 1974 and wrestled for the NWA for several years before landing in the WWF in 1985. He came to the WWF as Leaping Lanny Poffo, bringing frisbees to the ring and reading short poems.
Eventually he morphed into The Genius gimmick in 1989 after he turned heel. His biggest match in his WWF career came in November 1989 where he headlined Saturday Night’s Main Event against Hulk Hogan for the title. The Genius went on to have partnerships with Mr. Perfect and The Beverly Brothers. He was released from the company in late 1992 and his last appearance was at the Survivor Series that year.
Poffo had a very short stint with WCW although he signed a five-year deal with the company but only wrestled once while he was still getting paid to stay at home.
He inducted his brother into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015.