Early career (1974–1979) 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. Poffo remained in the promotion for several months, defeating Cowan in a rematch and also gaining a win over The Great Fuji. On a card on July 9, 1974, in Atlanta he teamed with his father Angelo Poffo for the first time, defeating the veteran team
The Royal Kangaroos. Still in his rookie year, Poffo and his father then headed to
Big Time Wrestling, one of the varied promotions affiliated with the
National Wrestling Alliance at that time. In their initial match with BTW, Lanny and Angelo lost by disqualification to
Lou Thesz and
Mighty Igor on November 30, 1974, at a house show in Detroit, Michigan. They quickly began a house show series against the team of
Bobo Brazil and
Fred Curry. The two wrestled as heels, with Angelo Poffo wearing a graduation gown and cap similar to the attire Lanny later adopted in the WWF. That year they won the
NWA World Tag Team Championship, and the father/son duo held it until 1975 with successful defenses over
The Mongols and Brazil and Curry. While still tag-team champions, the Poffos moved on to the
St. Louis Wrestling Club and continued to defend their championship. In 1975 they lost the title and returned to Big Time Wrestling. 1976 found Lanny wrestling primarily in singles matches in BTW,
NWA Western States, and the St. Louis Wrestling Club. On May 29, 1976, Lanny received his first shot at the
NWA World Heavyweight Championship, losing a televised match to
Terry Funk on
Wrestling at the Chase. He then defeated wrestlers such as Don Red Cloud, Raoul Guzman, and
Gary Fulton. Lanny moved to
Jim Crockett's
Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling in July 1976, and for the first time began teaming with his brother Randy Poffo (
Randy Savage). The Poffo Brothers immediately began touring on the MACW house show circuit, defeating such teams as Johnny Eagle and Manuel Soto or
Danny Miller and
Johnny Weaver for the remainder of the year. With his brother Randy having departed MACW after February, Lanny proceeded into 1977 as a singles wrestler once more. After gaining victories over George Rossi, Herb Gallant, and
Leroy Rochester, Poffo gained another shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship when he faced off against
Harley Race at an event in Chattanooga on February 4, 1978. This time Lanny wrestled the champion to a draw. In April 1978, Poffo moved on to
Emile Duprée's
Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling which had a weekly television spot on the Maritime region's
CTV-affiliated
ATV system and toured the Maritimes doing shows seven days per week with some days hosting two shows in two different towns. That year, he became the first ever AGPW International Heavyweight Champion. On May 23, 1978, he wrestled his brother (now known as Randy Savage) for the very first time, defeating him by disqualification at an event held in
Truro, Nova Scotia. Savage later defeated his brother for the title, which they traded in 1978 and 1979. 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. He faced a variety of opponents in PNW, including
Adrian Adonis,
Hiro Ota, and
Tully Blanchard. On February 22, 1979, he unsuccessfully challenged NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Champion
Roddy Piper. Following a defeat to
Gene Kiniski the next month, he departed the promotion.
International Championship Wrestling (1979–1984) In 1978, Lanny's father Angelo founded
International Championship Wrestling (ICW), an "outlaw" rival to NWA affiliates
Southeastern Championship Wrestling and
NWA Mid-America. Eventually Angelo further expanded and signed talent away from the
World Wrestling Association and
Jerry Jarrett's
Continental Wrestling Association (CWA), forming a strong rivalry with the other territories. It was into the maelstrom that Lanny Poffo entered in the summer of 1979 as he jumped to his father's promotion. He became a star in ICW and eventually became the promotion's champion, where he wrestled with and against
Randy Savage. The two brothers dominated the ICW Heavyweight Championship, and over the next six years, the only other wrestler to hold it was
Paul Christy. Lanny remained a mainstay of the promotion until it folded in 1984.
Mid-South Wrestling (1984) Shortly before the dissolution of ICW, Lanny began making appearances in
Bill Watts'
Mid-South Wrestling. His first matches came on October 12, 1983, when he defeated
Art Crews and
Doug Vines at a MSW television taping in Shreveport.
Continental Wrestling Association (1984–1985) On June 18, 1984, Lanny joined his brother Randy Savage who had jumped to the
Continental Wrestling Association (CWA), defeating
Bart Batten and
Johnny Wilhoit at an event in Memphis. They almost immediately entered into a feud with
The Rock 'n' Roll Express, a series that lasted throughout the summer. On October 1, 1984, he unsuccessfully challenged CWA International Heavyweight Champion
Eddie Gilbert. That winter Poffo and Savage moved on to a house show series against Gilbert and
Tommy Rich. In the spring, they began a feud with AWA Southern Champions
The Fabulous Ones, but were unable to capture the title. In June 1985, his brother departed for the
World Wrestling Federation (WWF), and Lanny was soon signed to a contract there as well.
World Wrestling Federation (1985–1992) "Leaping" Lanny Poffo (1985–1989) Poffo debuted in the
World Wrestling Federation (WWF) on June 21, 1985, at Madison Square Garden defeating
Terry Gibbs. Although both Poffo brothers joined the WWF at the same point, their relationship was never acknowledged by the promotion. While Lanny was not a headlining WWF star like his brother, he initially built a niche for himself wrestling as a babyface. In his first role as "Leaping" Lanny Poffo, he would bring
frisbees to the ring, read a short poem written on one of them that he himself had penned, and then throw the frisbees into the crowd. Each poem typically ridiculed the
heel whom he was about to wrestle, or built
heat in favor of the
face with whom the heel was feuding at the time. Lanny was initially undefeated in the WWF, defeating opponents such as
Mr. X,
Rene Goulet, Terry Gibbs, Barry O, and
Moondog Spot. He suffered his first defeat on July 27 edition of Championship Wrestling, teaming with Keith Diamond in a loss to
The Iron Sheik and
Nikolai Volkoff. This presages a series of losses to
Jesse Ventura,
Big John Studd, and
The Missing Link. During his early career in the WWF, he was not a main-eventer and wrestled primarily as enhancement talent on television shows. Rather than being
squashed like most
jobbers at the time, he displayed a greater amount of offense in his matches. He found great success on house shows, where he continued to defeat other undercard wrestlers. Poffo performed an agile, athletic, high-flying style at a time when big, heavy power wrestlers still dominated the promotion. He was one of the first wrestlers in North America to use moves like the Senton Bomb and the
moonsault, Lanny attained some infamy in late 1986 and early 1987 by competing in a series of
Bunkhouse Battle Royals in full knight's armor. In January 1988, Lanny 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. 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. He entered a house show series with
Jim Neidhart following the temporary dissolution of
The Hart Foundation, but was unsuccessful in these contests. His fortunes changed somewhat later in the summer when he feuded with
"Dangerous" Danny Davis on the house show circuit, pinning Davis on multiple occasions. Entering the fall of 1988 he faced numerous preliminary opponents and embarked on a lengthy winning streak, defeating
Barry Horowitz, Sandy Beach, and George Skaaland. He continued to compete against opening card talent for the remainder of the year and was largely successful. 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. After a smattering of wins, he then lost to
Conquistador No. 1 on February 20, 1989, in
Worcester, MA. These were followed by a pair of defeats to
Tim Horner in March 1989.
The Genius (1989–1992) On March 18, 1989, Poffo turned heel. He berated the local Boston sports teams, insulting them in his poetry, and instantly drew heat from the Boston crowd. He was subsequently reintroduced as "The Genius", a highly intelligent, On November 5, 1989, at ''
Saturday Night's Main Event XXIV'', The Genius faced
WWF World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan and spent much of the match taunting Hogan and drawing heat from the crowd with his absurd antics. Several minutes into the match, Mr. Perfect appeared at ringside where he goaded Hogan and defaced the championship belt by sticking chewing gum on it. During the match, Hogan tossed The Genius outside the ring, subsequently Mr. Perfect attended to the Genius. Hogan followed him outside the ring, and then threw The Genius back into the ring. With Hogan's back to Mr. Perfect and the referee distracted, Mr. Perfect struck him with the championship belt, putting him down for the count out. Later in the show, Mr. Perfect and The Genius destroyed the stolen belt with a hammer. This was the first time in 21 months (since a loss to
André the Giant at
The Main Event) that Hogan lost on WWF television. By the summer of 1990, The Genius had lost his feud with Beefcake and started to move back down the card. In June he renewed his house show series with Koko B. Ware; this time, "The Birdman" dominated on shows around the country. The feud continued through the summer and achieved national visibility on the August 27, 1990, edition of Prime Time, where Ware defeated The Genius on television. 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. That winter he engaged in opening match contests with
Dustin Rhodes,
Shane Douglas and
Jim Brunzell. After being on sabbatical for several months, The Genius returned in April 1991, wrestling Greg Valentine, Jim Duggan, and Bret Hart. He also participated in the joint WWF/
SWS tour and faced Jim Powers on each show. On June 26, 1991, he scored a major upset victory in his comeback when he defeated Jim Duggan at a house show in Lansing, MI. On the September 7, 1991, edition of WWF Superstars he became the manager of
The Beverly Brothers (
Mike Enos and
Wayne Bloom). Unlike during his time as Mr. Perfect's manager, he generally remained on the sidelines for much of the remainder of 1991 and wrestled very sporadically. In December 1991, The Genius teamed with The Beverly Brothers in six-man matches against
The Bushwhackers and Jim Neidhart. In the
1992 Royal Rumble, he managed The Beverly Brothers to a win over The Bushwhackers. He also continued to occasionally wrestle, and picked up a televised win over
Brian Costello on the July 6 episode of
Prime Time Wrestling and wrestled house show matches against Jim Brunzell,
Virgil, and
Bob Bradley. On the August 28 episode, he teamed with the Beverly Brothers in an unsuccessful effort against
The Legion of Doom and
Paul Ellering. At
SummerSlam 92, the Beverlys lost to
The Natural Disasters in a
WWF Tag Team Championship. He continued to manage them until the
1992 Survivor Series before being released in December 1992.
Hiatus and return (1993–1994) in 2010 After a six-month break, Poffo returned to action in June 1993 and joined
World Wrestling Superstars on a tour of Germany where he was matched against
Demolition Ax. He worked later that year for the
International Championship Wrestling Alliance and wrestled
Manny Fernandez,
Jeff Bradley, and
Brutus Beefcake. In December 1993 he appeared for
Anvil Promotions and Johnny West,
B. Brian Blair, and
Al Hardimon. On March 12, 1994, he traveled to Brantford, Connecticut, to face
The Warlord. After a nineteen-month absence from the WWF, Poffo returned in May 1994, defeating
Koko B. Ware on two house shows in Florida. His final WWF match was a loss to
Mabel on June 11 at an event in
Richmond, Virginia.
World Championship Wrestling (1995–1999) Poffo signed a
WCW contract in 1995, but may have wrestled only once during his time there (two sites record him as having defeated a preliminary wrestler in a dark match at a
WCW Saturday Night taping on October 14, 1997, in Fort Myers, Florida). In a later shoot interview, Poffo explained that he was contacted by his brother (Randy Savage), who was wrestling in WCW at the time, with the guarantee of a contract. Savage, who had purchased the
Gorgeous George gimmick, offered the character to Poffo, feeling that his brother would generate heat as a heel. Poffo signed the contract with WCW, began an intense training regimen, and bleached his hair blonde in preparation for his return to the ring. As he recalled, despite being under contract for five years and receiving regular paychecks, he was never contacted with any bookings. His own repeated calls to the office went unreturned, and he was simply never used by WCW. Ultimately, Savage gave the Gorgeous George moniker to his then-girlfriend and valet
Stephanie Bellars.
Later career (2000–2020) After a six-year sabbatical from professional wrestling, Poffo returned to be a part of Wrestle Reunion in
Tampa, Florida, on January 28–30, 2005, and defeated
"The Royal Stud" Adam Windsor at that event. He also wrestled in Canada as part of the Supershow later known as Great North Wrestling from 2007 to 2008 in
Ottawa,
Pembroke and
Hawkesbury, Ontario. Later Great North worked in
Thunder Bay in 2009 and New Brunswick in fall of 2010. Sometimes Poffo teamed with
The Honky Tonk Man and feuded with
Hannibal. Poffo has toured the East Coast of Canada with UCW, wrestling in
Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. After that tour, Poffo also wrestled in Poland and Florida, as well as a show in England. On September 3, 2011, Poffo won a 25-man battle royal for the vacated Great North Wrestling Canadian Championship in Hawkesbury, Ontario. He dropped to title to Jeremy Prophet three weeks later in Perth-Andover, New Brunswick. On May 6, 2012, in Reading, Pennsylvania, Poffo teamed with JD Smooth for a disqualification loss to "Pretty Ugly" in Regional Championship Wrestling's Rumblemania 8. On March 28, 2015, Poffo returned to WWE at the
2015 Hall of Fame induction ceremony to induct his late brother,
Randy Savage. He read poems and shared memories of Savage, before representing him the next day with the other inductees at
WrestleMania 31 On September 1, 2018, 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. Lanny also appeared on
ROH telecasts announcing the action, doing commentary from ringside using his extended vocabulary that he made famous during his Leaping Lanny days of the past. 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. ==Personal life and death==