'The Genius' Lanny Poffo Dead At 68

In some tragic news, Lanny Poffo has passed away.

By Andrew Pollard / February 2, 2023

WWE

In some tragic news, Lanny Poffo has passed away at the age of 68.

WWE Hall of Famer 'Hacksaw' Jim Duggan took to social media this afternoon to announce this sad news.

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.

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RIP Lanny pic.twitter.com/4ve4J2HSHT
— Hacksaw Jim Duggan (@RealHacksawJim) February 2, 2023

Best known to the majority of fans as the nefarious Genius in the then-World Wrestling Federation as the '90s rolled around, Poffo at that point in time made for a magnificent arrogant heel manager who recited poetry and helped his clients win by any means necessary.

Away from the Genius moniker, Lanny made his in-ring bow back in 1974, initially honing his craft in NWA affiliate promotions. It was in 1979 that Poffo joined his legendary father Angelo's burgeoning ICW, where he would become the company's World Champion and team with/feud with his brother Randy; a talent who would later become 'Macho Man' Randy Savage.

As Vince McMahon's WWF hoovered up talent as part of its expansion in the mid-'80s, Lanny signed with McMahon's organisation in 1985 as the babyface 'Leaping' Lanny Poffo. Those first few years with the WWF saw Poffo write poems on a frisbee and throw that out into the crowd - with said poem deriding the heel who Lanny found himself up against on any given night.

By the second half of 1989, 'Leaping' Lanny Poffo was replaced by the villainous Genius. While Lanny would still lace up his boots to compete, he would primarily serve as the manager for Mr. Perfect and later the Beverly Brothers throughout the early '90s. Like many established WWF acts, Lanny would sign with WCW in 1995, though he bizarrely wouldn't be used by the company during his five-year tenure with Ted Turner's promotion.

2015 would see Lanny Poffo return to WWE to induct his brother Randy into the the company's Hall of Fame.

All of us here at WhatCulture Wrestling would like to express our deepest condolences to the family, friends and fans of Lanny Poffo. May he rest in pest.

Authored by Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.

Posted On: 2nd Feb 2023

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Lanny Poffo The Genius