10 Wrestlers Who Lived In The Shadow Of More Famous Relatives
2. Lanny Poffo
Related to: Macho Man Randy Savage
Could you even imagine being the Macho Man's real-life brother and also wanting to be a wrestler? And wanting to wrestle in the same era as the Macho Man? That's the situation Lanny Poffo, younger brother of Randy 'Savage' Poffo, found himself in during the mid-to-late '80s.
Lanny and Randy started out together in International Championship Wrestling, an indie promotion run by their father, Angelo Poffo, a WCW Hall of Famer. The Poffo Brothers were a hit in IWC, but once they made the jump to the pro circuit, their paths would diverge.
Debuting in WWE as Leaping Lanny, Poffo did anything he could to get noticed. He wore a suit of armor and read original poetry about his opponents before the match. He spent years working as enhancement talent until he landed the plum gimmick of The Genius, a know-it-all who got paired with the do-it-all, Mr. Perfect.
Although Lanny was a glorified jobber for much of his career, he was never on the receiving end of a squash. That's the benefit of your older brother being the Macho Man.
Lanny has gone out of his way to say the only reason he got booked in WWE was because he was part of a "packaged deal" with Randy, whom Vince McMahon was desperately trying to woo. Randy looked out for him backstage, too. So, hey, sometimes being in someone else's shadow isn't the worst thing.