Jim Cornette says Angelo Poffo was cheap and passed some of that trait to his sons.
On an episode of Jim Cornette's Drive Thru, the host Jim Cornette spoke about legendary cheapskates in professional wrestling. He said some wrestlers are more "careful" than others with money and one wrestler in particular was head and shoulders above the others. Angelo Poffo, father of Randy Savage and Lanny Poffo, was extremely cheap and even performed as a character exemplifying that.
"The all-time legendary 'careful' individual in the wrestling business was Angelo Poffo. I'm sure Lanny will note this with pride, his gimmick in ICW was The Masked Miser. He had this big sparkly cowl, a jacket, and a mask to match. Angelo Poffo always looked great in the ring and his gear looked good. But he was the miser, he was the guy to take it so far as to go into a restaurant, get hot water, and use ketchup for soup," said Cornette.
The frugal nature of Angelo Poffo was passed on to the wrestler's he trained at International Championship Wrestling (ICW). Cornette said Angelo Poffo told his trainees strange rules for saving money.
"Rip Rogers was a protege of the Poffo family in ICW. He says that one of Angelo's rules was 'don't wash your clothes anymore than you absolutely have to' because the suds will break down the fibers and cause you to have to buy new clothes quicker," said Cornette
Angelo Poffo's "miser" character was one he used for a short time. Cornette could not say if his miser gimmick was created directly because of Angelo Poffo's penny pinching ways. Below you will find a video of Angelo Poffo performing as "The Masked Miser."
Cornette also said Savage and his brother Lanny Poffo inherited some of their father's calculated spending, but Cornette believe the two sons were never as extreme as Angelo Poffo. Cornette also named other wrestlers who were know for being cheap. He named Troy Graham and Bobby Fulton as other wrestlers who held tightly onto their money.
Jim Cornette's Drive Thru is available at MLWRadio.com.
