STW - Miss Elizabeth [Show Notes] (Patreon)

Welcome to Something to Wrestle With - Bruce Prichard. Bruce - last week you & Eric Bischoff got to discuss the Montreal Screwjob and the reaction was tremendous. What did you think of the show?

Let’s get to the topic at hand - Miss Elizabeth!

Elizabeth Hulette was born in Frankfort, Kentucky on November 19th, 1960.

Wrestling Observer 5/12/03

“Elizabeth Hulette was described universally within wrestling as a sweet and beautiful woman, whose sudden and unplanned stardom in the late 1980s never went to her head. At her peak, with the possible exception of Rena Mero as Sable, she was the most popular female performer in the history of the business outside of Japan. In her heyday as the shy, demure Elizabeth from 1985 through 1992 in the WWF, she was the idol and role model to virtually every young girl who watched wrestling, and the first crush of a generation of young television wrestling fans. It was a role not planned for her, nor did anyone expect it to take off the way it did. And ironically, despite the success of the role, no woman in wrestling has ever been put in a similar role, including herself when she returned in a far less effective role with WCW in 1996.”

Would you agree with that assessment Bruce? Outside of Sable - the most popular female performer in the history of the business before the explosion of the modern woman athlete?

Wrestling Observer 5/12/03

Hulette, who grew up without a father, according to those she confided in later in life, seemed drawn to controlling men. While nobody who knew her had anything negative to say about her personally, it was noted that if her real life story was ever told, it would make for a fascinating television movie. She started dating Poffo, who was nine years older than her, and went immediately after her divorce to Miami attorney Cary Lubetsky, for whom she converted to Judaism.

How much did you ever get to sit and discuss her life with her? Would it be a made for TV movie?

How much did you & Randy ever get to talk about Liz and how they met?

 “When she first met Poffo, he was with a woman named Debra Szotecki (second generation woman wrestler Debbie Combs). As the story goes, when Randy first met Liz, she was heavy. Feeling she needed to lose weight to get him, she dropped weight, became a knockout, and the two hooked up. In such a small operation, she quickly became part of the family business. She would sell programs at the shows and helped out on office work. By 1983, she was appearing in front of the camera as the pretty face who hosted the local TV shows and introduced the video clips.

Did you ever see her on ICW TV back then? Did you ever hear the story of why Liz was brought onto WWF TV to be with Randy? Was it Randy’s request or was it something similar to Vince meeting Rena & Marc Mero and deciding that Rena would be a TV character?

On December 30, 1984, Elizabeth and Randy were married in Frankfort, Kentucky.

“All major heels at the time were also hooked up generally with one of the variety of heel managers, but Savage came in without a manager. They did an angle where all the managers in the promotion were bidding for Savage’s services, which only served to make him seem more special than any of the larger but less athletic heels. When the angle played out after several weeks, Savage introduced his manager, and everyone was shocked when an unknown 100-pound woman, all decked out, came to the ring, with announcer Bruno Sammartino being fed the line to surmise that “she must be some sort of a movie star.”

What is your first memory of her on WWF TV? How groundbreaking was it for Elizabeth to be the quiet strong type of manager for Savage? Is this a storyline introduction for a manager that could work today?

The original idea of Elizabeth was to be a new heel manager. A beautiful woman, but something out of a soap opera, where she would be a hard-nosed business shark. Immediately, the original heel plans were dropped. Fans immediately took to her, and the Savage/Elizabeth dynamic changed to her portrayed as the most beautiful, elegant, but totally approachable woman. She was a pro wrestling version of Lady Di, with ironically similar real life storylines and tragic ends.

How can you explain to our listeners just how good she was in her role early on?

 Savage was her heelish, jealous, obsessive and overbearing boyfriend, which ended up having its ironies. There was a famous angle where George Steele, by then late in his career, developed a crush on Elizabeth. While the Savage-Steele matches were hardly masterpieces in the ring, having Steele, whose role at the time was of an ugly simple guy who could barely talk, but had this love for this beautiful woman, only made the dynamic stronger. Most beautiful women would have blown this ugly beast off. But she was nice to him. But even though she was just being nice, and showing no romantic affection, her boyfriend would go crazy with jealousy.

You mentioned in the Randy Savage episode (available in the archives episode # 64 which aired on September 8th, 2017 if you really want to feel old) that when you first met Savage the hype didn’t match the man at the time. What was the feeling on Elizabeth and did her reputation match when you first met her?

It was that way when the cameras were off as well. Savage’s jealousy was legendary in wrestling. When Savage wasn’t watching over her, he would have a road agent or referee or older office person that he trusted with her at all times to make sure none of the boys ever got too close. Savage on occasion chased down and hit fans who tried to touch her as she was walking to and from the ring. Lesser stars were let go by the company for lesser actions involving fans.

The ideas of Savage controlling Elizabeth bled on both sides of the camera. You talked about the paranoia issues between Randy and Elizabeth in the Randy Savage episode...so we’ll move on.

Her popularity grew, and with the exception of Hogan, the Savage-Elizabeth act was the top full-time act in the company very shortly after her 1985 debut. Her character was far more successful than any woman character in wrestling up to that point in time. While Hogan was a superhero that fans were in awe of, she was probably the most liked character in the business at the time. Savage eventually turned babyface by saving Elizabeth, and pro wrestling’s royal couple spent a year on top as Savage held the WWF championship from March 27, 1988 through April 2, 1989.

How much do you think the Hogan - Savage program was added by the Elizabeth layers in the storyline? Do you think there was any other woman who could’ve done this role as successful as she did?

 The seed for an angle nearly a year later was planted as Hogan was celebrating with Elizabeth, holding her with his hand on her butt, and Savage gave the briefest glare that planted the seed for the Wrestlemania main event a year later.

All the angles that featured Elizabeth showcased her ability to convey a lot with just facials and just not promos or talking and overselling. The layers of what she did through just her expressions is really something that seems to be missing today would you agree?

At the first ever SummerSlam on August 29, 1988 in Madison Square Garden, the two teamed against Andre the Giant & DiBiase, with heel announcer Jesse Ventura as referee. Most of the pre-match build-up centered around Elizabeth, who by this time was at her peak of popularity. While Elizabeth did pose with Savage doing a bikini poster that was a big seller, she was always dressed up like she was going to a prom whenever she was on television. She was the ultimate homecoming queen who wasn’t stuck up, and was nice to the boys who weren’t popular. The tease for the match was that if things got bad, Elizabeth, billed as the secret weapon of the Megapowers, under her fancy clothes, was going to wear a bikini. As it turned out, whether she didn’t want to go that far, or Savage didn’t want it, with the heels in control, Elizabeth got up on the apron, took off her skirt, and the heels were mesmerized by her bikini bottom. Hogan and Savage shook hands like in a cartoon, which wrestling was more like in those days, made their comeback, and of course, won the match.

The biggest physical angle Elizabeth had was when Akeem took her out on Saturday Night’s Main Event when the Twin Towers faced The Megapowers.

How great was she in this and did she need a lot of direction?

Hogan regained the title from Savage at Wrestlemania V on April 2, 1989 in Atlantic City, in a match which, because ticket prices were jacked up at Trump Plaza, drew the largest live gate up to that point in the history of U.S. wrestling. Because more homes had PPV than in 1987 for the Hogan-Andre match, it also broke the all-time record for PPV buys with more than 600,000, and that’s with a free TV special on TBS going head-to-head. The estimated $18.9 total revenue gross was the largest wrestling show in history up until that point.

The gimmick was that Elizabeth would be at ringside, but in a neutral corner, and would make her decision of which guy she was going with at

 the end of the match. Even though everyone saw Savage as the company’s top heel once again, she still saw the good in him. Savage took a bad bump on the outside, but Elizabeth went to help him, but he yelled at her. Later Hogan tried to post Savage, but Elizabeth got in the way. This allowed Savage to post Hogan, but Elizabeth then stopped Savage from attacking Hogan. Savage then ordered Elizabeth to leave ringside, and Hogan came back to win with his foot to the face and legdrop. Elizabeth managed Hogan for a while after Mania, but that dynamic couldn’t last for a lot of reasons, and she disappeared from wrestling.

You talked about Elizabeth and Sherri at MSG in the Randy Savage episode but at this point she’s managing Jim Duggan and Hulk Hogan on the road when involved in matches with Randy Savage. She also appears in the corner of Dusty Rhodes & Sapphire against Randy Savage & Sherri at WrestleMania VI.

How did Dusty like working with Elizabeth? We’re there any issues with her not bumping to being at ringside with Dusty?

Was the package of Randy & Liz so strong it just wouldn’t work with anybody else?

Savage cut promos talking about how Elizabeth would have to kiss Brother Love’s feet...ew.

Why the disappearance of Elizabeth at this point? Elizabeth managing Hogan wasn’t an ideal concept so was it Randy’s call? Hulk’s? Liz’s? Vince’s?

Did Elizabeth ever have a contract with the WWF? Was it always a handshake deal with Randy? What was her “status?”

Elizabeth is in and out of the television side of the company for the next couple of years. What was the reasoning behind this? Burn out? Savage not wanting her on TV or was it a different issue?

In another of those great soap opera moments in wrestling, she returned, unadvertised, on March 23, 1991, at Wrestlemania VII at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. Savage was wrestling Ultimate Warrior underneath the Hogan-Sgt. Slaughter main event, in a loser must retire match. Savage was actually talking about retiring, and both talked about starting a family, something she desperately wanted and never had. Savage, who by this time was being managed by Sherri Martel, had been a heel for years, but

 it was clear he was going out sympathetically from the start, since he came out wearing a white cowboy hat. Savage put on a show, stealing the card, as he often did, even with it being his first match back after major thumb surgery. Elizabeth was shown at ringside several times during the match, and after Savage lost, Sherri attacked him and put the boots to him. Elizabeth hit the ring for the save, leading to the big closing hug and kiss spot. This was so well done that probably more people were in tears watching this moment than any moment scripted in company history. Well, tears in a good way, anyway.

Who put this together? Warrior obviously probably wouldn’t give a shit about this but was the backdrop of Savage put together by you, Vince, Pat or did Randy structure this?

As a babyface, Savage, McMahon and Roddy Piper were the three-man announcing team, and most of the summer was spent with McMahon and Piper urging Savage to ask Elizabeth to marry him in the storyline. Savage kept getting cold feet to build the angle, but finally asked. The wedding, billed as “The Match Made in Heaven,” was actually put in the main event position on the SummerSlam PPV on August 26, 1991 in Madison Square Garden. It was a weird deal, as a lot of the live crowd left, and most of the guys in the crowd didn’t care. For women wrestling fans, this was like the event of all events, and again, a lot of women fans in the audience were crying like it was a real wedding. The big angle shot was that Elizabeth after the ceremony opened a wedding present, and a snake came out and scared her to death. This led to Savage coming out of retirement for a feud with Jake Roberts.

What was Elizabeth & Randy’s status at this point? Rocky? Was it awkward or were both pros putting together this? Do you feel that it shouldn’t have gone on last and had Hogan/Warrior vs. Slaughter/Adnan/Mustafa last?

You’re not there for the Elizabeth reunion with Savage and the Jake Roberts angle but you talked about how much you enjoyed it on the Randy Savage episode. Did you ever hear of anything about Randy being unhappy about Jake laying hands on Liz?

Later, she was the focal point of her last WWF angle for the semi-final at Wrestlemania VIII on April 5, 1992. Ric Flair by this time was WWF champion, and the angle was that he bragged that he was dating Elizabeth before Savage met her. Flair did his incredible promo work, with the repeated tag line, “She was mine before she was yours.” Flair and manager Curt Hennig bragged they were going to show a nude photo of

 Elizabeth on the screen at Wrestlemania, which was one of the ultimate bait-and-switch angles, since it was never even followed up on during the show after being hyped big. Savage regained the title and the royal couple was back on top. But not for long.

Did Elizabeth ever object to a storyline, angle, program or gimmick at any point in time?

Real life got in the way. Hulette walked out of the relationship that summer, and when she did, with no fanfare, she was gone from the WWF, for good. It also caused the real-life rift between Hogan and Savage which continued for years. Although it settled once when both had the chance to make money with each other in WCW, it is still apparent from Savage’s side to this day. Savage blamed Hogan and his wife Linda for urging Elizabeth to leave him, whether true or not. She ended up spending time at their home hiding out when she finally left him. She quickly hooked up with Miami attorney Cary Lubetsky, who she met at about the same time Hogan was doing the movie Mr. Nanny, in South Florida, and moved there.

Was it Randy that wanted Liz out of the company or did Liz want out? It was 4 years before she debuts in WCW...was there any contact between the WWF and her regarding a return? Ideas, plans, prospective things?

Her return on the Clash of Champions on January 23, 1996, her first appearance on television in nearly four years, drew a 4.5 rating, which ranked as one of the three most watched television wrestling shows in the history of TBS up to that point in time. Her return also gave WCW another piece of bragging rights for signing an ex-WWF superstar. But she was older, and while still very attractive, wrestling had changed, as had she. With a new larger boob job, in a business that was soon to be filled with women performers, she was just another face in the crowd. She worked angles with Savage, which she confided to friends were very difficult. She ended up as a heel with Ric Flair, and later in the NWO with Eric Bischoff. The Flair vs. Savage program in early 1996 with Elizabeth as part of the program was the first sign of life of WCW house shows, just before the company’s major business turnaround later in that year. Aside from a match where she botched a finish where she was going to use her high heel shoe as a weapon, which was the laughing-stock of wrestling for a week, she was largely just another pretty face in the crowd.

Were you sad to see what happened when she went to WCW?

 She finally married Lubetsky in December of 1997. But her relationship with Luger started soon thereafter. Eventually, they were put together as an act, with her as the manager. Working in the same company as her ex-husband must have added stress, and it was noted by many in the company that when Savage introduced Stephanie Bellars, his latest ex-stripper girlfriend, as Gorgeous George, that suddenly Elizabeth got a bunch of new work done. Her divorce became official in April 1999. During most of her time in WCW, she mainly worked television, and kept a job at another clothes store in South Miami Beach.

Did you ever hear from Randy while he was in WCW discussing having Liz in the company and paired with her and when he was against her in storylines?

Luger and Elizabeth were at odds with management often when Vince Russo was in charge. To Russo, a life-long WWF fan, the one thing left for her was the idea of doing some sort of an angle that would get the famed Elizabeth in her underwear, something that had never been seen by wrestling fans, some of whom, in Russo’s age bracket, would have lusted after year by that point for more than a decade. By this point she was almost 40, and while there is little doubt she wouldn’t have wanted to do it, Luger, still a major player, was nixing any idea that called for her to strip or wrestle. Luger was so difficult to deal with that both of them were sent home, with pay, for a while. When her contract expired just before WCW closed its doors, she was let go, and eventually Luger ended his long marriage.

When WCW closed, was there any talk about bringing in Elizabeth? Her relationship with Luger aside and the control he had in her life it sounds like at this point it wouldn’t have been done but was there any interest?

Hulette, who was let go by WCW from her $156,000 per year job just before the company closed up, began working at the front desk of Main Event Fitness in Marietta, GA, the gym that Pfohl had owned for years after he and Steve Borden (Sting) opened it during their wrestling heyday. The two had become an item in 1998 while both worked for WCW, at a time when both were married to other people not affiliated with wrestling. Exactly how and why things got the way they did were unclear. Hulette stopped working at the gym months ago. Luger, who hadn’t wrestled since WCW closed in March of 2001, and Elizabeth, who hadn’t appeared on a wrestling show even longer than that, were both booked on a December 2002 European tour with Andrew McManus’ World Wrestling All-Stars. It was obvious to those on the tour that things were very wrong.

 Did the WWF check in on Luger at any point in time after the sale?

Hulette, 42, died at Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, GA after emergency personnel responded to a 911 call at about 5:30 a.m. saying that she wasn’t breathing. Police and the Cobb County Medical Examiner’s office will not list a cause of death until toxicology reports come back in a month, other than saying it was likely not a homicide. It is widely believed by those closest to her that she was the latest victim of an overdose, which has claimed so many wrestlers of her generation, although medical examiner Hal Bennett said that is not necessarily the case.

Larry Pfohl, 44, her boyfriend, best known as Lex Luger, was arrested later that day, not in connection with the death, but because police found large quantities of drugs at the $300,000 townhouse the two shared in Cobb County, just outside of Marietta in suburban Atlanta.

How did you hear about Elizabeth’s untimely passing? Did you ever talk to Randy about it? What did you think of the Lex Luger aspect of her death?

Did you talk to Randy after the death of Elizabeth and his feelings?

Wrestling Observer 5/19/03

The police report filed based on a conversation with Lex Luger, as well as the 911 tape, both indicated that Elizabeth Hulette was mixing vodka and painkillers, sat down to eat, started gurgling, and then died at about 5:30 a.m. on 5/1.

The 911 tape, much of which was played on the WWE’s television show Confidential on 5/10, saw a totally panicked Luger call saying, “My girlfriend has passed out, and I can’t get her to come to

We were eating and she started gurgling. I don’t know why. Please send somebody, please.”

There was a lot of controversy based around the 5/10 episode of Confidential, which was one of the most talked about episodes in the history of the show. Many felt it sleazy that from the start of the show, and through every commercial break, they hyped playing a tape of Luger’s 911 call, which was saved until the closing moments of the show. Was it a way to try and keep the audience until the end, in a show that has had notable problems, as we’ve documented weekly, in keeping its audience? Of course it was. But this is not all that unusual in the television news business. To expect a WWE television show which has largely gained a

 reputation for attempting to rewrite history in their favor to show more ethics than what is regularly done in newscasts competing for ratings is kind of funny to begin with. Many were appalled by playing the 911 call, and while it was unsettling, it was no different than what is also commonplace on newscasts. I heard the Nicole Simpson 911 call after one of the O.J. Simpson beatings so many times on news shows I couldn’t even count them.

What did you think of the decision to air this episode? Do you think it was in poor taste? Did you watch it?

The first half of the episode centered on the television character, which they kept referring to as “Miss Elizabeth,” in her 1985-92 WWF run. They talked about her vulnerable facial expressions that made the audience empathize with her.

The second part, which aired late in the show, covered the news story itself. Many felt it was a hit piece on both Luger and Randy Savage. I strongly disagree. If anything, the facts of her life presented fairly will not reflect positively on either of her wrestling relationships. If you read the story in last week’s Observer, with any investigation, they could have gone far harder. I felt if anything, Hulk Hogan was holding back, because the stories of Savage’s possessiveness and obsession with Elizabeth were legendary in wrestling during the 80s.

The teases for a second story this coming weekend did come off as more of an attempt at a ratings grab, in an attempt to capitalize what was perceived as the controversy from the first segment. The 5/10 show did a 1.1 rating, making it the highest rated episode of Confidential in several months.

Looking back - it was going to be hard to ignore the story but also felt the need to cover it...is it a regret?

What is Liz’s legacy in the business in your mind?