Title History
- (Illinois) Midwest Heavyweight title defeating David Johns (August 9, 1956);
- (Illinois) Midwest Heavyweight title defeating Bill Melby (May 25, 1957);
- NWA (Chicago) United States Heavyweight title defeating Wilbur Snyder (December 27, 1958);
- NWA Texas Tag Team titles w/Bronco Lubich defeating Dory Dixon & Pepper Gomez (May 12, 1961);
- WWA (Indianapolis) World Tag Team titles w/Nicoli Volkoff defeating Dick the Bruiser & Wilbur Snyder (July 31, 1964);
- WWA (Indianapolis) World Tag Team titles w/Chris Markoff defeating Luis Martinez & Wilbur Snyder (September ??, 1966);
- WWA (Indianapolis) World Tag Team titles w/Chris Markoff defeating Crusher & Dick the Bruiser (Febuary 18, 1967);
- ASWA South Carolina Heavyweight Title by winning a tournament (October 3, 1974 );
- NWA (Detriot) World Tag Team titles w/Lanny Poffo defeating Bobo Brazil & Fred Curry (January ??, 1975);
- ICW (Kentucky) Televison title defeating The Great Tio (????, 1981);
Career Highlights
- 1945: Angelo Poffo, did sit-ups for 4 hours 10 minutes, shattering the Naval record for quantity and speed with 6,033 sit-ups..
- ~~~His feat, for which he was awarded this belt, was featured in a Ripley’s Believe It Or Not cartoon..
- Angelo Poffo is the father of Randy “Macho Man” Savage & “Leaping” Lanny Poffo.
- From 1956 into the early 1960’s, Angelo Poffo was managed by Bronco Lubich. The two of them sometimes worked as a team.
- December 27, 1958: Angelo Poffo defeated Wilbur Snyder to win the United States Television title on TV in Cincinnati..
- ~~~After several re-matches, Angelo Poffo lost the U.S. Television title back to Wilbur Snyder in the Spring of 1959..
- Angelo Poffo formed a tag team with Chris Markoff known as “The Devil’s Duo” managed by Bobby Heenan..
- September 1, 1972–AWA Soldiers Field: Ramon Torres defeated Angelo Poffo..
- 1973: Angelo Poffo formed a tag team with Ken Dillinger known as “The Graduates” managed by Mark Manson..
- October 3, 1974: Angelo Poffo won a tournament to win the ASWA South Carolina Heavy Weight Title in Orangeburg, South Carolina..
- Angelo Poffo was the promoter of the International Championship Wrestling territory out of Lexington, Kentucky..
- Angelo Poffo and his wife, Judy, now lived their retirement years in Largo, Florida..
- March 4, 2010: Angelo Poffo passed away in his sleep at the age of 84 in Sarasota, Florida…
Dave Meltzer wrote: Poffo wrestled for about 35 years after serving in the Navy during World War II. He was a major star in the late 50s when he was the transition of bringing the Chicago-based United States heavyweight title to Detroit while working for Jim Barnett. That was the forerunner of the Detroit version of the title that The Sheik and Dick the Bruiser dominated. He often teamed with his sons when they were breaking into the business in the 70s. In the late 1970s, the family started a promotion based in Lexington, KY, which ran opposition to the Jerry Jarrett promotion, in one of the most heated promotional wars of the era. Randy was world champion for much of the run and Lanny was his biggest rival. In the early years it was never revealed they were brothers until the feud peaked and Lanny “broke the news,” which was a huge angle at the time, with Savage going crazy. In particular, the Poffo side would go on television and make fun of the more popular Jarrett wrestlers like Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee, challenging them to real fights. With a crew of tough guys that included Randy Savage, Ron Garvin, Bob Orton Jr. and Bob Roop, there was no possible response from the Jarrett side, although the ICW was never able to rival the more popular Jarrett group. They also tried to same approach when running television in Alabama and bad mouthing the NWA wrestlers in that territory. Eventually, the sides settled their differences, leading to Lawler vs. Savage matches which drew huge houses everywhere, including setting a record in Lexington, where the promotional war was its hottest. Poffo was well known in wrestling for saving and investing his money in AT&T stock, and played off it in the ICW when he worked under a mask as The Miser. Late in his career, he wore a ring jacket with the number 6,033 on the back, because at one time he set an all-time world record by doing 6,033 sit-ups without stopping.