Sonny Onoo on the beef between Randy Savage and Road Warrior Hawk

Per Sonny Onoo there was beef between Macho Man and Road Warrior Hawk started all the way back in 1994, when Hawk, Savage, and Hawk’s fiancé Dale were having dinner in Tampa, FL. Allegedly, when Hawk got up to use the restroom, Macho Man propositioned Dale, which triggered the fight. The fight didn’t come to a head until two years later, on July 17, 1996, at a New Japan show in Sapporo, Japan. At that point, Dale told Hawk what happened, at which point Hawk confronted Savage with the accusation.

When Savage denied it, Hawk accused Savage of calling his “old lady” a liar.

The word “liar” is what triggered the full-fledged fight between the two — which Sting and Keiji Muto also witnessed.

Hawk leaned over the railing and open-hand slapped Savage, sending Savage — and his trademark hat and glasses — tumbling back. Animal had to get between the two of them to prevent Hawk from doing any more “damage” to the Macho Man. Hawk called Savage an “asshole,” and told him that that’s what he gets for “messing with his girl.”

Inasmuch as Savage wanted to get back at Hawk, he had a match to get to, so he honored his ring commitment, but never forgot what he had to do once the match was over. When Savage got into the ring to face off against Jushin Liger, he was “hobbling” after having been knocked “silly” just a few minutes before.

After the match, Savage went after Hawk, but the fight was broken up almost as quickly as it started. Later, Randy Savage’s brother would claim that this was an “ambush” on Savage.

The two would confront one another again in 1999 at the Sun Dome Arena in Tampa, FL, during a Kid Rock show, and once again, Hawk and Macho Man faced off, with the confrontation ending with Macho Man reeling. The beef between the two wrestlers would continue until the day Randy Savage died, and there was never a satisfactory resolution.

As for whether Hawk’s girlfriend, Dale, is really the wrestling “Helen of Troy”: Lanny Poffo, a/k/a Leapin’ Lanny, a/k/a Randy Savage’s brother, doesn’t believe the story for a minute. Poffo said that his late brother was a “shallow” man who only appreciated a woman’s physical beauty, and Dale “fell well below his standards.” Poffo also said that it was Hulk Hogan and his now-ex-wife, Linda, who set Dale up with Road Warrior Hawk.