Wrestling legend Dutch Mantell answered some questions on his podcast, titled “Story Time with Dutch Mantell.” Dutch was asked to give his thoughts on the rumors of Randy Savage and Stephanie McMahon that have circulated over the years:
“It wasn’t a rumor. It was basically, if I can say this, it was more or less accepted as fact because who said that if you say it enough that the rumor becomes the fact? It was repeated over and over and over and over again. But at the end, I think Randy and Vince, I think before Randy went to WCW, I think that kind of bothered Vince on a personal level and he got mad at Randy. That’s why they said Randy would never, ever, be in the Hall of Fame. That changed later on.”
Mantell continued, “But it wasn’t just a rumor. It was really an accepted, almost statement of fact, that Randy had been told or advised, not by Vince, but by say, Pat (Patterson) or some of their agents, Chief (Jay Strongbow), to kind of stay clear of Stephanie, and why I don’t know. She may have said something like she likes him and it got back to Vince. Well, Vince, knowing what he knows goes on between males and females, maybe wanted to protect his little daughter, which I don’t blame him for that. But I think Randy did cross the line, I think he did cross the Equator, and he may have dallied a little bit with Stephanie. Can I say it was true? No, I can’t say it was true. It was just given, and you can call it a rumor, but I’ve always heard that story. But I never really asked Savage about it. I wish I had now. But by the time that was going on, I wasn’t in the same area as Randy. I was good friends with Randy, but I never asked him. I could still ask Lanny (Poffo), but I think Lanny would just give me what he wants to give me, but there’s no need to hide it anymore, anyway. I mean, but I did hear that, not only as a rumor, but as a fact, and yes, it was commonly accepted backstage.”
The rumor is that Randy Savage slept with an underage Stephanie McMahon. The rumor was never confirmed when Savage was alive and it has never been addressed publicly by Stephanie. In 2020, Savage’s ex-girlfriend Stephanie Bellars (former WCW valet Gorgeous George) told Hannibal TV’s Devon Nicholson that Savage told her about a relationship with Stephanie.
Bellars said the following: “Oh he told me. He told me one day when we were on Ecstacy on the beach. I think he didn’t mean to tell me that and then the next morning he goes, ‘did I tell you anything last night on the beach?’ I’m like, ‘you sure did.’ He knew exactly what he said and he was like ‘sh*t’ because it was kind of like the truth drug. Once he got on that he just started telling me everything. She knows [and] he knows what it all was.”
Lanny Poffo talked about the rumors on his podcast in 2018. “I don’t know and if I knew I wouldn’t tell you because Randy was very very private and I have absolutely no idea if that happened,” Poffo said. “I’ll tell you what did happen. Triple H did an interview on a magazine and they said ‘what do you think of Hulk Hogan and the Macho Man’ and he says ‘well they’re great but they are dinosaurs.’ Well, evidently Hulk Hogan didn’t mind being called a dinosaur.” Poffo continued, “He said some really outlandish things but don’t forget, he really liked Triple H and he felt that Triple H had disrespected him. Well, that was his way to get even with Triple H. Randy didn’t let things lie. He exacerbated everything.”
“I have absolutely no idea if the urban legend is true. Like I said if I knew I wouldn’t tell you. It’s none of anybody’s business. There’s only one person who knows for sure and that is Stephanie. Randy is not here and she’s not talking,” Poffo said.
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If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Story Time with Dutch Mantell with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.