Machoman - Death

Death

On the morning of May 20, 2011, Savage died after suffering a sudden, massive heart attack while driving with his wife in Seminole, Florida, a town on the Pinellas County side of the Tampa Bay area. He was 58 years old. Savage became unresponsive and lost control of his Jeep Wrangler, crashing into a tree.

Initial reports of his death indicated that he had been killed in the collision, when in fact he and his wife had been wearing seatbelts and suffered only minor physical injuries in the crash. An autopsy performed by the Pinellas-Pasco County medical examiner's office found that he had an enlarged heart and advanced coronary artery disease (more than 90% narrowed). The only drugs found in his system were a prescription painkiller and a small amount of alcohol. Savage had never been treated for heart problems and there was no evidence that he was aware of his heart condition. It was unclear whether he had suffered a blockage in his coronary arteries or cardiac arrest from lack of oxygen to the heart muscle. The cause of death was officially ruled as "atherosclerotic heart disease".

On May 30, 2011, 10 days after his death, WWE chairman Vince McMahon, with whom Savage had irreconcilable differences upon his departure from the company in 1994, paid tribute to Savage in a Time magazine article. There, he described Savage as "extremely charismatic", and "one of wrestling's all-time greats". Savage's remains were cremated.