Miss Elizabeth And Lex Luger's Tragic Relationship, Explained

• Miss Elizabeth was wrestling's most famous valet.
• Elizabeth was at the side of Randy Savage in WWE.
• Lex Luger was a world champion in WCW.

Miss Elizabeth is, without a doubt, wrestling’s most famous valet. Sure, others came along, like Sunny and Sable, who were more sexual and more shocking, but Elizabeth didn’t need that. Her gimmick was that of the shy and quiet girl next door, who might be timid, but who stood by her man, and even physically got involved to protect him when she had to. During the 1980s, she was always on WWE TV, constantly standing beside the great “Macho Man” Randy Savage, and being an integral part of his partnerships and feuds alike with Hulk Hogan.

Lex Luger was just as big, if not a bigger name, than Elizabeth in his own way. While Elizabeth was with Savage in WWE in the 80s and early 90s, Luger was in WCW, winning the United States and World Heavyweight Championship. In 1993, he jumped ship to WWE, first as a conceited heel nicknamed The Narcissist, before becoming the All-American patriotic babyface who would bodyslam Yokozuna.

The "Macho Man" Randy Savage & Miss Elizabeth Separated In Real-Life

Miss Elizabeth Was Randy Savage's On-Screen Manager

• Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth were married.
• Savage and Elizabeth were reunited in WCW.
• Elizabeth turned on Randy Savage and joined Ric Flair.

Wrestling fans remember Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth fondly as an on-screen couple. In WWE, Elizabeth was a constant babyface, while Savage's face-heel alignment tossed and turned. Early on, The Macho Man posed as an arrogant heel, while his on-screen valet and real-life romantic partner, Liz, was alternately a victim of his wrath and a beacon of virtue who stood out in contrast to her man. In Savage's last WWE heel run, he was estranged from Elizabeth, who remained quietly loyal to him. In between these points, the couple shined as babyfaces; Elizabeth a loyal partner and occasional damsel in distress, Savage, her white knight, all too eager to defend her and her honor.

However, in 1992, Savage and Elizabeth split up in real life. At Savage's suggestion, they reunited on-screen in WCW, but this time the unthinkable happened when Liz turned heel on him to side with Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen. Later, each had roles in the New World Order, but even when they were realigned with each other, things were never quite the same after they had split both in real life and storylines.

Lex Luger & Miss Elizabeth Got Together After Spending Time With Each Other Behind The Scenes

Miss Elizabeth Also Managed Lex Luger

• Lex Luger beat Hulk Hogan for the WCW Championship.
• Miss Elizabeth divorced her husband to be with Lex Luger.
• Randy Savage had no problems with their relationship.

As on-screen drama played out between Miss Elizabeth and Randy Savage in WCW, and they wound up going their separate ways, Lex Luger featured prominently for the promotion. After a dramatic debut on the first episode of Nitro, he'd go on to a number of notable angles, including a feud with the nWo that saw him beat “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan for the WCW Heavyweight Championship on an episode of Nitro.

Luger and Elizabeth became entwined on-screen, with her serving as a valet for him as well as Team Package--his short-lived heel duo with Ric Flair. By 1999, Luger and Elizabeth, after spending a lot of time together on the road working together, became an item. That was despite the fact that they were both married. As their relationship became serious, Elizabeth divorced her second husband of less than two years and moved to Georgia to live with Luger. Even though Savage had been married in real life to Elizabeth until 1992, he wasn't known to have expressed any reservations to Luger about their relationship. The Macho Man himself remarried years later, in 2010.

Miss Elizabeth Passed Away Due To A Drug Overdose In 2003

Miss Elizabeth & Lex Luger Had A Toxic Relationship

• Miss Elizabeth left WCW in 2000.
• Lex Luger was out of WCW in 2001 when it was bought by WWE.
• Miss Elizabeth died on May 1, 2003.

In 2000, Elizabeth was out of WCW and wrestling altogether. Luger was out a year later after WCW went under. As has happened with so many wrestlers, Lex Luger became addicted to painkillers. Elizabeth joined him and their relationship turned toxic.

On April 19, 2003, Elizabeth called 911 to report that Luger had hit her. It wasn’t the first time. The police arrived to find Elizabeth with multiple wounds to her head and face, and Luger was arrested. Two days later, Lex Luger was arrested once more, this time for a DUI that resulted in a car accident, with Miss Elizabeth in the car with him. Their relationship and their lives were spiraling out of control.

A little more than a week later, Luger and Elizabeth were taking painkillers and drinking when Miss Elizabeth collapsed. As Luger told Sean Mooney on his Prime Time Podcast:

"One minute, she was fine standing next to me at the microwave, the next minute I thought she was sleeping on the couch and I told her, ‘Hey Liz, wake up, eat your grub.’ But she didn’t respond.”

On May 1st, at the age of 42, Miss Elizabeth died. Her cause of death was ruled “acute toxicity,” stemming from her choice to combine painkillers with vodka. Fans were shocked. On TV, Elizabeth portrayed someone who was too nice and innocent to ever end up dying of a drug overdose. Other wrestlers we could see going out that way, but not her.

Lex Luger Got Back On Track Following Miss Elizabeth's Death

Lex Luger Overcame His Drug Addiction

• Luger was arrested and sentenced to five years probation.
• Lex Luger had a stroke in 2007.
• Lex Luger became a Christian and turned his life around.

Though Miss Elizabeth’s death was ruled accidental, Lex Luger was arrested after police found a wide array of illegal substances in his home. After pleading guilty to 13 counts of drug possession, Luger was sentenced to five years probation.

He later violated the terms of his probation, during a flight from Minneapolis to Winnipeg in December 2005, and served time in jail — first in the Hennepin County Jail for two weeks. Later, he did three months in Cobb County Jail for his probation violation. There he met Steve Baskin, a Baptist pastor, who wanted to help him but Luger wasn’t interested in that. He recalled in The Bapist Press that, “I don’t want to talk to any preacher!” This went on for a while, but Baskin kept trying to communicate with him and did things like giving him peanut butter to curb his hunger. One time, after Luger had done his time in jail, he met Baskin at a gym where the pastor asked him for help with training and Lex decided to “give him a workout he will never forget.” Luger thought this would drive the man away, but it didn't work. He and Steve started hanging out more often, and one time, they went to the Clarkdale First Baptist Church together. Luger had his spiritual awakening there and went on to transform his life.

But this wasn't easy, as Luger’s issues only got worse. In 2007, he had a spinal stroke that left him temporarily paralyzed. He underwent a long road to recovery but was able to regain the ability to walk short distances. However, he has spent recent years mostly confined to a wheelchair. The man with the massive muscles, whose physique wrestling fans marveled at, is now a very thin, more frail-looking version of himself. But it was still a miracle that he had some mobility, as he revealed on the Under the Ring podcast. Luger said that he wasn’t supposed to be just “partially paralyzed” and that his injury had a much more positive effect on him, as it helped him leave the “narcissist” version of him behind.

"I was never supposed to be partially paralyzed. I'm what they call a 'high-functioning quadriplegic.' I can live independently and feed and bathe myself. I wasn't supposed to be able to do any of that ... It's really a miracle of god that I can do what I do. I kinda look at — big picture — I feel like I was kinda streamlined and redefined. I was always about the physical Lex, and I was kinda one-dimensional. I was all about the physical. A little bit about the mental ... which gave me worldly success, but I was spiritually dead. The spinal cord injury ... turned out to be a blessing in disguise.” (H/T 411 Mania)

Though Luger’s life has diminished physically, he has improved his mental state over the years. He became a Christian and speaks at events. He does wrestling conventions, where he gets to meet his fans and relive his glory days. He’ll talk about what happened to Elizabeth from time to time, taking responsibility for his actions.

Lex Luger Finally Gets His WWE Hall Of Fame Induction

Luger Has Always Wanted To Get Into The Hall Of Fame

• Luger said he would be honored to be a WWE Hall of Famer.
• Luger joins stars like Triple H, Michelle McCool, and the Natural Disasters in the Hall of Fame.
• Luger wants DDP and Sting to accompany him to the Hall of Fame.

In February 2025, Lex Luger had an interview with Chris Van Vliet, where he talked about his desire to get inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. The legend said it would be a “huge honor” for him to get into the HoF, and just days later, WWE announced that he was going to be one of the inductees of this year’s Hall of Fame Class.

On Busted Open Radio in March, Luger said that he wanted two people to induct him into the Hall of Fame. One of them is Diamond Dallas Page, who has been helping Luger get back on his feet literally. The other is Sting, who Luger has had a long history with on-screen, and both are also best friends in real life.

"I'm trying to get two guys instead of one. I'd like DDP, [I've] been trying to work on the walk, we don't know–we're not there yet...we're hoping, but man if I could have two guys up there with me, man DDP on one shoulder kind of spotting me and Sting on the other if it's possible. That would be like wow, that would be amazing, so we shall see, but if I have anything to say about that, that would be my pick." (H/T WrestlingInc)

DDP is under contract with WWE today as part of their Legends Deal, so it’s possible he'll be there for Luger at the Hall of Fame. Sting, however, is currently signed with AEW. He's retired, so a lot of fans are wondering if Tony Khan will allow The Stinger to be there for his friend. When Khan was asked about it during the media call for the AEW Dynasty pay-per-view, he revealed that he hadn’t talked with Sting about this yet.