One of the most memorable parts of Torrie Wilson’s WCW run came when she shared the screen with ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage. Now, over two decades later, Wilson has opened up about the unscripted incident that altered the course of the WWE Hall of Famer’s career.
In an interview with CBS Sports’ Shakiel Mahjouri on SHAK Wrestling, Wilson revisited the July 5, 1999 episode of WCW Monday Nitro, where Savage struck her.
“I was so green, and that slap came out of nowhere. I didn’t know it was coming.”
The slap came when an irate Savage had been teased by Kevin Nash, who claimed that Savage’s girlfriend was in his dressing room. Instead, Savage found his girlfriend Gorgeous George hanging out with Wilson, who couldn’t help but laugh after being hit.
“The laugh was just me… I didn’t know what to do, and that’s just what came out — which I’m sure pissed him off even more.”
Her nervous laughter only heightened the tension, as Savage was known for his intense commitment to kayfabe. For Wilson, it gave her a rapid education into the chaotic nature of wrestling at the time.
“It was just really me not knowing what was going on. I hadn’t been in the business long enough to understand that things like that could really happen.”
The slapsent shockwaves within WCW, especially as the show aired from the Georgia Dome — Turner Broadcasting’s corporate headquarters. With several high-ranking execs in attendance, Turner’s Standards and Practices department swiftly intervened. Savage was pulled from TV as a result of the slap, nixing a planned push that would’ve seen him beat Nash for the WCW World Championship.
Though Savage would win the gold later on, he quickly dropped the title to Hulk Hogan and his role on TV would never reach the same heights. For Wilson, she today sees it as “a nice welcome to the biz” that she would forge her own legacy within.