Poffo was born in Columbus, Ohio, the elder son of Judy and Angelo Poffo. His father was Italian American and his mother was Jewish; Poffo was raised Roman Catholic. Angelo was a well-known wrestler in the 1950s and 1960s, who was featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not! for his ability to do sit-ups for hours on end.

Savage returned to WCW on the January 20, 1997 episode of Nitro hijacking the show, claiming to have been "blackballed" and refusing to leave the ring until Sting showed up, and the two left together. Savage appeared again with Sting over the next couple Nitro shows roving and watching events from the crowd as "free agents". At one point, Eric Bischoff informed Savage that his WCW career was over and he could only return as an nWo member. Sting and Savage appeared at SuperBrawl VII, where Savage left Sting's side and joined the nWo by helping Hogan defeat Roddy Piper. The next night, he reunited with Elizabeth, who had joined the nWo several months earlier during Savage's hiatus from WCW. Savage began feuding with Diamond Dallas Page and his wife Kimberly. Their feud lasted almost eight months which included tag team matches, a no disqualification match at Spring Stampede, a falls count anywhere match at The Great American Bash, and a Las Vegas Death match at Halloween Havoc.  In early 1998, Savage started a feud with Lex Luger which culminated in a match at Souled Out, which Luger won. Luger also won a rematch between the two at SuperBrawl VIII. When Hogan failed to recapture his "nWo" title from Sting, it was Savage's turn, and he got his shot at Spring Stampede. Hogan tried to make sure that Savage would not win the title because Hogan felt that he was the only nWo member who should be WCW World Heavyweight Champion, since he was the leader of the stable. With the help of Nash, however, Savage beat Sting for his third WCW World Heavyweight Championship, despite tearing his ACL in his knee during the match. The following night on Nitro, Hogan faced Savage for the championship and it looked like Hogan had Savage beat, but for the second consecutive night, Nash came to Savage's aid, powerbombing Hogan. but an interfering Bret Hart attacked Savage and preserved the victory for Hogan. Savage then joined with Nash and others to form the nWo Wolfpac, a split from Hogan's group. Savage went on to feud with both Hart and Roddy Piper.  After the June 15 episode of Nitro, Savage took a hiatus from the company to recover from at least two major knee surgeries. He made only one more appearance in 1998, helping Ric Flair defeat Eric Bischoff for the Presidency of WCW on the December 28, 1998 episode of Monday Nitro. He entered the ring wearing an nWo shirt but suddenly turned on the Giant, who was interfering on Bischoff's behalf, and removed the shirt while exiting.

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After the June 15 episode of Nitro, Savage took a hiatus from the company to recover from at least two major knee surgeries.