Loose Cannon
07-09-2007, 12:18 AM
http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/pictures/l/lexluger/15.jpg
I know I know, Lex Luger is one of the worst workers that has ever graced the wrestling ring, right? Well, at least I know that's what some of you think whenever you see the name. Maybe so, but outside of his ego, his mediocre ring work and his continued fall from grace, Luger will actually go down as one of Top 50 wrestlers of all-time.
Lex Luger began his wrestling career in the mid 80's wrestling in Florida, but it wasn't until he went to Crockett that he became a household name. They didn't waste time with him as he was put in the Four Horsemen within a couple months of being with the company. He replaced the original "Rock," Ole Anderson in the group. Obviously he was doing something right to be thrown into the hottest thing in wrestling at the time right off the bat. He would win the US Title around this time as well.
Eventually, in kayfabe (or maybe not) Luger's own intnetions didn't inlude being a Four Horsemen member. He wanted to go after the Title, which was held by Flair. The Horsemen kicked him out of the group and soon after, Luger and Flair feuded. I'm glad they got Luger out of there because he was better off on his own and the Horsemen were better off without him. It was a win win. Windham came in for Luger and that grouped clicked perfectly. Luger/Flair drew very well around the terrirory, but Lex never captured the gold. I thought Luger should of got the Title here, with Flair winning it back, as the audience was hot for him, but they never pulled the trigger.
Luger would start to drop down the card after the Flair feud and lose some steam. He switched between face and heel a couple times and finally did win the NWA Title off Windham, but he never regained the kind of popularity he had when he was going after Flair. Luger would end up leaving Crockett around 1993 and came to the WWF.
Luger first came in as being part of that ridiculous body building Federation thing. Another great idea by Vinnie Mac. Heenan would put him over a lot during programming. He got into a motorcycle accident, which actually gave him the greatest finisher of all-time. His gimmick in the WWF was that Luger was a Narcissist. So basically, the apple didn't fall far from the tree here. Luger would come down with hot women and they would hold mirrors for him as he posed. Then he would have his match and finish people off with his Steel Plate Forearm finish to the head. Total Knockout. It was pretty awesome, but boy I hated him. Especially after Mania 9 where he knocked out Mr. Perfect. But soon Luger would go from being hated to the most popular guy in the company.
Enter Yokozuna. The WWF Champion at the time, who had defeated Hulk Hogan and was fully controlling the Federation. Nobody could stop this guy. On July 4th at the USS Intrepid, the WWF ran an angle where all the superstars tried to slam Yokozuna, but nobody could do it. Suddenly, Luger comes out of a helicopter slams the big man down. The audeince explodes ( I know I did at home) and the Lex Express was off and running. OK, if you were around my age at this time, you know you were waiting for the Lex Express to come by your house. Luger's popularity grew to new levels and you just knew he would win the title at Summerslam, right? Well, in arguably one of the worst booking moves and strangest finishes of all-time, Luger won, but he won via countout. Yes, he did not win the Title. Once again the promotion didn't put the Title on Luger amidst his popularity.
Summerslam pretty much killed Luger's heat and although he continued to feud with Yoko and get another chance at Mania the next year, he never won the Title. He kind of blew it himself at Mania 10 if you'll know the story. Luger got dropped down the cards and feuded with Tatanka and the Million Dollar Corporation. He also formed a team with the British Bulldog, but left the WWF for WCW soon after.
Luger entered WCW making an impact right off the bat. He appeared on the very 1st episode of WCW Nitro out of nowhere during a Sting/Flair match. This was during a time where there were no "Internet Spoilers," so it was a shock to most people. I remember he went back and forth between sides and you never really knew where Lex Luger stood. He was pals with Sting, but hated Hogan. Eventually, he became a face by default when the nWo hit the scene.
In the midst of the WCW vs nWo war, Luger would see his popularity rise again. He was one of the main foes of the nWo and one of the only few guys who ever went over the New World Order. In one of the most exciting moments in Nitro history, Luger scored a HUGE victory over the nWo and successfully defeated Hogan for the Title. This was a huge deal on TV as the entire WCW lockeroom emptied and came out to celebrate. WCW finally got thier much needed revenge. It only lasted 6 days, but still, it was awesome.
Hogan got the Title back at the PPV and Luger would continue his feud with them. Flexie Lexie would eventually join the nWo becoming a member of the Wolfpac, along with his buddy Sting. This was a pretty cool moment as I think Hennig threw him the Wolfpac shirt after Luger helped them out. Luger looked at it for a minute and then put it on as the audience popped. This would pretty much be Luger's last good run.
Luger was never really a great worker, but he became a shitty worker around this point. WCW was becoming a shitty promotion around this time as well. Lex would stay a part of the nWo as they reunited in Jan 1999. WCW was pretty terrible during this point and Luger just kind of went nowhere. He cut his hair, wore cutoff shirts and pants and started hanging out with Buff and Liz until the company folded. Luger never had a "come back" and hasn't done anything memorable since. He became another case of a guy that made millions and now is broke.
The tale of Lex Luger isn't over yet, but I don't know if we'll ever see him again. He was a huge star at different points of his career for multiple companies. He had the look and the charisma to succeed and he did at times. Other times he just kind of floundrerd around. Promoters, wrestlers and fans will always dispute whether his heart was really into it and maybe that's why he never really achieved major success like a Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan or Sting at that time. Like I said, I think he'll go down as a Top 50 guy as if you look at his Total Career, Lex Luger matches up with some of the best.
http://www.tpww.net/forums/showthread.php?t=65432: British Bulldog
http://www.tpww.net/forums/showthread.php?t=65506: Earthquake
I know I know, Lex Luger is one of the worst workers that has ever graced the wrestling ring, right? Well, at least I know that's what some of you think whenever you see the name. Maybe so, but outside of his ego, his mediocre ring work and his continued fall from grace, Luger will actually go down as one of Top 50 wrestlers of all-time.
Lex Luger began his wrestling career in the mid 80's wrestling in Florida, but it wasn't until he went to Crockett that he became a household name. They didn't waste time with him as he was put in the Four Horsemen within a couple months of being with the company. He replaced the original "Rock," Ole Anderson in the group. Obviously he was doing something right to be thrown into the hottest thing in wrestling at the time right off the bat. He would win the US Title around this time as well.
Eventually, in kayfabe (or maybe not) Luger's own intnetions didn't inlude being a Four Horsemen member. He wanted to go after the Title, which was held by Flair. The Horsemen kicked him out of the group and soon after, Luger and Flair feuded. I'm glad they got Luger out of there because he was better off on his own and the Horsemen were better off without him. It was a win win. Windham came in for Luger and that grouped clicked perfectly. Luger/Flair drew very well around the terrirory, but Lex never captured the gold. I thought Luger should of got the Title here, with Flair winning it back, as the audience was hot for him, but they never pulled the trigger.
Luger would start to drop down the card after the Flair feud and lose some steam. He switched between face and heel a couple times and finally did win the NWA Title off Windham, but he never regained the kind of popularity he had when he was going after Flair. Luger would end up leaving Crockett around 1993 and came to the WWF.
Luger first came in as being part of that ridiculous body building Federation thing. Another great idea by Vinnie Mac. Heenan would put him over a lot during programming. He got into a motorcycle accident, which actually gave him the greatest finisher of all-time. His gimmick in the WWF was that Luger was a Narcissist. So basically, the apple didn't fall far from the tree here. Luger would come down with hot women and they would hold mirrors for him as he posed. Then he would have his match and finish people off with his Steel Plate Forearm finish to the head. Total Knockout. It was pretty awesome, but boy I hated him. Especially after Mania 9 where he knocked out Mr. Perfect. But soon Luger would go from being hated to the most popular guy in the company.
Enter Yokozuna. The WWF Champion at the time, who had defeated Hulk Hogan and was fully controlling the Federation. Nobody could stop this guy. On July 4th at the USS Intrepid, the WWF ran an angle where all the superstars tried to slam Yokozuna, but nobody could do it. Suddenly, Luger comes out of a helicopter slams the big man down. The audeince explodes ( I know I did at home) and the Lex Express was off and running. OK, if you were around my age at this time, you know you were waiting for the Lex Express to come by your house. Luger's popularity grew to new levels and you just knew he would win the title at Summerslam, right? Well, in arguably one of the worst booking moves and strangest finishes of all-time, Luger won, but he won via countout. Yes, he did not win the Title. Once again the promotion didn't put the Title on Luger amidst his popularity.
Summerslam pretty much killed Luger's heat and although he continued to feud with Yoko and get another chance at Mania the next year, he never won the Title. He kind of blew it himself at Mania 10 if you'll know the story. Luger got dropped down the cards and feuded with Tatanka and the Million Dollar Corporation. He also formed a team with the British Bulldog, but left the WWF for WCW soon after.
Luger entered WCW making an impact right off the bat. He appeared on the very 1st episode of WCW Nitro out of nowhere during a Sting/Flair match. This was during a time where there were no "Internet Spoilers," so it was a shock to most people. I remember he went back and forth between sides and you never really knew where Lex Luger stood. He was pals with Sting, but hated Hogan. Eventually, he became a face by default when the nWo hit the scene.
In the midst of the WCW vs nWo war, Luger would see his popularity rise again. He was one of the main foes of the nWo and one of the only few guys who ever went over the New World Order. In one of the most exciting moments in Nitro history, Luger scored a HUGE victory over the nWo and successfully defeated Hogan for the Title. This was a huge deal on TV as the entire WCW lockeroom emptied and came out to celebrate. WCW finally got thier much needed revenge. It only lasted 6 days, but still, it was awesome.
Hogan got the Title back at the PPV and Luger would continue his feud with them. Flexie Lexie would eventually join the nWo becoming a member of the Wolfpac, along with his buddy Sting. This was a pretty cool moment as I think Hennig threw him the Wolfpac shirt after Luger helped them out. Luger looked at it for a minute and then put it on as the audience popped. This would pretty much be Luger's last good run.
Luger was never really a great worker, but he became a shitty worker around this point. WCW was becoming a shitty promotion around this time as well. Lex would stay a part of the nWo as they reunited in Jan 1999. WCW was pretty terrible during this point and Luger just kind of went nowhere. He cut his hair, wore cutoff shirts and pants and started hanging out with Buff and Liz until the company folded. Luger never had a "come back" and hasn't done anything memorable since. He became another case of a guy that made millions and now is broke.
The tale of Lex Luger isn't over yet, but I don't know if we'll ever see him again. He was a huge star at different points of his career for multiple companies. He had the look and the charisma to succeed and he did at times. Other times he just kind of floundrerd around. Promoters, wrestlers and fans will always dispute whether his heart was really into it and maybe that's why he never really achieved major success like a Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan or Sting at that time. Like I said, I think he'll go down as a Top 50 guy as if you look at his Total Career, Lex Luger matches up with some of the best.
http://www.tpww.net/forums/showthread.php?t=65432: British Bulldog
http://www.tpww.net/forums/showthread.php?t=65506: Earthquake