|
Luger soon became a
babyface where he earned the cheers of Florida
fans.
Luger began wrestling in Jim
Crockett Promotions where he campaigned for a spot in the Four
Horsemen. Luger's abilities and potential made him an
ideal candidate for the Horsemen but since membership was
limited to four people, Luger could not join and instead was
taken in as an associate member of the Horsemen.
Things changed though when Horseman
Ole Anderson missed a match so he could watch his son
wrestle. The other Horsemen were furious and soon Ole
found himself expelled from the Horsemen with Luger replacing
him.
As a member of the Horsemen, Luger
knew there were great expectations for him. Luger began
a campaign against United States Champion Nikita
Koloff. After Dick Murdoch injured Koloff's
neck by giving him a brainbuster on the concrete floor, Luger
met Koloff in a steel cage match. Although Koloff fought
valiantly, he fell to Luger after J.J. Dillon threw a chair
into the ring, allowing Luger to finish Koloff off and win the
U.S. Title.
Luger remained in the Horsmen until
he made the mistake of challenging Ric Flair for the NWA World
Heavyweight Title. After breaking this cardinal rule,
Luger was kicked out of the Horsemen.
Now wrestling as a babyface, Luger
teamed with Barry
Windham to win the NWA World Tag Team
Championship. Unfortunately for Luger, Windham turned on
him during a title defense against Tully
Blanchard and Arn Anderson. Luger's spot in
the Horsemen was now filled by his former friend and partner
Barry Windham!
After several years of challenging
Ric Flair for the NWA World Title, Luger finally achieved
wrestling's ultimate prize. Luger (now managed by Harley Race)
defended the NWA Title against a variety of WCW stars before
losing it to Barry Windham.
When Vince McMahon decided to form
his own bodybuilding organization, Luger was recruited to be a
member of the WBF. Luger was signed to a contract with
the WBF where he competed as a bodybuilder rather than a
wrestler.
After the WBF folded, Luger
returned to action in the ring. He debuted in the WWF as
"The Narcissist", an arrogant wrestler who was clearly
enamored with his appearance.
When WWF champion Yokozuna made an
open challenge for people to try and bodyslam his 500 pound
plus frame, people from all over the world came out to meet
the challenge. The challenge was held aboard the U.S.S.
Intrepid where wrestlers and sports stars tried without
success to bodyslam the massive champion. Finally, a
helicopter arrived on the Intrepid and out came Lex
Luger! Luger stunned the audience by slamming
Yokozuna.
Now wrestling as a babyface, Luger
issued a challenge to the WWF champion. After Yokozuna's
manager Mr. Fuji refused to give Luger a title shot, he began
a cross-country campaign to rally fans behind him. Luger
travelled throught the U.S. on a tour bus called "The Lex
Express". The tour was a success and at SummerSlam,
Luger squared off against Yokozuna. Fuji and Yokozuna
made it clear that this would be Luger's only shot at the
title. Unfortunately Luger was unable to pin
Yokozuna, instead winning by count-out. As a result, he
would receive no further title shots.
Luger's fortune changed after he
entered the Royal Rumble. Whoever won the Royal Rumble
was guaranteed a title shot at Wrestlemania. In one of
the most bizarre moments in wrestling, Luger and Bret "The
Hitman" Hart were both elimated from the Rumble at the last
time. Since they were the last two men in the Rumble,
fans wondered how the WWF would determine a winner.
Video replay of the match proved inconclusive so in an effort
to be fair, WWF President Jack Tunney ruled that both men
would recieve title shots at Wrestlemania. During an
episode of Monday Night RAW, a coin toss was made to determine
who would get the first title shot with Luger winning the
toss.
|
Lex Luger wins the coin toss
to determine who gets the first shot at Yokozuna at
Wrestlemania X |
The WWF Title picture at
Wrestlemania X is
set. |
At Wrestlemania X, Luger faced
Yokozuna with special referee Mr. Perfect. It was clear to
fans that there was a level of friction between Luger and
Perfect. After repeated interference by Yokozuna's
manager Jim
Cornette, Luger beat up Cornette, pulling him into
the ring. In an unusual move, Perfect disqualified Luger
which meant that his title shot was suddenly over.
After Wrestlemania, Luger became
the source of speculation among fans that he was being courted
by "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase. Luger's tag team
partner Tatanka was just one of many people who wondered if
Luger was going to sell himself out and join DiBiase's Million
Dollar Corporation. In a bizarre twist, Tatanka ended up
being the sell-out when he turned on Luger during a match to
become the newest member of the Corporation.
During the beginning of the Monday
Night War, Luger became involved in one of the many
acquisitions made by WCW's Eric Bischoff. After his
contract with the WWF expired, Luger was now a free
agent. While he was working for the WWF, he had no legal
obligation to stay with them. When Eric Bischoff learned
of Luger's free agent status, he quickly signed "The Total
Package" back to WCW. One night Luger was wrestling for
the WWF. The next night he stunned the world by showing
up on a live broadcast of "Monday Night Nitro".
In WCW, Luger now found himself
sharing the spotlight with babyfaces such as Sting and Hilk
Hogan. At first,the faces weren't sure whether or not
they could trust Luger but he soon proved himself to be one of
WCW's strongest babyfaces. This was made even more clear
when Luger held the banner of WCW during its war with the New
World Order (NWO). During this battle, Luger successfully
challenged "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan for the WCW World
Championship. While his title reign was short-lived,
Luger provided a glimmer of hope for WCW during the darkest
days of its war with the NWO.
After the demise of WCW, Luger has
made limited appearances on the independent circuit, including
a very brief run in Total Nonstop Action
(TNA). | 
