The True Story Of Lex Luger's Failed WWE Mega Push
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- čas přidán 31. 05. 2024
- WWE has gone to great lengths to create and install certified "faces of the company", especially in those years after Hulkamania began fading. Today's story is about a time when WWE went to highly-unusual lengths to create their "new Hogan." In 1993, Vince McMahon was hellbent on assembling a new Hulkster in record time. That man was Lex Luger, and that plan involved a friggin' bus.
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Cultaholic provides video coverage of professional wrestling - including WWE (including WWE Raw, WWE SmackDown,, and NXT), AEW, IMPACT Wrestling (formerly TNA), NJPW, ROH, and more with daily news updates, reviews, lists, highlights, predictions, reactions, podcasts and much, much more. - Sport
During Bret's WWF career, he was always the guy Vince was looking to replace. First with Luger, then Diesel, then HBK. But Vince always had to come back to Bret.
They could have put the belt on taker, bulldog, early HBK or hall but nooooo Vince just cannot let go of his obsession for musselbound guys. Also once again Vince McMahon refuse to read the room that wrestling was going through a recession because the country itself was in a recession people were not going out to look at both WCW and WWF shows that much.
Except Bret was not a big draw by any stretch of your imagination. But don't take my word for it, look it up for yourself and see. The numbers dont lie.
@@MrBeckenhimself you got to look back on it between 1991 all the way to maybe 1995 was anybody a drawing professional wrestling? Remember we're just coming out of a recession in America and no one was hot on going to professional wrestling events unless you was a kid, the steroid trial really tainted the image professional with the public you still had a pathetic owner like McMahon who wanted to push for more big guys. All and all the fans said f you I'm going to look at Michael Jordan and Mike Tyson events.
@@MrBeckenhimself Except no one was a particularly huge draw during the New Gen, not even Hogan. The whole industry was in a slump.
Bret was a bigger draw than Diesel and more popular than Luger. I'm not sure about HBK, but I doubt his drawing power was any better than Bret. What Bret did bring was international support, but WWF at the time was laser focused on the US so they left a lot of money on the table
@@attiepollard7847 Perhaps, but the steroid scandal and lack of Hogan rocked the business. WWF booking style has always been the babyfaced champion vs the monster heel. Taker never needed to be champion, he was too over. Bulldog was unreliable, HBK wasnt ready for another two years. Savage was the guy to push but Vince saw him as too old. Savage went on to big years in WCW>
Lmao Lex's face when he hoisted Bret on his shoulders.
🤣
I noticed it too.
When time????
Jim Cornette made it abundantly clear from the contract signing onwards that Luger had a single shot at the world championship. For Luger to then celebrate a count-out win that was completely avoidable made him look like a complete and utter tit and killed any momentum he had stone dead.
I believe Jim's exact words were "He'll look like a plate full of piss"
How is it his fault though, as that was how it was meant to go
@@depeshrai7290 I'm blaming the booking, not Luger. Booking him to celebrate when he lost his only chance was ridiculous
That USS Intrepid challenge in 93 was such a cool idea, despite the cheese. It's a pity the end result was so bad because the atmosphere and visuals of that challenge were amazing.
I still say Mach should have been the one to go over Yoko here. The audience had been behind him for years and he could have carried the company for one or two more years before passing the torch to legitmize his successor.
@@KomradeKrusherthen why Savage didn't win The Royal Rumble in 1993 ? It was bad timing for booking like that.
@@lexkanyima2195 because Vince thought he was too old. Had it been about the roids, how the he'll would Luger have come into the picture?
@@KomradeKrusher Luger was "natural" but Savage was disrespectful by Vince
Ppl were getting heat stroke during the USS intrepid angle was goin on according to Jim Cornette
My parents brought us to a lex express event because it was free or cheap and wwe related. I remember having fun and we all got shirts. I also remember the first time i wore it i got made fun of by an older kid and then never wore it outside again.
That failed push is easily on par with Jack's failed Italian restaurant forfeit. And he didn't even need a bus.
has he still not done it?!
Who is jack?
Jack would have loved to be on the Lex Express......IYKYK
@@RoringRiver who’s jack
@@RoringRiver That's a throwback I wasn't expecting to see today...
Had Bret never been screwed we may have seen him rival with Orton, Angle, Rock, Foley, Taker, Edge and the list goes on. Vince dropped the ball.
Bret would have been a part timer by 2002
@lexkanyima2195 I think that may be early. I could see him slowing bit a run for another 5 wouldn't be unthinkable.
@@Loganedward29 ???
@@lexkanyima2195 ???
@@Loganedward29Bret would have limited schedule
A cautionary tale about how not every wrestling storyline (or storyline in any other form of fiction, for that matter) necessarily gains more than it loses from the process of long-term booking. This video wouldn't exist if Vince just had the good sense to wrap things up at the appropriate time instead of trying to stretch it out for seven more long, painful months. I think that's a message that's still relevant in 2023.
Agreed to an extent, I think Vince thought it was too early and from a time frame standpoint, I think that would be correct, the guy just came into the company and was a full fledged heel, the babyface switch was sudden and like I said in my comment above, he just didn't have enough time to become established in the fan's eyes as the next big star, perhaps Vince knew this and decided to give him (Luger) a non traditional push by having him campaign like a politician for a title shot, instead of "working his way up the ladder" like any other talent. Again, he didn't have enough time to do that, this was all they could do.
The problem is that, as I said, Vince changed his mind at the last minute, I think all the pomp and panache that we saw was all a legit build to him actually winning the title but Vince decided to hold out till Mania and give him more "time" to become established in the fans' minds. Think about it, otherwise why all the hype and build, I don't think Vince would have done it like that if he had no intentions on putting the title on Luger from the start.
Also it was a charisma thing, and Luger didn't have it and Vince saw that and changed his mind and went with Bret instead.
Thirty years later, and I still want my money back for Summer Slam '93.
What ?
Stupidest post match celebration ever.. at SummerSlam 1993.. wresters putting Lex on their shoulders and balloons falling from the raffers for a win by countout.. WTF?? Luger did not win the WWF championship and looking back on it I am glad Bret Hart won back the championship at WrestleMania 10 in New York the next year. Yokozuna was a great heel champion and Lex Luger had the look but not the charsima of a Ric Flair, Rock and Hulk Hogan.. Vince should of had Bret vs Yoko at SummerSlam however having Jim Cornette being involved was more Entertaining than the match itself.. but that finish sucked and in Jim Cornett's remarks summed it up it was flater then a plate of piss. And I couldn't agree more.
@@jasonhowell-lg5ig Bret could have won it at Summerslam
People act like The Rock wasn’t “hand selected to be the top guy” like Cena and Roman when he 100% was. Hell Rock was more personally selected then Cena. Just look at their first year in the company
You forget there was also multiple other contenders for 'top guy' with Rock.
Steve Austin, Undertaker, Triple H
You could make the argument that Rocky Maivia was hand-selected to be the top guy, but The Rock had to work for it AFTER Rocky Maivia failed.
@@TheThird1977I'd be inclined to agree with this. Rocky Maivia and the Rock were practically entirely separate people.
You have a point. I remember in mid-late 1998 Vince was even trying to get Rock TV cameos and magazine covers to build him up his star power when Austin was the one being requested. But, when your main attraction has an obvious shelf life due to injury, it’s smart to have someone else ready to go.
Maivia is also a case that many would say are another contributor to WCW winning in ratings for so long
Vince’s ideas SUCKED back then just as much as many of them sucked in the last decade or longer
No one truly cared about either Maivia or The Ringmaster
And Undertaker was starting to become stale
WCW threatening to put them out of business pretty much FORCED Vince to acknowledge the fan reception and Farooq helped pave the way for The Rock while Austin got to utilize his Stone Cold idea he’d been messing with after WCW fired him and he tweaked whilst in ECW
Whilst Undertaker went FULL occult which brought about a successful resurgence of his character and much better matches
I’m a long time female fan of wrestling and I remember back then asking my dad to get me the Lex poster for my wall. I didn’t like him in the beginning but he did grow on me but I also had a love hate for Yukozuna. I remember watching all of this lol Vince and his tactics always backfires on the talent then to really help them out.
I was a big Lex fan in his early days and i knew that the whole Lex Express thing sucked. Just bring him in the way he was in his early days and that would of got him over. But it was the New Era or whatever it was called. In 93-94 just about everything was horrible.
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You couldn't hate Yoko, he was so cool even for a "bad guy."
@@JulianPerez-zv6os lol Yukozuna ended up being my favorite heel
They should have pull the trigger with Lugger. They had nothing to lose and everything to gain. If it was a bust. Just take the belt off him and move on. But they had a good thing going into the Yoko match. I'm not a big lugger fan. Never have been. But I would have been cool with Lex getting a chance with the belt. They didn't even give him a chance really.
@@JulianPerez-zv6oshe was GRUESOME!
Looking back. They should have gave Luger the title and turn him back heel. Then have Bret win it back at Wrestlemania
Maybe, but it wouldn't make sense anyway
Simply amazing Vince booked himself into a corner like that. Unreal….
I’ve watched different videos on Lex Luger in WWE on the Wrestling with Wregret channel Brian did and I’m still confused by it. Luger was built up as an American hero, then had a match where logic dictated he would win the title soon, but at SummerSlam he won by countout and celebrated like he won(which made him look dumb by the way) and he sputtered out. It’s so weird.
I think the reason they did not pull the trigger because I think during that time there was a growing suspicion of I don't think this guy is good on the promos and we cannot risk putting a belt on them and then the fans booing them I think that's what they feared so that's why they didn't put the belt.
I mean if they can read the room why didn't they not read the room in American society in the 1990s when it comes to athletic? I mean did they not see what deion Sanders and Michael Jordan was doing?
Iirc They apparently had Lex walk out at a house show with a stolen title belt, and the reception was lukewarm at best, so they didn't pull the trigger.
I think the whole celebration thing at the end of Summerslam was because all American Lex Luger atleast "defeated" the international threat Yokozuna. They weren't ready to hand over the title yet but they wanted to end the show in a big way.
@@attiepollard7847was Vince alright? Did he really care about who the fans are cheering? Because in all these years we know that if Vince decides something then he would put it to work no matter what happens.
WWE love to make themselves look stupid. Just look at Roman Reigns today. He will absolutely be the longest reigning heel champion of all time, but only with the reasoning that WWE doesn’t care how stupid they look. Historically, any heel champion who consistently cheats to win, will eventually (usually no more than a year or so) will be corrected by the company. It’s what gave birth to some of the great gimmick matches we all enjoyed like the cage, lumberjack, and hell in a cell (see also how WWE created the hell in a cell to prevent outside interference, but had it happen anyway on the first match lol).
The fact that WWE hasn’t leveled the playing field against Roman makes them look incompetent. The USO/Solo interference has been old for years now, and I don’t understand why more people don’t see it that way. Hopefully Cody gets his moment at next Wrestlemania, dude deserves it.
Lex's yell when he gets hit is always in my head....lmao
Lex Luger is STILL a legend, no matter how people viewed then and view now his push with the then WWF. Lex is Still a legend.
I seen Lex during his tour. I had to wait for hours in line to meet him. I remember him being grumpy and me being nervous about asking him to sign my WCW trading card of him holding a guy in the torture rack. Still I was all in as a kid on Luger.
Gay
You Luger and Alex Wright can go visit Perry Saturn who’s working the door at the gae bar
Its ok bro! Not easy being on the road. Without family, an A- hole boss, no me-time.
We all have our bad days.
Nobody I ever knew gave one single sh*t about Luger. WCW was all about sting, flair, the nwo, the cruiser weights etc. Luger was a complete afterthought.
Did you get the signature on your card?
Lex Luger is kinda the ultimate middle of the road guy, in a couple of ways it seems. He was never really the first choice of anyone for top guy in a promotion, but he was too talented to not be near or in the main event. I have seen that people are never completely positive or negative on him, is always somewhere in the middle.
He had some great matches with Flair. Ric never had anything bad to say about him. He was really over during that time period, 87-90.
He also got really over in 97 when he beat Hogan for the title on the 100th Nitro episode
I mean the crowd cheered massively!
His best moment for me was defeating Hollywood, and the NWO interference to win the heavyweight title in 97. Only him ,piper, and sting did that.
@@robertosobreiro6212 You beat me to it tho I didn't see.
Mid card is perfect place for what you described.
It’s amusing to me that Bret Hart was considered “small.” The guy was JACKED!
Not in Vince eyes and I kind of got to admit he is kind of regular when it comes to promos
Yep, next to any normal person he is huge and yet people talk about him like he was Gary Coleman. Hilarious.
Brett is big compared to average people, but standing next to the likes of Hogan, Nash, Sting, The Rock, and Austin, Brett always looked small. Look at any NFL team for a comparison. Guys 6' 3" and 245 pounds are the "small" guys on the field. Or look at the NBA. Guys under 6' 5" are "small" there, too.
It really boggles the mind that Vince McMahon did not read the room of society in 1993 in America. I mean did he not pay attention to athletic guys like Michael Jordan and deion Sanders?
Bruce prichard or whoever was near Vince should have told this SOB that the muscle-bound crap is played out and people want more athletic guys.
Unfortunately there are two issues with your statement
You forgot this is Vince “I’m so out of touch but refuse to even acknowledge it” McMahon
And Bruce and the rest of his direct associates are by and large all Yes Men
It’s because of that the WWE was in decline and practically ALLOWED WCW to kick their butts for 52 straight weeks
Bischoff had a decent understanding of the fans, which is why when he utilized big muscle heavyweights it came off better
Prime Example how they utilized Goldberg: he was frequent appearances, undefeated, LOOKED powerful, was fast, and never talked for a long while
He had all the best traits of Vince’s big guys without any of the flaws early on
He had the fast matches of Ultimate Warrior but never talked to derail things nor Warriors lack of cardio
He was undefeated and powerfully presented like Hogan, but came off more impressive in showing his strength (Spear and Jackhammer beat out Hogan’s leg drop ANY DAY)
No one wants athletic guys even today... that's all we have and they blow
I will give you that, Hogans finisher is one of the worst of all time.However, Hogan in a coma has more Charisma than Lex. His Mic work sounds God awful. Like he's reading for his first role in a 80s porn.
@@brocklanders3616 which was Hogan’s best feature in the longterm
Unfortunately outside of his Hollywood Hogan days, his promo work gets repetitive…and come all his scandal involvements hard to either take seriously or not look at with jaded eyes
It’s another point to Bischoff that he saw Lex’s shortcomings, probably BECAUSE of Vince’s failures with him, that his run in WCW is most remembered between either tag teaming with Sting (who’s very charismatic and capable on the mic), in the Horsemen (who are all capable talkers), or in nWo (where they had plenty of charismatic people to keep Lex from needing to talk much if at all)
@@arashitendou5941 they are yes ma'am but even yes man at times get to a breaking limit and say hey boss this damn thing is played out and we got to change directions.
Everybody misses the point of the bus tour. You even explain Lugers shortcomings and still miss it. It was baby face boot camp. He was on tour to learn how to work a crowd and be more comfortable on the mic. They should have given him a couple matches while he was doing that, but there was a point and it did help. He just hadn't won over general audiences and he still wasn't good enough to do so in a single match.
Shut up Jabroni.
It failed miserably.
He was on the bus doing nothing, with no training session at all of preperation.
Interesting perspective
@@lexkanyima2195 He was interacting with the crowd, the one aspect that Hogan could do better than anybody. Unfortunately, it was quite counterproductive. If an energized Lex Luger isn't good at fan interaction, imagine an exhausted Lex Luger that cannot hide how much he wishes he could be anywhere else.
That count out victory at SummerSlam was the dumbest booking decision in Vince’s life. Even dumber than not doing Hogan vs Flair at WrestleMania 8.
I think had they had Luger collapse in despair like suggested it might have worked and extended the chase for the belt to mania. But losing the title shot meant there was no goal or storyline to push Lex ahead anymore until months in and by then fans had forgotten
@@mikeg2491after that match. Fans turns on Luger because of it
They had to abandon Hulk and Flair because they had been battling in house shows all over the country and fans became disinterested.
As a kid I didn’t realize it failed. I felt he was pushed. I remember that body slam crap. But I guess as a kid you don’t notice certain things
I remember this and it still hurts on some level. For seven years I lived a stone’s throw away from the Palace. Every time I drove past it I shook my head. Luger deserved better, instead he got Vince-a-fied. 😢
At the end of the day if he would have done more fired up and relatable promos he would have un Vince-a-fied himself. Vince messed up but Lex didn’t fight for it. So it took two f ups to ruin his character.
If Lex hulked up, the crowd would have picked him over Bret.
Thats right
I think lex luger and psycho sid are in the same level
Lex luger deserve more back in 1994 and 1995
Lex luger deserve the tag team title, intercontinental title, and the wwf title
I remember when he body slammed Yokozuna on the aircraft carrier this was so epic when I was a kid 💪 I also remember when he has the “steel plate” in his forearm and would hit people with it.
Same I was 10 years old and marking out over the body slam with my friends, I think there’s too many cynical adults commenting on why his push failed when kids don’t think about the illogical-ness of him being the narcissist last week and face Luger this week. To us it was more like Darth Vader’s instant hero turn at the end of Jedi, don’t overthink it.
@@mikeg2491 different era... We honestly didn't know, or were loyal to the brand. I remember me and my brother WWF junkies, while our friend, Raheem and his step dad ONLY watched WCW 😩. Wrestlers back then would switch companies or come back with a mask like Isaac Yankem. Just turned 39, and I long for my childhood watching these. We really believed Lex had a bionic steel elbow
The Narcissist Gimmick for lex luger was awesome sucks that it didn't last long it could've been interesting
He was never the best at cutting promos. Being a super-vain heel that would rather admire himself in the mirror covered that flaw and generated fantastic heat. Certainly, at some point a gimmick like that would get old, but by July 1993 it still had plenty of life left.
@@PhantomBankerLex was also harmed by the fact that the WWF had mostly moved away from having babyface managers by the time he came in. Lex was never the best promo, but a manager would’ve helped that issue during the face run.
Honestly I agree
Imagine how awesome it would have been if Lex was the Narcissist when he slammed Yoko and stayed in character!
Where after he slammed Yoko all he would do is stare in the mirrors and flex lol
That would have been amazing!!!
I didn't like it! Lex will also be the total package only too me!
Yokozuna wasn’t billed from Japan. He was usually billed from Polynesia
As someone who watched this whole thing live, Yokozuma never really resonated as a hell. Even then, the 'foriegn invader' bad guy was tired and seen as a bit racist...especially when one of the most beloved faces of that generation was Ricky Steamboat. Luger, a decent guy who honestly just felt like a smug heel, playing the rah rah USA bit felt wrong IMMEDIATELY. Plus he just stopped playing a smug heel...for no reason. There were a dozen ways this could have been done better, maybe like having Yoko destroy his mirror and him in a match, and Luger wanting revenge while slowly transformer on-screen into someone that needed more than a good look to win. A total package, one might say...
Awesome video review to me this is a perfect example of WWE fans seeing through the bs. They knew that lex was never going to be the New Hogan. And yet decades later WWE still won't listen to the fans
But it was a insult for Hogan if he was on his way out.
Vince McMahon even wanted Luger to grow a Hogan style moustache!!!!
@@randybarnett2308 Lex doesn't look like Hogan
Agreed, their shoving Austin Theory down our throats is not working at all and makes me wanna skip anything he is involved in
Man when I was a kid I loved lex luger.... I grew up on WCW and for some reason his style just did something for me. When he went to the wwf as the narcissist I thought the gimmick was hilarious. I was like lex is doing his version of ric flair.... but then the all American push happened and totally sucked. He was always meant to be a heel.... imagine a heel but had the physical abilities of a champ baby face. We needed a heel that could win clean back then it would've been great. Instead we got the hulk hogan thing all over again
Lex Luger needs to be in the Hall of Fame ASAP!
He GREATLY DESERVES this!
I remember like it was yesterday, and Luger's book is a definite must-read for wrestling fans. Around 1990-to-1993, the WWF was indeed hit by a lot of challenges. The Ultimate Warrior failing to replace Hulk Hogan long-term, the steroid, drugs, and s*xu*l assault scandals, having too big of a talent roster due to former WCW stars like Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Mean Mark (Undertaker), and Jim Cornett coming to the WWF; and Vince McMahan finally replying to persistent, aggressive investigative reporters that wrestling was purely "entertainment" and not at all real. I remember the "wrestling is fake" announcement really shocking folks in my neighborhood and many I went to school with. The WWF television ratings and arena sales definitely dropped and wouldn't see a sustained upswing until almost toward the end of the 1990s (as WCW regained popularity). In the meantime, Lex Luger was brought in to replace Hogan and save the WWF. What many did not realize, Luger included, was by having Luger tour on the bus and not wrestle, the remaining television program airtime was going to be used to develop, test out, and build up other wrestlers on the roster (along with integrating the former WCW talents). This was McMahon's back-up plan, and many fans forget that Vince McMahan's father and Bret and Owen Hart's father were very good, close friends so that had to have been a decision factor in giving Bret the belt. Despite the timing of it all, at some point during the Lex Express, a choice was made to give Luger the win but not the belt. And the rest is history.
There is no comparsion of Warrior and Luger. If it wasn't for Bret if it the steroids scandal it might be Sid.
Sid wasn't with the company at that time yes, ircc he was back with WCW@@lexkanyima2195
Lex Luther look like Kevin Bacon on steroids 😂😂😂
Now I want Wrestlemania 40 to end with Cody throwing Roman out of the ring for a count out victory, then every face like Sami and KO come out and celebrate Roman losing just like this.
Despite the constant cries that Vince is a genius, dude has laid some stinky ones, and the "Lex Express" (really the whole push) was bad, bad, bad.
It only became bad when they refused to pull the trigger on giving lex the belt.
I was totally fine with Brett being the face of the WWF. He was the alternative to Hogan. It was a change that worked. I was never on board the Lex Express. That was doomed from the start. We didn't need another Hogan. It was time to move on.
It was transitional period
@@lexkanyima2195 I get that. I literally just described the context of the transitional period lol.
@@SurvivorBri but to move on like that is not that simple
We need the true story of Jack's laptop date.
These here is why I love this channel so much. The quality of this series are so well done and accurate. Yup you guys really make me happy happy when I see these. Love right when the VHS goes in, happiness comes out. Haha😮 love the old school shit especially.
It might just be me, but I think that Brett would be undoubtedly the Greatest of All Time if Vince stopped playing musical chairs and only going back to the reliable Brett when he was in trouble. People think Brett is top 10, top 5, or even top 3. But it would be undoubted if he didn't constantly mess with Brett and gave the fans what we actually wanted to see (which was a lengthy Brett run). But Vince is Vince so......
I always felt like the count out celebration was the result of someone saying, "Listen, we already inflated the balloons and took the confetti out of the package, Party City is NOT going to give us a refund," so they celebrated.
As far as the one time only stipulation, it's ridiculous they waited until the Royal Rumble. Wrestling can walk back retirements, loser leaves town matches, and "permanent" injuries. They could've undone that stipulation in one promo.
Vince could have fix that up. Let lex when the damn belt at SummerSlam and drop the belt back to yoko a month later at a raw show giving it a two week show belt up. Easy but nooooo Vince McMahon always wants to do things the hard way
I almost wonder if the countout was a shoot by Jim and Lex just had to go along with it.
It was really not complicated. WWF fans didn't care about Luger. He was uninteresting as a heel and unfitting as a face. The only reason people popped for him at the bodyslam challenge was because they wanted Yoko to lose so bad to ANYONE. It was the complete opposite of when Hogan came back to WWF: He was red hot, EVERYBODY wanted to see him win the championship and probably nobody would have batted and eye if he had beaten up a little old lady from one of the cheap seats for that. You can't "create" that out of thin air and you'd think WWF/E had learned that lesson back then, but they did it again and again and again...
Hogan was a special attraction
Luger was awful. A top guy in a dingy, shitass, 3rd rate wrestling organization.
Lex Luger had the charisma and personality of a wall.
Back in 1993, Japan was viewed in the same way Homer views Ned Flanders. They were that acquaintance of yours that isn't really hostil to you, but is better than you at pretty much anything, so you hate them. Japanophobia was quite big in the late 80's and early 90's because they had become better at capitalism than America, and Americans were fearful that Japan would take over with their companies.
At least, that's how I understand it.
great look and decent skills the problem was he was not meant to be a top-face in a company. You listen to him speak in the wrestlemania 8 interview his arrogance sounds much more natural for him.
Ah. My bones creak at that time in my salad days I had a massive crush on Lex Luger since he showed up in NWA/WCW. I tried to steal my dad's car so me and my friend could drive three hours to the Dorton Arena in Raleigh, NC for a house show.
Anywho, I did hope that for once Luger could get a clean win in the WWF, since they had the bus and did the damn rap song, but nooooo.
Fucking love these short documentaries this channel does. Good shit
'...played the Super Nintendo by then...'
*shows NES game*
It actually was Bret. He carried that company through the most of the 90s.
So true
God, I remember this. Looking in retrospect, Vince REALLY tried to get the fans to like Lex. He just didn't have the natural charisma that Hulk or Flair had. Overall, I think fans liked Lex, but he was never really a "top guy." He was good in a supporting role, though.
Lex Lugar was over like Rover. We loved him.
@@ROCKNINJA777 That's why he should have won. They did a great job short term with the bus and the American hero schtick, but when he celebrated that count out win, his popularity deflated like a balloon two days after a count out win celebration.
Love these narrated mini documentaries. You're great at them jack.
Yes
Superb video jack & brilliantly narrated too, i love these documentaries, keep em coming 🙂👍
I'm still surprised WWF put the belt on Ric Flair in the early 90s. Not surprising he lost the belt as quickly as he won them.
Flair won The WWF title at the 1992 Royal Rumble 5 months after his debut, so it was so rushed, but noticable how he won it, to showcase ability to wrestle to have a hour survive in the ring.
Lucas should've been used as a villain until he was clearly secure and established in the villain role, then you can credibly start this shift to hero in my opinion. He didn't have enough time as the narcissist. He should've had a two-year run as the narcissist. But I guess they just needed the body in the spot so, business is business. It didn't work though.
Not going to lie. This is my favorite WWF moment. I have a comic style poster of the two facing off framed on my office wall. I reference it every single American Independence Day. I wanted to be a part of the Call to Action Campaign so bad in the month leading up to my 12th birthday.
Biggest mistake they made, trying to make Luger into the next Hulk Hogan.
Did Vince not see the country change in America in 1993 when it comes to more athletic people and not muscle-bound people like we seen in 80s? I mean was he not paying attention to Michael Jordan and other athletic guys?
It really boggles the mind how his yesmin did not at least tell to him look here this is not what the new kids are into today.
And he made the mistake again decades later with Roman Reigns in trying to make him the next John Cena.
Vince was going off what he thought was the formula for success. Also Vince knew Hogan was going to WCW eventually and saw Lex as a counter.
@@AceAcabrasVince didn't learn his lesson
They both atleast looked human-enough.
Another classic amazing job Jack
needed Hogan involved to give him the rub, but Hogan most likely wouldn't have done that. considering his ego.
This is when I started watching wrestling regularly. I remember it as a child. When Lex bodyslammed Yokozuna
Yeah SummerSlam 93 was definitely confusing. Now that I know all the backstage stuff tho it makes sense 😂
Just an FYI the USS Intrepid is an aircraft carrier not a battleship.
Totally disagree. The Narcissist was a great gimmick and could've had a dominant heel championship run. They ruined him with the Lex Express gimmick
Good video. Very well done... 😎👍
What's sad is that he hasn't been inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame.
8:47 that’s me in the purple shirt to the left of Lex behind the guy with the hat
there was an appropriate amount of bus puns.
0:44 "Oh yeah, I got this. What a pittance!"
Great watch
They got me then because Lex Luger was one of my favorites.
Imagine Luger winning at Mania 10 turning heel, then only to lose later in the night to Hart that would have been epic🎉
Call me crazy if you want, but I believe that if they had at the very least given Lex a chance as champ, it would have paid off. Yes, he wasn't every fans cup of tea and some could certainly see through the veneer that was being presented to them, but as a young kid I clearly remember how much I was in awe of his patriotism and good guy ethos. If he had been allowed to win the belt at SummerSlam, he would have carried it through to a challenge from Borga at Survivor Series to gain more traction as patriotic face. And if by then people still weren't buying him as champ then he could have just dropped it to Bret Hart at Wrestlemania, since Vince was clearly looking for a way to make it up to Bret for short changing him the year prior.
As a few other people have pointed out, WWF really didn't have anything to lose by making him Champ at SummerSlam.
If The Lex Express drove though my hometown I would’ve went and taken a picture with it
I will be your HEROOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
Good vid!
I liked his narcissist gimmick . Suited him lol
I always a Lex Luger fan since 88 and he was my first crush I met him many times and always was sweet and I will always❤❤❤❤❤ him
After Wrestlemania X they should have turned Lex back into heel. Cheap shotting the Hitman.
JIM CORNETTE WOULD AGREE
I feel like Vince wanted to duplicate what he did with Hogan vs. Andre the Giant. He literally had Lex slam Yoko for the 1st time which was almost beat for beat Hogan slamming Andre for the "first" time at Wrestlemania III. This event fully got Hogan "over" with the fans and I think Vince thought it was a replicable blueprint. Maybe if he skipped the whole USS Intrepid thing and had Luger slam Yoko for the first time during the match, it would've went over better.
Why it took 6 years to replicate to make a equivalent ? Hogan was already super over before Wrestlemania III. As for July 4th 1993, it was a huge mistake to make Luger a born again Hogan. Luger was not even getting on the map.
LEX would have been better as, a "heel" or a "anti hero" compared to the "Lex Express" but when he slammed, Yokozuna, that was, AWESOME!!!
The only question I have is whatever happened to the bus? Who owns it? Where is it?
Can we all just admit the reason Bret was so over was because of the glasses 😎
At that time he was over
I wonder how much the pink played into it.
@@vinnymac7565That was the worst part!
Honestly, they should have had Lex turn heel and attack Bret during his title celebration, reverting back to 'The Narcissist.'
They really called it ...the lex express😂😂😂
Lugar had a weird looking face, the kind of face no one believes is really a clean cut honest guy. He looked creepy, or arrogant at the least. I honestly think his face is a big reason he never hit it with audiences as a boycout babyface. That and an apparent lack of emotional charisma I guess.
He sucked. He beat women, too
good video
He was the drizzling shits in ring, Bulldog carried the allied powers. Fooooooooked
Vince has this uncanny way of sinking his own boat. . .
What’s that picture of Vince putting the belt on Luger from?
"Hell bent" is used as ted turners mission to make wcw bigger than wwf
Sad How Lex ended up nowadays
All those drugs and steroids left him as a shell of his former self.
@@westnile21 Yes also heard about him sleeping wrong on plane that put him in a wheelchair if I remember correctly messed up his spine
@@westnile21it’s reasons like this are why Sting is one of my favorites
He came in during all that mess alongside the likes of Ultimate Warrior, Luger, and after Hogan and Savage
And of the four he’s the only still FULLY ring capable and alive (no disrespect to the dead)
He got out of that stuff FAST it seems
@@arashitendou5941 🦂👍
Could you do a doc of how many laws were sequestered... due to the commercialization of this product
Royal Rumble 1994 was the only REAL duel rumble winners to ever take place. That just proves that Batista and Cena was a legitimate botch years later.
Luger had the look, but he had zero charisma, couldn't cut a promo, and his wrestling skills weren't anything special. He would have been a massive draw in a small company, but in a big pond like WCW or WWE, there were just too many better talents to ever justify making him the face of the company.
8:45 The reason Lex Luger drew some boos was because he was just previously his heel "narcissist" character.
As a kid, it just blew my mind that Luger, who was a bad guy up to that point, was suddenly wearing American colors and challenging another bad guy. Luger quickly became my hero. As a 90's kid, Luger and Hart were my favorites.
But Hogan should have been there on July 4th.
@@lexkanyima2195 He had already left the company, his last ppv match was at KoR93 that year when he dropped the title back to Yoko, after that he was supposed to do a European tour or something but he didn't do that. My point is he was gone by then.
You and me both brother, I liked Lex, had faint memories of his narcissist character but I remember his red white and blue deal, shame Vince decided not to put the title on him at SS
@@Rick-si1re but nobody know at that time that it was going to be Hogan's last match
Ok and ? ....I don't get it, you said Hogan should have been there, I'm telling you why he wasn't there, that's all.@@lexkanyima2195
It wasn't a battleship. It was an aircraft carrier.
So many people still think Vince is straight.
He definitely isn't 100%.
He’s like mac from only sunny in Philadelphia
Many people probably aren't worried about Vinces sexual orientation
Makes sense fr Brett was that guy and Vince definitely went with anybody but him
Man, I really hope they kept that bus. Like put it on display somewhere