Grilling JR - Lex Luger in WCW [Show Notes] (Patreon)

This week on Grilling JR we’re talking about Lex Luger!

Lex Luger, who turns 63 on June 2nd, was born in Buffalo, NY. Lawrence Pfohl’s entrance to professional wrestling...like most pro wrestlers back in the 80s...began as being a college football player. He started at Penn State before transferring to Miami University. Luger’s college football career ended on the team’s road trip to Atlanta to play Georgia Tech and supposedly Luger was suffering from cabin-fever and disappointed at not being named a starter by Coach Lou Saban by the 5th game into the season, just snapped and trashed his hotel room. Saban promptly booted him from the team.

Did you ever hear this story or talk to Lex about it?

Lex bounces around the pro football scene with a stint in the CFL, being a part of the Packers for a season but was on injured reserve the whole year, and finally finished playing football by going to the USFL and at one point even teamed with Ron Simmons for the Tampa Bay Bandits. Was Lex ever on your radar being the football fan you are?

It’s 1985 and Lex Luger meets Bob Roop at a celebrity golfing event in Florida and Roop, impressed with his body, arranges for Luger to be trained by the man who trained Hulk Hogan & Paul Orndorff in Hiro Matsuda. Who is Bob Roop and what is his role in professional wrestling?

Why do you think a lot of Matusda’s trainees were successful in wrestling?

Lex is supposedly a fan of Lex Luthor and names himself after the character and assumed he would be a heel. Luger debuts in the CWF and within two months he’s beating Wahoo McDaniel for the Southern Heavyweight Championship. When do you hear about Lex Luger and how big a deal is it to beat Wahoo that early in his career?

He goes to a draw with Ric Flair on September 1st, 1986 at CWF’s Battle of the Belts III in Daytona Beach, FL in 20 minutes of a ⅔ fall match. Is this the test for Luger to see if he’s ready for the big time?

Do you know what the Cowboy thought of Lex Luger at the time?

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Luger debuts for JCP in early 1987 being called “The Total Package” and he’s almost immediately associated with Ric Flair but not exactly being part of the Horsemen. The talk of wrestling has always been that Vince is a “body guy”...but here’s Lex in JCP...the definition of a “body guy.” It’s hard not to take someone who looks like Lex and make him a top guy is it not?

In his first promo he says he will become a member of the Horsemen one day. The way he was introduced to JCP is similar to how Ricky Starks was introduced to AEW would you agree?

This is nothing short of a rocket being strapped to Luger at this point in his career right?

Around this time Lex is finishing up in Florida before making the transition to JCP full-time and he works Bruiser Brody in a Cage Match. This is an infamous match in wrestling lore where the rumor and innuendo is that Luger tried to call the match before hand with Brody which Brody wanted nothing to do with and Brody stopped working and Luger knew he was in deep shit and high tailed it out of the ring. Have you ever seen this...heard about it...talked with anyone about it?

Ole Anderson is kicked out of the Horsemen and replaced with Luger. There’s no one better at this point in time for Luger to learn on the road from than Flair, Dillon, Arn & Tully wouldn’t you agree?

You said in your book, “My Life in Wrestling” that he could’ve learned more and absorbed more when he was with the Horsemen. What do you think Luger missed?

Crockett Cup 87 comes down to Dusty & Nikita against Tully & Luger. Before the finals in Baltimore, MD Magnum TA makes his first appearance in the 6 months since his crash to show his support for Dusty & Nikita who end up victorious. Dusty pins Tully...how big a match at some point could Magnum vs Luger had been? Why do you think Dusty pins Tully here instead of Luger? Did it seem like they knew Luger was going to be an NWA Champion sometime soon?

Nikita vs. Luger is being built up for the United States Title. And it’s literally months before they face each other. Do you think that’s something that can be done today?

Lex is part of the first War Games at the Omni where Dusty, Nikita, the Road Warriors & Paul Ellering against the Horsemen where Hawk made JJ submit. Did you see this match and how important was Lex to this match?

Finally in Greensboro, Luger wins the US Title from Nikita in a steel cage match on July 11th. Now the Horsemen have all the NWA Titles. How important is this in the moment for JCP?

Was Luger ready, do you think at this point?

Around this time the UWF & JCP merge. Is this when you first meet Lex?

Where does the Lex Luger Horsemen rank in Horsemen lore for you?

Starrcade 1987 features Dusty vs. Luger in a Steel Cage Match for the US Title. This is also the first pay-per-view for Crockett. Why Dusty over Luger here? Meltzer wasn’t a fan of the match as you can see:

Was this Dusty using this win to turn Luger and get him ready?

Luger chooses to quit the Horsemen after this when he eliminates JJ Dillon to win a Bunkhouse Stampede and is full fledged babyface. Was Luger ready to be the babyface in your opinion?

Luger has always been talked about as being immature early on in his career. Was he in your experience? Early success going to his head type of thing?

Luger & Barry Windham are put together as a team and they defeat Arn & Tully to win the NWA World Tag Team Titles at the first Clash of the Champions but just a few weeks later Windham turns on Luger in a match to help Arn & Tully regain the titles. Was this just to heat Barry Windham up or was someone else supposed to be in the Horsemen and this was a Plan B type of thing?

Luger & Sting...teaming for the first time...win the Crockett Memorial Cup by beating Tully & Arn in the finals. Were Luger & Sting the friends they were later on at this point in their careers?

We get to Lex’s first big singles match to ever headline a pay-per-view...Luger vs. Flair at the Great American Bash 1988.

Looking back it seems like Dave was harsh regarding this match. How did you feel about it? How big a miss was the finish? Do you think these types of finishes hurt pay-per-view buys and houses in the future.

We know the plan is Sting vs. Flair. Was Luger a road block in your mind?

JCP...well now WCW...run it back at Starrcade where Flair pins Luger by holding the ropes. It’s hard for a babyface to keep coming up short and continue to be pushed as a top level guy...but it also seems to be a theme for Luger in his career. Why do you think that is?

Luger is re-focused on the US Title after defeating Barry Windham for it and trades the title back forth with...Michael ‘PS’ Hayes. Jim...chat me up about this renewed push of Doot Doot Doot as a singles wrestler.

Luger turns heel on Ricky Steamboat and retains his title at Great American Bash over Steamboat. Luger is working some of the best wrestlers at all-time...Flair and Steamboat obviously...how is Luger in your mind progressing as a worker at this point?

You wrote in your book that the Iron Man Tournament at Starrcade 89 between Ric Flair, Luger, Sting & Great Muta was your idea. The concept about it being a “sports-like” tournament you said wasn’t supported by the creative team or the wrestlers themselves. Tell us more about why you think it failed.

Sting and Flair are scheduled to face each other at WrestleWar in 1990...and as we all know Sting blows his knee out. Luger is turned face out of nowhere to replace him and loses via countout in his place. You said in your book that Luger was heating up as an arrogant villain. Is Luger going back and forth in his roles hurting him?

Ole Anderson returns as booker and it’s reported that on March 23rd, Flair is scheduled to lose the WCW Title to Lex Luger at a house show in Chicago, IL. A film crew along with Lance Russell & Chris Cruise were flown in to cover the event. Flair vetoes it that he wasn’t given enough notice and time for this. Did Luger ever have an issue with Flair about not wanting to put him over?

How much heat did Luger have in the locker room with his reported $650k contract?

Luger is going through a serious injury issue in the run up to Capital Combat. Luger has a staph infection and is taken off all shows until the pay-per-view.  Do you know if there was ever a worry he wouldn’t be able to make the show?

Luger again fails to capture the World Title at Capital Combat in DC when he wins via DQ...in a steel cage match.

Jim...what the hell is this finish? Was this done because of Lex’s injury?

Luger would hold the US Title for 523 days...the longest reign of any US champion EVER...through all the incarnations...before dropping it to Stan Hansen and getting it right back. What do you remember of the Luger vs. Stan Hansen matches?

Nikita returns to feud with Luger but then for some reason he switches to Sting. Do you know why that is?

Luger’s first WCW World Title reign begins in auspicious times. Ric Flair and Jim Herd’s feud comes to a head with Herd “firing” Flair over creative differences. What do you remember about the chaos going into this show?

It’s always been assumed that Flair was going to drop the title Lex and Flair wanted a contract extension to do that...is that how you remember it?

Barry Windham is deemed the #2 Contender so he’s tapped to replace Ric in the match against Lex.

Here’s Meltzer’s write-up on the match where finally Lex Luger wins the WCW World Title:

“11. Lex Luger beat Barry Windham in 12:25 to win the WCW world heavyweight title in a cage match. This was a tough situation. Flair was the most over wrestler on the card, and this match featured mainly chants of "We Want Flair." Clearly, the people who came were there not to enjoy this match. The heat was on Luger and Windham to rise to the occasion and make them forget about Flair, at least while their match was going on. This shouldn't have been in a cage as it detracted from the match. It was a good match, but for what was needed in the situation, it was nowhere close. Windham had a bad knee and Luger's obsession with the number on his bathroom scale in the morning works against him in the ring. Windham worked as a babyface and Luger as a heel, but nobody picked up on it. Windham did some hot stuff, especially when one considers his size. Lots of near falls and good moves. Finish saw Harley Race and Mr. Hughes come to the ring. Windham was distracted by Hughes and Race told Luger to do it. Luger gave Windham a piledriver and pinned him. After the match, Luger left with Race and Hughes. Although nobody knew it, Luger did turn heel. ***”

This is a tough situation like Meltzer points out plus injuries, etc. Is this just a lackluster way of Lex finally getting the top guy spot after all the years of being up there and not being handed the ball?

Lex is heel...again. Is this the model the WWF had for Paul Wight when he signed?

Lex’s first program afterwards is with Ron Simmons. In the build up to Halloween Havoc Luger offered Simmons a role in his entourage as a chauffeur. It was deemed controversial back then and today it would never happen. What did you think of it?

At Halloween Havoc Luger would retain his title over Ron Simmons. Here’s the write-up from Meltzer:

“11. Lex Luger retained the WCW title winning two of three falls from Ron Simmons. First fall was slow, with Simmons winning in 4:52 with the spinebuster. Luger sold his back a lot during the second fall. The announcing in this match was great in getting the story across. Luger won the fall via DQ when it looked like they were going to take a double bump over the top rope but Harley Race held onto Simmons and Luger went over and they called for the DQ in 10:07. Third fall saw Luger bleed hardway under the eye. Simmons made a big comeback and went for the three point stance and tackle to Luger, who moved and Simmons hit the post. Luger then pinned him with a piledriver in 3:59. Can you believe that finish? A heel winning the main event on a PPV clean with his hold. In fact, there were no screw-job endings the entire card, and it was booked by Dusty Rhodes. This match was quite a strong argument point for two-of-three fall matches, because technically it was nothing special, but the three falls gave them a chance to do a storyline that made it a very good match. ***½”

Luger and Simmons deliver in a big way wouldn’t you agree?

Not long after this Luger’s dates on his contract for that year have pretty much run out. How does this go unnoticed in the WCW office and was Luger looking to play ball or make this about his contract and getting more money?

Meltzer would report: “There was serious consideration given last week to putting the WCW belt on Rick Steiner at the Clash. Apparently Lex Luger's contract (running from March-to-March) specifies a certain number of live dates and he'd been booked so heavily over the first eight months of the year that at his present pace, whatever the number is, he'd reach it just about by the end of the year. So in order to keep him working the major towns until the new fiscal year of the contract, Luger is being pulled from all smaller shows. I'm not sure if this relates to that same clause, or the clause regarding his contract being valid only for the U.S. and Canada (which allowed him to skip the March show at the Tokyo Egg Dome because his contract didn't specifically cover Japan), but he also refused to work the England tour since it wasn't covered by his contract and there was heat regarding that.”

How does WCW keep finding itself in having bad situations contractually with the World Champion?

From the Observer: “Nearly an ultimate disaster on Monday as Lex Luger quit the promotion as a protest because WCW fired Harley Race. The last word I heard is that everything has been worked out, although Luger did miss the 11/25 television tapings in Macon, GA because it wasn't resolved in time.”

Why did WCW cut ties with Harley Race here and why was Lex so hot about it?

Was the situation with Lex at this point just a ticking time bomb waiting to explode?

Lex & Sting win the Lethal Lottery respective battle royals and meet in a singles match at the end of Starrcade which ends when Sting tosses out Lex Luger to win and begin the real build to their singles match at SuperBrawl II.

From the Observer…

“Lex Luger officially gave notice to WCW that he'd be finishing up on the 2/29 PPV show. Luger's three-year contract with WCW expires in March of 1993, but he's expected to be given a limited release which would allow him to wrestle during the final year of his contract in Japan (which he may not even choose to do), but not in the United States, which would legally put a block on his going to the WWF until the spring of '93. Luger isn't scheduled to work any house shows or television tapings for the remainder of this month. I don't have details on February scheduling although it was expected Luger wouldn't work any house shows except Milwaukee, but would work some television tapings for shows that would air prior to the pay-per-view. This leads to the rumor (which was emphatically denied by Vince McMahon) that Luger was quitting his contract estimated at $600,000 per year in base salary and $25,000 per pay-per-view event to join the World Bodybuilding Federation for one year, and then have a wrestling angle shot and segue into the WWF.”

What was going through your head at this point? Lex is leaving but can’t wrestle and is walking away from a big contract. Vince is going to sign him and put him in the WBF until he can wrestle. What did you think of the move from all 3 ways, WCW, Lex Luger, and Vince?

After all this...Jim Herd leaves! What a dysfunctional company Jim. How did you survive?

Lex puts over Sting on his way out and Sting captures the WCW World Title at SuperBrawl. Meltzer would write:

“8. Sting pinned Lex Luger in 13:01 to win the WCW title. Luger was so huge he looked like a member of a different species. If it hadn't have been confirmed already, this officially confirmed Luger's joining the WBF. They spent the first two minutes pretending they were doing a silent movie by standing there and doing nothing. Then they started working and the near 300 pound Luger blew up within two minutes. The match was kept simple and it did have interest but was a long way from a classic title change match. Luger controlled the match pretty much playing superman, even not selling a Stinger splash. Sting did get Luger in the torture rack. Sting kicked out of Luger's piledriver. Finish came out of nowhere with Sting decking Harley Race and pinned Luger with a cross bodyblock. Luger and Sting shook hands and embraced after the match but on television they switched to a crowd shot so the folks at home didn't see it. *½”

Not the payoff it should’ve been or could’ve been. Do you blame that on Lex?

The WBF is complete and total failure. Did you ever see any of it? Anyone ever tell you why Vince thought this was a good idea?