From his debut in Jim Crockett Promotions in 1987 he was a unique individual. Not burdened with a goofy or fantastic gimmick, Luger was presented in a straightforward fashion - a dominant athlete with the size and physique of Hulk Hogan (and later Ultimate Warrior) and the intensity of Paul Orndorff.
By 1988 Luger was a main event player, but Ric Flair ultimately refused to drop the belt to him and a major push was squandered. In 1989 Luger turned heel. He was still basically the same character, but was now the hyper athlete who had grown arrogant over his own pre-eminence over the rest of the roster. Basically a Terrell Owens or Tom Brady dialed up to 11, with no filter. It was realistic, and again not over the top.
Eventually Luger would be transitioned back to a face after Sting was injured, but in 1991 would move back to the hyper-arrogant alpha athlete character.
Portrayed as such, Luger was consistently in the main event scene from 1988 to 1992. Following Flair's departure, Luger was moved into the number one slot in the company and along with Sting was considered the foundational piece for the rebuild of the company. However by the fall of 1991 Luger became disinterested with the direction under Jim Herd. He briefly quit in protest after manager Harley Race was let go, then agreed to return when Race's termination was cancelled. But in January 1992 Luger agreed to a contract with the World Bodybuilding Federation, which as a non-wrestling entity allowed him to leave WCW a year before his contract was to expire.
And so Luger goes to the WBF. For probably the last time he was portrayed in a manner that played to his strengths, as his initial WBF interview at WrestleMania VIII. Here, for the final time Lex was the arrogant hyper-athlete, unencumbered by any further gimmick.
Shortly afterwards Luger was in his motorcycle accident, and months later the WBF was shut down. In January 1993 Bobby Heenan announced that "Narcissus" was coming to the WWF to eliminate Mr Perfect, and at The Royal Rumble we saw a needless repackaging of Lex Luger into a cartoonish gimmick of a man who was not arrogant because he was better than everyone else, but a man who was IN LOVE WITH HIMSELF.
Luger was a upper card performer, but too new to pull the trigger on for a main event run. He would lose to Tatanka and Bret Hart on house shows, before necessity led to a change in direction by the WWF. Hulk Hogan and the WWF had parted ways, and Vince McMahon felt that Luger would make the perfect replacement. But it would not be as the non-gimmicked Lex Luger of WCW that had been so successful. It would be as the hyper-patriotric, over the top "Made in the USA" Lex Luger. A gimmick that played to none of Luger's strengths and to all of his weaknesses.
Still, with the entirety of the still-capable WWF promotional machine behind him, Luger entered SummerSlam 93 with a wave of new-found popularity. However the decision not to let him leave as champion and to wait until WrestleMania X had a profound effect on the character. Luger could not sustain himself and petered out. The difference in reaction between the two shows is revealing.
Following the show the WWF put Luger on the backburner a bit and shuttled him off to a feud with Tatanka, with little adjustment in the character.
Going into 1995 Luger's contact was set to expire, and without a new deal on the table the WWF moved him further out of the limelight and placed him into a placeholder tag-team with Davey Boy Smith. For months he worked without a new deal in place.
Although Luger may have received a renewed singles push had he re-signed with the company - and likely as a heel challenger to Bret Hart or Shawn Michaels - the momentum that he had entering the company as one of the three top WCW wrestlers of the 80s had long been squandered.
When Luger returned to WCW, it was not as a main-event level player. The former dominant World Champion would lose to Meng within a month of returning, and would soon be trading the TV Championship with Johnny B Badd.
It was two years before Luger had been somewhat rebuilt. Ultimately he would never be the focus point of the company, and it can be attributed to the WWF's decision to take something that was basically working perfectly, tinker with it, and ultimately ruin it.
By 1988 Luger was a main event player, but Ric Flair ultimately refused to drop the belt to him and a major push was squandered. In 1989 Luger turned heel. He was still basically the same character, but was now the hyper athlete who had grown arrogant over his own pre-eminence over the rest of the roster. Basically a Terrell Owens or Tom Brady dialed up to 11, with no filter. It was realistic, and again not over the top.
Eventually Luger would be transitioned back to a face after Sting was injured, but in 1991 would move back to the hyper-arrogant alpha athlete character.
Portrayed as such, Luger was consistently in the main event scene from 1988 to 1992. Following Flair's departure, Luger was moved into the number one slot in the company and along with Sting was considered the foundational piece for the rebuild of the company. However by the fall of 1991 Luger became disinterested with the direction under Jim Herd. He briefly quit in protest after manager Harley Race was let go, then agreed to return when Race's termination was cancelled. But in January 1992 Luger agreed to a contract with the World Bodybuilding Federation, which as a non-wrestling entity allowed him to leave WCW a year before his contract was to expire.
And so Luger goes to the WBF. For probably the last time he was portrayed in a manner that played to his strengths, as his initial WBF interview at WrestleMania VIII. Here, for the final time Lex was the arrogant hyper-athlete, unencumbered by any further gimmick.
Shortly afterwards Luger was in his motorcycle accident, and months later the WBF was shut down. In January 1993 Bobby Heenan announced that "Narcissus" was coming to the WWF to eliminate Mr Perfect, and at The Royal Rumble we saw a needless repackaging of Lex Luger into a cartoonish gimmick of a man who was not arrogant because he was better than everyone else, but a man who was IN LOVE WITH HIMSELF.
Luger was a upper card performer, but too new to pull the trigger on for a main event run. He would lose to Tatanka and Bret Hart on house shows, before necessity led to a change in direction by the WWF. Hulk Hogan and the WWF had parted ways, and Vince McMahon felt that Luger would make the perfect replacement. But it would not be as the non-gimmicked Lex Luger of WCW that had been so successful. It would be as the hyper-patriotric, over the top "Made in the USA" Lex Luger. A gimmick that played to none of Luger's strengths and to all of his weaknesses.
Still, with the entirety of the still-capable WWF promotional machine behind him, Luger entered SummerSlam 93 with a wave of new-found popularity. However the decision not to let him leave as champion and to wait until WrestleMania X had a profound effect on the character. Luger could not sustain himself and petered out. The difference in reaction between the two shows is revealing.
Following the show the WWF put Luger on the backburner a bit and shuttled him off to a feud with Tatanka, with little adjustment in the character.
Going into 1995 Luger's contact was set to expire, and without a new deal on the table the WWF moved him further out of the limelight and placed him into a placeholder tag-team with Davey Boy Smith. For months he worked without a new deal in place.
Although Luger may have received a renewed singles push had he re-signed with the company - and likely as a heel challenger to Bret Hart or Shawn Michaels - the momentum that he had entering the company as one of the three top WCW wrestlers of the 80s had long been squandered.
When Luger returned to WCW, it was not as a main-event level player. The former dominant World Champion would lose to Meng within a month of returning, and would soon be trading the TV Championship with Johnny B Badd.
It was two years before Luger had been somewhat rebuilt. Ultimately he would never be the focus point of the company, and it can be attributed to the WWF's decision to take something that was basically working perfectly, tinker with it, and ultimately ruin it.
