When Hulk Hogan said goodbye to WWE in 1993, it left Vince McMahon in the undesirable position of needing to replace the face of the company. McMahon has always preferred guys with the jacked-up bodybuilder look, but “passing the torch” to the Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania 6 didn’t work out, and bringing in stars from elsewhere like Sid Justice failed to step up.
Lex Luger was likely on Vince’s radar since his 1987 debut with Jim Crockett Promotions. First signing with the WBF, Vince’s bodybuilding promotion, then with WWE as a wrestler in 1993, Luger’s path to slamming WWE Champion Yokozuna aboard the U.S.S. Intrepid aircraft carrier on the Fourth of July was a bumpy one. While it seemed like only the first stop on the Lex Express highway tour to victory, it probably ended up being its highlight.
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Lex Luger Made His WWE Debut At The 1993 Royal Rumble
He Previously Spent Four Years In WCW
- Luger went back and forth between being a heel and babyface in WCW.
- He signed with Vince McMahon’s World Bodybuilding Federation.
- Luger’s “The Narcissist” gimmick failed in WWE.
When the “Total Package” began contract renewal negotiations, he knew he had a bargaining chip: he was exactly the type of lean, chiseled specimen their main rival McMahon salivated over. WCW struggled with Luger’s booking from his rookie year, turning from heel to babyface and back no less than four times during his four-year stint! It became difficult for fans to fully get behind Lex, especially as his best friend/biggest rival Sting’s popularity exploded at a parallel pace. Eventually, nobody could blame Luger for wanting to see how green the grass was on the other side, despite finally becoming WCW World Champion in July ’91, upon – you guessed it – another heel turn. Before long, Lex had one foot out the proverbial door and was gone before the dust settled from his final appearance, a SuperBrawl 2 title loss to the Stinger.
After initially signing with Vince’s World Bodybuilding Federation, Lex soon suffered a severe motorcycle accident. Since his recovery extended beyond the failed WBF’s lifespan, Luger’s first official appearance for McMahon occurred in a wrestling ring after all, as “Narcissus” (later tweaked to “The Narcissist”) in a posedown at the 1993 Royal Rumble.
Despite the accompanying bikini-clad valets, pyro, and ballyhoo, the character failed to get over. A heel Luger’s only full-fledged feud under the gimmick, with an awkward babyface “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig – culminating in an underwhelming match at WrestleMania 9 – was nowhere near what fans and management had hoped. After the PPV and through the King of the Ring, Luger floundered in the midcard as Hogan returned for Hulkamania’s infamous four-month death rattle.
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Lex Luger Body Slammed Yokozuna On The Fourth Of July
The Moment Happened On The USS Intrepid
- With Hogan gone, Vince McMahon needed to create a new face of WWE.
- Luger stepped up to challenge Yokozuna on an aircraft carrier.
- Their SummerSlam match ended with a count-out and Luger never became WWE Champion.
Hogan dropped the WWE Championship back to Yokozuna for good at the June PPV and showed no sign of returning, so the company had to pivot their booking plans fast. With July 4th (the United States’ Independence Day) right around the corner and the top heel a stereotypical foreign menace, it was time to go to the jingoism well, yet again.
The only problem, of course, was that Hogan was always the company’s patriotic main eventer (sorry, Hacksaw Jim Duggan). When Yoko challenged the entire WWE roster – and the world – to bodyslam him upon the Intrepid that fateful day, a mysterious helicopter descended, with fans mystified at who might be arriving.
We have to give WWE credit here: when they dedicate their promotional machine to a babyface, they know how to do it right. Lex’s emergence from that helicopter immediately turned him into a fan favorite, and when he slammed Yokozuna on Independence Day it seemed sure that this was finally going to be the break he needed to become the industry’s next big star. Except, of course, that didn’t happen. August’s SummerSlam encounter between Luger and Yoko ended with the thud of a count-out “victory” (sans title change), and the ensuing celebration made Lex look like a doofus. Vince McMahon got cold feet and decided against making Luger the next face of WWE.
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The Fans Chose Bret Hart Over Lex Luger
Lex Luger Returned To WCW On The Very First Nitro
- The 1994 Royal Rumble ended in a tie between Luger and Bret Hart.
- Luger lost his WrestleMania 10 match against Yokozuna because of Mr. Perfect’s interference.
- He ended his WWE run feuding with Ludvig Borga and teaming with Davey Boy Smith.
In hindsight, however, it’s not surprising: while Lex looked great, he was arguably a less believable in-ring worker than Hogan and struggled sometimes while cutting promos. However, after finishing 1993 still in pursuit of Yokozuna and the title, Luger was given one more chance by McMahon to prove that he could be the guy – but it wasn’t to be.
At the end of the 1994 Royal Rumble, in a unique finish that the two pulled off spectacularly, Luger and Bret Hart finished in a tie that nobody predicted. Through the next few months, the company pushed both as having an equal likelihood of dethroning Yoko at WrestleMania 10.
Ultimately, though, the fans told the company through more consistent cheers and merchandise sales that it was Bret – who, ironically, isn’t even American – that they trusted to bring the gold home. At WrestleMania, Lex was “screwed” in his bout with Yoko by Special Guest Referee Curt Hennig (of course), never again sniffing WWE’s main event scene – notably feuding with Ludvig Borga and briefly teaming with Davey Boy Smith – before famously returning to WCW in September 1995 and appearing on the very first Nitro.
