Interesting Facts about Lex Luger

Interesting Facts about Lex Luger

June 27, 2023

By Ryan Porzl

It's that time again when we take a look at a wrestling legend and interesting facts. One of wrestling's most underrated legends is Lex Luger. An important figure in the sport of pro wrestling from the late 1980s to the early 2000s, Luger started in the dying days of the territories before hitting it big in the nationals with WCW and WWF enjoying success and having many big moments, title victories, and matches. Though he never became "The Next Hulk Hogan" as he was projected, he's still a legend who deserves to be celebrated. With Luger's 65th birthday having come on June 2nd, I figure we take a look at some interesting facts about the man nicknamed "The Total Package", "The Narcissist", and "The Man Made In The U.S.A." that you may or may not have known about. 

Note: I don't own the pictures.

Is a Three Time World Champion- We start with one of the usual facts which is amount of world championships. Luger is a fascinating case as he's earned a reputation of being a "choker" who couldn't win when it mattered most. Despite this, The Total Package has the distinction of being a former three time World Champion in wrestling. As most know, Luger was a two time former WCW World Champion. He first won the belt at Great American Bash 1991 on July 14, 1991 against Barry Windham after Ric Flair left the promotion and would hold it until losing it to Sting at SuperBrawl II on February 29, 1992. He then regained the championship by defeating Hollywood Hulk Hogan on August 4, 1997 on WCW Monday Nitro before losing it back to Hogan five days later on August 9th at Road Wild '97. What some may not know, Luger would win a third and final world title when he briefly competed for the World Wrestling All-Stars promotion. On December 6, 2002, Luger won the vacant WWA World Championship in a match against Sting at their Retribution show but lost the belt to the Stinger one week later on December 13th at a live event.

Played Football Before Entering Wrestling- One thing that's common is many professional wrestlers, especially legends, are great athletes who originally had aspirations of making it to another major sport be it football, basketball, or soccer to name some only for it to not work out or an injury to occur and they find themselves in pro wrestling. Luger is one of them. Luger was a true jock, playing football and basketball while being a soccer fan before settling on football. After playing during his high school years, Luger originally played college football for the Miami Hurricanes at the University of Miami in 1978 before getting kicked off the team due to trashing his hotel room. He then played in the Canadian Football League from 1979-1981 as part of the Montreal Alouettes where he even played in the 67th Grey Cup. From 1982-1983, Luger then briefly made it to the NFL where he signed with the Green Bay Packers but he would never play in an official game as he only appeared during offseason and training squads. He finished his football career in the United States Football League from 1983-1985, first playing for the Tampa Bay Bandits (1983) then for the Memphis Showboats (1983-1984), and finally for the Jacksonville Bulls (1985) before retiring and entering wrestling. One note should be mentioned that his teammate on the Bulls was fellow future legend and future rival Ron Simmons, who Luger defended the WCW World Championship against at Halloween Havoc 1991 and was also a Hiro Matsuda trainee. 

Won his first championship only three weeks into his career- Anybody who knows Luger's career knows he had MASSIVE expectations brought upon him as he was one of several during the 1980s who had the title of "The Next Hulk Hogan". Because of his potential and high hopes, it's probably no surprise he got the rocket strapped to him very early but many would probably be surprised how early in his career. Luger officially made his in-ring debut on October 31, 1985 and it took him only three weeks into his career before he captured his first championship when he defeated Wahoo McDaniel for the NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship, Championship Wrestling from Florida's top title, on November 19, 1985. The title win is one of the fastest rises between a wrestler's debut and first title in wrestling history and showed it didn't take long for people to see Luger's potential. Luger would hold the championship for 57 days before losing it to Jesse Barr on February 15, 1986.

Was the first Royal Rumble winner to fail to win the WWF Championship at a Wrestlemania- Anybody who follows these articles know that not all facts are great ones and they do feature a few lowlights. Before I begin, I do want to point out that yes, I'm aware that "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan won the 1988 Royal Rumble and didn't win the vacant WWF Championship at Wrestlemania IV. However, the Wrestlemania title shot wasn't a prize to be won in a Royal Rumble so it doesn't count. Beginning in 1993 is when the WWF added the prize of the winner of the Royal Rumble battle royal going to Wrestlemania for a guaranteed title shot. As most fans are aware of, Luger's biggest achievement in the WWF would be winning the 1994 Royal Rumble as well as being a co-winner of that year's rumble alongside Bret Hart which meant both got the title shot at Wrestlemania X. Of course, Luger would come up short when he was controversially disqualified in his championship match against Yokozuna. With the loss, Luger became the first Royal Rumble winner to secure a title shot at Wrestlemania but lost. All in all, I suppose it wasn't the end of the world as Luger would eventually be with good company as other rumble winners who came up short at Wrestlemania would include the likes of Shawn Michaels, The Rock, and Roman Reigns.

Won the WCW World Championship in the same building he failed to win the WWF Championship- The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan is an arena that Lex Luger and his fans are very aware of. The former home of the NBA Detroit Pistons played host to two big shows that saw Luger pursue a world championship. One occasion would see Luger have one of his biggest shortcomings while the other would see him, perhaps, secure the biggest victory of his career. On August 30, 1993, Luger would headline Summerslam 1993 at The Palace where he challenged Yokozuna for the WWF Championship. In the end, The Man Made in the U.S.A. would win but on a count out which meant he didn't win the championship. The match mostly became infamous for the ridiculous over the top celebration afterwards despite the fact Luger was unable to win the WWF Championship for the good old US of A. On August 4, 1997, Luger returned to The Palace to seek another world championship when he challenged Hollywood Hulk Hogan for the WCW World Championship on Monday Nitro. In what would be perhaps the biggest victory of his career, Luger would force Hogan to submit to the torture rack to regain the championship for the second time and prove he can rise to the occasion.

Is A WCW Grand Slam Winner- In professional wrestling, a grand slam winner is a wrestler who has captured four different championships. Usually, the grand slam consists of a world championship, two midcard championships, and a tag team championship. During WCW's ten year run, Luger would be one of the few to achieve the grand slam in WCW. Luger's first title would be the WCW United States Championship which he held when NWA became WCW on January 11, 1991. Luger then followed up with the WCW World Championship when he defeated Barry Windham for the vacant championship at Great American Bash 1991 on July 14, 1991. After returning to WCW in 1995, Luger would complete the grand slam in a matter of months. On January 22, 1996, Luger teamed with Sting to defeat Harlem Heat to win the WCW World Tag Team Championship on a match on WCW Monday Nitro. Finally, on February 16, 1996, during a WCW house show, Luger defeated Johnny B. Badd for the WCW World Television Championship thus making him a WCW Grand Slam Winner. As if that wasn't big enough, Luger would actually be a two time grand slam winner as he held all four belts at least twice.

Main evented the first WCW Monday Nitro that went head-to-head with Monday Night RAW- Most people know the beginning of WCW Monday Nitro. The show premiered on September 4, 1995 and a huge moment was the shocking return of Lex Luger to WCW in an unannounced jump from the WWF in a move that could be considered the first shot fired in the Monday Night Wars. At the end of the episode, the promotion booked a big match for the second week which would be Luger's return match against WCW World Champion Hulk Hogan. This match would air on the September 11, 1995 edition which marked the first episode of Nitro to go head-to-head with RAW after RAW was preempted the previous week due to the US Open. In the end, Luger lost the match in 5:28 by disqualification thanks to interference from The Dungeon of Doom. While Nitro lost to RAW that night, it wasn't much (2.4 vs. 2.5), bigger things were ahead for Luger in WCW and for Monday Nitro.

Only one of two Royal Rumble winners to have never won a WWF/WWE title of any kind- Before I start this one, I should point out that I'm only counting Royal Rumbles held on the Royal Rumble event so mini Rumbles on TV or house shows don't count. A lot can be said about Luger's run in the WWF. He had his highlights but despite seemingly being tailor made for the Federation, he never reached his full potential and it felt like his run was lacking and disappointing. As mentioned above, Luger's biggest achievement in the WWF was co-winning the 1994 Royal Rumble alongside Bret Hart. Unfortunately, Luger was never able to go farther and capture WWF gold of any kind during his near three years with the company. In fact, this has given Luger a sad distinction of only being one of two wrestlers in the 35 year history of the Rumble event to have won a Royal Rumble but never won any recognized WWF/WWE title with the other being 1988 winner "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan. 

Last wrestler to pin Goldberg in WCW- Few wrestlers were as dominant as Goldberg in wrestling. From September 1997 to December 1998, Goldberg racked up a record of 176-0 that captured the imagination of wrestling fans and made him one of the hottest acts of 1998. Even after his undefeated streak was broken by Kevin Nash at Starrcade 1998, Goldberg would rarely taste defeat and you can probably count on one hand the amount of people that were able to pin him. The few that did were an elite group like Bret Hart and Scott Steiner while Lex Luger would also be part of the group. In the fall of 2000, Vince Russo forced Goldberg to revive his streak and break it or he would be forced to retire if he lost at any point before reaching 176 wins. Shortly after, Luger began a feud with Goldberg and after coming up short against him at Starrcade 2000, Luger would form an alliance with Buff Bagwell while Goldberg would team with his trainer Dwayne Bruce (Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker). This led to a match at WCW's January 2001 Pay-Per-View Sin between the two teams. Towards the end of the match, a fan that met Goldberg earlier in the show would mace him leading to Luger and Bagwell to finish Goldberg with a doomsday blockbuster and Luger would score the pin. The match marked Goldberg's final match in WCW as he would take some time off to heal from injuries before the promotion was bought out by the WWF that March which meant Luger would be the final wrestler to pin Goldberg in WCW.

Wrestled a New Japan January 4th Tokyo Dome show- Many wrestling fans are nowadays aware of New Japan's January 4th Tokyo Dome shows. Held at the Tokyo Dome every January 4th, the events have not only become New Japan's biggest show of the year but arguably the biggest show in the entire Japanese calendar and perhaps second only to Wrestlemania itself. Since the first one held in 1992, many legends, both native and foreign, have participated in at least one. Luger would be among them when he took part in the show in 1992 when he defended the WCW World Championship against Masahiro Chono. In the end, Luger would retain by defeating Chono in 15:09 after coming off the second turnbuckle with a double ax handle. The win marked the final successful title defense for The Total Package before he lost the belt to Sting at SuperBrawl II on February 29th.

Credited For Giving The Kliq Their Name- Anybody that's familiar with 1990s wrestling, especially the behind the scenes drama, is aware of the infamous group known as "The Kliq". Consisting of Shawn Michaels, Kevin "Diesel" Nash, Scott "Razor Ramon" Hall, and Sean "1-2-3 Kid" Waltman with Triple H later joining the group upon his entry into the WWF, the five were a close knit group of friends who traveled together and were like brothers. To many, they also were known for their behind the scenes antics such as using their influence to maintain power and their top positions all the while having the ear of Vince McMahon, himself. Though not a member, Luger would etch his place in the group's history by being credited with giving them their name. Luger has not only confirmed it in past interviews but Triple H would also credit him in his "Thy Kingdom Come" DVD for coming up with the name thus Luger makes more history.

First worked for Vince McMahon for his World Bodybuilding Federation- Obviously, most longtime wrestling fans are aware that Luger competed for the WWF during the early to mid 90s. However, what some may have forgotten is that the WWF was not the first place Luger was employed at that was owned by Vince McMahon. For decades, Vince has been known for many reasons, good or bad, and one of them is his many failed outside ventures where he desperately tried to prove he was more than some "Rasslin" promoter. One of the more famous failures was the World Bodybuilding Federation, a bodybuilding league that Vince founded in 1990 in an attempt to takeover the bodybuilding world the same way he conquered wrestling. By March 1992, Luger left WCW after fulfilling his contractual dates but was still under a contract until late 1992/early 1993. Due to this, Luger and Vince would skirt past this by having Luger participate in the WBF which was likely an attempt by Vince to bring in wrestling fans to the struggling bodybuilding league. After attempts by WCW to challenge this failed, Luger made appearances for the WBF with the plan being that he participate in their WBF Championship 1992 Pay-Per-View on June 15, 1992 as a guest poser. Unfortunately, Luger's WBF run ended before it started when he was severely injured in a motorcycle accident shortly before the show and at best was only able to participate in a interview "via satellite". In the end, the PPV was one of, if not, the biggest failure in PPV history and the WBF folded shortly after. Meanwhile, Luger would nurse his injuries and upon recovering would be able to join the WWF in early 1993 where he resumed his wrestling career.

Is the longest reigning United States Champion in NWA/WCW/WWE history- This one is pretty well known but must be put on here. Since it's debut in 1975, the Jim Crockett version of the NWA United States Championship has been one of wrestling's most prestigious belts. Along with being held by a who's who in the wrestling industry, it's lineage has continued into WCW and later, the WWE's version which has seen it become more and more valuable and it's history more rich. Out of all the greats that have held it, Luger probably stands above the rest as perhaps the greatest title holder. From 1987-1991, Luger dominated the championship by holding it on four occasions along with a fifth time for a cup of coffee in 1998. Luger defeated some of the all time greats for it such as Nikita Koloff, Barry Windham, Michael Hayes, Stan Hansen, and Bret Hart. However, the thing that makes Luger arguably the greatest champion is he's the current, as of writing, record holder for longest reign. A record he's held for more than half of the title's near 50 year history. Luger's third reign would be the historical reign as he defeated Michael Hayes for the belt on May 22, 1989 at a NWA House Show with the match airing on the June 10th edition of NWA World Wide Wrestling. Luger would hold the championship for a record 523 days as he fended off challenges from Ricky Steamboat, Brian Pillman, and "Mean" Mark Callous (the future Undertaker) before dropping it to Stan Hansen on October 27, 1990 at Halloween Havoc 1990. At 523 days, Luger's reign is not only the longest in the NWA lineage but is also longer than any of the WCW and WWE lineages as well.

Is the only wrestler to have held every WCW World Championship belt- This is one that didn't occur to me until I began doing research for this article. Although Luger wasn't known as a dominant world champion during his career, he had his moments as champion and one of which was something that put him in a an exclusive club. Despite having bigger names or more dominant champions in WCW like Ric Flair, Sting, Vader, Hulk Hogan, and Randy Savage to name some, Luger was able to do something none of those guys were able to do and that is hold every WCW World Championship Belt. Most know the story about Ric Flair's 1991 departure and him taking the big gold belt with him and it would be here where Luger would hold two versions of the belt. With Flair's departure being at the 11th hour, WCW placed an order for a new belt but with the Great American Bash 1991 coming, they didn't have enough time for it so the promotion infamously took one of Dusty Rhodes' old Championship Wrestling from Florida belts and slapped pieces of metal on it that read "WCW" and "World Championship Wrestling" to create some Frankenstein's Monster type world belt. Luger would win that belt, defeating Barry Windham for the vacant championship at the Bash on July 14, 1991. Following the Bash, WCW's new belt would be completed and Luger would be the first to hold that version which would be used from 1991-1994. In his second reign as champion in 1997 when he exchanged the belt with Hogan, Luger then went on to hold the big gold belt thus making him the only man to have held all three belts.