Lex Luger | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Luger in 2021 | |
| Born | Lawrence Wendell Pfohl (1958-06-02)June 2, 1958 (age 67)[1] Buffalo, New York, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Pennsylvania State University University of Miami |
| Spouse | |
| Partner | Elizabeth Hulette (1999–2003) |
| Children | 2 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Lex Lugar[2] Lex Luger[3] The Lugar[4] The Narcissist The Total Package[1] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 6 in (198 cm)[3] |
| Billed weight | 275 lb (125 kg)[3] |
| Billed from | Atlanta, Georgia Chicago,Illinois[3][1] |
| Trained by | Barry Windham Bob Roop[5] Hiro Matsuda[5] |
| Debut | October 31, 1985[1] |
| Retired | 2006 |
| Football career | |
| No. 66 | |
| Position | Offensive lineman |
| Personal information | |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight | 270 lb (122 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Orchard Park (NY) |
| College | Miami |
| NFL draft | 1979: undrafted |
| Career history | |
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
Lawrence Wendell Pfohl (born June 2, 1958),[5] better known by thering nameLex Luger, is an American retiredprofessional wrestler,bodybuilder, and professionalfootballlineman. He is best known for his work withNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA),World Championship Wrestling (WCW)underJim Crockett Promotions, and theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE).
Luger is atwo-timeWCW World Heavyweight Champion and one-timeWWA World Heavyweight Champion. He is also afive-timeNWA/WCW United States Heavyweight Champion who holds the records for consecutive days and total days as champion. He is the secondWCW Triple Crown Champion. Although he never won achampionship in the WWF, he challenged for every title in the organization, includingWWF World Heavyweight Championship matches atSummerSlam in 1993, which he also main evented alongsideYokozuna, andWrestleMania X in 1994. He also was notably the1994 Royal Rumble co-winner withBret Hart.[6]
Pro Wrestling Illustrated readers voted Luger theMost Popular Wrestler of the Year in 1993.[7] Luger was inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame in 2025.[8]
OfGerman andScottish heritage,[9] Luger was bornLawrence Wendell Pfohl inBuffalo, New York on June 2, 1958. He was an avid basketball player in his youth, and though he rarely played soccer, is a fan of English soccer clubManchester United. He attendedhigh school and playedfootball inOrchard Park. He then attendedPenn State University on a footballscholarship, but transferred to theUniversity of Miami after his freshman year when the Penn State coaches thought he should move tolinebacker ordefensive end. He eventually decided his skills would be better suited to football. He sat out the 1977 season as aredshirt transfer student in Coral Gables.
In 1978, Luger played for theMiami Hurricanes, which featured futurePro Football Hall of Fame quarterbackJim Kelly,Jim Burt, Mitch Guittar,Fred Marion, andMark Richt.[10] He was kicked off the team for what Luger referred to as "off-the-field incidents".[11] On the team's road trip to Atlanta to play Georgia Tech, Luger, who was suffering from cabin fever and disappointed at not being named a starter by coachLou Saban by the 5th game of the season, snapped and trashed his hotel room.[12]
Upon leaving Miami, he played professional football for theMontreal Alouettes of theCanadian Football League where he dressed for 14 games at guard & tackle over 3 seasons and played in the67th Grey Cup against theEdmonton Eskimos.[13] He played in 2 games in 1981 for Montreal before being released. He then signed with theGreen Bay Packers of theNational Football League, but never played in a game and thus is not listed on their all-time roster, though he did spend the entire 1982 season on the team'sinjured reserve list with a groin problem incurred during training camp.[14] He returned to the Packers training camp in 1983, but he was released before the regular season began.[15] Luger wore number 66 for the Packers, the last player to do so before it was retired forRay Nitschke.
Luger said in a 2018 interview with theGreen Bay Press-Gazette his wrestling career might have never happened had it worked out with the Packers:
"I would have loved to have had a long-term career with the Packers; are you kidding me?" Pfohl said. "If I did, I probably wouldn't have become a wrestler. So, in the big picture, it worked out for me in that regard ... Had it worked out in Green Bay, I seriously doubt I would have become a pro wrestler."[16]
In 1984, Luger finished his football career playing in theUnited States Football League for theTampa Bay Bandits,Memphis Showboats andJacksonville Bulls. He was a teammate of future WCW rivalRon Simmons while playing for the Tampa Bay Bandits.[5]
In 1985, Luger walked into theChampionship Wrestling From Florida office where he metHiro Matsuda,[5] who had previously trainedHulk Hogan and"Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff. Luger adopted the ring name "Lex Luger", being a fan of the comic book villainLex Luthor, which helped cast himself as a typical wrestling heel which he would continue to be throughout most of his early years in wrestling. Luger made his in-ring debut in September 1985. He was featured alongside other notorious heels,Percy Pringle andRick Rude.
Luger began wrestling for CWF, gaining his first victory on October 31, 1985, againstCocoa Samoa and later won theSouthern Heavyweight Championship fromWahoo McDaniel the next month.[17] For a short time, he feuded withBarry Windham before Luger turned face and began teaming up with Windham againstSir Oliver Humperdink and his team ofEd "The Bull" Gantner,Kareem Muhammed, andThe White Ninja. On September 1, 1986, he foughtNWA World Heavyweight ChampionRic Flair for the title atBattle of the Belts III, which resulted in a 60-minute draw. As a result, Flair retained the title.[5] Towards the end of his run in Florida, Luger was involved in angles withKevin Sullivan andBad News Allen. He was also in asteel cage match withBruiser Brody, where Brodystopped cooperating, leading to Luger climbing over the cage and leaving the match.[5]
In 1987, Luger went to work forJim Crockett Promotions (JCP), which was under theNWA banner, with the nickname "The Total Package" and began using "The Human Torture Rack", anArgentine backbreaker rack, as his finisher.[18] He turned heel again upon arrival in JCP and was firstbooked as an associate toRic Flair's "Four Horsemen"stable untilOle Anderson was kicked out and he became an official member of the group.[5] His first bigfeud was withNikita Koloff, whom he defeated for theNWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Now WWE United States Championship) on July 11, 1987.[18]ManagerJ. J. Dillon threw a chair over the top of the cage while the referee,Earl Hebner, was down. Luger knocked Koloff unconscious with it and then lifted up Koloff in the Torture Rack. A revived Hebner then dropped Koloff's arm three times with no response and awarded Luger a submission victory.[19]
It was during this time that the Horsemen debuted theWarGames match.
He held the title until JCP's firstpay-per-view eventStarrcade in November, when hedropped it toDusty Rhodes in a steel cage. This loss set the stage for Luger leaving the Four Horsemen, as manager Dillon's interference cost Luger the match. A steel chair thrown in by Dillon was dropped by Luger and Rhodes DDT'd Luger on it prior to pinning him for the win.[20] Luger left the Four Horsemen and turned face again on December 2, 1987, at the Knight Centre in Miami, Florida,[21] after he and his stablemates (Tully Blanchard,Arn Anderson, and Dillon) were the sole wrestlers left in aBunkhouse Stampedebattle royal and Dillon asked the other wrestlers to eliminate themselves so he could win. Although Blanchard and Anderson complied, Luger refused and eliminated Dillon,[22] leaving the Horsemen in the process.[21][5]
Luger then befriendedBarry Windham, his former Florida ally, and together they formed atag team, dubbedThe Twin Towers. Their first match as a team was on February 3, 1988, at a TV taping at WTBS Studios in Atlanta.[23] On March 27, 1988, atClash of the Champions I they defeatedTully Blanchard and Arn Anderson for theNWA World Tag Team Championship.[24] Only a few weeks after the title win, Windham suddenly turned on Luger during a title defense (against Blanchard and Anderson, who regained the title as a result) and joining Luger's former stable, The Four Horsemen.[18] Days later, theJim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament was held with its first night inGreenville, South Carolina. A partner-less Luger was teamed withSting (whose partnerRonnie Garvin had beenkayfabe injured) and the impromptu team won the entire tournament, defeating Blanchard and Anderson in the finals.[25]
Luger continued his feud with the Four Horsemen and Windham. At the June 8Clash of the Champions II: Miami Mayhem, it was announced that Luger would challenge Horsemen leaderRic Flair for theNWA World Heavyweight Championship atThe Great American Bash on July 10 in Baltimore.[18] As Luger arrived atThe Clash in alimousine he was attacked by The Four Horsemen, leaving him (kayfabe) injured and bleeding in the parking lot on live television.[18] While Luger had Flair in the "Torture Rack" and Flair was about to submit, the match was abruptly stopped by thereferee who cited (kayfabe) "Maryland State Athletic Commission" rules about a cut that had opened up on Luger's forehead "bleeding excessively".[5][26] In November 1988,Jim Crockett Jr. sold JCP toTurner Broadcasting System, ultimately the promotion was renamed toWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW). The feud with Flair came to an end after December'sStarrcade 1988: True Gritt where Flair pinned Luger in a rematchmain event for the NWA title by illegally using the ropes.[27]
He was then matched up against old foe Barry Windham atChi-Town Rumble winning his second NWA United States Heavyweight Championship from him.[28] He teamed up withMichael P.S. Hayes against Barry andKendall Windham in a match, televised on March 18, 1989, which saw Hayes turn on Luger, setting himself as a contender to the U.S. Title.[29] Hayes defeated Luger for the US title atWrestleWar 1989: Music City Showdown when a surprise appearance by Hayes's ex-Freebird teammateTerry Gordy helped cost Luger the match.[18] Luger regained the U.S. Title from Hayes in a rematch a couple of weeks later when he broke the rules by pulling Hayes's tights while pinning Hayes to win the match.[30] On the June 14Clash of the Champions VII: Guts and Glory, Luger attacked the popularRicky "The Dragon" Steamboat after Steamboat had defeatedTerry Funk by disqualification, turning Luger heel again.[29] Luger and Steamboat faced each other atThe Great American Bash in July with Luger winning by disqualification after Luger refused to wrestle Steamboat until the match's no-disqualification clause had been waived.[31]
Flyin' Brian Pillman challenged Luger atHalloween Havoc 1989: Settling the Score for the US Title, which Luger won.[30] He also defeated Pillman in a rematch on the November 15Clash of the Champions IX: New York Knockout to retain the title and end the feud.[30] After the main event of the card, which saw Ric Flair and Terry Funk in an"I Quit" match, Luger made a surpriserun in, attacking both Flair andSting, who had come out to save Flair from a post match attack by The Great Muta.[32] December'sStarrcade featured an "Ironman" tournament between Flair, Sting, Luger, and Muta.
Though Sting eventually won the tournament, Luger was the only participant to go undefeated (Sting got pinfall victories over Muta and Flair, giving him the most points to win the tournament).[33] This elevated Sting to the status of No. 1 contender for Flair's world title. With Sting and Flair set to square off atWrestleWar in February, Luger was booked to defend the U.S. Title against"Dr. Death" Steve Williams on the card. Alegitimate injury to Sting, however, caused the entire booking of the card to get changed. Luger was elevated to face Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. An injured Sting appeared in Luger's corner during the match, eventually being attacked by Ole and Arn Anderson. When Luger left the ring to help Sting he was counted out, giving the match to Flair.[34] The idea here was to build Luger up as a "changed man" who had "gainedself-respect" by saving Sting in another face turn. In the final match of the feud, a few months later at the Capital Combat event inWashington, D.C., Luger won by disqualification against Flair in a steel cage match when the cage rose up from the ground and outside interference by the Four Horsemen marred the match.[5]
Luger eventually dropped the title toStan Hansen atHalloween Havoc,[35] though he won it back atStarrcade 1990: Collision Course beginning his fourth NWA United States Heavyweight Championship reign.[36] Luger's third title reign lasted a total of523 days, making him the longest reigning United States Champion in history.[37] During this reign, WCWrebranded the championships they owned and controlled, and the title was renamed theWCW United States Heavyweight Championship. Luger started a feud withDan Spivey, whom he defeated atWrestleWar to retain the U.S. Title.[38] Following their match, Nikita Koloff was due to present a new championship belt to Luger, but during the ceremony he suddenly attacked the champion, reigniting their feud from 1987. It did not last long, however, as Koloff found himself being pushed into anangle with Sting instead of Luger, which began atSuperBrawl I: Return of the Rising Sun when Sting and Luger challengedThe Steiner Brothers for theWCW World Tag Team Championship.[39] During the match, Koloff interfered and hit Sting with a chain, which was intended for Luger.[40]
Luger again began to challenge Ric Flair for theWCW World Heavyweight Championship after becoming No.1 contender by defeating The Great Muta on the June 14, 1991Clash of the Champions XV: Knocksville USA.[41] Luger's title match against Flair was set to be contested atThe Great American Bash in a steel cage match with the addedstipulation that, should Flair get disqualified he would lose the title. The match never occurred, however, as Flair began to have disagreements withJim Herd, the head of WCW, over his future and salary. He eventually quit the company (being "stripped" of the title in the process) and tookthe world title belt with him.[42]
With the WCW World Heavyweight Championship now vacant, Barry Windham was declared the No. 2 contender and was set to face Luger in the cage match atThe Great American Bash. During the match,Harley Race andMr. Hughes came to ringside. While Hughes kept Windham's attention, Race told Luger that "now is the time" to perform apiledriver on the distracted Windham. Luger did so and won the match, thereby winning his first WCW World Heavyweight Championship and resulting in a double turn where Luger turned heel and enlisted Race as his manager while the then-heel Windham turned face.[43][44] As Flair still had the original championship belt and the new belt was not ready in time, Luger initially wore theNWA Western States Heritage Championship belt, which had been altered to resemble the world title.[45]
After Luger won the world title, his first major challenge came fromRon Simmons. At a signing ceremony for their title match atHalloween Havoc in atwo out of three falls match, there was a controversial angle where Luger invited Simmons, once his challenge had been turned back, to join his entourage, but as achauffeur. Luger went on to retain the championship in the match by two falls to one.[46] Eventually, Luger began to have his own issues with WCW, and the contract he had seemed to have him wrestling less and less while still collecting money. After ending his feud with Simmons, Luger had a brief feud withRick Steiner, defeating him on the November 19Clash of the Champions XVII.[47] Luger's contract only required him to work a specific number of dates, and having fulfilled them he "sat out" the end of 1991 and beginning of 1992. Aside from one title defense againstMasahiro Chono atWCW/New Japan Supershow II (Starrcade in Tokyo Dome),[48] Luger did not wrestle a match untilSuperBrawl II, where he lost his WCW title to Sting.[49]
After losing to Sting at SuperBrawl, Luger negotiated a departure from WCW and joinedVince McMahon'sWorld Bodybuilding Federation (WBF), appearing regularly as a co-host on its Saturday morning program,WBF BodyStars.[50] He also made an appearance atWrestleMania VIII, taking part in an on-air interview withBobby "The Brain" Heenan andGorilla Monsoon.[51] Heenan and Luger formed an alliance in the WBF (similar to Heenan's alliance with Ric Flair in the WWF). He was slated to guest pose at a WBFpay-per-view event, but was injured in amotorcycleaccident.[52] By the time he recovered, the WBF was out of business.
After his accident and the closure of the WBF, Luger joined theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF).Bobby "The Brain" Heenan unveiled him with the persona of "Narcissus" at the1993 Royal Rumble. Shortly thereafter, his name was altered slightly to "The Narcissist". Luger posed before full-length mirrors before every match.[53] In his televised in-ring debut, he defeated jobber Larry Lunden on the February 13 episode ofSuperstars. The WWF also incorporated his motorcycle accident into hisgimmick, capitalizing on the fact that he had a "metal plate" inserted into his forearm which was said to cause more damage when it struck an opponent, often allowing Luger to pin them with only his little finger placed on their chest. This caused a number of his opponents to demand that he wear a cover over it during matches when he had a streak ofknocking people out. This eventually led to WWF officials demanding that Luger wear an elbow pad, though he would often remove it.
The Narcissist's one major feud was withMr. Perfect. The feud was based on Heenan, his advisor, referring to him as being "Beyond Perfection", in a slight at Mr. Perfect, his former managerial client. The rivalry ended atWrestleMania IX when Luger defeated Perfect and then after the match Perfect ran backstage and then was attacked by Luger andShawn Michaels outside a storage garage.[54] Following the event, Luger defeatedBob Backlund via count-out to qualify for theKing of the Ring tournament, where he wrestledTatanka to a double count-out in the opening round.
In mid-1993, afterHulk Hogan's departure from the company, Luger was transformed into a fan-favorite character with the nicknames "Made in the USA" and "The All-American" also "American Original". OnJuly 4, he took part in an event where he arrived by helicopter on the deck of theUSS Intrepid andbody slammed the near 600pound (270 kg) WWF World Heavyweight ChampionYokozuna after a number of WWF wrestlers as well as other athletes from the NBA and NFL attempted and failed.[55] Following this, he began the "Lex Express" tour, traveling the country in ared, white, and blue painted bus to greet fans in preparation for his shot at the WWF World Heavyweight Championship atSummerSlam 1993.[56] The match had the stipulation that this would be Luger's only shot at the title.[57] Luger, with the use of the metal plate in his forearm, eventually won the match by knocking out Yokozuna, who failed to return to the ring by the count of 10. As WWF titles could only change hands by submission or pinning, Yokozuna kept the belt.[58] According to Bruce Prichard, Vince McMahon didn't give the title to Luger despite his push because Luger wasn't gettingover with audiences as expected.[59]
In late 1993, Luger began a feud withLudvig Borga, another anti-American foreigner fromFinland. AtSurvivor Series 1993, Luger captained a team dubbed "All-Americans" (Luger,The Undertaker, andThe Steiner Brothers) against Yokozuna's team "Foreign Fanatics" (Crush, Yokozuna, Ludvig Borga, andQuebecer Jacques) in a 4-on-4Survivor Series match. Luger's team won the match after he pinned Borga.[60] At theRoyal Rumble, Luger participated in theRoyal Rumble match where he andBret Hart were declared co-winners after both men went over the top rope and had their feet hit the ground simultaneously.[61] As such, both received shots at theWWF World Heavyweight Championship atWrestleMania X. Luger wasdisqualified in his title match against Yokozuna,[62] becoming the first man to win the Rumble but not win their title match, and later that night Hart won the title from Yokozuna.[63] After WrestleMania X, Luger was to start another feud with Mr. Perfect, but Hennig was injured, so Luger instead feuded with Crush.[64][65]
Luger then began feuding with his friendTatanka due to a lack of trust between them, and a match between the two took place atSummerSlam.[66] At the event, Tatanka defeated Luger and joinedTed DiBiase'sMillion Dollar Corporation.[67][68] AtSurvivor Series, he was in aSurvivor Series team "Guts & Glory" (himself,Mabel,Adam Bomb, andThe Smoking Gunns) losing to the Corporate team of Tatanka,King Kong Bundy,Bam Bam Bigelow, andThe Heavenly Bodies – with only King Kong Bundy and Bam Bam Bigelow surviving.[69]
In the beginning of 1995, Luger took part inRoyal Rumble 1995 main event. He eliminatedMabel,Bob Backlund,Mantaur, andHenry Godwinn and became one of the final four remaining participants in the contest. However, he was pushed out of the ring byShawn Michaels from behind while attackingCrush.
Luger then formed atag team withBritish Bulldog dubbed theAllied Powers.[70] They made their pay-per-view debut as a tag team atWrestleMania XI, defeating theBlu Brothers.[71] They defeatedjobbers onRaw and, after a victory overMen on a Mission (King Mabel andSir Mo) in June 1995,[72] earned a shot at theWWF Tag Team Championship againstOwen Hart and Yokozuna atIn Your House 2: The Lumberjacks, but failed to win the titles.[73] Shortly afterSummerSlam, Luger, whose contract had expired, left the WWF without letting McMahon know beforehand.[74] Luger's last official WWF match was on September 3 inSaint John, New Brunswick, at a house show teaming withShawn Michaels defeatingOwen Hart and Yokozuna by disqualification.[75]
In late August 1995, after expressing to Sting that he wanted to leave the WWF, Luger got a call from WCW Vice-PresidentEric Bischoff to set up a meeting about a contract and Luger possibly "jumping ship". Bischoff was initially reluctant to make the offer, as he did not care for Luger personally or professionally, but relented due to both Sting's urging, and the idea that his appearance would make a big splash. Bischoff offered Luger only $150,000 a year,[76] 20% of what he was making when he left WCW three years earlier, in a deliberate attempt to have him turn down the offer (and, according to Bischoff, "at least tell Sting that I tried"), only to be surprised to see that Luger accepted the offer.[77] Luger himself would later state that he had planned on re-signing with the WWF on a two to three-year extension but saw a return to WCW as an opportunity to prove doubters wrong about his ability to be a top star.[78]
Eight days after his appearance at SummerSlam and only one night after competing at a WWFhouse show inSaint John, New Brunswick,[79] Luger made his return to WCW on the premiere ofNitro, coming out during the match for the United States Heavyweight Championship between championSting andRic Flair.[3] After Luger's return, he did not make his allegiances known acting as atweener, except for that he still did have a long-time friendship with Sting. He merely claimed that he wanted to stake his claim at Hogan's WCW World Heavyweight Title, facing him on the September 11, 1995, episode ofNitro, which Hogan won by disqualification.[80] AtHalloween Havoc, Luger attacked Hogan after his match withThe Giant and joinedKevin Sullivan'sDungeon of Doom stable.[81]
AtStarrcade, Luger participated in a WCW vsNJPW World Cup of Wrestling where he represented WCW in a winning effort against NJPW representativeMasa Chono.[82] Later that night, he participated in atriangle match with Sting and Ric Flair, with the winner to faceRandy Savage for the WCW World Championship; Flair won after both Sting and Luger werecounted out.[82] The two men teamed up to defeatHarlem Heat for their firstWorld Tag Team Championship on the January 22, 1996, episode ofNitro,[83][84] with Luger constantly threatening dissent due to his allegiance to the Dungeon of Doom, but always seeming to stay on the same path as his friend. He lost toEddie Guerrero by disqualification on the February 3 episode ofSaturday Night. Luger also defeatedJohnny B. Badd for theWCW World Television Championship on February 17, losing it back to him the next night.[85] He regained the television title from Badd by beating him on March 6.[85]
The Dungeon of Doom aligned with theFour Horsemen to form the Alliance to End Hulkamania, which feuded with Hulk Hogan and Luger's former WWF ally, Randy Savage. AtUncensored, nine members from the Alliance participated in a "Tower of Doom Steel Cage match", but were unsuccessful in defeating the team of Hogan and Savage.[86] Luger was blamed for the loss because he accidentally punched teammate Ric Flair and was kicked out of the stable.[87]
During the summer, Luger began a feud with The Giant for theWCW World Heavyweight Championship, unsuccessfully challenging him atThe Great American Bash.[88] During this time,Scott Hall andKevin Nash, both former WWF superstars, began appearing on WCW television and claimed they were "taking over" the company. Randy Savage spearheaded the WCW wrestlers against them, with Luger and Sting by his side. Luger, along with Savage and Sting, took on Nash and Hall (who called themselvesThe Outsiders) and a third, mystery, partner that they claimed was an "insider" atBash at the Beach. In the first few minutes of the match, Luger went down to a kayfabe injury, leaving Sting and Savage on their own when the mystery partner revealed himself to be Hulk Hogan. With Luger no longer around, Savage and Sting were "easy prey" for the three who announced themselves as theNew World Order (nWo).[89][90]
Luger continued to be one of the leaders for the WCW's siege against the nWo, wrestling and feuding with a number of their members. AtSuperBrawl VII, Luger and The Giant defeated the Outsiders to win the World Tag Team Championship.[83] The title was returned to the Outsiders by nWo member and WCW PresidentEric Bischoff. Luger won aFour Corners match to become the No.1 contender for Hogan's WCW Title atSpring Stampede,[91] and teamed with his new ally, The Giant, to defeat Hogan and basketball starDennis Rodman atBash at the Beach.[92] On the August 4, 1997, episode ofNitro, Luger defeated Hogan to win his second World Heavyweight Championship in an impromptu match,[93] before dropping the title back to Hogan just five days later atRoad Wild.[94] His victory, however, marked the first time in a year that WCW had "won their world title back" from the nWo.[95]
Luger began a program with Hall after both men pinned each other in tag team matches (Luger's partner wasDiamond Dallas Page and Hall's partner was Randy Savage)[96][97] before facing each other in a 1-on-1 match atHalloween Havoc which Luger won.[98] He had a short feud withBuff Bagwell in the fall of 1997, culminating in a match atStarrcade, which Bagwell won.[99] In the first half of 1998, Luger feuded with Savage and defeated him atSouled Out[100] andSuperBrawl VIII.[101] His final feud with the nWo was againstScott Steiner, whom Luger defeated atUncensored.[102] AtSpring Stampede, he teamed with Scott's brother and former tag team partner Rick to defeat Scott and Bagwell.[103]
After a long war with the nWo, Luger joinednWo Wolfpac on May 25, 1998.[104] Luger played a central role in the group's war with Hogan'snWo Hollywood, and even convinced the long-standing anti-nWo Sting to join.[105] On the August 10, 1998, episode ofNitro, he defeatedBret Hart to win his record-tying fifth, and final, United States Heavyweight Championship in an impromptu title match,[106] before dropping the title back to Hart just one day later onThunder.[107] He also took part in the incident in which both nWo factions united against the dominantBill Goldberg in early 1999.[108] He remained a member of the new nWo until he was sidelined with a (legitimate) biceps injury.[109]
In August 1999, Luger returned toNitro during a Sting/Hogan angle for the World Heavyweight Championship. He eventually helped Sting win the World Title atFall Brawl in September 1999. After Fall Brawl, Luger claimed that Lex Luger was now "dead" and he was going by the name "The Total Package". He debuted thisgimmick on the September 27, 1999, episode ofNitro with aTerminator-style entrance symbolizing his "rebirth" and by bringing backMiss Elizabeth as his manager. On the November 1, 1999 Nitro, a fallout between Sting and Luger began when Luger expressed a desire for them to win the WCW tag team titles, against Sting's desire to continue pursuing the WCW World title, only for Luger- who was also pursuing the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in same tournament Sting was in- to fake a knee injury and refuse to help Sting after Sting was attacked following a match the two had for the WCW Tag Team titles againstBilly Kidman andKonnan. Luger would then attack Sting the following week in a match he had withGoldberg, which led to Sting attacking Luger in Luger's match withSid Vicious. Sting would then defeat Luger in a quarterfinal match on the November 15, 1999 episode of Nitro. At the NovemberWCW Mayhem event, the fallout with Sting was completed when Luger attacked Sting during his match withBret Hart. The two would then feud. In addition, Luger also began treating Elizabeth badly, which prompted Sting to intervene. However, atStarrcade in December 1999, Sting and The Total Package had a match which saw Elizabeth turn on Sting and make clear her allegiance to the Total Package.[110]
Luger continued his Total Package angle with Elizabeth through January 2000. He began a storyline where he would break the arms of his opponents by placing the arm inside a closed steel chair and stomping on it. In February 2000, he formed an alliance withRic Flair to take outHulk Hogan. They later formed a tag team under the nameTeam Package. The team feuded with Sting and Hogan until April 2000 whenVince Russo formed the New Blood causing Luger to join theMillionaires Club. He facedBooker T on the November 20, 2000, episode ofNitro for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship andGoldberg atMayhem and again atStarrcade 2000 with Goldberg's career on the line. He also formed a tag team withBuff Bagwell named "Totally Buff". They defeated Goldberg andDeWayne Bruce in a tag team match atSin in January 2001. Luger stayed with the team until the WWF purchased WCW in March 2001. After WCW closed down, Bagwell went to the WWF although the company was not interested in Luger.[111] He took a hiatus from wrestling.
In November 2002, Luger returned to wrestling for the first time since the closure of WCW. He joined the European tour ofWorld Wrestling All-Stars and debuted inDublin, Ireland, teaming with Sting to defeat Buff Bagwell andMalice. AtRetribution, Luger defeated Sting to win the vacantWWA World Heavyweight Championship afterJeff Jarrett interfered on his behalf.[112] InManchester, England on December 7, Luger and Sting faced Bagwell and Jarrett in a match in which both Luger's WWA World Heavyweight Championship and Jarrett'sNWA World Heavyweight Championship were on the line, though neither title changed hands, as Sting pinned Bagwell.[113] Luger made his final appearance with WWA on December 13, inZürich, Switzerland, when he lost the WWA World Heavyweight Championship to Sting in a three-way dance that also featured Malice.[112]
In late 2003, Luger began working forTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA); he teamed with TNA co-founderJeff Jarrett on November 12 in a loss toA.J. Styles and Sting.[114] He returned on February 25, 2004, putting AJ Styles through a table during a tables match againstAbyss.
Luger returned to TNA in 2006, first appearing during the April 27Impact! as the second of Sting's potential tag team partners forSacrifice.[115] Throughout September and October, he appeared onImpact! as one of the people (along with Buff Bagwell) helping Sting to "prepare" for his upcoming match against Jeff Jarrett atBound for Glory.[116]
On October 13, 2012, Luger inducted Sting to theTNA Hall of Fame at a ceremony held inPhoenix, Arizona, prior to theBound for Glory pay-per-view.[117][118]
Throughout 2004 and 2005, Luger made sporadic appearances on theindependent circuit.[5] Luger's final match took place on August 26, 2006, in the main event of a United Wrestling Federation event in Oklahoma, in which Luger teamed withBuff Bagwell to defeatJeff Jarrett andScott Steiner. On September 22, 2007, Luger was inducted into the XWF (later Legend's Pro Wrestling)'s Hall of Fame.
In 2011, Luger began working again withWWE on theirWellness Policy. In regards to this role he stated:
I actually work behind the scenes with them now again and with their wellness club. I counsel a lot of their athletes on nutrition, wellness, exercise, and taking care of their bodies. That's another thing that WWE is being very proactive now with the Wellness Department and really train these guys with health and nutrition and drug prevention. We're trying to prevent the young guys, this young generation of guys from going down the same path as we did back in the '80s and '90s.[119]
On March 3, 2024, Luger was in attendance for Sting's retirement match atAEW'sRevolution alongsideMagnum T.A.,Scotty Riggs, andNikita Koloff, however was not shown or acknowledged during the broadcast.[120]
Luger was inducted into the2025 WWE Hall of Fame byDiamond Dallas Page.[121]
Luger is divorced from Peggy and has two children, a son, Brian (born January 1, 1986),[122] and a daughter, Lauren Ashley (born September 24, 1990).[123] His then family was featured in a 30-second video clip shown at the beginning ofSurvivor Series 1993. Luger is a reformedChristian.[124] Luger is a fan of Scottish football clubRangers F.C and also English football clubManchester United F.C..[125]
He got married again in 2025.[126]
On April 19, 2003, Luger was involved in adomestic dispute withMiss Elizabeth (Elizabeth Hulette), then his live-in girlfriend, in the garage of theirtownhouse inMarietta, Georgia, during which Luger allegedly struck her.Cobb County police found Hulette with two bruised eyes, a bump on her head, and a cut lip. Luger was charged with a misdemeanor count ofbattery and released on $2,500bond. Two days later on April 21, Luger was arrested fordriving under the influence afterrear-ending another car. According to the police report, Luger had slurred speech andbloodshot eyes, and could not locate his driver's license. Hulette was a passenger in the vehicle and was sent home in a taxi. Luger was also driving with a suspended license for not appearing in court on March 5, 2003, for a hearing on a previous offense of driving with expired tags and having no proof of insurance.[127]
On May 1, 2003, Hulette died in the Marietta townhouse she shared with Luger[128] after mixing pills ofhydrocodone andAlprazolam (Xanax) withvodka.[129] Luger was arrested after a search of the residence revealed a number of illicit controlled substances, including anabolic steroids,oxycodone, synthetic growth hormone, testosterone, andalprazolam.[130] He was charged with 14 felony counts of drug possession.[131] He was released the following day on $27,500bail. Hulette's death was eventually ruled accidental.[132] Luger pleaded guilty to the charges and was fined $1,000, sentenced to five years probation, and ordered to undergo periodicdrug tests.[132]
In December 2005, Luger and fellow wrestlersScott Steiner andBuff Bagwell were removed from a flight toWinnipeg, Manitoba, after committing acts of disturbance on board the plane, and were detained for several hours. Although Steiner and Bagwell were freed to resume their trip, Luger was charged with violating his probation by failing to obtain permission to leave the country. Luger was initially detained in theHennepin County jail.[133] He was tried in Georgia and sentenced to four months inCobb County Jail, with a one-month credit fortime served.[134]
On October 19, 2007, Luger suffered a nerve impingement in his neck that led to temporary paralysis.[135] Nearly a month after his spinal stroke, Luger was still in aquadriplegic state, having no movement in either his arms or legs. In June 2008, Luger was said to be able to stand on his own for short periods and walk using a walker.[136] By 2014, Luger was using awheelchair on a regular basis, though he was still able to walk short distances,[137] and by 2021 became completely reliant on a wheelchair for mobility.[138] However, by February 2025, after working with longtime friendDallas Page in yoga rehabilitation, Luger was again able to stand from his wheelchair on his own.[139]
On September 28, 2006, Luger appeared onPraise the Lord, the flagship talk program of theTrinity Broadcasting Network and declared himself aborn-again Christian. In an interview conducted by guest host, one-time wrestling tag-team partner, and longtime friendSting, Luger emotionally discussed the downward turn of his career and personal life—including the events surroundingMiss Elizabeth's death—and how it led to hisChristian conversion. Luger credits Steve Baskin, the pastor of Western Hills Baptist Church inKennesaw, Georgia, with pulling him from a terminal tailspin. The jail chaplain met Luger in early 2006.[140]
In 1990, Luger was a featured guest-star in Season 3 of theSuperboy series in the episode "Mindscape".[141]
On November 20, 2012, Luger appeared on season 6, episode 15 ofHardcore Pawn, selling his ring robe for $3500 toLes Gold with the cash going to a charity. The Robe was later purchased by super fan Dave "Super Dave" Plaza.[142][143]
On August 13, 2013, Luger's memoirWrestling with the Devil: The True Story of a World Champion Professional Wrestler – His Reign, Ruin, and Redemption, was released with the foreword written by Sting.[144]
On August 7, 2022, Luger was the subject of an episode ofBiography: WWE Legends.
| WCW Video games | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Notes | |
| 1990 | WCW Wrestling | Video game debut | |
| 1997 | WCW vs. the World | ||
| WCW vs. nWo: World Tour | |||
| 1998 | WCW Nitro | ||
| WCW/nWo Revenge | |||
| 1999 | WCW/nWo Thunder | ||
| WCW Mayhem | |||
| 2000 | WCW Backstage Assault | ||
| WWE Video games | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Notes | |
| 1993 | WWF Royal Rumble | Video game debut | |
| WWF King of the Ring | Cover athlete | ||
| WWF Rage in the Cage | |||
| 1994 | WWF Raw | Cover athlete | |
| 1995 | WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game | ||
| 2010 | WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 | Downloadable content | |
| 2014 | WWE SuperCard | ||
| WWE 2K15 | Downloadable content | ||
| 2015 | WWE 2K16 | ||
| 2016 | WWE 2K17 | ||
| 2017 | WWE Champions | ||
| WWE 2K18 | |||
| WWE Mayhem | |||
| 2018 | WWE 2K19 | ||
| 2024 | WWE 2K24 | Downloadable content[145] | |
| 2025 | WWE 2K25 | ||
See from 3:00 to 3:20
Quotations related toLex Luger at Wikiquote
,Cagematch,Wrestlingdata,Internet Wrestling Database
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