[1993-08-02-WWF-Raw] Who Is Lex Luger?

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

This is really well-produced and Luger actually comes across as a likable, intelligent guy. What's sad watching this is that Luger's talking about his interests outside wrestling and his upbringing. It makes me remember that while Luger probably was a prick, he was also a guy that seemed like he would have no problem adjusting to life without wrestling because he treated it like a business and had a good head on his shoulders. Late 90s WCW destroyed him.

[flyonthewall2983]

It's funny you say that. When news about Liz's death came out, and the speculation began to his involvement or lack thereof in it, I thought about this period of his career, and specifically things like this interview or what I read in WWF Magazine. Luger's persona at the time was meant to reflect Vince's idea of patriotism, which gave the character a more personal touch. It's clearly the antithesis (in some ways) to Hogan's downright jingoism, and meant to be more a reflection of the American everyman, which is what these segments were designed to present him as. One can say it was a fore-runner to what John Cena's character is a reflection of. Rather than being this beastly caricature of the alpha male strong-man, he dresses in street clothes and speaks his mind. And as down as I am on the product as opposed to their 80's-90's heyday, this is one area in where they've improved.

 

I'm sure what Loss says about how WCW ruined him speaks a lot for other guys too. I always looked at it as if WWE was prohibition and WCW was the swankiest speakeasy of the south. Not just steroids, but everything else.

[Kevin Ridge]

Luger starts off the interview talking up how important academics were in his family and I'm waiting for Jim Ross to pop in with a 3.78 GPA and me having to take a shot. They are trying to humanize Luger and make him a down to earth guy. Good that they tried to have him be different than the over the top Hogan.

[PeteF3]

This is a low-key interview whose editor was apparently on ADD, with weird transitions and random cuts to black and white. Luger's father was a concert pianist who stressed that Luger could only participate in sports if he got straight A's and participated in chorus or band as well. Luger's perceived arrogance was just because he was TOO SHY as a youngster. Yes, that's why he stared at himself in a mirror and cheap-shotted people with a loaded forearm. Give me a goddamned break.

 

I'm sorry, I get what people are saying about the contrast with Hogan, and Luger does come off as a well-spoken, healthy dude. But this hasn't gotten any easier to sit through and I can't help but look at it through a superficial "He was the goddamned Narcissist a few months ago" lens that simply isn't going to go away. Incredibly, Luger's emergency babyface turn in WCW was handled about 100 times better than his emergency babyface turn in the WWF. It could have been pulled off with Luger keeping a bit of his previous attitude, just like he did when he initially confronted the Horsemen. THAT could have been just as contrastable to Hogan, if they'd done it right. Instead, he's treated like a newcomer and like the previous months didn't happen. It's insulting and patronizing--the Sgt. Slaughter turn all over again, with the exploitation aspect dialed down a notch but the company brown-nosing turned way, way up.

 

As a developing smark adolescent I hated Luger with every fiber of my being at this point. As someone slightly more mature, I have nothing personal against the guy and I realize that this stuff isn't his fault. It's simply a sign that Vince and the WWF are completely lost at this point from a main-event and promoting perspective, even as the other booking and work are nearing a peak. If someone could have combined the '93 mid-card with a stronger and FRESHER main event babyface, this is a promotion that could have been really special to watch.

[soup23]

I'm still on board of the Lex Express and thought this was really strong in bringing likeability and humility to Luger. Perhaps more seeds could have been planted besides him suddenly flying in a helicopter to slam Yokozuna but everything else from that moment has been done well and actually built toward SummerSlam.

[garretta]

I get what Pete's driving at, and the transition from Narcissist to All-American was​ done way too quickly, but as I've said, I'm not sure this was meant to be Luger's spot at all. This really does feel to me like it was originally supposed to be Hogan's last hurrah, not Luger's coming-out party; an attempt for the fans to see the Terry Bollea behind their hero in light of his waning popularity and the scandals that had engulfed both him and the WWF over the last couple of years. (Yes, I know about him supposedly dropping the belt to Bret at SummerSlam, but if I'm right, this must have been in the works before Vince ever got that idea.)

 

Regardless of all of that, it turned into Luger's angle, and the fit isn't terrible, but it's not great either. I'm not sure I need to know about how shy Larry Pfohl was in school, or how his dad was a pianist, or how athletics took second place in his life to academics (which explains a lot, come to think of it). I want to know more about Lex Luger, the character and wrestler, and how he plans to defeat the Godless Jap at SummerSlam. In other words, a standard wrestling promo. Build him up that way first, give him credibility in the ring and on the mic in obviously worked situations the old-fashioned way, give him the title, and then ​tell me about the man behind the myth. It's almost as if Vince knows that Luger's not getting the belt already and is giving this to his fans as a consolation prize before the fact: "Well, he's not man enough to beat Yokozuna, but look at what a nice guy he is!" To which my mark self would say: "The hell with that and the bus it rode in on. I want Bret!"

 

To his credit, Lex (or should I say Larry, at least in this context) does a great job, and he sounds a hell of a lot more natural here than he ever has giving a promo. But it just wasn't needed, at least not at this point in time. Sadly, the time when it would ​have been needed never came close to happening.