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Post by hbkjason on Aug 14, 2020 14:40:51 GMT -5
What If Lex Luger Won The WWF Title At SummerSlam 1993?
For my wrestling memories article this month I am writing about SummerSlam 1993, but before that. What if on that fateful PPV, Lex Luger hit Yokozune with the forearm, but instead of rolling out of the ring, he lands flat on his back, 123 and we have a new WWF Champion! I for one think this would have been great and made the whole Lex Express and summer of Lex actually make sense. I still feel that Lex and Yokozuna would have had their feud for the rest of 1993, but what would have happened as we rolled into 1994 is the big question. Would Bret Hart have won the Royal Rumble outright and got the chance to face Luger at WrestleMania X? One fun way I could see this still happening was for Owen to be in the Rumble and for the same end to happen, but with Bret and Owen doing the spot instead of Bret and Lex. This way the two can still have their epic match at Mania, but this time instead of just being for bragging rights it is for the title shot later in the evening. The more I think about it the more I still feel that it made sense for Luger to win the title at SummerSlam. However, after this I have no clue how Vince and the WWF would have booked his run with the title to the following years Mania. The real wildcard here is Bret Hart and what would have happened to him. Going even further than this, had Vince gave Luger the title here, would he still have jumped ship in 1995? Luger winning the title at SummerSlam 1993 would have radically changed things going forward for a number of wrestlers. I feel that Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Undertaker and Yokozuna would have all been somehow affected by him winning the title. I would love to read you guys theories about how you feel things would have turned out had Luger won the title at SummerSlam 1993. |
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Post by The Brain on Aug 14, 2020 15:02:43 GMT -5
I can see Vince going with Borga to win the Rumble then facing Luger at Mania for the belt.Luger's opponent at Rumble could be somebody like Bigelow or Crush(Savage could cost em the match to further that feud).The Bret/Owen stuff would go on as planned.Taker was taking time off anyway so his feud with Yoko would still happen just with no title on the line.Yoko then would enter a feud with the returning Earthquake for Mania.
If Luger remained champ until Mania the only 2 options for Rumble winner in my eyes are Borga and Bret.We all know Vince loves the USA hero against the evil foreigner angle.It makes sense as the build would be Borga's undefeated streak against the WWF Title.
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Post by hbkjason on Aug 14, 2020 15:16:05 GMT -5
Great idea, I completely forgot about Borga in all honesty with you!
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Post by hbkbigdaddycool on Aug 14, 2020 17:08:57 GMT -5
I just recently watch this SummerSlam as it was playing on the Network last week when I was bedridden with a back injury. When Lex won by count out, the only ones really celebrating hard were Vince on the microphone, Randy Savage, Steiners, Tatanka and Lex Luger. The fans were kind of like, "meh" to Lex winning.
Now a few things to consider....
Did Vince have Lex win by count out because he wasn't sure if the fans would have went nuts for Lex winning the WWF Title that night??
Did Vince see the 'meh' reaction Lex got with the count out win so he chose not to put the WWF Title on Lex ever??
Did the fans give that 'meh' reaction because Lex didn't win the WWF Title that night??
Looking back at it, I can see that it was wise that Lex didn't win the WWF Title. When you compare Bret Hart's win at Wrestlemania X, when the fans legit were jumping and screaming with joy that Bret won the belt, it makes you really think that Vince went with the right choice as Bret Hart as the champion that time and not Lex.
Lex and the whole USA, love American, beat the evil foreign wrestler would have worked perfect in the 80s if there was no Hulk Hogan. But in 1993, even me at the age of 12 years old was tired of that kind of stuff. I wanted Bret Hart to be the man. And a few months later, I got my wish.
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Post by The Brain on Aug 14, 2020 18:32:33 GMT -5
Still laugh@ Heenan when Luger slams Yoko at SSlam ''Hiplock!'' ''Hiplock!''
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moonpies88
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Post by moonpies88 on Aug 14, 2020 21:10:21 GMT -5
Luger defeats Yoko at 93 summerslam
Survivor Series--Crush , Jacque,Yokuzuna. and Borga defeat Luger, Undertaker and Steiners (Luger gets hit with Cornette's tennis racket and Crush pins Luger, Yoko and Taker got double DQ for their feud)
Royal Rumble---Luger defends title vs Crush, Borga wins Royal Rumble, Bret accidentally eliminates Owen, Owen sneaks in eliminating Bret, Yoko defeats Taker as Taker takes a break
Mania---Luger defeats Borga in title match, Owen defeats Bret in a match with help from Cornette, Yoko and Crush defeat Macho Man and mystery partner?
King of Ring-- Luger and Bret Hart defeat Owen Hart and Yoko
Summerslam---Yoko defeats Luger
Wrestlemania--Bret defeats Yoko for title, Luger defeats Owen
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ClassicFan2
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Post by ClassicFan2 on Aug 15, 2020 4:26:18 GMT -5
was SOOOO wanting luger to win it here. survivor series stays basically the same, but borga cheats to beat luger. then luger defends against borga at royal rumble. bret wins rumble. bret beats luger at mania for belt (with cheating ref mr perfect's help).
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underjohngrohs
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"Do I Have Everybody's Attention Now?"
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Post by underjohngrohs on Aug 15, 2020 4:54:59 GMT -5
I'm sorry but Luger and Borga could not have main evented WrestleMania X bottom line plain and simple, I agree though but here's my different take on The Luger Situation in 1993-1995.
Summerslam' 93: Luger wins the WWF Championship over Yokozuna for the first time.
Fall 1993: Luger has a couple of title matches and teams up with The Undertaker, Steiner Brothers and Randy Savage to take on the team of Crush, The Quebecers, Ludvig Borga and Yokozuna with Borga pinning Luger, Yokozuna eliminates Undertaker in that match, but Luger will eliminate Yokozuna after a distraction by The Undertaker.
1994 Royal Rumble: Crush becomes the #1 Contender and loses the match to Luger, Yoko will still kill off The Undertaker in a Casket Match, the "Spirit of The Undertaker" is still used. Taker takes time off until Summerslam. Borga wins the Royal Rumble as the #14 entrant by last eliminating Randy Savage.
WrestleMania X: Luger and Borga do not main event, Owen and Bret keep as the first match, but Razor and Shawn, that is the main event for the Intercontinental Championship in a Ladder Match and it steals the show. Luger retains against Borga, Yokozuna defeats Earthquake and the rematch is set for the 1994 King of The Ring between Luger and Yokozuna.
1994 King of The Ring: Luger retains the title against Yokozuna in a Steel Cage Match and feuds with Owen Hart for the title who just won King of The Ring.
1994 Summerslam: Owen defeats Luger to capture the WWF Championship and Luger uses his rematch clause in October but fails to win the title back.
1994 Survivor Series: Luger then turns heel and eventually joins the Million Dollar Corporation, Owen will drop the title to Bret Hart, Undertaker and Yokozuna's feud continues but don't do the casket rematch just yet. Taker will captain a team against Yokozuna's team. Undertaker will dominate Yokozuna's team in a complete shutout, this will end with Yokozuna being counted out.
1995 Royal Rumble: Yokozuna gets his third WWF Championship back by defeating Bret Hart and Luger will defeat Razor Ramon to capture the WWF Intercontinental Championship for the first time thanks to cheating by the Million Dollar Corporation, The Undertaker wins the Royal Rumble for the first time for redemption at #2 by last eliminating the #1 entrant Shawn Michaels.
WrestleMania 11: Yokozuna and The Undertaker compete for the WWF Title in the Casket Rematch, Roddy Piper is the special guest enforcer for this match and assures that there'd be no outside intereference and there is, Yokozuna is laid to rest and The Undertaker becomes the WWF Champion for the first time since 1991, and wins the title for a second time. Taker will drop the title at Summerslam 1995 to Diesel. Luger will retain the title against Razor Ramon that night in a rematch.
Summerslam 1995: Luger feuds with Shawn Michaels for the Intercontinental Title, their feud begins at the King of The Ring with Michaels eliminating Luger from the semi-finals, but Luger gets back at Michaels by losing the finals to Michaels's friend Diesel. Michaels wins the Intercontinental Title at the First In Your House against Luger, Luger declares that if he loses to Michaels again, he would leave the WWF and he does. Michaels beats Luger for the title and Luger is out of the WWF to head to WCW.
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Warriah'
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Post by Warriah' on Aug 15, 2020 5:52:21 GMT -5
I'd have been fine with Luger winning at Summerslam 93, dropping back to Yoko at Survivor Series after some interference and everything else happening as it did.
Luger deserved the strap at SS, no ifs, ands or buts. Dude was over like rover and stayed over big until WMX.
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Post by warriorlynx on Aug 15, 2020 10:52:43 GMT -5
It's funny how people out there compare Lex with Reigns, but the difference is Lex was completely over prior to SS93. If he had won the title it might have been a different situation. Way I would book it:
Survivor Series 93: All-Americans def. Foreign Fanatics with Lex standing as the champ and sole survivor
Royal Rumble 94: Lex (c) def. Borga (remember Borga defeated the undefeated Tatanka so he can get this push here)
Wrestlemania X: Lex (c) def. Bam Bam Bigelow (Bigelow would need a winning streak after KOTR 93)
KOTR 94: Lex (c) def. Diesel (c) retaining the WWF title but IC title wasn't on the line
SummerSlam 94: Undertaker def. Lex (c) in his triumphant return to the WWF (either we use the REAL taker OR FakeTaker here)
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jking1979
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Post by jking1979 on Aug 15, 2020 11:06:44 GMT -5
I thought the All American good guy was a great character for Lex Luger. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be like Hulk Hogan brother.
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Post by JokerFC on Aug 15, 2020 12:18:55 GMT -5
Another great thread man....keep them coming. We have to remember one thing in all of this. Vince LOVED Yokozuna...absolutely adored him. So he isnt going to stray far from the ME. This is an ideal scenario...so Im also assuming that Borga doesnt get injured (which effects Diesel a little).
SSlam 1993: Luger busts Yoko with the foreram and beats Yoko. America celebrates while evil foreigners everywhere sulk and plot Lugers demise LOL!!
SSeries 1993. Team USA vs Foreign Fanatics. Cornette wrangles it so that if FFs win? Yoko gets a shot @ The RR. FFs win it under shady circumstances.
RR1994: Luger loses the strap to Yoko after interference from Borga. Borga gets his dominant run in the RR as originally planned but Luger comes out and distracts him. Bret or Diesel get the elimination. Bret wins RR and Diesel goes to the final throws with him.
WMX: Bret beats Yoko & Luger beats the undefeated Borga in a grudge match(maybe a cage?)
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Post by HandsomeHollywood on Aug 15, 2020 12:53:59 GMT -5
I thought the All American good guy was a great character for Lex Luger. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be like Hulk Hogan brother. I think the issue was how forced it was. He/Vince should have done more to get the character started. Even as a child I remember wondering why Luger was a good guy all of a sudden, and I was sad, as I loved the Narcissist. If we had a slow turn for Luger and maybe, hear me out, made him less colorful and let the fans get behind him to give him a reason to become the colorful, all American, it would have worked a lot better. |
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Warriah'
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Post by Warriah' on Aug 15, 2020 13:54:14 GMT -5
After this thread I checked out Luger's WMX match on the network earlier to remind myself. And the crowd is visibly pissed off that Lex doesn't win the belt. He got a massive pop at the start of the match, USA chants during, and bullcrap at the end when Perfect screws him.
My take overall, is Lex is one of the biggest missed opportunities in WWE history. He may not have been Bret popular, but I feel like that is in part due to Vince continuously making him look like he couldn't get it done.
He survived the SS93 fiasco and the crowd still wanted him to win 6 months later at Mania. Baffled he wasn't even on the KOTR 94 card.
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Post by MKSavage on Aug 15, 2020 16:19:24 GMT -5
I just recently watch this SummerSlam as it was playing on the Network last week when I was bedridden with a back injury. When Lex won by count out, the only ones really celebrating hard were Vince on the microphone, Randy Savage, Steiners, Tatanka and Lex Luger. The fans were kind of like, "meh" to Lex winning. Now a few things to consider.... Did Vince have Lex win by count out because he wasn't sure if the fans would have went nuts for Lex winning the WWF Title that night??
Did Vince see the 'meh' reaction Lex got with the count out win so he chose not to put the WWF Title on Lex ever?? Did the fans give that 'meh' reaction because Lex didn't win the WWF Title that night?? Looking back at it, I can see that it was wise that Lex didn't win the WWF Title. When you compare Bret Hart's win at Wrestlemania X, when the fans legit were jumping and screaming with joy that Bret won the belt, it makes you really think that Vince went with the right choice as Bret Hart as the champion that time and not Lex. Lex and the whole USA, love American, beat the evil foreign wrestler would have worked perfect in the 80s if there was no Hulk Hogan. But in 1993, even me at the age of 12 years old was tired of that kind of stuff. I wanted Bret Hart to be the man. And a few months later, I got my wish. I believe Prichard said on his podcast that Lex was supposed to win the title at Summer Slam but at the last second Vince changed his mind, saying it would be better for Luger to win it at WM. From what I understand is that Lex was going to win the belt at WM10 from Yoko but during the time between SS93 and WM10 it appeared that Bret was the more popular guy so it went back to him. I wouldn't be surprised if that was why they both won the 1994 Rumble, I wonder if the WWF wanted to see who the fans would cheer for more to see who should win the belt at WM10. I also remember Bret winning the fan vote as the most popular wrestler in the WWF for 1993, I believe he won that in early 1994 - I remember it being in one of the WWF magazine editions before WM10. Anyway, after WM10, they really should have turned Luger back heel as his total package/narcissist gimmick, that way he could feud with Bret over the title - maybe even win it from him. What they could have done was make him lose to Yoko at WM10, then have him throw a fit because he just can't win the big one, have him take it out on Mr. Perfect (who was still a face at the time), then build him up as a heel between WM10 and SS94, eventually joining Ted DiBiase and the Million $ Corporation. Maybe have his friend Tatanka try to "turn" him back babyface which leads to a match at SSL94, however, Lex turns on his friend and joins the corporation. Then after SS94, instead of Bret feuding with Bob Backlund, have Bret feud with Lex, let Lex win the belt at Survivor Series 94 with the idea of Bret coming back at the Rumble to win it and face Lex at WM11 for the belt. If they (WWF/Vince) was really hard up on Diesel, then have Diesel win the 95 Rumble - dominating it like he did the 94 Rumble - then beat Lex for the belt at WM11. For the 1995 Rumble, Bret could face Lex Luger in a rematch for the belt with Lex retaining it. |
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Post by hbkjason on Aug 16, 2020 11:22:36 GMT -5
Thanks for all the replies guys, it has been a lot of fun to read your thoughts on this.
For me, the WWF missed out by not having a heel Lex Luger going against the face Bret Hart for the WWF title. However, on the flip side of that, I guess this could have cost us Bret vs Owen.
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Post by MKSavage on Aug 16, 2020 14:02:47 GMT -5
Thanks for all the replies guys, it has been a lot of fun to read your thoughts on this. For me, the WWF missed out by not having a heel Lex Luger going against the face Bret Hart for the WWF title. However, on the flip side of that, I guess this could have cost us Bret vs Owen. Agreed. Though, it wouldn't necessarily cost us the Owen/Bret feud. It appeared they were building for a Narcissist/Bret feud around Summer Slam of 1993. So the feud could have continued through the end of 1993 and the beginning of 1994, they still could have started to build the Owen/Bret feud at Survivor Series 1993 which could have had the first match at WM10 and you still would have had their work through the summer of 1994. |
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Post by hbkbigdaddycool on Aug 16, 2020 14:41:51 GMT -5
If we are going to do fantasy booking, I would have done it like this.
Lex wins via count out at SummerSlam. But he's frustrated in himself. He knows he can pin the WWF Champion.
Survivor Series, Lex, Taker and Steiners vs. Yokozuna, Borga and Quebecers still happens. But Lex pins the WWF Champion to win the match.
Lex now knows he can beat Yokozuna.
Rumble time. Lex still has to earn that WWF Title shot because he didn't win the belt at SummerSlam. It comes down to Bret and Lex as the final two. Owen runs in to try and stop Bret from winning, and Bret turns his attention to Owen and throws Owen out of the ring. Lex then comes up and throws Bret out, winning the Royal Rumble that year. Bret looks up at Lex in disbelief as Lex celebrates in a heelish way but still playing to the crowd (much like when Daniel Bryan won the World Title when cashing in the MITB).
At Wrestlemania we get Bret vs. Owen and Lex vs. Yokozuna for the WWF Title. Owen wins, and Lex wins the WWF Title.
The following night, Lex comes out in a suit with the WWF Title on Raw. He says how he was very happy that the fans supported him on his quest to become WWF Champion.... and then proceeds to say how stupid those fans were to think he actually needed them. That it was all a ploy to finally win what was rightfully his, the WWF Title. He then calls out his new manager Ted DiBiase. Tatanka comes out and confronts Lex, and Lex lays him out with the bionic forearm so he is out for months.
Lex then holds the WWF Title until King of the Ring, where he loses it to Bret. The same night Owens wins KOTR thus making him the number 1 contender for Bret's WWF Title.
Tatanka comes back the following night on Raw after KOTR and attacks Luger, setting up for those two to feud at SummerSlam, and we get Bret vs. Owen in the cage for the WWF Title.
That is my fantasy booking for that entire program.
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Post by Artie Kendall on Aug 17, 2020 12:47:23 GMT -5
I'm a huge Lex fan so of course I think he should have won the title.
If Lex has to be a face, what I would change about that entire year, and I know people will hate this, but I would vacate the title after Mania 9 and set up Yokozuna as the King of the Ring winner to be in the title match at Summerslam. Then whoever can body slam Yoko gets in the Summerslam match. If no one cam slam Yoko, he gets the title. This way Lex can do the slam.The winner of the Summerslam match wins the vacant title. You can still have Hogan as champ while the office "reviews the matter" leading up to King of the Ring.
I always felt Yoko didn't need to be champion. He was a monster heel without the title. If he wins the Rumble, wins the title at Mania 9 before the Hogan situation, wins King of the Ring, he looks unstoppable...until Luger slams him.
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Post by JokerFC on Aug 18, 2020 5:12:02 GMT -5
I always say this...& it always makes me LOL but as a 13 year old watching Summerslam 93 I was like WTF are they celebrating for? LOL. I can only imagine what adults watching it were saying!!
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