jboi1306
Mid-Carder
Joined on: Sept 29, 2020 3:20:54 GMT -5
Posts: 55 
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Post by jboi1306 on Oct 9, 2020 15:23:33 GMT -5
I know everyone has their opinions and preferences but for the life of me, I've never understood the big deal with Lex Luger. I always thought he lacked charisma and can't say I ever enjoyed his work.
That being said, am I missing something? Is there a particular match/feud/era that I should watch where Lex is particularly good?
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icopro
Jobber
Joined on: Aug 28, 2020 8:42:24 GMT -5
Posts: 33
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Post by icopro on Oct 9, 2020 15:25:43 GMT -5
I really liked him when he was tagging with Bulldog.
edit: his look was obviously the selling point, but he lacked the personality to pull off that All-American, Hulk gimmick
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Post by βππ£π ππ ππππ on Oct 9, 2020 15:40:48 GMT -5
I love going back and watching Lex in WCW 1988-1992, and I even think he played a big role and was a top guy for the company again in 1996-1997.
In his NWA-WCW run, he had some great matches with the horsemen, against the horsemen. Flair Vs Luger at Starrcade '88 is one of the best all-time matches from that entire era, and their other match at WrestleWar 1990 is wonderful. He had a great match at Chi-Town Rumble '88 with Windham, with Steamboat at GAB '89, Tommy Rich at Clash #8, Pillman at Clash #9, and Dan Spivey at WrestleWar 1991.
My favorite Luger match has to be him and Sting Vs Steiners at Superbrawl 1991.
I think his WWF run is just an example of how the WWF presented wrestling in the era. He didn't fit in with the cast of characters or the types of matches the company wanted to put on. Its not knocking Lex or the WWF's new generation but he just wasn't the guy they thought he would be.
His return to WCW was great in terms of getting the nWo over. Luger winning the belt of Hollywood Hogan on Nitro in '97 gets a nuclear pop and I love watching that match. After the nWo's fall, Luger went down with the rest of WCW.
I love his presence and I think he's had some really classic matches. He's not the best promo but I certainly enjoyed a lot of promos he had. He is one of those guys who visually is the pinnacle of a pro wrestler and he fit in perfectly in the 80s and 90s on an event poster. He's also a very kind and giving man to his fans today and he's so grateful that people still come out and line up to meet him. That makes me always a bit bias to any wrestler even if they're not great in the ring.
Thumbs up for Luger!
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Post by The Brain on Oct 9, 2020 15:44:00 GMT -5
I recommend his heel run in WCW circa early 90s with Harley as his manager and his WWF Narcissist run. Those were the only times I cared about em.
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Post by PJ on Oct 9, 2020 17:09:56 GMT -5
I thought Lex was at his best as a Horsemen. I love going back and watching Lex in WCW 1988-1992, and I even think he played a big role and was a top guy for the company again in 1996-1997. In his NWA-WCW run, he had some great matches with the horsemen, against the horsemen. Flair Vs Luger at Starrcade '88 is one of the best all-time matches from that entire era, and their other match at WrestleWar 1990 is wonderful. He had a great match at Chi-Town Rumble '88 with Windham, with Steamboat at GAB '89, Tommy Rich at Clash #8, Pillman at Clash #9, and Dan Spivey at WrestleWar 1991. My favorite Luger match has to be him and Sting Vs Steiners at Superbrawl 1991. I think his WWF run is just an example of how the WWF presented wrestling in the era. He didn't fit in with the cast of characters or the types of matches the company wanted to put on. Its not knocking Lex or the WWF's new generation but he just wasn't the guy they thought he would be. His return to WCW was great in terms of getting the nWo over. Luger winning the belt of Hollywood Hogan on Nitro in '97 gets a nuclear pop and I love watching that match. After the nWo's fall, Luger went down with the rest of WCW. I love his presence and I think he's had some really classic matches. He's not the best promo but I certainly enjoyed a lot of promos he had. He is one of those guys who visually is the pinnacle of a pro wrestler and he fit in perfectly in the 80s and 90s on an event poster. He's also a very kind and giving man to his fans today and he's so grateful that people still come out and line up to meet him. That makes me always a bit bias to any wrestler even if they're not great in the ring. Thumbs up for Luger! A great match. |
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icopro
Jobber
Joined on: Aug 28, 2020 8:42:24 GMT -5
Posts: 33
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Post by icopro on Oct 9, 2020 17:15:08 GMT -5
I recommend his heel run in WCW circa early 90s with Harley as his manager and his WWF Narcissist run. Those were the only times I cared about em. Really loved the Narcissist. I probably donβt give him enough credit for how many different roles he pulled off. I need to go back and watch him with Harley. |
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Post by The Brain on Oct 9, 2020 17:20:06 GMT -5
I recommend his heel run in WCW circa early 90s with Harley as his manager and his WWF Narcissist run. Those were the only times I cared about em. Really loved the Narcissist. I probably donβt give him enough credit for how many different roles he pulled off. I need to go back and watch him with Harley. Yeah that was a run they should've did way more with.That gimmick suited him perfectly. The World Title run with Harley and Mr. Hughes was great.He was definitely a better heel than babyface. |
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Post by LA Times on Oct 9, 2020 17:57:38 GMT -5
My favorite part of Lex Luger's career was 1996-97 when he was racking every big, fat jobber in WCW and challenging for the World Championship. Made in the USA Lex Luger was one of few things I liked about the New Generation Era.
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Post by The Brain on Oct 9, 2020 18:48:53 GMT -5
My favorite part of Lex Luger's career was 1996-97 when he was racking every big, fat jobber in WCW and challenging for the World Championship. Made in the USA Lex Luger was one of few things I liked about the New Generation Era. I gotta admit, him racking Hogan to win the belt briefly on that Nitro in August 97 was great. |
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Post by jason88cubs on Oct 9, 2020 20:10:20 GMT -5
I always liked Luger. i dont know what exactly, but I just always enjoye dhis matches
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Deleted
Joined on: Nov 28, 2024 3:38:23 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2020 2:30:58 GMT -5
I feel like I appreciate Luger going back and watching it, as opposed to when I saw it all in real time. Still didn't care for his WWF run, but his NWA and WCW stuff I like a lot more watching it back.
I tell you what though. Luger was so over as a babyface against the nWo. That pop when he beat Hogan was amaaaaaaaazing.
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teammadness
Mid-Carder
Joined on: May 10, 2020 8:09:29 GMT -5
Posts: 394
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Post by teammadness on Oct 10, 2020 3:23:19 GMT -5
He had the look and wwf wise he was in the right place at the right time. Other than that I canβt really recall a lex Luger match that stands out.
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TheXtremisT
Main Eventer
10 Year Member
This is the way
Joined on: May 3, 2008 8:03:15 GMT -5
Posts: 3,953
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Post by TheXtremisT on Oct 10, 2020 6:01:36 GMT -5
I have watched every Nitro in 1997 and am currently at Feb 1998, and he is over like rover.
In the middle of 1997 he had the crowd pumped for him taking on the NWO with the Giant, would always come out to a big pop and his promos were actually quite good. He got the crowd behind him and eager to see him defeat his opponents. The Torture Rack got the same level of pop that the Diamond Cutter did.
When he won the WCW title off Hogan on Nitro in Aug 1997, it was the height of his popularity. He was on top of the company as the biggest babyface, with Sting waiting in the background. Losing it 6 days later at Road Wild was baffling. Luger said that it was Bischoff trying to keep the NWO hot and Luger was better chasing. But Bischoff never liked Luger. Never saw anything in him. He never even sniffed the title again in WCW.
Because of this, his momentum cooled down a lot, and he slipped down the card a little. He was beating mid-card guys, in the NWO and WCW, never got any promo time and got a more muted reaction from the crowd. But once they put him in a feud with Bagwell, before then moving onto Macho Man - he was given more opportunity to shine and the crowd was back to being fully behind him and he had big pops again.
But after that, he was lost in the shuffle. The focus of the show shifted to Savage vs Hogan, Hogan vs celebrities, Nash ending Goldberg's streak and being the leader of the NWO... oh no wait it was in fact Hogan.
Luger just didn't fit in. This was 100% not the fault of Lex. He had the crowd support him, he sold feuds, he could give good enough promos. But it was Bischoff and co just not caring about him.
He got less crowd reaction because management didn't give Luger enough opportunity to make the crowd care. They felt there was nothing left to do with him. They may have been right, he was getting older - but so was Nash, Hall, DDP, Flair, Hogan and Savage. There was your problem. He was always waaaaaay down on that list of prioritising guys.
The last attempt to salvage him was to emulate his narcissist gimmick and make him a heel who loved himself too much. Becoming the Total Package just gave him enough to be a solid worker and put others over.
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Post by JokerFC on Oct 10, 2020 6:27:36 GMT -5
I thought Lex was at his best as a Horsemen. I love going back and watching Lex in WCW 1988-1992, and I even think he played a big role and was a top guy for the company again in 1996-1997. In his NWA-WCW run, he had some great matches with the horsemen, against the horsemen. Flair Vs Luger at Starrcade '88 is one of the best all-time matches from that entire era, and their other match at WrestleWar 1990 is wonderful. He had a great match at Chi-Town Rumble '88 with Windham, with Steamboat at GAB '89, Tommy Rich at Clash #8, Pillman at Clash #9, and Dan Spivey at WrestleWar 1991. My favorite Luger match has to be him and Sting Vs Steiners at Superbrawl 1991. I think his WWF run is just an example of how the WWF presented wrestling in the era. He didn't fit in with the cast of characters or the types of matches the company wanted to put on. Its not knocking Lex or the WWF's new generation but he just wasn't the guy they thought he would be. His return to WCW was great in terms of getting the nWo over. Luger winning the belt of Hollywood Hogan on Nitro in '97 gets a nuclear pop and I love watching that match. After the nWo's fall, Luger went down with the rest of WCW. I love his presence and I think he's had some really classic matches. He's not the best promo but I certainly enjoyed a lot of promos he had. He is one of those guys who visually is the pinnacle of a pro wrestler and he fit in perfectly in the 80s and 90s on an event poster. He's also a very kind and giving man to his fans today and he's so grateful that people still come out and line up to meet him. That makes me always a bit bias to any wrestler even if they're not great in the ring. Thumbs up for Luger! A great match. cracker...Ive just recently watched it after listening to a podcast about The Steiners. on Luger? top Guy for WCW from 88-92 & 96-98. I may be one of the folks who enjoyed his run as champ in 1991. With Vince? He was booked poorly and you could tell he lost interest completely. First strike was the Yoko thing @ Summerslam 1993. He was presented as a f*ckin choke artist on the big stage. Then again @ Survivor Series 93 & WMX. A heel turn after WMX would have done WONDERS for him. He spent the rest of 94/95 interacting with the god awful Million $ Corporation. His return to WCW in 95 was poor....but picked up when he started tagging with Sting. The nWo angle completely revitalised him...even though hed been in WWF for 2 years? Fans still seen him as a WCW guy to fight the nWo & in Stings absence? he was over massively. |
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Deleted
Joined on: Nov 28, 2024 3:38:23 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2020 8:27:34 GMT -5
he was really good back in the old nwa/wcw days. the angle with being in and leaving 4 horsemen was GREAT. he was AWESOME as the cocky heel. he was good as Narcissist, but he was toned down a bit on the mic. he played the cheating heel role well in his matches too.
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Post by LA Times on Oct 10, 2020 8:40:40 GMT -5
My favorite part of Lex Luger's career was 1996-97 when he was racking every big, fat jobber in WCW and challenging for the World Championship. Made in the USA Lex Luger was one of few things I liked about the New Generation Era. I gotta admit, him racking Hogan to win the belt briefly on that Nitro in August 97 was great. A reason why WCW felt comfortable with turning hogan heel was because they had lex luger and sting ready to replace him as a top baby face. The WWE never had that guy to replace John cena so he ended up never doing a heel turn. |
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Post by Grumpyoldman on Oct 10, 2020 9:36:37 GMT -5
I think he was the only wrestler to say "intestinal fortitude" in just about every promo he did in JCP.
Other than that, I didn't care for him. He shouted too loud when he'd sell & his selling was awful.
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Post by cordless2016 on Oct 10, 2020 13:52:40 GMT -5
His pre-WWF run as a heel was good stuff. I always enjoyed his short run as the βNarcisistβ in the WWF as well. I think my favorite run of his was when he first returned to WCW as a tweener. He always played a cocky heel well and I think thatβs why he was getting over with fans in late 1995/early 1996. By early 1997, he really was the only WCW guy still going in the ring that could compete with the NWO which is why I think he was over like crazy at that time. Sting wasnβt wrestling, Savage went to the NWO, and DDP was a midcarder at the time. That left Luger as the hero to defend WCW at the time.
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jboi1306
Mid-Carder
Joined on: Sept 29, 2020 3:20:54 GMT -5
Posts: 55
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Post by jboi1306 on Oct 13, 2020 5:57:45 GMT -5
Cracking feedback and direction all - a little homework for me to do on the Network over the coming weeks!
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Deleted
Joined on: Nov 28, 2024 3:38:23 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Oct 13, 2020 10:23:31 GMT -5
Did you guys hear or read about Bobby Fultonβs son(a wrestling merchandise vendor) forging Lex Luger inscriptions on autographed pics?
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