TSC Evaluation #8: Lex Luger

[TheGreatShowtime]

I prefer his WCW mid-90's theme. I remember streaming it on RealPlayer back when I was 12



Narcissist Lex Luger's theme was piff too



But as for Luger, I was never a fan. I never hated the guy either though. He was just there. I'd give him a 6.5/10. His legacy is definitely underrated though. He should be talked about a bit more than he is.

Funny off topic story - I bought a brown t-shirt when I was in college that just said "Total Package." I went home for the weekend & was wearing that shirt. My dad looks at the shirt. Looks at me. Looks back at the shirt and then says, "You're no Lex Luger"

 

[Rayzah]

-Mic work/promos

• 4 - good enough to get fans into it in the arena but not good enough to really draw money

-Personality/gimmicks

• 7.5 - I expect a lot of underrating going on here...he was a great heel in the 80s, he got the nitro crowd hot as a babyface vs nWo, and he was always IMPORTANT. THAT is hard to do.

-Ring work (along with some of your favorite matches/feuds)

• 6. He had a limited move set, but who cares if it was working...much like Sid. And one of the GOAT finishers.

-Overall rating (which doesn't have to be an average of the above scores)

• 7 - I think luger, like x-pac, is the victim of a stigma associated with their name...lex luger is a big deal in wrestling history. He should've had a longer run with the four horseman, because he actually FIT in there, with the shades and ultra young polos ( ) , he looked like an arrogant ass baller, and him Tully flair and arn could've been a goat horseman stable...especially to build a sting/luger rising fuel and the eventual turn on flair...but as @Art Barr chronicled, they fukked that all up.

Agreed i was going to say the same. He was over and had a dope finisher, he looked the part and had a decent run. You have to give him credit for that

I give him a 6.5

 

[Slystallion]

He's a legend fukk you stupid young kids

He'd be over more than anyone else on the roster outside of AJ Styles and probably be the guy who takes down Brock if he came up today instead of then

 

[Slystallion]

A failure on all counts, only remembered at all because of the 80s fetish for bodybuilders.

And he killed Elizabeth.

No stars, and may God have mercy on his soul.

I hate when people blame others for their own actions...did lex force drugs down her throat? She should have stayed with Randy despite his obsessive controlling jealousy

 

[mrken12]

I recommend RVD and Raven

I'll do RVD for the upcoming one since I like to alternate between promotions.

 

[mrken12]

Luger is one of the few guys who didn't have a lot of negativity or evoke strong feelings. Almost everyone was able to meet in the middle in this thread.

 

[Ribbs]

I was a late bloomer to Luger. I mainly his WCW stuff and I don't recall him doing much of anything. He was kinda just there, he was there in the Wolfpac, he was there side by side with Sting against the NWO. I have a vague memory of his matches but he looked so stiff in the ring. Like his vertebrae was a broom.

Four.

But this theme was my shyt!

 

[daboywonder2002]

Lex is the most underrated wrestler of the last 40 years. He had classic matches, a great physique, and he could draw money. But people talk about him like he was a joke. In terms of in ring ability he was miles ahead of guy like Warrior, but he gets praised as a being legend. Most people only focus on his WWE run where he was horribly mismanaged. When you look at his entire body of work he's legendary status. If you were creating a DVD box set of Lex's best matches it would be better than a lot of people's.

The reason most people dislike him is because he flopped in the WWE. If his best years were in the WWE he'd be much more revered today. I'd put Luger's run from 87-89 against anybody else's in the business. Everything about it from the storytelling to Lex's great character and in ring work was masterful.

I dont even count his wwf stuff. His matches vs the horsemen were legendary. Hated him as a heel with harley race and curtis hughes. The thing about lex is he worked great against scientific wrestlers aka flair, arn, windham.

 

[Buggsy Mogues]

-Mic work/promos
1 - I can't think of one memorable Luger promo other than "AND THE T-SHIRTS ARE TOO TIGHT BILLY!"

-Personality/gimmicks
2 - Never really had a gimmick outside of Mr. USA in WWF. Had almost no personality. He was just a white meat bodybuilder.

-Ring work (along with some of your favorite matches/feuds)
4 - He got worse as his career went on.. he was at his best early when he was still a novice, although a lot of that had to do with who he was in the ring with.

-Overall rating (which doesn't have to be an average of the above scores)
4 - You can't deny that he was ALWAYS over no matter where he went or what he did. He was always one of the most over guys in WCW his entire run. However aside from that there was really nothing redeemable about him for me in the ring.

 

[James Dean]

-Mic work/promos 3.

-Personality/gimmicks 8.

-Ring work (along with some of your favorite matches/feuds) 2.

-Overall rating (which doesn't have to be an average of the above scores) 6.

Another guy who was fueled by the gimmick.

 

[Konnan]

He beat Miss Elizabeth -10

Deep down you know it broke Macho Mans heart


Randy Savage died of a broken heart

fukk that -50

 

[Alexander The Great]

people gonna hate on Lex. but he was the GOAT Untied States Champion. had a few really good matches from like 88-90. yeah some of his work was really shytty, but I think even Flair said it wasn't his fault he was pushed so quickly to the top. he didn't really get a chance to learn.

his match/feud with Steamboat in 89 was really good.
his matches with Flair in the late 80s outdrew what Flair did with Sting too

oh and there were definitely some matches during the late 80s where him as a heel would get way better reactions than the babyface he was fighting. he even got some cheers vs Flair at Starracde 89

1995 as @stro mentioned was some of my favorite Luger work. where he was a heel to everyone but Sting at one point they were tag champs and they would come to the ring together and sting would be in front slapping high fives, while Luger would just ignore eveyone...until Sting would turn around and then he'd start smiling and slapping high fives...until Sting turned back around.

that period of Luger would have made him a TSC favorite. especially when he just out of the blue started attacking hogan on that one ppv.

the surprise for me was 1997...He used to get AMAZING reactions from the crowd...I couldn't believe how over he was

Lex would get a 6-7 from me