The “Total Package” Lex Luger was not the best wrestler in the world. His movements were robotic and his selling of the moves left much to be desired. But regardless of his shortcomings, Lex Luger was able to serve as one of the top wrestlers of the 90s. He often appeared in the main event bouts for both World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment. Lex Luger will not be remembered for his wealth of great matches, but his body of work is nothing to be embarrassed about. His disposition and character added a lot of substance to the companies he labored for. Here is a list of Lex Luger’s seven greatest matches of all time.
7) Lex Luger vs Barry Windham
The “Total Package” was set to meet Ric Flair at the 1991 Great American Bash in a steel cage match. However, Flair was in disagreement with WCW leadership, and left the company high and dry. Wrestler Barry Windham took his position. Given the lack of enthusiasm from fans, the match was a lot better than it really had any right to be. Lex Luger always needed a strong hand to carry him through a wrestling match. And at this time in 1991, Windham was broken down with injuries and substance abuse problems holding him back. The match went fairly edgeless, with only a couple of near botches. But the end story, which was Lex Luger aligning himself with Harley Race, got over commendably.
6) Lex Luger vs Sting
At Superbrawl 1991, Lex Luger and Sting were best of friends. But one year later at Superbrawl 1992, they were bitter enemies. World Heavyweight Champion Lex Luger defended his championship against the “Stinger” at this popular pay per view event. The crowd was incredibly boisterous for this match, and solidly behind the blond haired surfer Sting. Lex Luger played the bad guy, with manager Harley Race. In my opinion, Lex Luger always played a better bad guy than good guy. The muscle monster Luger lost the match after Sting hit him with a flying cross body press from the top turnbuckle.
5) Lex Luger vs Ric Flair
Lex Luger had many celebrated battles with “Nature Boy” Ric Flair. But their greatest bout came at Wrestle War 1990 . The muscle strapped Luger acted the ultimate good guy in this bout, getting retribution on the dastardly Ric Flair. At one point, Flair rammed Luger into the steel barricade at ringside, and Luger did not register the pain, and went straight after Flair. It was a very Ultimate Warrior type of maneuver. And since Warrior was prodigious in the WWE at the time, one has to wonder if that’s the gimmick he was trying to emulate. Unfortunately, the match ended in controversial fashion, which was a continuing and frustrating trend in WCW.
4) Lex Luger and Sting vs Steiner Brothers
All four friends battled in a tag team match at Superbrawl 1991. This match was high impact and atypical. The bout seemed to feature more moves than actually tell a story. But it was a great display of energy and athletics. All four men played the good guy babyfaces, though Lex Luger would turn heel later in the year. The match had a more Japanese style to it, meaning the guys hit a lot of wrestling moves and barely registered the impact. Regardless, the match was tremendous and served its purpose. On a side note, this is one of the first WCW matches I remember seeing. I loved it then, and it still holds up today.
3) Lex Luger vs Ricky Steamboat
Ricky Steamboat’s feud with Ric Flair in the late 80s has overshadowed many of his other feuds and battles. Such is the case with his brief feud with “Total Package” Lex Luger over the United States Championship. At the Great American Bash 1989 , Steamboat and Luger fought in a hard battled contest that saw the technical wrestler master, Ricky Steamboat, lose to Lex Luger by disqualification. For all his critics who say Luger was a mound of immobile muscle, they obviously forgot about this match. Although Luger is still clunky and moves somewhat awkwardly, he went toe to toe with one of the most agile athletes and was able to keep up.
2) Lex Luger vs Hulk Hogan
At the height of Hollywood Hogan and the New World Order, Lex Luger was one of the most popular wrestlers on the WCW roster. In 1997, he was one of the main men to confront the New World Order and their nasty ways. On an episode of the ratings bonanza WCW Monday Nitro, Lex Luger was granted a championship bout against Hogan. And in a surprise finish, Lex Luger grabbed the older Hogan and wrapped him in a torture rack. Despite all efforts by the NWO, Luger was able to defeat Hogan and win the WCW title. The crowd went nuts at the surprise win. I cannot recall Lex Luger ever getting a better ovation than he did that night.
1) Royal Rumble 1994
Lex Luger won the 1994 Royal Rumble . But so did Bret Hart. Confused? For the first time in its history, the Royal Rumble declared co-winners of the Royal Rumble match. The two finalists were Lex and Bret. As the two punched one another, Bret caught Luger under the arms and forced him over the top rope. As Luger toppled, Hart came along, and both wrestlers landed on the floor at the same time. The Royal Rumble win was the biggest moment in Lex Luger’s short WWE wrestling career. But that is something to be proud of, as it’s a moment that will be remembered for a long time.
Nowadays, bodybuilders are the norm. But in his time, Lex Luger and his sculpted body was an abnormality. He stood out from the crowd, and used his physical appearance to craft a successful career. There is no doubt in mind that one day, Lex Luger will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. He deserves it.