Lex Luger

[10.0] "Total nostalgia vote, loved the guy growing up. Just a great look and unbelievable charisma. I was a huge mark for the Lex Express gimmick and I can remember jumping up and down in my living room when Luger won the WCW World Championship vs. Hulk Hogan on Nitro. Sting is my all time favorite wrestler and I always dug his conflicted 'friendship' with Luger; they were a great team and great opponents. I also think Luger was underrated in the ring... whenever he went all out, he delivered (watch Luger vs. Flair at Starrcade 1998 for example)."

[5.0] "On Jan 2022 I left a review, the first thing i said was "a roller coaster of a career". Due to this fact I have decided to go the math route. I will also do my best to condense. He was some sort of prodigy, his early years were an astonishingly fast rise where he was in many ways, the face of the great change in the landscape of the business. He was a strong promo, he was a fast learner. Soon enough his ring work began to reach higher levels and his matches with Brian Pillman were compelling excellence. Here his score holds at a steady 8. Once Crockett began to fade and Jim Herd's WCW arose, Luger's career trajectory shifted. He went from being probably over exposed to definitely over saturating in record time. His work was growing obviously rigid, his promos degenerated ("allocades"). By the time he exited WCW, he was wearing burnout on his face, he didn't want to be there and his score lowers to a 5. He then ventured to the WWF, where the Narcissist could have almost worked but his bumping became laughably lousy (just look at him trying to land as easy & soft as possible on the harder WWF ring) and then he was incomprehensibly hot shotted into a role he was blatantly uncomfortable in. His WWF tenure was a disastrous FLOP, the first great wrestling SUPER DUD. Never had someone been given so much to achieve so little. A cautionary tale, One point five. His return to WCW was one of the greatest career resurgences of all time, flirting with a 10 but i'll give that era a 9.25. He did so much great work in WCW until he beat Hogan on national television with the Torture Rack. His career began to deflate at an increasing pace and his dying days WCW stuff is baaaad, we finish with a 1. The math (4.95) doesn't lie and no matter how much i enjoy "good" Luger, bad Lex is AWFUL."

[1.0] "Once you notice the fact that Lex Luger sold not only his opponents' offense, but also his own offense, by shouting out an "OAFFF! ", "AAGH! ", "OWAUGH! ", or even on rare occasion "GAHHHHHHHHH! " you can't stop noticing and it becomes comical. Slow and plodding with a limited moveset, boosted purely by his impressive physical strength, Luger was lost without a tag team partner or vastly superior opponent to carry him to a decent match. His promos weren't any better, as Luger came off as wooden and always had trouble getting his too-obviously-scripted lines out of his mouth. Luger's appeal was really only for people who think "he looks like a professional wrestler" makes somebody the total package (as it were)."

[7.0] "Lex Luger had moments of brilliance as well as struggles with motivation, though its not entirely his fault in regards to the latter. Go ahead and imagine yourself being in late 90's WCW, especially in the peak of Vince Russo. Imagine yourself being *made* for the lifelong heel character and being forced into the Hulk Hogan replacement regime. You're getting paid a lot, or you don't feel comfortable with the direction you're being given, or both. Yeah, no wonder he phoned it in at the end of his career. Still, I wouldn't have these negatives define his career, as he was an important and pivotal figure during his prime. One of the best United States Champions, had some of the best moments in both WWF and WCW, and all around just seems like a good guy whose turning his life around. Can you really hate him?"

[10.0] "Lex Luger is someone who richly deserves revisiting from fresh eyes, as he was the victim of being in the right place at the wrong time a lot of the time. He was doing great cocky heel promos during his rookie year, just as the Florida territory was dying. He was a great fiery babyface in 1988, just as Sting was taking off in popularity. He was a top 3 heel in the world in 1989 - problem is, the top heel was Terry Funk, who was right there in the same company. He did the best he could in 1991 when WCW's entire fanbase turned against the promotion after Ric Flair was fired, and he was made the face of the company and suffered their outrage. His WWF run from 1993-1995 was when the company was creatively bankrupt, and he fell victim to politics in 1998 that finally demotivated him (after having arguably one of the greatest moments in wrestling history, when he beat Hollywood Hogan for the WCW World Title on Nitro in August 1997, then immediately lost the title back and getting swiftly lost in the shuffle). With his selection for the WWE Hall of Fame in 2025, hopefully he finally gets the praise and respect he deserves from the public."

[7.0] "Great look and occasionally could be motivated to put on a great match. He was really, really over because his torture rack looked great, and I think he's had moments of brilliance throughout his career. He's also a wildly uneven performer who usually receded in the background behind other stars of his time, and was also prone to just lousy matches when he didn't feel up to it. He's a 7 that could've been a 10. I personally prefer basically any story or match that he had where Sting was in the picture."

[8.0] "I have to be honest, I use to not like Lex Luger and thought of him as a mediocre performer. But after seeing some more footage of his work, I can say that the guy is a very underrated performer. Sure, his WWF run with the "Lex Express" wasn't good, but you can't deny that he was over and he at least tried to make the best with what he got. But his work in WCW/JCP/etc. is where the hype is at (specifically, 1987-1991). If you watch some of his matches during those days, you'd find out that he wasn't "carried" in his best matches, he did very well or even just as well with whoever he faced off against. A man with tons of charisma and intensity, can have moments on the microphone (like, he's genuinely been a good promo) and was a pretty good wrestler for his size. Sorry Lex, please forgive me for hating on you back in the day!"

[7.0] "Luger is a weirdly underrated guy, on the one hand he absolutely spent a lot of his career completely phoning it in, including for most of his WWF run, which I'm assuming is what most people will have seen of him. But when he was motivated, he was genuinely really good. Between the late 80s & early 90s in NWA/WCW and the first couple years of his mid-late 90s WCW he had a bunch of great matches, especially any time he was with or against Sting. Even his Narcissist run in the WWF was pretty good when he wasn't being put in matches with Tatanka."

[8.0] "Luger is way overrhated. He wasn't Kurt Angle but he was better than many people from that era. He had comedic timing and was a solid performer. I like the total package and feel he is underrated in so many ways for a guy that was a 3x US champion, a physique that put many to shame and was a good athlete. I'd take Lex over crybaby flair any day of the week"

[8.0] "Lex Luger was not a great wrestler from a technical standpoint, but he knew how to work the crowd, and he had a few very impressive moves that showcased his strength, particularly his Running Forearm and the Torture Rack, the latter of which Lex made famous. Lex was a passable talker with great charisma. Even as the arrogant heel, he would attract his share of fans with his attitude, poses, and his superhuman physique. Prior to his motorcycle accident in 1992, Lex had developed into a solid worker, and he had great chemistry with both Sting and Flair. Unfortunately Lex became less mobile and limited himself after the accident. Lex is one of the forgotten "What if? " Stories of wrestling. But even after the accident, Lex maintained his charisma and impressive strength feats, and managed to get over in both WWF and WCW, even being the top babyface in WCW for a brief period in 1997, earning him his moment beating Hollywood Hogan for the world title."

[4.0] "Great body and amazing look but never could connect with the fans though he was an okay talker and a decent wrestler to boot. There were several points in wrestling history where they had tried to make him "The Guy" but I think the fans saw through the gimmick and it was something that was never actually capitalized on. He worked best as a heel in the upper card but he never had the charisma or the drawing power for him to ascend any further."

[2.0] "Lex Luger is one of the most overrated wrestlers in history. Top companies such as WWF, WCW/NWA badly wanted him to succeed. However, he had a generic moveset and his promos were very subpar at best. The kindness that people are showing on this platform to give him an average score of 5.02 shows that people are willing to cut him some slack. Some people were asking why so much hate for this guy...when you are given so many opportunities, yet you still are very subpar, it isnt fair to others who work so hard to get where they are at. Some Better workers weren't given world title opportunities, yet he seemed to be given those very consistently....I guess it didnt hurt him that WCW/NWA really wanted him to be the next Hulk Hogan (although Hogan wasn't a great wrestler, he had a great charisma that Lex only dreams he could've had)"

[6.0] "Lex was pretty good, his physique was great, his wrestling was average to decent and he was super over in both his WWF and WCW runs."

[7.0] "Lex Luger is an interesting case study in pro wrestling. In WCW both of his runs had him at the top of the card and the fans accepted him as a main eventer/ world champion. The WWE crowd did not as they preferred guys like Hart, Diesel and Michaels. I think that Luger was a charismatic guy and his wrestling ability were good and could put on great matches with a great opponent like Sting or Flair but not necessarily good enough to carry lesser guys to good matches. Drugs and injury definitely ended up taking their toll."

[7.0] "The Total Package run is underrated for sure. The Rack was over, the entrance is hot, the theme is awesome, not to mention his look was impeccable. Love his late WCW work where he went complete insane and said literal jibberish in his promo. The TP erasure should not be tolerated."

[5.0] "Average big guy with punches, close-lines and kicks. Luger was....fine but thats about all. His victory over Hogan in 97 for the World title was great tho."

[6.0] "While far better than most people give him credit for, he cant be anything more than a 6. His promos were a bit dull and his move set was nothing to write home about, but he somehow always found ways to get himself over. His physique certainly didnt harm that, but I think he puts in more effort than some believe."

[7.0] "Lex wasn't the greatest worker. He certainly wasn't going to blow you away with his technical skill. He did have a lot of charisma and did a decent job of selling. He's in one of the best tag team matches in WCW history with Sting vs. the Steiners. I think judgement of him is a bit harsh because of the Elizabeth situation but the man literally did his time and got clean so I respect him for that."

[3.0] "When he felt like really trying, Lex Luger could be a pretty serviceable wrestler who could, with the right opponent(usually Flair or Sting) put on a great, fun match. Luger didn't feel like trying often, and only got lazier the longer his career went on."

[6.0] "As has been noted by others, Luger was hit or miss. He certainly had star power, but was capable of some real stinkers. His biggest moment was when he beat Hogan for the title on Nitro. Once he lost it back (happened almost immediately), he was pretty much done as a performer for whatever reason. Seriously, everything he did from that point on was well below mediocre, usually venturing into terrible. Im trying not to ding him too much for those last few years, but man was it bad."

[5.0] "Luger before WWF was a high 5 or low 6. WWF Luger was shameful. Nothing positive occurred. Post-WWF Luger was 4 or 5. I have to put him in the middle. His promos were corny. His gimmick was sharp in the days of the NWA but not much went into character development after that. He and Sting made a good pair as babyfaces."

[7.0] "I feel like this overall rating is very harsh. I'm a big fan of Luger, he has an incredible look especially for this era of wrestling. His submission finisher is excellent and always got huge reactions from the crowd. Most of his matches were so underrated, he put on some great shows with other big guys especially his early run in WCW after he returned there. 7/10 for me , he doesn't get higher because of his inconsistency toward the latter end of his career and at wwf at times."

[7.0] "Regrade: I think Luger is an interesting wrestler. He doesn't deserve all the hate I hear about him but he somehow does at the same time. Luger is a good wrestler it seems like he wants to. He had some amazing matches (for example: match with Hogan in WCW when he won the world title) but some terrible matches in TNA and an underwhelming WWF career. I think 7 is fair cause he's good but not a pure GOAT of pro wrestling."

[6.0] "Lex Luger is an incredibly inconsistent wrestler. His promos, workrate, aura and everything else about his gimmick can either be legitimate main event level calibre or some of the most lifeless work you've seen in your life. With that being said, during the New Generation Era where Luger was getting his push to wrestle Yokozuna it was clear that the crowd was behind him and that he could theoretically be the next face of the company. Would his run as face of the company been incredibly successful? No. But in an era where WWF were needing a new face he could have stepped up. In the modern era, his stop start style of wrestling would not have drawn. With all that said, a talented booker could take Lex and have turned him into a megastar by hiding his weaknesses and showing off his strengths. He just never truly got to that point and far too often his weaknesses were on full display. Also I hate the torture rack it is just a bad finisher."

[7.0] "Had a presence about him as well as a great look. The WWF run didn't pan out but his stuff before was good. His tag team with Sting was entertaining and him beating Hollywood Hogan is one of the great moments in WCW as well."

[7.0] "Lex Luger was good in his prime, sadly his late WCW run brings this down but at his best he was great! A shame the push in both WWF and original push in WCW didn't work out but hey they tried."

[7.0] "I don't understand why Luger gets so much hate. Yeah his WWF run wasn't that great but his work in WCW was really good for the most part. And he had one of the coolest looking submission finishers I've ever seen in the torture rack."

[8.0] "Very underrated overall. He kinda sucked on the mic but he was always a really useful face and there's nothing like a nice torture rack. By late 96 he was in full swing with nothing but great matches. I think he'd be an undeniable all-timer if his booking was a little better."

[10.0] "Lex was always a big deal throughout his whole 16 year run as a performer. Every match/feud/program that he was a part of always felt special. It didn't make a difference who he was against, where he was at on the card, or what company he was working for at the particular time. If Lex was on, you knew he was going to get the most he could out of whatever he was given, he would do his part in delivering a great in-ring performance, he could hold his own on the microphone as a babyface or a heel, and the guy that he was working with would either be formidably opposed/ get elevated in the process just by being in there with him because of the star power he had at the time. He always looked like a million dollars too. I don't wanna leave that out."

[6.0] "Luger was a complex personality, as evident by the all the shoot stories on him. Had the look, was good enough in the ring, but for long periods he didn't give a crap to try and then bad booking over the years where they refused to pull the trigger on him hurt his image and he got labeled a choke artist. Still, he was a staple of WCW and 1997 was his finest year. After that? It was a slow decline and then he got freakishly roided by WCW's dying days and then his personal life went to hell. Since that time it looks like he salvaged a wrecked life and is happier for it. Possibly another guy who should have stayed away from the business in the grand scheme of things. Just for his own well being."

[8.0] "Way underrated by a bunch of new fans only familiar with him from second hand information, apparently. Was always a good hand up until 1999. Ruined by turning heel as part of the nWo Elite and then proceeding to be a black hole of charisma between 99-01. Prior to that, Lex was good in whatever role he was put in. Made in the USA Lex was a backfire, but that wasn't Lex's fault. He was over as hell in 97-98, he was getting babyface reactions in 1987 which lead to him getting kicked out of the Horsemen and replaced by Barry Windham, he was an effective heel in the 1991 double turn with him and Windham, and The Narcissist gimmick fit Lex to a T."

[6.0] "Aww man I actually like Lex a lot to be honest. I'm most familiar with his WWF run as I watched the entire year of 1993 WWF during the early pandemic. His heel run as "The Narcissist" had a lot of untapped potential and I wish they had let it play out longer before turning him baby face. Though him slamming Yokozuna on the USS Intrepid on July 4th was still a cool moment. I think it's a shame that Vince never put the WWF title on him honestly, as he did a fine job holding championship gold in WCW, but his time should have been at summerslam 1993 by wrestlemania 1994 came around Bret Hart deserved the gold back and Lex's window for that belt had past. But he still did have a great run in WCW after showing up on the first monday night nitro including a world title and just being super over. He also had a great Us title reign in the late 80s including a feud with Ric Flair that's fondly looked back on. I feel like his rating on this site is a lot lower than he deserves by that's just my two cents of course."

[7.0] "I'm actually rewatching WCW since the first Nitro and, oh boy, Lex Luger was on fire, he is the most over face in WCW, his storyline with Sting is *chef kiss*, however watching Lizz being so unconfortable makes me unable to give this man a higher rating."

[6.0] "Don't tell me its not fair he is rated low. He never tried for like 5 years. Thats way too many bad matches without ever giving a shit to have a high rating. In his peak he was fine. Like if you saw him 89-97 on a good night he was probably a top guy."

[7.0] "Lex Luger is very underrated, in large part due to his poor work in WCW later in his career. Prior to that he was a solid wrestler with a number of great matches to his credit. While he was generally elevated by opponents such as Flair or Steamboat, he still carried his part well. Even against less highly regarded wrestlers like Yokozuna or Tatanka he was able to have some really underrated performances. While he may not be the strongest on the mic, he was serviceable, and he had a look and presence that in a lot of ways made up for his promo ability. He was part of a significant number of highly memorable moments throughout his Hall of Fame worthy career. I believe Luger has an unfair reputation as being purely a 'body guy', and that people would be pleasantly surprised if they revisited his earlier work with an open mind."

[7.0] "Luger was kind of underrated, everybody deservedly gives him shit for the steroid use, but when it was time, he could do it in-ring."

[7.0] "For the most part I will be basing my Wrestler ratings on five criteria four of which are based on in-ring ability and the last on charisma. I believe these five criteria are pro wrestling's version of Tommy Lasorda's criteria of "five points" in baseball. For pro wrestling those five criteria are power, speed, technical ability, hardcore & charisma. Lex Luger's scores: Power: 8 Speed: 8 Technical: 6 Hardcore: 6 Charisma: 5 for a total of 33 and an average of 6.6 rounded up to 7."

[6.0] "I think that he was never given the chance to live his full potential. That's the fault of a lot of promotions that he worked for. The mistake that WWE made was trying to make him the next Hulk Hogan."

[6.0] "I always thought that Luger always worked best as a heel and when in a stable of other guys who could talk and/or wrestle, despite him looking like an obvious babyface. His best matches are either multi-man or ones where his opponent is talented at making their opponent look good (Flair, Steamboat, Tommy Rich, Brian Pillman). Near the end he got better at talking, and I always thought if he was a little better at talking he could have been a more enduring star. His in-ring is not good, but I think people remember it being worse than it actually was. Him hitting a powerslam during a comeback or getting a hot tag used to really blow live audiences, and there is really something to be said for exciting a crowd like that. He was easy to love *and* easy to hate which I think is a great asset for a wrestler that often gets overlooked. A+ look, C in-ring, C- promo"

[8.0] "Waaaaaay too low of a rating. Luger is definitely a legend of the business and should be in the Hall of Fame already. The guy came across as a larger-than-life superstar. He also made history by firing the first shot of the Monday Night Wars."

[7.0] "i really like him in wolfpack and in nwo elite, he is a funny heal for me and my fav his fued is rey mysterio"

[7.0] "Lex is a guy who gets viewed quite poorly these days because of his poor WWF run, but he was truly much more than that. In WCW he got over huge with the crowd from the late 80's all the way up until 1997/98. He was a much better worker than people give him credit for, albeit his best matches are with the best wrestlers of the 80's, and he has the funniest promo of all time under his belt too. He also had a physique that could only be rivalled by a handful of people too, who cares if he roided, everyone did in the 80's"

[7.0] "Lex was a good babyface with a good look who was able to get over multiple times in his career. Not great in the ring, but not offensive either."

[7.0] "Never was the best worker in the ring but was alright elsewhere. His 1989 heel run and 1997 face run are the highlights of his career, could occasionally have good matches but it always had to be against the right opponent. Had a great physique and was over throughout his entire career wherever he went."

[7.0] "I always enjoyed Lex Luger in his early work and he was a good babyface. He spent a few too many years really not caring but he was better than given credit for,"

[6.0] "Lex wasn't the greatest worker in the world but for a time in WCW he was one of their most popular acts. He never worked out in the WWF but I feel like this score is a bit low for a guy like him. His matches with Flair are fantastic"

[8.0] "A motivated Lex Luger is everything you want from a wrestler. His stint between the late 80s to around early 90s was nothing short of awesomeness. Perfect mannerism, facial and can work as both a face and heel effortlessly. Unfortunately, he became pretty lazy once he leave the WCW and it only get worse after that."

[6.0] "His run in WCW from the beginning of Nitro is highly enjoyable and underrated. He was very over in that time but most people only remember him as a flop in WWF. But yes, he leaves a bit to be desired in the ring."

[4.0] "Lex has an innate ability to make me disinterested in anything he does on a typical day. He has had some great matches, but judging by his body of work across his career, that likely had more to do with his opponents than anything he contributed. He had a good look. Aside from the look, he had no personality, no promo, and almost average wrestling ability. His push is the only reason he gets a 4, because without the ability to work with the talent that made him look like a good performer, he likely would have gone the way of the Warlord, who also had a good look, but failed to deliver in any other department. The Lex Express story was a failure. His team with Davey Boy Smith worked only because Smith was an above average worker, similar with his team with Sting, but by that point it was clear WWF management had already given up on him. His debut on Nitro was big only because of the jumping the ship connotation. His win over Hollywood Hogan for the WCW title is forgettable in the long run. And finally topping it off with his team with Buff, who had enough charisma to hide the fact Luger had none, but unfortunately also didn't have the wrestling ability to cover for Lex. After WCW he wrestled Sting in the short lived WWA, but even then it was clear his career had seen it's best days. After retiring, and the death of Miss Elizabeth, along with some health issues, he seems to have turned his life around for the better, which I'm sincerely happy to see. That being said, had he never had the career he had, I don't think anyone would have noticed, and no one would be saying how they should have done so much more with him than they did."

[8.0] "Much too low of a rating. Luger had a long career with many highlights. Before Hogan and Nash sucked the air out of the room, he was a compelling WCW stalwart. He was over at various points. Early in his career he was a horseman and later a memorable title contender. He had excellent feuds with Stan Hansen and Michaels Hayes throughout his long US title run. His WWF run really took the wind out of his sails as did cumulative injuries. But his strong late 80s and eary 1990s heyday coupled with another decade of staying power makes him one of the more important talents in the history of WCW. His later work with Hart simply demonstrated how poorly utilized his talents were. If the WWf and later WCW had played to his strengths, they could have easily extracted some profitable story lines and gates from the Total Package. He wasn? t a master ring general but had an exquisite physique and was willing to work hard when pitted against high caliber foes."