Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 22, 2019 22:15:52 GMT -5
He was, arguably, booking's biggest casualty.
The guy who was always *this* close to being one of the biggest stars in the business, but always suffered from either the promotion trying to force a square peg into a round hole or from getting cold feet on truly pulling the trigger on him.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 22, 2019 23:30:31 GMT -5
I liked Lex as a heel in 89/early 90’s era WCW.I wasn’t a fan of his WWF run.He was excellent in WCW in 96 up until the point in 98 where he decided to wrestle in jeans then it was all downhill.He was the only top babyface in 96/97 that would win his matches with his move and the crowd would go nuts so wcw didn’t capitalize.His world title win on nitro in 97 & his US Title win in 98 got over huge.In 96 before the NWO angle starts him as a heel teaming with babyface Sting was entertaining TV.
He was terrible in the ring in late 99 early 2000 during Russo’s 1st wcw run but Lex was a highly entertaining goofball and Liz was really hot which was a plus.Then Sullivan took over and made him a serious top heel that broke everyone on the rosters arms and he was terrible.
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hassanchop
Grimlock
Who are you to doubt Belldandy?
Posts: 14,796
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Post by hassanchop on Aug 22, 2019 23:40:28 GMT -5
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Aug 22, 2019 23:47:35 GMT -5
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nisidhe
Hank Scorpio
O Superman....O judge....O Mom and Dad....
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Post by nisidhe on Aug 23, 2019 5:27:17 GMT -5
He kind of gets an unfair rep because Vince hastily tried to use him to plug up the huge Hogan-shaped hole. Nobody would have been suited for that role. Luger was always in the position, as a face, of being the #2 face behind Sting in WCW and, yes, Bret Hart in WWF. He worked well as a heel during his run with the Four Horsemen and was kind of their big guy. Outside it, he seemed not to have a whole lot going for him character-wise. In WWF, for whatever reason (and it continues to this day), Vince couldn't abide the fact that his most over babyface and the Face of His Company(tm) was not some blond, blue-eyed American; jingoism simply wasn't selling in 1993.
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4real
Wade Wilson
Posts: 27,838
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Post by 4real on Aug 23, 2019 5:32:13 GMT -5
I need a herrrrrrrrrrro
Herrrrrrrrrrroooooo
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Post by The Dark Order Inferno on Aug 23, 2019 6:18:18 GMT -5
He kind of gets an unfair rep because Vince hastily tried to use him to plug up the huge Hogan-shaped hole. Nobody would have been suited for that role. Luger was always in the position, as a face, of being the #2 face behind Sting in WCW and, yes, Bret Hart in WWF. He worked well as a heel during his run with the Four Horsemen and was kind of their big guy. Outside it, he seemed not to have a whole lot going for him character-wise. In WWF, for whatever reason (and it continues to this day), Vince couldn't abide the fact that his most over babyface and the Face of His Company(tm) was not some blond, blue-eyed American; jingoism simply wasn't selling in 1993. It really seems short sighted and off when you consider international markets were the only areas that the WWE was growing. 'We're growing in Canada and Europe while suffering a contraction in the states due to steroids and Hogan fatigue... let's wrap a muscleguy in the American flag and try to make Hogan lite!'
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Ben Wyatt
Crow T. Robot
Are You Gonna Go My Way?
I don't get it. At all. It's kind of a small horse, I mean what am I missing? Am I crazy?
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Post by Ben Wyatt on Aug 23, 2019 6:25:11 GMT -5
He was arguably the biggest face in the company in 1997. I think he was the biggest face in *wrestling* in 1997 until the very tail end when Austin really caught fire. The pop when he won the title was insane.
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Post by johnnyk9 on Aug 23, 2019 10:29:11 GMT -5
Long overdue for a Hall Of Fame induction
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Ben Wyatt
Crow T. Robot
Are You Gonna Go My Way?
I don't get it. At all. It's kind of a small horse, I mean what am I missing? Am I crazy?
Posts: 41,514
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Post by Ben Wyatt on Aug 23, 2019 10:32:23 GMT -5
You could argue that Luger has actually managed to become underrated over time. His WWF stint wasn't spectacular, but his initial WCW run as well as he second stint up until early 99 were both fantastic with the guy winning plenty of titles and doing some big angles, all while being really over
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2019 11:40:27 GMT -5
Long overdue for a Hall Of Fame induction I've theorized for a while that he hasn't been inducted yet because of the disparity between what he looked like his entire career and his current physical state, which has improved, but he was wheelchair bound not long ago and still looks very frail. I think it would be a super awkward and uncomfortable reminder of the steroid era.
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Ben Wyatt
Crow T. Robot
Are You Gonna Go My Way?
I don't get it. At all. It's kind of a small horse, I mean what am I missing? Am I crazy?
Posts: 41,514
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Post by Ben Wyatt on Aug 23, 2019 11:55:54 GMT -5
Long overdue for a Hall Of Fame induction I've theorized for a while that he hasn't been inducted yet because of the disparity between what he looked like his entire career and his current physical state, which has improved, but he was wheelchair bound not long ago and still looks very frail. I think it would be a super awkward and uncomfortable reminder of the steroid era. There's also the Miss Elizabeth aspect
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EyeofTyr
Hank Scorpio
Strange and Mystical
Posts: 5,744
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Post by EyeofTyr on Aug 23, 2019 12:09:45 GMT -5
I think a lot of fans kind of look back on Luger with a fonder perspective than a lot of fans did during the tail end of his career.
From what I've seen, Luger's gone from a guy a lot of people bashed on and something of a guilty pleasure (and a meme) to somebody a lot of people look at as a "What Could've Been" over the past decade or so. Not sure if it's rose tinted glasses for some, but it's definitely a growing trend I've noticed. He seems like for some people he's kind of their DiBiase or Hennig, as in a guy they think should've gone farther than he did.
Personally I always liked Luger. He wasn't the best wrestler in the world by any imagination or my favorite, but I think he had some solid runs. I would've liked him to get a proper opportunity to be the top guy, to see if he could have ever fulfilled the potential so many saw in him to be that guy in his career, but I'm also pretty okay with how his career ended up all things considered. I'll always have fond memories of the complicated friendship of Sting & Luger and Luger beating Hogan.
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Post by Milkman Norm on Aug 23, 2019 14:02:41 GMT -5
Of all the guys whose careers were damaged by the change in booking philosophy from booking for the house shows to booking for ppv he was by far the most damaged. Dusty still had the mind set that screwing the babyface to set up the return match was the way to make the most money. To be fair the Flair vs Luger matches in the Mid Atlantic after GAB 88 drew better than those before it. But it ruined him for new viewers who were expecting the hero to stand triumphant in the big match. It limited him from that point on.
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SmashTV
Dennis Stamp
Big Money, Big Prizes, I Love It!
The Excellence of Allocation
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Post by SmashTV on Aug 23, 2019 14:02:51 GMT -5
Luger was always in the position, as a face, of being the #2 face behind Sting in WCW and, yes, Bret Hart in WWF. He worked well as a heel during his run with the Four Horsemen and was kind of their big guy. Outside it, he seemed not to have a whole lot going for him character-wise. In WWF, for whatever reason (and it continues to this day), Vince couldn't abide the fact that his most over babyface and the Face of His Company(tm) was not some blond, blue-eyed American; jingoism simply wasn't selling in 1993. It really seems short sighted and off when you consider international markets were the only areas that the WWE was growing. 'We're growing in Canada and Europe while suffering a contraction in the states due to steroids and Hogan fatigue... let's wrap a muscleguy in the American flag and try to make Hogan lite!' Yep. As a Brit I had no interest in the Lex Express/American hero gimmick. As a fan, the gimmick itself was corny and outdated. I think that Lex’s legacy (Lexacy?) is one of ‘should have done better. Yes, he was a multiple champion but he’s remembered more, I’d suggest, for his big losses rather than his big wins.
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Post by sportatorium on Aug 23, 2019 16:47:23 GMT -5
When I was young, I absolutely loved the guy. I liked the NWA more than WWF and was fully behind Lex when he switched to face to challenge Yokozuna. His Corckett/WCW runs as others have mentioned always seemed to have something get in the way. He was a no brainer to be the guy who joins the Horsemen only to see the light & eventually take the title from Flair.
His move to the Crockett was a huge deal as he was a top guy in Florida and Vince would have made him a huge star as well. Even the introduction of him turning his back on Barry Windham to become a horseman, just to have Windham do it him down the line was great storytelling.
The end of his career has overshadowed his role and while he was never the top guy everyone wanted, he was pretty close.
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Post by timelimitdraw on Aug 23, 2019 17:36:11 GMT -5
In the ring? A natural heel whose career, while good, was slightly derailed by constant attempts to push him as a babyface and his somewhat muted charisma. He had charisma, but not quite enough to make up for his shortcomings.
The relationship with Elizabeth pretty much guarantees that he's not going in the WWE HOF unless it's posthumously or as a legacy wing inductee without a formal speech. To be honest, I don't blame them.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2019 19:30:28 GMT -5
Word from Mexico is that Lizmark still hasn't forgiven him for how things ended with her.
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Squirrel Master
Hank Scorpio
"Then the Squirrel Master came out of left field and told me I'm his bitch!"
Posts: 6,648
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Post by Squirrel Master on Aug 24, 2019 3:37:19 GMT -5
91/92 Heel Luger with Harley Race and Mr Hughes was Peak Luger to me. Word!
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Squirrel Master
Hank Scorpio
"Then the Squirrel Master came out of left field and told me I'm his bitch!"
Posts: 6,648
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Post by Squirrel Master on Aug 24, 2019 3:46:33 GMT -5
Poor Lex, always catching beatings from The Four Horsemen! You had to feel sorry for this guy, he refused to learn his lessons. He couldn't hang, so they cut the rope short.
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