Line #94 Wrestling/LexLuger


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lex_luger_8.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:As his "The American Original" persona.]]
3
4	Lawrence Wendell Pfohl (born June 2, 1958) is a retired American {{professional wrestl\|ing}}er originally from Buffalo, New York, who competed from 1985 to 2005 as Lex Luger.
5
6	After a very successful stint in [[UsefulNotes/AmericanFootball college football]], he played professionally as offensive lineman from 1979 to 1985 in UsefulNotes/{{Canada}}, the [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague NFL]] and the [=USFL=]. He debuted as pro-wrestler in Florida and was pushed hard right off the bat, defeating Wrestling/ChiefWahooMcDaniel for the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/fl/nwa/fl-south-h.html NWA Southern (Florida) Heavyweight Title]] a mere 19 ''days'' into his career. He would hold the title two more times before Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance promoter Jim Crockett closed down Florida. Crockett, obviously sensing drawing power in Luger, brought him up to Wrestling/{{WCW}}, where he was x5 [[https://www.wrestling-titles.com/wcw/wcw-us-h.html NWA/WCW United States Heavyweight Champion]], and earned the first of his three [[https://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/midatlantic/nwa/ma-nwa-t.html NWA/WCW Tag Team titles]] (1x w/Wrestling/BarryWindham, 1x w/Wrestling/{{Sting}} and 1x w/[[Wrestling/BigShow The Giant]]) and the first of his two [[https://www.wrestling-titles.com/wcw/wcw-h.html World Heavyweight titles]], winding up as the second WCW "Triple Crown" winner ever.
7
8	Leaving WCW in 1992, he jumped to the [[Wrestling/{{WWE}} WWF]] to be part of their ill-fated ''World Bodybuilding Federation''. After that failed, Luger debuted in WWE at the start of 1993, where he would feud with [[Wrestling/CurtHennig Mr. Perfect]] until Wrestling/HulkHogan left after losing the WWF Championship to Wrestling/{{Yokozuna}} at ''King of the Ring.'' On July 4 on the ''U.S.S. Intrepid'', Luger became the first person in WWE to bodyslam Yokozuna, beginning a feud with him over the championship. However, Luger was never able to actually ''beat'' Yokozuna for the title, and ended up in the midcard before he suddenly jumped back to WCW on the debut episode of ''[[Wrestling/WCWMondayNitro Nitro]]'', where he remained to the bitter end. He would make sporatic appearances in Wrestling/{{TNA}} and elsewhere before retiring to Crockett's old turf, UsefulNotes/{{Atlanta}}. He would later suffer a spinal stroke in 2007, and spent three years relearning how to walk with the help of a walker.
9
10	Not to be confused with ComicBook/LexLuthor, although apparently that is where he got the name.
11	----
12	!! "The Tropes-all Package":
13	* EightiesHair: He had the ''[[Series/MacGyver1985 MacGyver]]'' look down to a science.
14	* AllAmericanFace: WWE repackaged him as one following Wrestling/HulkHogan's departure, bodyslamming Yokozuna for AMERICA! (Though it was more of a hip toss but still...) For his push, we got vignettes of his airbrushed bus on tour to raise awareness of patriotism.
15	* AlliterativeName: '''L'''ex '''L'''uger.
16	* AppropriatedAppellation: An in-joke. The nickname "The Total Package" was a play on the fact that he didn't even know how to do a ''Small Package''.
17	* ArchEnemy: Wrestling/RicFlair, easily. He had many other feuds, but this was his biggest.
18	* AuthorAvatar: Of Vince [=McMahon=] [!!] during his much-publicized steroid trial. ''Website/{{WrestleCrap}}'' let him have it:
19	-->'''[[http://www.wrestlecrap.com/inductions/lexsellsout/ Art:]]''' And I guess that meant [[DrFeelgood Dr. Zahorian]] was like Wrestling/TedDiBiase? And that it was the federal prosecutor who was actually distributing the steroids, not Vince? Okay, I guess [[{{Dissimile}} the parallels ended there]]. In other words, this angle was [[Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon the second-most insulting analogy]] for the [=McMahon=] steroid trial in history. But you’ve got to admire [=McMahon’s=] chutzpah for using Lex Luger as a symbol of his innocence on steroid charges.
20	* BashBrothers: w/Barry Windham and The Stinger, both his RealLife besties.
21	* BatterUp: Started carrying a bat to beat up his opponents in late 1999.
22	* TheBigGuy: As a face. Lex was terrible with a mic and had no real experience, but he was a bull and able to slam some of the bigger guys, so he made his name that way.
23	* {{Biography}}:
24	** His 2013 autobiography ''Wrestling with the Devil: The True Story of a World Champion Professional Wrestler - His Reign, Ruin, and Redemption''.
25	** He got his own ''A&E Biography'' episode in 2022 as part of their ''"WWE Legends"'' series.
26	* BreadEggsBreadedEggs: His late 2000-early 2001 TagTeam with [[Wrestling/BuffBagwell Buff Bagwell]], during the time Luger called himself "The Total Package", was called "Totally Buff."
27	* CampStraight: As "The Narcissist", his promos were a tad...effeminate.
28	* CareerEndingInjury: A spinal stroke that left him weighing around 150 lbs. and unable to move from neck down, Bed-ridden for a whole year, he had to go on with intensive recovery therapies, it took him ''years'' to be able to shift for himself again!
29	* CavalryBetrayal: He's been on both sides of this in WCW.
30	** At ''Halloween Havoc '95'', he and Wrestling/RandySavage ran in during the Hogan-Giant match, but Luger turned on Savage.
31	** At ''Bash at the Beach '96'', during the Outsiders-Luger/Sting/Savage match, where Luger had already been taken to the back, Hogan came in ostensibly to make the save...and, of course, turned heel to launch the nWo.
32	* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: He looked like someone's lab experiment. First guy in WWE to slam Yokozuna, thus kicking off his "The All-American" gimmick. In the battle royal at ''WCW World War 3 96'', he got '''[[Wrestling/TheBigShow THE GIANT (BIG SHOW)]]''' in his ''Torture Rack''.
33	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Luger's promos made him come off as this, especially the promo from which the "I DON'T KNOW!" meme started.
34	* {{Cyborg}}: The metal plate in his arm got exaggerated to this for ''VideoGame/WWFWrestleManiaTheArcadeGame'', which depicted him as having shapeshifting metal arms that could turn into various weapons.
35	* DemotedToExtra: His status in the WWF by 1995. He noticeably went from challenging for the WWF Championship at ''[=WrestleMania=] X'' in 1994 (on virtue of being the co-winner of the 1994 Royal Rumble, no less) to being part of the opening match at ''[=WrestleMania=] XI'' in 1995. One of the reasons he split and left for WCW.
36	* DoubleAgent: He turned heel at ''Halloween Havoc 1995'' and sided with the Dungeon. However, he and [=Sting=] defeated Harlem Heat (Wrestling/BookerT and Stevie Ray) for the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wcw/wcw-t.html WCW World Tag Team Titles]] on the January 22, 1996 ''Wrestling/WCWMondayNitro'', which meant that he was aligned with both a top babyface and a top heel group at the same time. WCW finally resolved this by turning Luger face in the Doomsday Cage match at ''[=Uncensored=]'' in March, because they needed him as a face due to [[Wrestling/NewWorldOrder what was coming two months later]].
37	* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Despite making a FaceHeelTurn in 1995, Luger still remained friends with Wrestling/{{Sting}}. The two would even have tag matches together, including a run with the WCW tag team championship.
38	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: His {{Red Baro\|n}}ns seemed to be a matter of contempt in WWF, for they never could pin-point nor decide which of them fitted better.
39	** At his debut on ''[[Wrestling/RoyalRumble Royal Rumble '93]]'', he was plainly named [[PunnyName "Narcissus"]], which would later re-tooled into the best known "The Narcissist".
40	** Right at the kickoff of his HeelFaceTurn, his original monicker was "Made in the U.S.A.", in time it would be changed to "The All-American" and then into "The American Original".
41	* {{Expy}}: Wrestling/{{CHIKARA}}'s Green Ant qualifies, if only for a short time. During the fan conclave for ''King of Trios 2011'', Wrestling/DieBruderschaftDesKreuzes' Jakob Hammermeier dared anyone to try to slam the group's monster Tursas. Green Ant walked out dressed the same way Luger had for the Yokozuna Bodyslam Challenge and even used the same music. Unlike Luger, Green Ant was not successful at the time. However, during Night II, Tursas interfered in The Colony (Fire Ant[=/=]Soldier Ant[=/=]Green Ant) vs. BDK ([[Wrestling/HunterJohnston Delirious]][=/=]Hammermeier[=/=]Tim Donst) match, and Green Ant slammed him and followed by making Hammermeier tap out to the Torture Rack. CHIKARA even had Green Ant ride on a bus to build up for his match with Tursas.
42	* TheFightingNarcissist: As a heel. He was even ''billed'' as this at the start of his WWE run. Hell, he even provides the ''page photo.'' Skeptics felt Luger was more focused on developing his body than developing his in-ring skills, leading to this gimmick. TruthInTelevision [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnlfsnU0TDc at the time, according to]] [[Wrestling/AllenCoage Bad News Brown]].
43	* FinishingMove:
44	** ''The Torture/Rebel Rack'' (Argentine Backbreaker).
45	** ''{{Sup\|lexFinisher}}erplex''.
46	** During his heel run as WCW world champion managed by Wrestling/HarleyRace in 1991-92, the ''Attitude Adjustment'' (Piledriver).
47	** And as "The Narcissist"/"Made in the U.S.A.", a ''Jumping Forearm Smash'', either from the mat or second rope.
48	* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Between 1998 until the end of WCW, he'd turned so many times that somewhere along the line he lost any semblance of personality or momentum he'd ever had. He did avert this a few times, though. He was a face for the entirety of 1994 and from 1997-1998, the latter due to his being one of the lead guys in the fight against the nWo, and joining the Wolfpac after they'd turned face.
49	* ImprobableWeaponUser:
50	** The steel plate in his right forearm.
51	** His hairspray, a maneuver borrowed from The Fabulous Freebirds and Wrestling/RickMartel. For some reason it acted more like a can of mace.
52	** The Louisville Slugger he carried at the end of his career. This under the premise that in {{kayfabe}}, Lex resourced on his tremendous strength alone to deal with any opponent.
53	* InvincibleHero: At times. During his Florida run, the Shock Troops (Ed "The Bull" Gantner and Kareem Muhammad) attacked him in the ring with some kind of weapon, and manager Wrestling/SirOliverHumperdink said, "Maybe it was Kryptonite, you've got Franchise/{{Superman}} laid out in the ring there."
54	* {{Jerkass}}: Was a very effective heel in his prime because his naturally "arrogant" personality shone through (See above). He was much less convincing as a face.
55	* LanternJawOfJustice: Not a prominent example, but still.
56	* LegacyCharacter: InNameOnly. American hip-hop producer Lexus Arnel Lewis took the name as a {{homage}} to Pfohl.
57	* MeaningfulName: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luger_pistol Luger]] is the name of one of the most well-developed handguns in history. The man himself admitted on his ''A&E Biography'' episode that he did indeed take the name from the gun, and that he took "Lex" from ComicBook/LexLuthor.
58	* MegatonPunch: His ''Jumping Forearm Smash'' was a '''devastating''' move which got phased out after his face turn and declared illegal because, in storyline, Luger had a metal plate in that forearm from his motorcycle accident.
59	* MusclesAreMeaningful: Oh, '''yes.''' Seriously, just ''look'' at the picture. He gained notoriety as one of the most ripped guys in wrestling during his time, which makes up for a lot. He also torture-racked The Giant like a thousand times.
60	* OddFriendship: With Wrestling/{{Sting}}. (in {{Kayfabe}}) Considering that Luger was frequently a heel and pre-Crow Stinger was '''THE''' AllAmericanFace. He would even side with his friend against other heels while still a heel himself.
61	* PecFlex: He did it a lot during his run. Hell, he's probably one of (...if not '''The''') most famous examples of this trope in professional wrestling.
62	* PoorlyDisguisedPilot: After he left WCW for the WWF in 1992, before he could wrestle for the latter, there was one tiny proviso in his contract which backfired in a big way. Since Luger had a no-compete clause, Vince figured he could just buy the World Bodybuilding Federation and bring Luger in to promote it. Luger went over like a lead balloon, and [=McMahon=] reportedly lost $15 million dollars on that company.
63	* PowerStable:
64	** (in Florida):
65	*** The [[Wrestling/PaulBearer Pringle]] Dynasty
66	** (in WCW):
67	*** Wrestling/TheFourHorsemen[=/=]Wrestling/DungeonOfDoom "Alliance to End Hulkamania." (w/ Flair, Wrestling/ArnAnderson, [[Wrestling/KevinSullivan "The Taskmaster"]], Wrestling/{{Meng}}, [[Wrestling/RobertSwenson "The Ultimate Solution"]], [[Creator/TinyLister Z-Gangsta]] and Wrestling/TheBarbarian.)
68	*** [[Wrestling/NewWorldOrder nWo]].
69	*** The Millionaires' Club.
70	*** The Magnificent Seven (early 2001).
71	* ReadingTheStageDirectionsOutLoud: In the "NWA Cyberspace T-shirt" promo. "'''What kind of disgusting, dippyda--despicable lack of respect does that warden Billy''' [whatshisname?] '''show?!''' ('''[[ThatMakesMeFeelAngry I'M PISSED NOW.]]''')" Poor Lex looks so lost in that promo. Apparently, he "stormed off" into a locked door. And the interviewer is [[{{Corpsing}} struggling to hold it together.]]
72	* RealLifeWritesThePlot: A motorcycle accident he suffered during his stint on the World Bodybuilding Federation and the subsequent steel plate implant on his forearm were placed into {{kayfabe}} as the reason his forearm smash finisher was a fearsome attack.
73	* RedBaron:
74	** In WCW, "The Total Package." He dropped the "Lex Luger" name entirely in around the turn of the millennium.
75	** In WWE he was "The Narcissist" before turning face, thus becoming "Made in the USA."
76	* RoadTripPlot: A rare case of being literally "PutOnABus", as WWE had Luger ride around in the "Lex Express" in order to build up anticipation for his match with Yokozuna at ''Wrestling/{{SummerSlam}} 93'' and make his case as to why he deserved to be WWF Champion, not unlike a politician campaigning for public office.
77	* ScrewThisImOuttaHere:
78	** Left WWE in 1995 to go back to WCW, surprising a lot of people.
79	** Crossed with OhCrap when Wrestling/BruiserBrody notoriously wouldn't sell for him during their cage match in Florida.
80	* SignatureMove: For one, a ''Gorilla Press Slam''. And he really had this thing for counter a ''Hammerlock'' with another by taking a back step, thus passing under his opponent's armpit.
81	* SleevesAreForWimps: As "The Total Package."
82	* SoleSurvivor: Of the All-Americans[[note]]Luger[=/=]Wrestling/TheUndertaker[=/=]Rick Steiner[=/=]Wrestling/ScottSteiner[[/note]]-The Foreign Fanatics[[note]]Yokozuna[=/=]Ludvig Borga[=/=][[Wrestling/BrianAdams Crush]][=/=][[Wrestling/JacquesRougeau Quebecer Jacques]][[/note]] match at ''Wrestling/SurvivorSeries 93''.
83	* SpiritualSuccessor:
84	** His FightingNarcissist heel gimmick in the WWF made him one of [[Wrestling/PaulOrndorff "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff]] as a heel.
85	** [[Characters/WWERuthlessAggression "The Masterpiece" Chris Masters]]' original Narcissist gimmick in turn drew many comparisons to Luger. [[Characters/WWEInvasion Mark Jindrak]]'s "Reflection of Perfection" gimmick did it as well.
86	* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: To Hulk Hogan; after The Hulkster left WWF, he was given an AllAmericanFace gimmick to feud with Yokozuna.
87	* TagTeam:
88	** (in WCW):
89	*** 3 times World Champion as stated earlier w/ Barry Windham, Sting and The Giant.
90	*** His Six Man Team w/Sting and Macho Man.
91	** (in WWF):
92	*** "The Allied Powers" w/[[Wrestling/DaveyBoySmith The British Bulldog]].
93	* ThatManIsDead: He said this about "Lex Luger," when he was being pushed simply as "The Total Package." However, he didn't act that much different.
94	* ThisMeansWarpaint: For a brief time for his Six man TagTeam match on ''Bash at the Beach '96''.
95	* VitriolicBestBuds: With [=Sting=]. Luger has (repeatedly!) turned on Sting and it never seemed to last very long before they were buddies again.
96	* VillainTeamUp: "The Alliance to End Hulkamania."

Context Wrestling / LexLuger