"The Total Package" Lex Luger was admitted to the WWE Hall of Fame this week during Wrestlemania and even though I didn't watch it (and haven't ever, really) I was delighted to see that they let him in there. I figured they were never going to allow him in because he has written a book that basically talks trash about the wrestling industry and WWE in particular. I think maybe they finally got around to putting him over because Vince McMahon doesn't officially run the show anymore and it would be just awful if they were to glance over a guy that basically defined wrestling in the late 80's and early 90's.
For me personally, I loved Lex Lugar in his prime in the NWA (later WCW) days, and he is one of the few wrestlers that I got to see in a live match.
Luger, whose real name is Lawrence Pfohl (that's an odd surname!) looks nothing like he did during his in-ring days and is a case study in what sort of damage the industry can actually do to a person. He was one of the first "beasts" of the wrestling industry and is a true sign of what sort of damage these guys are doing to themselves via steroids and other PED's.
Back in the 80's I was a big fan of the "Four Horsemen" and when Luger exploded onto the scene as both a partner and rival for that organization I was almost immediately enthralled. He was the first truly ripped guy that I remember being in the sport and I am sure that was a large part of his appeal for a lot of people. He made the other Horsemen look small in comparison, even though they are all pretty big dudes as well.
Drug abuse annihilated this guy's life and it was at least somewhat a factor in the death of Miss Elizabeth, who many might remember as Randy Savage's in-ring wife. This was long after I stopped following him because while I was buying wrestling magazines and talking all the details over with my friends as a young teen, I kind of lost track of the sport in my college years.
At the age of, I think it was 12 or 13 years old, Luger traveled with other then-NWA wrestlers to a small venue near the small town I lived in and to give you an idea about how long ago it was, I found out about it because of reading the NEWSPAPER. It was something like $10 to attend and it was such an amazing night. I recall leaning in at where the talent would enter the ring and snapping a pic on my "Le Click" camera and while I don't have it with me at this moment because it is stored in my mom's attic, that photo remains in my photo album to this day. I reached out and touched him as he walked by... Man, that dude was my friggin hero back then.
His signature finishing move was "The Human Torture Rack" and in retrospect the move was pretty stupid because unlike other moves it doesn't make sense that this would cause pain enough to make someone tap out. It is extremely impressive that this monster would be able to get someone as huge as Hulk Hogan (and many others) up on his shoulders like this though. That guy was an absolute beast.
His deteriorating health would catch up with him while he was still a semi-active wrestler though, and one day he just woke up unable to move and was headed towards being a quadriplegic but thanks to some help from Diamond Dallas Page, who I never did like but seems like a genuinely good dude, assisted Luger in getting back to health. He was (and still is) so wrecked by the afflictions that he suffered that his physical state rapidly deteriorated, and to this day he is barely capable of movement and needs a wheelchair to get around for the most part.
To see this guy go from being one of the most physically impressive specimens to someone that has difficulty getting out of a chair without help is a real sign of what this sport can do to a person and although many will argue that wrestlers are still using PEDs, there is at least SOME effort to have a wellness policy that bans their use. Before, everyone just did whatever the hell they wanted to and since being super-human in size was the ticket to the top, basically everyone was - and likely still is - using steroids.
But there was always going to be a guy that got there first, and at least in my life, that man was Lex Luger.
While I didn't watch Wrestlemania this year I thought it was an absolutely wonderful touch for them to finally put him in the Hall of Fame where he definitely belongs. He was instrumental in building the sport and for a lot of kids, he was an icon that we looked up to even though we didn't know at the time that this wasn't probably the best person to admire.
Luger is content with his life now and he is healthy and even though his body is in a deteriorated state, he claims he is happier than he has ever been and well, that is what life is supposed to be all about right?