10 who deserve to be in the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2019
By Luke Norris
Lex Luger
There are some out there that may not think that Lex Luger deserves induction into the WWE Hall of Fame. I’ll admit to never having been much of a fan of the guy, but if Koko B. Ware and Hillbilly Jim can make it in, I think there’s room for a two-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, a two-time WCW World Television Champion, a five-time United States Champion and a three-time tag champ.
For more than a decade, Luger was one of the most popular wrestlers in the world and just the second person to win the WCW Triple Crown. He was also a member of The Four Horsemen for a couple of years in the late ’80s, which at the time was a pretty big deal. After multiple championships in WCW, Luger signed with Vince McMahon’s bodybuilding enterprise, the WBF, which didn’t go very well, and after recovering from a motorcycle accident, Luger joined WWE as a wrestler in early 1993.
Originally dubbed “The Narcissist,” Luger picked up some nice wins early on, including a victory over Mr. Perfect at WrestleMania IX, but after Hulk Hogan left the company, Vince turned to Luger to be the new hero of WWE. He dressed in red, white and blue and rode “The Lex Express” all over the country in the summer of ’93 after slamming Yokozuna on an aircraft carrier, which led to some WWE Championship matches, which Lex would usually win by disqualification, which kept him from ever holding the title.
After a couple of years in WWE, Lex went back to WCW and played a huge role on the very first episode of Monday Nitro as he appeared during the main event, just one day after working his final night in WWE at a house show. It was a complete shock to the wrestling world and a move that is still talked about today. Luger went on to find more success in WCW, including beating Hulk Hogan clean for the title in 1997. When WCW folded in 2001, Luger didn’t make the jump to WWE but did rejoin the company as an advisor and still helps with the Wellness Policy from time to time.
There are a lot of people out there who believe Luger’s use of steroids is one reason he hasn’t yet been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, while others believe it’s due to his role in the death of our next entry.