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Lex Luger

Height: 6'4" (193 cm)
Weight: 265lbs (120.2 kg)
Birthday: June 2, 1958
Hometown: Buffalo, New York
Resides: Atlanta, Georgia
Billed From: Chicago, Illinois
Trained By: Hiro Matsuda
Professional Debut: September 1985
Previous Manager(s):

  • Kevin Sullivan
  • Bob Roop
  • Miss Elizabeth
  • James J. Dillon
  • Hiro Matsuda
  • Ric Flair
  • Bobby Heenan
  • Jimmy Hart
  • Harley Race
    Previous Identities: The Narcissist, The Total Package

    Lawrence Wendell Pfohl (born June 2, 1958 in Buffalo, New York), is a former professional football player, and an American professional wrestler under the name Lex Luger. He currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia.

    Football Career:
    Pfohl was a student at Pennsylvania State University, where he played football before transferring to the University of Miami in 1978. He later played football for the Memphis Showboats and Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League, the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League, and the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League.

    He met Bob Roop at a celebrity golfing event and was given the chance to get into pro wrestling. Roop regarded him so highly that he arranged for him to be trained by Hiro Matsuda, who trained Hulk Hogan and "Mr. Wonderful" (Paul Orndorff). He adopted the ring name Lex Luger.

    Wrestling Career:
    Luger began wrestling in the NWA Florida territory, and quickly came to dominate the area. He got his first victory on Halloween 1985 against Ed "The Bull" Gantner, and later won the Southern title from Wahoo McDaniel. In 1986, he fought NWA World Champion Ric Flair to a 60 minute draw.

    Towards the end of his run in Florida, Luger was involved in a now-legendary match with Bruiser Brody, where Brody stopped cooperating, leading to a quick exit from the ring by Luger. Some sources claim that Brody was annoyed with the exiting Luger's boasts about how much money Luger would be making when he left Florida, and decided to teach the youngster a lesson in respect.

    In 1987, Luger went to work for Jim Crockett's World Championship Wrestling, and joined Flair's "Four Horsemen" group. He also began wrestling Sting, who later became his close friend; the two once owned a gym together in Atlanta. Luger went from heel to face many times, whenever the circumstances were best for him. He won multiple NWA/WCW U.S. Titles, multiple NWA/WCW tag team belts, and, near the end of his WCW run, was the heavyweight champion. He would eventually be a two-time WCW World Champion. His gimmick, or character, in the WCW, was "The Total Package." His finisher was called "The Human Torture Rack."

    By early 1992, Luger was tired of wrestling in WCW. He sat out for several months before losing to Sting at SuberBrawl II in February. Luger negotiated a departure from WCW, but the terms of that agreement precluded him from wrestling for the rest of 1992. He planned to join the WBF (World Bodybuilding Federation), which was owned by Vince McMahon. He was slated to guest pose at a WBF pay-per-view event, but was injured in a motorcycle accident. By the time Luger recovered, the WBF was out of business.

    A metal plate was inserted into Luger's forearm after his accident, and Luger later used this misfortune to his advantage by making the metal plate a gimmick in the ring (he claimed that when he hit opponents with his elbows, he did extra damage). His initial appearances in the WWF were as The Narcissist, in which he posed before a full-length mirror before matches. After Hulk Hogan left in mid-1993, Vince McMahon needed a new "Real American," and Lex Luger got the job. In a memorable event, then-WWF champion Yokozuna challenged any American athlete to bodyslam him on the deck of the USS Intrepid in an event on July 4, 1993. After a series of professional athletes and wrestlers tried and failed to lift him, Luger arrived on the scene and successfully slammed the big man.

    Luger was booked to win the then-WWF World championship at WrestleMania X in the first match of a planned double main event involving Luger, Yokozuna, and Bret Hart, and lose the second match to Hart. However, he became heavily intoxicated at a bar before just before WrestleMania and told several people (including a local reporter) about the planned outcome. This information spread rapidly, and the WWF opted to change the booking of WrestleMania, with Luger losing to Yokozuna by disqualification, and Hart beating Yokozuna instead. Luger was never given any run with the WWF title.

    Luger remained in the WWF for another year. He put over Tatanka at SummerSlam and formed a tag team with the late Davey Boy Smith dubbed the "Allied Powers." Then in late August 1995, Luger got a call from Eric Bischoff asking him if he'd like to jump ship back to the WCW. In an interview with Pro Wrestling Illustrated, Luger claimed he was wrestling without a contract and could, therefore, leave unannounced. Lex Luger's last match for the WWF was on September 1, 1995 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Vince McMahon was very unhappy with this abrupt departure because Luger reportedly gave McMahon his "word" about staying.

    Years later, Eric Bischoff would admit that he was never a fan of Lex Luger's on a personal or professional level. Bischoff only made the decision to talk to Luger at the behest of Luger's longtime friend Sting. Bischoff then offered Luger 20% more of the money he was making in the WWF. Bischoff at first, believed that Luger was going to turn the contract down anyway but at the very least, Bischoff could go back to Sting and tell him that he "tried."

    Luger's first appearance in WCW was his shocking appearance at the first WCW Monday Nitro on September 4, 1995. Luger first showed up during the very first match on Nitro between Sting and Ric Flair. Later that night, Luger appeared in the crowd and attempted to interfere in the Hulk Hogan/Big Bubba Rogers match. A week later, he wrestled Hogan for the WCW World Title but the match ended in a no contest when Kevin Sullivan's "Faces Of Fear" interfered. For the next several months, Luger played a tweener character who seemed to side with various wrestlers and feuded with others. Sting, who was a face, continued to stay on Luger's side due to their friendship.

    When the nWo split, he was a member of the nWo Wolfpac. At the time WCW was purchased by the WWF, Luger was a member of Ric Flair's heel group, The Magnificent Seven with his "Totally Buff" tag team partner, Buff Bagwell. The other members were Jeff Jarrett, Road Warrior Animal, Rick and Scott Steiner. Luger's WCW contract was not a part of the WWF's purchase of WCW's assets, and Luger collected the remainder of his guaranteed contract through a subsidiary of Time-Warner that had been set up to handle outstanding debts and business from WCW.

    After Wrestling:
    In 2003, Luger's companion Elizabeth Hulette was found dead in Marietta, Georgia of a drug overdose. Luger was arrested in connection with her death, but was eventually released when the coroner ruled the death accidental. In 2005, Luger again ran afoul of the law, being arrested in Canton, Georgia and charged with driving under the influence.

    Lex Luger's Return to Wrestling:
    In November 2003, Luger had a tag team match with Jeff Jarrett against Sting and AJ Styles. Styles was able to secure a roll-up for the victory. Later that month he returned briefly to put AJ Styles in the torture rack, but soon thereafter he left the company all together.

    In October 8th 2005, Luger headlined the launch of a new televised Wrestling show called AWE (Action Wrestling Entertainment), wether he can with stand to clean his name of bad publicity, and the test of time remains to be seen.

    Finishing and signature Moves:

  • Human Torture Rack / Rebel Rack
  • The Bionic Forearm
  • Attitude Adjustment
  • Powerslam
  • Running Clothesline
  • Ace-is-the-Place Elbow
  • Superplex
  • Vertical Suplex

    Titles and Accomplishments:

    National Wrestling Alliance:

  • 4-time NWA United States Heavyweight Champion
  • 1-time NWA World Tag Team Champion (with Barry Windham)
  • 1988 NWA Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament Winner with Sting

    World Championship Wrestling:

  • 2-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion
  • 2-time WCW United States Heavyweight Champion
  • 2-time WCW World Television Champion
  • 2-time WCW World Tag Team Champion (1-time with Sting, 1-time with The Giant)

    World Wrestling Federation:

  • 1994 WWF Royal Rumble Winner

    Florida Championship Wrestling:

  • 3-time NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Champion
  • 1-time NWA Bahamian Heavyweight Champion
  • 1-time NWA Florida Television Champion

    World Wrestling Allstars:

  • 1-time WWA World Heavyweight Champion

    Pro Wrestling Illustrated:

  • PWI ranked him # 20 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003.
  • PWI also ranked him twice in the best tag teams of the "PWI Years". He was ranked # 52 with Sting and # 90 with Barry Windham.
  • Luger also won several PWI Awards over the years.
  • He won 1986 PWI Rookie of the Year
  • 1993 Most Popular Wrestler
  • 1993 Comeback of the Year
  • 1997 Wrestler of the Year
  • He was also involved in the 1991 Match of the Year (with Sting vs. Rick & Scott Steiner)
  • Three Feuds of the Year: 1987 (Four Horsemen vs. Road Warriors & Super Powers) and 1988 & 1990, both (vs. Ric Flair).