Lex Luger had one of the most underrated careers of the late ‘80s and ‘90s when looking back at his accomplishments. Few wrestlers can say they won the WCW Championship multiple times, won the Royal Rumble match in WWE, and had relevance just about every year of their wrestling career.
Unfortunately, the ugly ending to his career added some negatives that made it harder for him to get the same respect as his peers. Despite those issues, there were many highs throughout his career. Various versions of Luger found tons of success.
10 Final Total Package Heel Run
The end of the New World Order and the start of WCW falling apart made Lex Luger’s final few years in WCW a disaster. Luger started calling himself “The Total Package” as his ring name instead of just a silly moniker.
The aging process hurt Luger’s athleticism and led to horrible matches against Sting and Goldberg as his biggest feuds. Miss Elizabeth managed Luger as WCW used their real-life romance in the storylines, but Lex just couldn’t get over anymore.
9 Allied Powers
Lex Luger’s WWE run had many ups and downs in the few years he spent there. The end of the road saw Luger placed in a tag team with Davey Boy Smith known as the Allied Powers. WWE placed two singles stars struggling for a new role in an act together.
Luger was coming off the failed singles push after he missed his chance to win the WWE Championship. Smith and Luger made up a fun rare team of two established stars, but the run ended before they could achieve much success.
8 Dungeon Of Doom
The return of Lex Luger to WCW in 1995 saw him trying to fit in with the right role. Luger eventually became a heel character looking to pose a threat to Hulk Hogan who was dominating as a face at the time.
The Dungeon of Doom had various members with wacky heel monster gimmicks and Luger joined them to add more credibility. There was little chemistry as Luger eventually turned face and left the stable.
7 Wolfpac Member
Lex Luger was one of the top enemies of the New World Order for years, but he joined the face version of the Wolfpac to shock the world. Kevin Nash and Randy Savage turned face when ditching Hulk Hogan to lead their own version of the nWo.
Luger fit in well with the group and the Wolfpac became one of the most popular acts in wrestling. Sting eventually joining the faction put them over the top with various top tier superstars getting on the same page.
6 Lex Express
The biggest push for Lex Luger in WWE saw him getting his own tour bus called the Lex Express. Vince McMahon made Luger tour the country in the bus while playing a patriotic gimmick similar to a politician trying to win votes.
Luger was planned to be the next version of Hulk Hogan for WWE, but fans never took to him the same way. The audience preferred Bret Hart and Luger missed out on his one chance to become WWE Champion in the New Generation Era.
5 Four Horsemen
The rise of the Four Horsemen made them the most dominant force in wrestling for a few years. Ric Flair and Arn Anderson were the core members with others rotating in and out throughout the years to continue evolving.
Lex Luger joined the Horsemen and did a solid job fitting in. The look of Luger and his strength added another element to the group by having a muscle. Fans started to view Lex as a star leading to him eventually leaving the group for a singles run.
4 First Taste Of Main Event
WCW pushed Lex Luger to the top with various noteworthy feuds against top talents. Matches against Ric Flair and Barry Windham cemented Luger as a credible main eventer to go along with his growing accolades.
The United States Championship run of Luger saw him having the longest reign in WCW history. Luger also won the WCW Championship and was the second biggest star after Sting when Flair left for WWE in the early ‘90s.
3 The Narcissist
WWE signing Lex Luger away from WCW actually came due to Luger’s bodybuilding background. Vince McMahon signed Luger for the World Bodybuilding Federation project, but the concept completely flopped.
Luger moving to WWE was a better fit anyway to continue his wrestling career as a top star. The Narcissist was the gimmick given to Lex to play an arrogant heel obsessed with his physique. Luger naturally fit the role and may have thrived more in WWE if getting to keep the gimmick longer.
2 Standing Up To NWO
The New World Order becoming the hottest WCW act in 1996 made it pivotal for the faces of the roster to step up as credible threats. Sting was the most popular face at the time, but his storyline saw him becoming a loner with the Crow character no longer engaging with others.
Lex Luger was arguably the top face of the time in the ring with Sting not wrestling matches. The run of Luger saw his popularity growing to new heights and he even defeated Hulk Hogan for the WCW Championship in an iconic moment. Luger shined for the company as a fan favorite.
1 Sting's Best Friend
The on-again/off-again relationship between Sting and Lex Luger as tag partners saw their real-life friendship used in WCW. Luger and Sting were as tight as any other wrestlers in WCW behind the scenes leading to them pitching to work together.
The tag matches of Sting and Luger were usually the best of Lex’s career. Fans loved the bond that saw Luger convince Sting to join the nWo Wolfpac and felt the pain of Sting feeling betrayed by Lex during the Crow character. WWE even releases figures of the two together to profit off their time together in WCW.