Original subtitles

This is the Total Package.

This is the man who will dominate professional wrestling.

"The Total Package" Lex Luger.

The greatest specimen walking on earth.

A superstar who had it all.

The looks-

This baby is for real.

the intensity-

You are talking to The Total Package,

and don't you ever forget it.

and even his finishing move.

He's got him in The Rack.

Today, we look back at the career of

The Narcissist himself, Lex Luger.

This is WWE's Greatest Moments.

If you smell-

Oh, my God.

What the hell are you doing?

Absolutely unbelievable.

Hulkamania is here.

Welcome, everyone,

to WWE's Greatest Moments.

I'm Michael Cole, and on this edition, we're taking a look

back at the Hall of Fame career of Lex Luger.

6'4, 270 pounds, the likes of which

the sport of professional wrestling has never seen before.

With a career that spanned 20 incredible

years, Luger was a two-time World Heavyweight Champion

and held the United States title a record five times.

I am the Michael Jordan of WCW.

Luger grew up bodybuilding, which then led to

an impressive seven-year professional football career,

before taking his impressive physique to the world

of Sports Entertainment.

His unique look launched him to the top of the industry within

months of his debut.

The rookie would quickly find himself inside the squared

circle with the World Heavyweight Champion,

"The Nature Boy" Ric Flair.

How would Luger fare against the legend?

The match is for that world championship.

As far as my strategy, it was pretty easy.

Just try to be the best Lex Luger I could be with him

in the ring leading me through it.

I'm the traveling world champion.

My responsibility to be who I really thought I was back then,

and that's the best.

And a beautiful counter by Luger has Flair

to the canvas.

And, once again, those chops into the throat.

And now Flair looking with obvious disbelief, like,

"I can't believe this is really happening."

As the referee, Flair was the veteran,

and Luger was the rookie.

And Flair made him look like a million dollars.

And it is Luger pressing the World Heavyweight

Champion high over his head.

Ric Flair is in pain.

No doubt about that, Gordon.

And the crowd going absolutely berserk.

A lot of times with Ric, he was a state champion,

it was always a countout or a DQ.

The time limit has expired.

The referee declares the match a draw.

Ric was a star maker.

Ric Flair retains the World Heavyweight

Championship, but I don't think he wants to meet up

with Lex Luger again.

Throughout the 1980s, there was no stable more

dominant than the Four Horsemen.

Led by the World Heavyweight

Champion, Ric Flair, the group consisted of WWE Hall of Famers

Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, and their trusted manager,

JJ Dillon.

Diamonds are forever,

the Four Horsemen are forever.

The Horsemen were known

as the elite in professional wrestling.

With a vacant fourth slot in their faction,

the Horsemen brought the rookie Lex Luger into the fold.

You deal with one, you deal with all of us.

That's why we're on top, that's why we're the best

at what we do, that's why we're the Horsemen.

Blanchard and Flair, each carrying

championship gold, the group looked to Luger to maintain

their standard of excellence.

His challenge-

going one-on-one with

the Russian nightmare, Nikita Koloff,

in a dreaded steel cage match for the United States title.

One of the dreaded Four Horsemen,

Lex Luger.

The two strongest men in wrestling,

Lex Luger and Nikita Koloff, inside a cage.

I hadn't been in a lot of cage matches,

and Nikita was a big-time main eventer.

And dropkicks Luger.

A mistake by Luger, and Koloff rolls him up.

That night in the cage,

I had the honor of putting Lex on the map.

Here comes JJ Dillon, he's gonna throw a chair

now over the fence, over the cage.

Oh, Luger's got it.

The chair is with Luger.

And Luger's got the chair.

Oh.

That really established me

as a heel by cheating.

It got me a lot of heat as one of the Horsemen.

The referee says ring the bell.

The match is over.

We had dominant bragging rights,

which fit our image right as the Four Horsemen.

I felt like, well, they had their belts now,

now I have my own belt.

Look at The Four Horsemen charge in the ring

to hug and congratulate the new United States Champion,

Lex Luger.

That was really special,

and it made me feel like I'm making it.

I'm really gonna be a star.

The only other faction that could rival

the Four Horsemen's swagger and supremacy was

the New World Order.

The group turned the wrestling world upside down

in the mid-90s, thus gaining mainstream

and global recognition.

The world was ablaze when basketball icon,

"The Worm" Dennis Rodman, entered the fray and teamed up

with "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan.

Sweet.

Sweet.

With Rodman by their side,

the nWo would commit heinous acts on a weekly basis.

The WCW roster turned to their two strongest superstars

to put an end to the chaos.

A message for you, Dennis.

Maybe from here on out, you'll stick to basketball.

Would the Giant and Lex Luger be able

to exterminate The Worm?

You are witnessing not only pro

wrestling history but sports history tonight.

Dennis Rodman was a major,

major get for WCW at that time.

Come on, Worm, let's see what you got.

I think the fact that we would have had

social media back then would have been really, really big,

you know, but, uh, it was very, very fun.

Yes, sir.

Hulk Hogan, Dennis Rodman that night made

Lex Luger a bigger star than Lex had ever been.

The Rack, The Rack.

He's got him in The Rack.

Lex Luger has Racked Hogan.

Here comes Nick Patrick.

Nick Patrick is in.

He's calling.

He's calling- He's calling for the bell.

Of course, I got to Rack him

for the win, so that was a nice little caveat for me

in the match.

He's gonna Rack Rodman.

Look at this, look at this.

He's Racked The Worm.

He's got him up.

The audience didn't expect Dennis Rodman,

the active NBA-playing sports celebrity, to go up in The Rack.

It was great for Lex.

I'm sure that's gonna be, you know, one of his highlight

moments for the rest of his life.

History has been made in Daytona Beach.

When Lex Luger entered WWE in 1993,

it seemed like The Total Package had it all.

Million-dollar physique, magazine covers,

and headlining star power.

The only thing he didn't have was a shot at championship gold.

Luger looked to change that by hitting the road to lobby for a

chance to fight for the WWE Championship.

I think Lex should get the title shot because he was

the strongest man in the WWE.

His mode of transportation, the Lex Express.

This is the kickoff for Lex Luger's call to action,

and the world title match hopefully down the line here

and let's just crank it up.

The idea was for Lex to campaign

across the United States for a championship match

at SummerSlam with Yokozuna, and we got a bus.

Deemed it the Lex Express.

It was an incredible tour.

The first appearance we did on it was in Massachusetts.

They had like 7,000 or 8,000 people show up.

All these people surrounded the bus like a sea of people.

Now let's take it home.

We'd go to a shopping mall,

and they'd be lined all the way down to the end

of the shopping mall.

Everyone getting carried away

as the Lex Express rolls through town in the Lex Luger Call

to Action Campaign.

I'm going to stay on this bus and continue

to meet all of you out there from coast to coast.

That call-to-action campaign couldn't

be more successful.

He was doing a whole tour.

He was crossing the country.

I remember watching that.

It was like a big mark out moment for me.

I thought it was so cool.

It was quite the tour.

Overall, a huge success, a lot of great memories.

The Royal Rumble is one of the biggest annual

matches on the WWE calendar.

30 superstars enter the ring at timed intervals.

The objective is to eliminate opponents by pulling them

over the top rope.

It's mayhem here.

The winner is the last superstar

remaining in the ring and earns a guaranteed World Championship

match at WrestleMania.

At the 1994 Royal Rumble, Lex Luger would enter

as the clear front runner.

No one could have predicted the unprecedented outcome.

It's every man for himself.

Anything can happen.

Bret Hart and Lex Luger were

the two biggest stars in 1994.

They were leading WWE into a new era.

Down he goes.

He's out of here.

I always loved working with Bret.

Look at that.

Wait a minute.

Michaels is out of there.

For us to be the last two in there

was a real turning point.

It's Bret Hart.

It's Lex Luger.

One of these men will go to WrestleMania.

Couldn't tell who hit.

Luger threw Bret Hart out.

No, I don't know.

Where's the referee?

And we go out and it is--

There we go.

Luger.

No, that was Bret, I think.

No, I think it was Luger.

It can't be any closer.

We both hit the ground at exactly the same time.

That's coordination.

That's great athleticism.

That's great timing.

Lex had all of that.

The winners are Lex Luger

and Bret "Hitman" Hart.

The first time they ever had co-winners.

It was a huge honor, of course.

It was a great moment.

This will go down

in World Wrestling-- history.

One of the grandest prizes in professional

wrestling is the coveted United States Championship.

Former champions like John Cena,

Sgt. Slaughter, and Ric Flair

all make up the title's rich history.

Lex Luger was no stranger to the USA title's prestige and yearned

to have the championship back around his waist.

You see, Michael Hayes,

what comes around goes around.

I'm coming after you.

To do that, he would have to battle "Freebird"

Michael Hayes for the gold.

Lex loser, I will take your career.

This is the one they came to see.

The United States Heavyweight Championship on the line.

Luger was one of the primo talents

at the time.

There were some things that he could do especially

with his strength that were pretty impressive.

Luger's got him up.

Oh, what strength.

I enjoyed working with Michael.

We had a really good match.

What a matchup here for the championship.

Hayes has got him rolled up.

Luger rolls him back.

Luger's got him.

Luger pinned him.

Luger has won the gold.

I won the title back and then had my longest

consecutive run of 523 days which is still the record.

Three.

The champion retains the title.

And still United States

Heavyweight Champion, Lex Luger.

How long can he be the US Champion?

Maybe for as long as he wants.

Being US Champion 523 days,

that was a long time to have that title.

After his record-setting 523-day reign as

United States Champion, Luger set his sights on an even bigger

prize, the World Heavyweight Title.

At The Great American Bash, 1991, The Total Package would

face off against Barry Windham inside of a steel cage

for the World Heavyweight Championship.

One of these two men will leave this arena tonight

with the WCW Heavyweight Championship belt

around their waist.

It was the main event,

which I look at as a challenge, not pressure.

Scoop slam, but Luger's so strong.

Going to the ropes.

Here comes the elbow, but Windham had it well scouted

and moved out of the way.

I ended up wrestling Barry Windham was a

Hall of Famer, so getting to work with Barry was--

And a clothesline.

The big man now opening up.

Leg is hooked, and Windham got the shoulder up.

Lex would do anything to become World

Heavyweight Champion.

That's Harley Race on the right.

Harley Race as my manager.

What's this all about?

I have no idea.

We clicked right off the bat.

Race said now's the time.

Race was a master of the piledriver.

Harley Race said now is the time.

He's got him up on the piledriver.

And there he-he planted it.

Luger with the piledriver, he's hooked the leg,

and Luger wins it.

The Great American Bash in '91,

definitely all-time highlights of my career.

Lex Luger has won

the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.

After years of climbing the ranks within WCW,

Luger set course for WWE in 1993.

Truly a privilege to wrestle

in the World Wrestling--.

Becoming a staple on Monday nights

for WWE's primetime show, Monday Night Raw.

But in September of 1995, WCW did the unthinkable when they

secured two hours of live programming every Monday night

for their own flagship show, Monday Nitro

preparing to go head-to-head with WWE in a ratings war.

We want to give viewers a choice.

We believe we've got the biggest stars in our industry.

The first episode aired live from the

Mall of America promising to be full of surprises every week.

But what would this have to do with Lex Luger?

Lex Luger's the winner.

Here is your winner, the epitome of the new

WWE generation, Lex Luger.

Lex didn't let anybody in WWE

know that his contract was coming up, and somehow,

WWE just let it slip between their fingers.

I thought, whoa.

Huh.

"Lex, it's Eric.

I got an idea."

The debut edition of Monday Nitro.

Oh, what in the hell is he doing here?

The fans were like, "Oh, my gosh."

Like, "You're in WWE."

I'm like, "Not anymore."

A very well-kept secret and people are freaking out.

I'm shocked.

Lex Luger making an appearance here of all places.

How is this happening?

Wait.

Luger's in there.

Lex Luger in the ring.

Back then, talent didn't go

back and forth like that.

I am sick and tired of playing around with kids.

I'm here to get it on with the big boys.

It was electric.

I mean, this is our opportunity to gain some more momentum.

I know where you've been, brother.

It set up that surprise factor.

Like, wow, we better kind of watch that.

You never know who might show up,

which ignited the Monday night wars.

Lex Luger was a tremendous force in WCW,

but no superstar was more dominant

in 1997 than "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan.

With the nWo behind him, Hogan's supremacy was unmatched,

earning him the most coveted prize in WCW,

the World Heavyweight Championship.

Who is the most powerful man

in professional wrestling?

I'm going to slap you up in the Rack and become

the new WCW World Heavyweight Champion.

During the 100th episode of Monday Nitro,

Luger would face Hogan for the title,

but would The Total Package have what it takes

to dethrone the Immortal One?

Who has more confidence and momentum

on their side than "The Total Package" Lex Luger

who has racked the world in the past few months on Nitro?

And Lex Luger has unleashed a fury here.

Response of the crowd, I mean,

the roof came off that place.

Detroit, people would come to me all the time,

"I was there that night, man.

It was unbelievable."

There's his leg drop.

That's it.

The audience believed in Lex Luger

more that night than they ever had.

Which I don't think he'd ever been more over--

He's going to Rack him.

They're standing in Detroit.

Yes.

He's got him in the Rack.

He's got him-- Yes.

Hogan says yes.

Hogan says yes.

Look at him tap out.

Luger won the title.

It was a huge shock to everybody because they never

expected to see Hogan losing that title match.

You see the referee, Pee Wee, he melted right forward.

He was so excited.

It was a magical moment.

It was really important to Lex to kind

of break through that barrier and be recognized.

Not only is he one of the top guys but one of the top guys

that everybody wanted to work with.

It is celebration time in the Motor City.

To have all the guys run down.

It was an exciting moment for everybody.

He had it all.

That's why he was the right guy at the right time.

That was some magic that was really cool to be a part of.

Lex Luger is the Heavyweight Champion

of the World.

It's now time for our number one moment,

and it's one of colossal proportions.

In 1993, the Japanese monster known

as Yokozuna held the coveted WWE Championship.

On July 4th of that year,

the 500-pound behemoth laid out a challenge to any American

athlete to walk on the deck of the USS Intrepid

and body slam him.

Give up, forget it.

Go enjoy the 4th of July.

Nobody is slamming this man.

Many tried and failed.

But none of them were the all-American.

Lex Luger.

The Total Package took it upon himself

to try and save face for America on its birthday

and do the impossible.

I take pride in my country

like everyone here.

And we're not leaving here till we slam Yokozuna.

Come on.

Nobody could slam

this 500-plus-pound behemoth.

He was a big, agile guy, but he was a load.

So, I'm like, I'm not going to be able to do this.

n: And the 550 pounds charge.

Luger ducking out of the way.

Yes.

Lex Luger has done it.

Skyline of New York in the background.

The crowd went berserk.

Definitely, one of the all-time highlights of my career.

Ladies and gentlemen, the pride of America.

On the deck of the Intrepid on the 4th of July,

and the patriotism, the flag, mother apple pie,

all that stuff.

There's a shot of me

slamming Yoko and has the ring, the Intrepid,

and the Manhattan skyline in the back.

You couldn't ask for more than that.

That shot is unbelievable.

The big man went down on July 4th, right here on the Intrepid.

Luger body slamming Yokozuna

went down as one of the most patriotic moments in WWE history

and cemented The Total Package's legacy as a true all-American

with a ferocity that catapulted him to superstardom.

Luger was undoubtedly a perennial superstar of his era.

There's not much more I can say about The Narcissist

that he hasn't already said about himself.

I am head and shoulders above the rest.

That'll do it for this edition

of WWE's Greatest Moments.

Hope you've enjoyed this look back

on "The Total Package" Lex Luger.