If WWE wants to tell a compelling story, there's no reason for Lex Luger not to be in the Hall of Fame.
On the latest episode of his Grilling JR podcast, Jim Ross covered the career of Lex Luger in the WWF. Towards the end of the conversation, the topic of whether Luger should be in the WWE Hall of Fame was breached, to which JR commented that he believes it will eventually happen. Here is what he said regarding why it hasn't happened and why it should:
"Some of those things we just talked about, the embarrassment he'd thrown on the company. I believe he will be. I believe that Lex Luger will be in the WWE Hall of Fame. I think it will be a popular decision when it occurs because he'll be allowed, in his two or three minutes he's allocated, which we've talked about before is ridiculous. Don't induct so damn many people. Have a manageable number of people so they have the appropriate time, using common sense and logic, to tell their story. He's got a hell of a story to tell.
So, I believe that Lex will be in the WWE Hall of Fame at some point in time. That's just my take on it. I don't have any insider knowledge and all that good shit. I haven't talked to Dave or anybody else about it. I think cooler heads will prevail at some point in time and he'll be inducted. But, I think this burning of the bridges, how he conducted himself on his exit, things like that contributed to him. But if they want to tell stories and they want a visual, Lex obviously thank God still alive, here's a guy that can be rolled onto the stage to tell his story. He's in a wheelchair. So, if you're looking for a story, this could be a great story. A story of success because Lex found true happiness in his faith and many heathens don't give a shit about faith to any degree.
So, I think he'll be in and I think it'll be a great induction. I truly believe that. I think it'll be great. So, we'll see, but I think that some old wounds just don't heal as quickly as others. When you embarrass the company to some degree and look, here's the thing, Vince put the Warrior in, so I don't know that Lex did anything more egregious by a long shot than the Warrior did to WWE. Do they still have that Warrior Award? And you and I are discussing Luger going to the Hall of Fame? It's a no-brainer. I think Vince is smart enough to know. He didn't like posthumous inductions and I -- but it's a story, it's a real story that he didn't write I just think there's a lot of reasons you would do it."
Luger competed in the WWF from 1993 until 1995. One of his most iconic moments came on on July 4, 1993, when he body-slammed WWF Champion Yokozuna on the deck of the USS Intrepid after arriving by helicopter. He, along with Bret Hart, would win the 1994 Royal Rumble, but never held any major titles while with the promotion. Just days after SummerSlam 1995, Lex would leave the WWF and make a surprise appearance at the end of the debut episode of WCW Nitro. He would remain there until March of 2001.
During the podcast, Jim Ross highlighted all the booking mistakes that were made with Lex and said that he is perhaps the "greatest that never was."
A WWE Icons special focusing on Luger was set to premiere today but has been pushed back to a yet-to-be-announced date.
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