STW #3: The Lex Express

Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard is an audio podcast that discusses topics, events, wrestlers and memorable moments through the lens of former WWE executive Bruce Prichard co-hosted by Conrad Thompson.
The show was launched in August 2016 on MLW Radio. The episodes typically range from 2 hours to 4 hours in length, and include discussions about previous WWE pay-per-views and former WWE wrestlers.
What really happened when the WWF went all in on Lex Luger during the summer of 1993? What is the REAL story behind the Lex Express and Luger's attitude during the promotional push as he chased Yokozuna's WWF Championship? Find out!
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[@tim_drake5328]

I always felt that the summer of 1993 during the Lex Express days was a transition from the Hulkamania era to the Wwf New Generation era

[@averyconnordaddy]

I'm not going to lie, I enjoyed the lex express vignette with the "I'll be your hero" theme.

[@EGarrett01]

The Lex Express was very cool. The "I'll be your hero" came off like they were trying too hard, but I wanted Luger to win the championship, no doubt.

[@HipsterEatinShark]

To each his own, but I hated it. I found it corny and ham-fisted. Why on Earth you would take somebody with tremendous star-power already established (who the fans recognize despite your attempts to pretend the other channel doesn't exist), bring him in, ignore that entire history, and then try to saddle him with a bunch of goofy gimmicks will always perplex me. It is so much about Vince McMahon's ego, and not about the tradition of the sport. Like imagine if they would have done that when Flair came in? They were paying for Lex Luger, not for a body. Not for "The Narcissist" or "The All American." it was so weird.

[@dadncaleb]

Oh cool you must've been one of the 9 people who enjoyed it. Lex luger was Roman Reigns V1.0

[@rustykuntz94]

Vince did that to all the NWA/AWA/territory big names when they came into the WWF like you said except with Flair. I mean he gave Dusty a fucking polka dot gimmick & a non working “valet”.

[@michaelkeller5927]

Is that you, Mr OOC?

[@shyjames83]

“Some time ago you all painted up a school bus red, white and blue and sent someone around the country to shake hands and kiss babies. Why don’t you paint me up a school bus and I’ll go around the country and every time someone shows up, I just whip everybody’s ass! Why don’t we do that!?” - Stone Cold Steve Austin, 1996

[@garrycoop7024]

my man

[@SleptOnTheCouch]

Did he really say that?

[@StrikeTeam0316]

Slept on the couch Yes LOL he certainly did. I believe it was a classic ‘97 promo?

[@dglesterhardunkichud4017]

Hey! I've been looking for a clip of this for years! Do you have any idea what episode it's on?

[@andreahyah2794]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rJ22aZtsg96iitE

[@Kylersinjin]

Curt Hennig ribs stories are always amazing

[@vinson311]

7:00 ish

[@weatheredtome]

Right on the dot actually.

[@JarodJoseph]

Thank you.

[@mox19380]

always appreciate cues

[@andirayo]

Episode starts 7:02.

[@DUFFYISBACK]

thanks

[@IrishCarney]

Terrific episode. Answered questions I've had for decades.

[@andrewgraydonKL]

Why does Bruce's Patterson impersonation remind me of a stereotypical Italian-American accent? He sounds like Mario!

[@mox19380]

it does. funnily it is supposed to be a canadian accent

[@Johnlmooring]

I actually liked Lex as The Narcissist. He actually got alot of cheers to be a Heel. I think one reason the Lex Express gimmick didn't go over well was because he was literally The Narcissist like a week or 2 before the Yoko Slam. I don't think The Narcissist gimmick could have gone on for much longer, but it was great while it lasted. Luger was a good wrestler in my opinion. He was king of kicking out of a pin at the very last second.

[@Pillar5770]

I agree. Lex was always better as a heel and the Narcissist gimmick fit him perfectly.

[@MScal0316]

I think you nailed it! Lex was an arrogant heel right before the Lex Express deal went down. Had WWF not used Luger as an arrogant, cheating heel right before the red, white and blue gimmick maybe he would've had a shot. I was only a kid then but I never was a fan of Luger as a babyface and I think there's something to what you said. I think myself and the rest of the audience never bought it because we just saw him as a heel. Good point!

[@weworldwide1348]

@@MScal0316 even if he wasn't a heel, he just wasn't that type of face Vince was trying to mold him into. If you watch the full Lex Express footage, you'll see that he just doesn't have that personality, that charisma, that "whenever I walk into a room, I'm the center of attention and entertain everyone" type of aura a Hogan had.

[@xavierwilliams2228]

@@MScal0316 right even as a 3yr old kid I remembered that he was a heel like 2 weeks prior (didn't know what time was back then but I knew it was rather quick😂) It left me confused.

[@bobmarshall8527]

I actually think the thing that killed All American Lex was him not winning the title at SummerSlam. If he had he’d have had a better chance to succeed but because he didn’t it made the whole thing fall flat.

[@AOIbis]

I was always a Lex fan, 1992-1998 i was a huge fan of his.

[@JamesSmith-sw3nk]

Lex should have got the belt at Summer Slam 93. WWE shot themselves in the foot with bad booking.

[@HereIsWisdom1318]

I just listened to the WM 5 podcast; they should have gave Butch Reed a shot at Hogan!

[@markmullins132]

@@HereIsWisdom1318 Lol What?

[@HereIsWisdom1318]

Mark Mullins Butch Reed vs Hogan would have been awesome! Reed wore yellow, so it would have been the Yellow vs the Red and Yellow!

[@Stevenirons]

@@HereIsWisdom1318 No way bro

[@Dredsed]

Nah he was in the wrong spot. They made the right call to pull it.

[@MambaMentalady]

Great to go back and listen

[@andrewr1773]

The build up of Luger with the lex express totally got over with me right away as a kid. And then it all turned to shit when he won by count out and celebrated like he won the championship...I was like wtf?

[@theungreatkahli]

Exactly. That made no sense especially when the stipulation said he would never get another title shot.

[@kelman727]

It was shit from the off.

[@billblanchard2510]

I thought the him not winning the belt and never getting another title shot means he's winning the royal Rumble and winning the belt at wrestlemania

[@justinalexander6462]

i hope 1 day they give lugar a proper episode from 92 - 95

[@jasoncoward-aintscared]

It's kind of hilarious. They tell Lex about the whole grass roots bus ride superstar push. Lex says "Cool, my plane leave tomorrow, I'll meet you there". How does that not crack you up?

[@scotttaylor4197]

What Bruce says around the 40 mins mark or so regarding the Conrad comment about the quarterback and investment in money and Bruce comes right back with you know what we can, we have the vilify to if things arnt going great we can change it is fucking awesome and so true

[@markzappa8511]

Great episode - Thanks C and B !!!

[@rexsexson5349]

early 90s Lex Express late 90s Ho Train

[@EgoCityGamingUK]

I’m from England and I loved the lex express, I was gutted when he didn’t win the championship and it went back to Bret, even though Bret had already lost to Owen that night.

[@ClassicJM85]

I wish they talked about Luger after WM10.

[@bauminho15]

The European Tour was after KOTR 93, i watched Hogan vs Yokozuna in Munich in July or August 93. So he had bis final WWF matches on that tour.

[@najeea.8983]

I'd ask if they were good but this is Hogan we're talking about

[@almostmean4985]

Was also there, was August 1st... Bad card, but the main event was awesome. Meet Hogan before in the hotel, and he said to me "brother" on this entrance and gave me a hand. I never liked Hogan, but seeing him live, me and my friends were really in it!! But Yokuzuna was the champion, not the Hulkster!!

[@nathangonzalez5477]

What the hell was Vince thinking with that corny WBF.. yea I watch wrestling but why the hell would I watch guys posing strictly to see there bodies? Body building is a very niche thing.

[@StanStacks]

Vince was always obsessed with bodies over wrestling. No surprise he thought WBF was next big thing.

[@weworldwide1348]

cuz Vince is ghey asf

[@412StepUp]

Vince enjoys looking at men’s physiques. I guess he thinks everyone enjoys it. But I guess he forgot only 2%/3% of the population is gay.

[@mikeanthony718]

I LOVED lex as a heel, I thought he was a great heel..

[@eddie9244]

Mike Anthony yeah i hated his face so much when i was a kid. smug weird lookin face

[@allwightallwong5045]

It seemed like he put on better matches as a heel.

[@cretinousjester3475]

All wight all wong: Some guys are better as faces and others as heels. Luger had that smugness down. He came off as a classical bully. He was that perfect mix of smug, flamboyant and vicious when he laid a beatdown. He had the million dollar look and came off as someone who sold their soul to keep it. He could draw more heat than a dead man at his own cremation. If only Vince had seen the same kind of value in a heel that he did in a face.

[@allwightallwong5045]

Cretinous Jester Right on. Seems like Vince gets so adamant with his own ideas at times he refuses to see the logic behind certain characters. Not saying always or that his direction always failed

[@cretinousjester3475]

All wight all wong: I respect Vince. I may be very critical of him at times but I have enjoyed many a show he has provided. I don't want to see WWE and it's historic legacy fall. However, his insistence to micro-manage might very well have become the cancer that kills it. There's no reason a heel couldn't put asses in the seat as much as a babyface.

[@markmullins132]

Get on board The Lex Express

[@gripstrength]

Great explanation of why "the title doesn't mean anything and never has," by Bruce: starts roughly 48:30

[@ryanjames6480]

Jedd Johnson I just watched a interview where he talks about why the title meant so much ...he all over the place

[@DannieDecentVlogs]

Nice podcast

[@mfdixon1985]

The story I'd always heard about the rumor was that a reporter overheard Lex saying he'd win the title from Yoko earlier in the night, then drop it to Bret in the main event. Then when the story came out, they had Lex lose first and Bret beat Yoko. In that case, it wouldn't be changing the entire summer plan as Bruce said. Just just the title lineage. Bret would still be going into the summer as champ. I will say that when you look at the 3 of them, Bret and Lex pulling double duty makes more sense than a super heavyweight like Yoko. That said, I have no idea if the rumor is true. But it does make some sense.

[@mox19380]

Great Ep...It is good that Lex has turned such a corner in life. His life sort of seems like a greek tragedy which seems ironic since he had the narcissist gimmick. He finally became a great person coinciding with the loss of his amazing physique As kid who I did not see Lex in WCW so when he showed up in WWF i fell for the hype. as an adult now who loves watching the old NWA/WCW shows it is NO surprise that Lex flamed out in WWF.

[@alexmelendez6732]

even solmonster said it. bad booking. lex had a ton of momentum and should have won that belt at summerslam. they dropped the ball and his momentum ended, he was stupid over leading to summerslam

[@josephboza7448]

I agree. it was bad booking. Unfortunately SummerSlam 1993 happened about 6 weeks after Hulk finished with WWF. Lex was booked to the damn moon to be the guy. I think Vince was still pissed about Hulk leaving. I wonder if 93 was booked to be Yoko vs Hogan 3. It felt like Vince only signed him for the failed Body Building Company. He wasnt supposed to be a wrestler.

[@bigdaddyman377]

Apparently Vince doesn’t listen to the crowd or fans anymore. Considering Roman can’t get over in a game of leap frog if he tried

[@cryptozoomauler5505]

A lot has changed since 4 months ago...now everyone is rooting for Roman to come back after battling leukemia.

[@jonathanlindsey790]

I am one of them, but it doesn't change the fact that he still sucks as a wrestler and they will be pushing him down everyone's throats as soon as he gets back.

[@rahuljoshi439]

Think wrestling fans think they understand the word "over". He is over via live shows, merchandise, advertising, live crowd reaction...albeit negative.

[@vincea2996]

Sorry I’m not rooting for the character of Roman Reigns to come back at all ever .

[@HereIsWisdom1318]

April 22, 2019--and Vince STILL isnt listening!

[@ultimog3739]

After mania 10 Lex ended up forming a tag team with the British Bulldog before eventually going back to WCW.

[@smarkslowplay3512]

Nah it was in early 95 when they started teaming up. Lex had the Tatanka/DiBiase feud after WM10 for the rest of 94

[@Pillar5770]

WBF bodybuilders got guaranteed deals while WWF wrestlers did not get guaranteed deals?! WWF wrestlers should have revolted at this.

[@HereIsWisdom1318]

Lex Luger didnt come to the WWF as a "The Total Package" because with that name, Vince wanted to put Luger in a top-hat (black), red bow-tie, and have him come to the ring looking like a present! When i read that in some "dirt sheets", my thought was "THATS HOW VINCE MCMAHON IMAGINES THE TOTAL PACKAGE?!?!?!??!"

[@DarkReapersGrim]

Lex Express: 28:50, before then, they talk about Lex slamming Yokozuna in the slam challenge. All of it was so corny. I'm here to know why.

[@rustykuntz94]

Heeeeeero, I’ll be your HERO! 😂 🙄. I hate for decades and even to a lesser extent still thought they could turn any Heel into a good guy by just saddling them with a American jacket or wave a flag. Fucking Marks

[@tbird2838]

Lex had the weakest working punch I've ever seen lol

[@johnporter9073]

Dean Ambrose would have to disagree with that...lol.

[@tbird2838]

@@johnporter9073 true

[@Akabackalooka]

I really like how much faith Bruce has in "internet legends say" things.

[@BrakerLane]

I loved the Narcissist gimmick. Hated his face turn

[@pisserplunker]

Actually thought Lex was a good in-ring worker. At least in WCW. He kicked some ass.

[@smarkslowplay3512]

True. His 89/90 work was excellent. Similarly, Beefcake was also pretty good in this time frame in WWF

[@Dredsed]

His botches are some of the funniest in history but he was still pretty ok

[@HereIsWisdom1318]

"Im al the way up!"

[@markmenning1804]

The Owen vs Bret thing was way better

[@maxxxmodelz4061]

The internet kids hate Occam's razor theory, even though it makes the most sense, people love to assume the much more complex and insidious reason for things rather than the simple yet much more likely reason.

[@bradvestby]

I always felt that Lex didn't need the title back then.. he was a feature on the card.. a guy like Bret Hart definitely needed to have the belt back then for his character to shine more..

[@HereIsWisdom1318]

Bruce as Jim Cornette: The stole my shiiiiiiiiiiiiit!

[@josephwoodham3190]

Lex had a great physique, that's all! Nothing else!

[@soulagent79]

26:00 No it wasn't. The European tour did in fact take place that summer with Hogan vs. Yoko as champion.

[@trurobertson]

Huge Lex Luger fan here !!

[@HereIsWisdom1318]

When Lex Luger "body slammed" Yokozuna, my friends and I called it, "the hip-toss heard 'round the world." Because WWF called it "the body slam heard 'round the world." 28:42

[@michaelnemeth5242]

Most people couldn't get him up properly cause of those damn huge hips lol

[@jasoncoward-aintscared]

It's weird how wrestling fans poop on Cena's career. Meanwhile, everyone in the office wishes all the other boys were as dedicated, disciplined and professional as Cena.

[@jasoncoward-aintscared]

@Jon Goat it took a while but Cena is solid in the ring.

[@jasoncoward-aintscared]

@Jon Goat his mic work is top tier too. He is among the greats at that.

[@jasoncoward-aintscared]

@Jon Goat I like his rap promos. Don't judge me bro.

[@jasoncoward-aintscared]

@Jon Goat im gonna appeal that shit. I made a solid argument.

[@georgewilliams1470]

Still amazes me when I see Lex in interviews today. Completely opposite his persona real humble.

[@maxxxmodelz4061]

It should be easy enough to prove if this stuff about Lex is true regarding that USA Today article. All USA Today articles are available online, but there's no evidence of that one article that was published about Lex supposed to win title back then. So I tend to agree with Bruce here.

[@supremeasiaticallah2303]

they had an NBA player, Scott Burrell, try 2 slam Yokozuna

[@supremeasiaticallah2303]

no thanks 2 Lex Luger, I often find myself looking @ my body in the mirror after I workout

[@oskarsalvador7414]

Lex said video crew not on there all the time.

[@g7721]

With a new talent this would have been perfect. People knew Lex so well though at this point.

[@BeeBumper]

Was never a Luger fan. Limited in ring ability but a great look. Never is enough for me to care.

[@HereIsWisdom1318]

I thought the Lex Express gimmick was fckn stupid. And not cause it was LL.

[@irvingskyzanitzy3081]

delta...Don't Even Leave The Airport

[@RobVanDelay_WholeFnContest]

Hit in the eye with a jet ski-only gets a black eye. Cool story Brother

[@bobmarshall8527]

It was typical McMahon push someone on the fans they didn’t want, the fans wanted Bret not Lex

[@peteremilo3947]

didn't he just say they left it open to the last minute, before saying they know what they are doing?

[@williamweber9390]

We now know how that article prob got wind of lex winning now that the clip with him as champ has surfaced. When he wore the belt at a live event

[@PSUDarius2032]

Bet Bruce’s sleep meds that got jacked were Xanax bars... lmao

[@412StepUp]

I was thinking the same thing. They had to be something good. Drug addicts know what shit to jack. They wouldn’t have just stolen regular sleeping pills.

[@tonyandrews9218]

Delta Airlines does in fact SUCK!!!! I second Bruce's opinions!!!

[@slamrobot6584]

Anytime Bruce can he shits on Bret Hart.

[@larswagner8722]

How did they come up with the idea to make Japanese villains in 1993? Japan was the Sega and Nintendo Country, everybody loved them😂

[@xavierwilliams2228]

Simple and plain lex didn't have that extroverted charisma personalitly...brother!!!

[@ClassicJM85]

This needs a remix.

[@rustykuntz94]

Most of the initial dozen or 2 episodes could use a reboot. The Warrior ep isn’t even 90 minutes

[@danchestercity]

I would have like to have known why they felt the need to push Lex and find a ' new guy '. Why didn't they see Bret ad ' The guy '

[@dwade6322]

Same story as you always hear "Bret wasnt big enough" (physically)

[@rexsexson5349]

when he first came in New York uh huh uh huh huh huh uh huh

[@jamiespencer1041]

Problem with going back is you here on these shows stuff they skim pass but get into a lot more later, still that’s not there fault, plenty of good stuff here. Though I do hate the fact the guys in charge count the belts as a prop and nothing more, should be a legacy of its own. 4/5

[@brentfu1119]

Not to much info on Lex.

[@davey3884]

Conrad is marrying Flair's daughter, yet he thinks Crockett still owned WCW in 92/93🤔 and Bruce doesn't correct him..

[@weworldwide1348]

conrad is marrying flair's daughter??????

[@markmullins132]

@@weworldwide1348 At that the time the comment was first posted, yes but right now they are married

[@EOTA564]

Lex seemed pretty over at Summerslam ‘93.

[@kevinking757]

Lex didn’t have the personality and the ability to connect with fans that the wwe needed at the time.

[@weworldwide1348]

yeah, he wasn't ready for that. Vince tried to mold him into a Hogan 2.0. Lex wasn't that type of guy and probably still isn't that type of guy. He's more of an introvert.

[@garrycoop7024]

hey bruce hows rita doing

[@almostmean4985]

What i want to know - maybe it is obvious - but many of the guys trying to slam Yoko at 4. July could slam him, right?! Did you say these guys not to slam him? Maybe stupid question, but talk about next time please... and sometimes it is difficult to believe Bruce, just look at the "European Tour with Hogan as Champ" - which was not he case. Yoko was the champ - i was in Munich for the tour!

[@whitecloak11]

lex had the charisma of a snail.

[@thorvalentinehatesytalgori2632]

I loved Bill Clinton.

[@daveboone7432]

Hogan had a black eye from his wife cuz his wife's mother walked in on Hogan going down on Brutus the focking beefcake 😆 🤣 that's straight from Hogan's own words look it up

[@standardofexcellence]

Just watch golf bruce, baseball is more potent than any melotonin that i have ever took

[@maxwelljacobfreedom]

I can't stand people like Conrad, quick to chime in about Lex cuz they are personal friends. At the same time he has a rude judgement about people he doesn't know. Work out bro maybe you will be more sensible

[@kelman727]

The Lex Express was cringe-worthy even at the time. He couldn’t get it done in the ring so they hyped him all summer instead using a flag like a fucking ad logo. And, of course, it failed even before a COUNT-OUT finish.

[@scottfleenor2036]

I know SummerSlam was always the 2nd biggest PPV but as a kid in the late 80s my favorites in order was 1 Mania 2 Rumble even when you didn't get title shot for winning 3 Survivor Series when it was all 5 and then 4 man team matches (the tag elimination match was crazy 10 guys on both sides) then 4 SummerSlam. I don't know why those early ones are great but I always thought a little overrated. Maybe as a small kid I just thought the Rumble matches were more exciting and Survivor Series I just loved that, Teams of 5 Strive to Survive. And the elimination part was my first time seeing a match were it wasn't over after a guy loses. Although there's a ton of all-time classic matches over SummerSlam history.

[@tylerxxyz8621]

Everybody finds God when nobody on Earth wants to talk to you - Jim Cornette. Lex Luger 25 yrs ago vs now

[@dwade6322]

That's true,and it shows that even when humans won't speak to you GOD still will.

[@vincea2996]

Lex was boring and a huge reason I was starting to loose interest, thank for they gave it back to Bret

[@weworldwide1348]

*lose

[@chadfoster6150]

Lex was used as a sex object by Pat Patterson! It was Pat that saw him on WBF and fell in love! We have Pat to blame for all the shity work in the ring!

[@weworldwide1348]

you were there and saw it?

[@cornettejason3398]

Oh please. The Lex Luger All American gimmick was CORNY. No one was going to get that over, especially in the 90s when society was changing. LOL

[@Kvmtooloud]

Bruce lied about the black eye. The rumors were true macho punching hogan

[@bobmarshall8527]

No they aren’t

[@MacSmithVideo]

I stopped watching because of Yoko. Boring as fuck that he kept winning.

[@Makainternational]

He was never going to be a match for Bret Hart.

[@nWoTataDEJVC]

My god, Bruce forgets a lot of things

[@bostonsportsfan9128]

I wish Conrad would shut up, quit interrupting and figure out that he's NOT in the business and never was. BRUCE was. Conrad is just a fan boy who blows Bruce.

[@weatheredtome]

Boston Sportsfan nobody cares, pal

[@EGarrett01]

Conrad's role is to ask Prichard what fans want to know, keep him off of boring rants, and make Bruce feel comfortable by treating him like shit, which is Bruce's natural career position.

[@ryanjames6480]

EGarrett01 he cares he's just annoying like a lot of fans that think they know everything

[@alexs7670]

gotta be in the business to criticize a business 🤔

[@jainubeezy1]

Wow you sound like a jealous hater.