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Lex Luger says Vince McMahon promised that his Lex Express tour across America would succeed and eventually turn Luger into a WWE fan-favourite.
WWE Hall of Famers Gerald Brisco and John Bradshaw Layfield recently spoke to Luger on the latest episode of their Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw show. The former WWE star recalled how he told Vince McMahon about his reservations before becoming a babyface.
In 1993, Luger began the year as a narcissistic bad guy before suddenly being repackaged as WWE’s next all-American hero after Hulk Hogan’s departure. He traveled around the country in a red, white, and blue bus to promote his World Championship bout at SummerSlam in 1993. On July 4, Lex "Made in the USA" Luger bodyslammed Yokozuna on the USS Intrepid.
“He [Vince McMahon] laid it out that I was getting a bus all summer, slam Yokozuna at the Intrepid,” Luger said. “I’m thinking the whole time, ‘Yeah, but I’m the narcissist. How does that work?’ And I go, ‘Do you think that’ll work?’ Vince goes, ‘I promise you it’ll work,’ which actually the Intrepid thing got over big. That was a well done event.”
Luger bodyslamming the villainous 600-pound Yokozuna on the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier turned out to be the highlight of his babyface run. The Lex Express tour was widely viewed as a failure as Luger failed to win the WWE Championship from Yokozuna at SummerSlam.
Lex Luger is due to appear on Vince McMahon’s WWE Network soon
Lex Luger's career is set to be chronicled in an upcoming WWE Icons documentary on Vince McMahon's WWE Network. A trailer for the episode (see above) featured Bret Hart describing The Lex Express as a “curse” that ultimately “ruined him”(Luger) in WWE.
Reflecting on the trailer, Luger also reacted to Hart's comments about The Lex Express. He also jokingly confronted Gerald Brisco about his opinion that the bus was a “complete, utter flop.”
“I’m thinking they [WWE] are gonna do this nice thing on me and The Lex Express,” Luger said. “Bret and I get along great, I laugh with Bret when I see him. He goes, ‘Man, that Lex Express was a curse for Lex.’ I’m like, ‘Well, that wasn’t very nice!’ Gerry, you’ve gotta tell me with your Oklahoma twang, and then Gerry gets on and goes, ‘That Lex Express was a total flop.’”
While Luger wanted to give Vince McMahon’s Lex Express idea a try, he revealed that the schedule was more grueling than people might think. He often had just three hours of sleep during the tour due to a huge number of autograph signings and media commitments.
Please credit Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
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