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Former WWE commentator Jim Ross says Vince McMahon genuinely thought Lex Luger was going to replace Hulk Hogan as the company’s top babyface.
Hulk Hogan left WWE in 1993 after being presented as WWE’s star attraction for almost a decade. Luger, who had previously performed as a narcissistic heel, transformed into an all-American babyface character following Hogan’s departure.
Ross joined WWE around the time that Luger’s main-event push began. Speaking on his Grilling JR podcast, he said McMahon drastically changed Luger’s presentation because he viewed him as WWE’s next Hulk Hogan:
“Of course, absolutely,” Ross said. “I think Vince, at one time, fully believed that Lex Luger would be his next Hogan. The issue there is, I will tell you, I thought Lex was a much better athlete than Hogan, but he didn’t have Hogan’s charisma. Whether you like Hogan or you don’t like Hogan or, ‘He was never a great worker,’ all that stuff. What is a great worker, Conrad [Grilling JR host Conrad Thompson]? What the f*** is a great worker? He applies a headlock correctly? He doesn’t leg slap? Or is it somebody that draws money? Somebody that draws money is that one key component. How do you say that Hogan wasn’t a great worker?”
Following his WWE exit, Hulk Hogan briefly worked for NJPW before joining WCW in 1994. He stayed with WCW until 2000 before returning to WWE in 2002.
Luger only spent two years in WWE between 1993 and 1995. He then returned to WCW, where he famously appeared on the first episode of WCW Nitro one day after his WWE contract expired.
Lex Luger was not pushed as Hulk Hogan’s WWE replacement for very long
As part of Lex Luger’s all-American transformation, he greeted fans while traveling across America in a red, white and blue bus known as “The Lex Express.”
Ross does not believe the bus concept worked for Luger, whose Hulk Hogan-esque push only lasted a few months:
“Well, I know he thought he wanted to get over [receive positive crowd reactions], and I know he wanted to get to the next level where the big money was waiting,” Ross said. “But I don’t know how motivated he was to live on that bus for a while. Some guys could make it just fine, some guys would feel like they’re being strangled, squeezed a little bit.”
Ross said Luger never told him that he did not enjoy living on the bus. However, he remembers the former WWE Superstar telling him “it’s good to get off the bus for a while” when he saw him at arenas.
Please credit Grilling JR and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
