Scott,
Lex Luger's "choker" label got chiseled into stone in his WWF mega-push (specifically SummerSlam 1993). As much as I think the Narcissist persona offered Luger way more mileage and appeal, I can't blame Vince for trying to recapture the Hogan lightning. Do you think The Lex Express would have been a success had Luger gone over Yokozuna strong at SummerSlam for the title? Obviously Luger title defenses against "Evil Foreigners" (Ludvig Borga, Crush, etc) would not have excited some of us, but it would have at least given him that Hogan-esque momentum (if not similar results) and a chance at a legitimate chance at being the top draw. Even if Luger's run was bombing (and it may very well have), you can always have Yoko come back and do the Hogan-KOTR treatment on him (or build to a face vs. face match with Bret to move the title). So I really don't see the DQ finish at SummerSlam helping Yoko or Lex. Do you think Luger gets over as a draw if he goes over Yoko strong and carries the title to Wrestlemania (and beyond?).
Ha! I knew I had more Luger e-mails in my pile of old stuff.
I think Luger was going to bomb as champion and they knew it. Even if he had gone over clean, fan backlash would have forced them to go with Bret by Wrestlemania anyway. That being said, I think they should have TRIED at least, because you never know, and certainly Luger had the marketing push behind him to succeed. Plus as noted, you could line up your evil foreigners and get at least 6 months out of him as champion. Maybe even have Duggan do the Slaughter turn (not that he ever would, but it would give Luger a hell of a rub as the ultimate defender of America) and feed him to Luger as well?