If Lex had stayed put in WWE in the fall of 95, what was in the cards fot him? Obviously a feud with a heel British Bulldog would have been on the list, but would he have been pushed any harder? It would seem he would put Bulldog over since Bulldog was in world title matches with Diesel and later Bret Hart. Was there any salvaging his character by that point? Lex deserved better in my opinion. Who could blame hin for leaving? Also in your opinion could Lex have been a better option than Nash to beat Backlund?
Clearly Lex was checked out and done by that point, and watching those RAW shows week to week right now, I don't blame him. He was booked like shit and clearly Vince had given up on him. There's no clear idea of what Lex was going to be doing, but putting over Bulldog seems obvious. I don't think there was any saving the character by that point, they had already got whatever mileage they were going to get out of the Made in the USA deal and once the Allied Powers choked, AGAIN, against Yokowen, he was dead in the water.
As for the second question, ANYONE was a better option to beat Backlund. Luger might even have drawn a little bit if they had put him on top at the end of 94.
This has been the greatest day ever.
ReplyDeleteI imagine a feud with Dean Douglas, Dean defending his IC title at IYH Dec and Dean getting the win.
ReplyDeleteWhat the fuck, today. Time to prepare some more tasteless jokes.
ReplyDeleteA rather interesting part of that PPV is the Rock having a kayfabe broken fucking arm, and future main eventer HHH, a ruthless heel working on that BROKEN FUCKING ARM for about 10 minutes, and ROCK NOT QUITTING, AND EVENTUALLY WINNING BY DQ. For anyone that complains about Super Cena, 1999 Rock was 10 times worse. Seriously, a broken arm.
ReplyDeletei hope people realize that the uzi issue isn't a gun rights issue but rather a basic common sense issue
ReplyDeletei mean, seriously, wtf is right
Damn, now i'm having a Simpsons flashback to when Lisa volunteered to be at a boys boot camp/military school, and her having zero control over a machine gun that was firing everywhere... Ick...
ReplyDeleteDid the nine year old have a right to fire the Uzi.
ReplyDeleteShould you have the right to open an establishment like the one where this tragedy occurred.
If you answer yes to either question, it's a "gun rights" issue.
1999 was 10x worse than super cena????????????????????????? Ummmm no
ReplyDeleteBruiser Brody, Chris Benoit, Owen Hart. Is this official death day at the BoD? Awesome timing.
ReplyDelete*sigh*
ReplyDeleteif anyone looks at this and their 1st thought is that all guns are bad, then they're missing the point
I watched the main-event once just because it was a title change and I couldn't remember how it went down. But it was awkward to watch Austin and Undertaker wrestling and Shane running around doing his crooked ref gimmick like it's just another night in the Federation.
ReplyDeleteWhich would have killed Shane Douglas' gimmick out of the gate if he actually got a meaningful push instead of jobbing to Acott Hall with his legs under the ropes.
ReplyDeleteIt is a damn fine gun. Accurate, and somehow has a perfect weight balance. Not quite as good as an MP-5, but damn close.
ReplyDeleteHe had a broken arm that was feverishly worked on for 10 full minutes, and he basically sold it like a spained wrist while in an arm bar. It makes the concrete DDT from the Nexus look like a regular back body drop.
ReplyDeleteInsightful.
ReplyDeleteWait, the actual kill shot for that vid is out there? News footage cut off (thankfully)
ReplyDeleteI see it as "horrible and sad tragedy" myself.
ReplyDeleteGuns don't kill people, 9 year olds kill people?
ReplyDeleteKilled his gimmick? No way. Dean v Piper at Mania 12 in my dream booking.
ReplyDeleteThere is plenty of death footage of many events out there if you are inclined to look for it.
ReplyDeleteNope, hence the thankfully. Scott's wording made it sound like the 9 year old one was out there and I was disturbed someone would leak that
ReplyDeleteWould have made Shane a true MADE MAN.
ReplyDeleteLex was dead the moment he didn't get the belt at SummerSlam 93 over Yokozuna. He never recovered and when I see him make his entrance at WM X, I have never seen any baby face who lacked as much emotion as he did.
ReplyDeleteI always felt Luger had every right in the world jumping to WCW. Not only was he working without a contract (which explains him being able to work the 2nd episode of Nitro, two weeks after his last WWF appearance), but the guy was buried to the point of being irrelevant. He was on par with the Adam Bomb and Henry Godwinn's of the roster. He wasn't a work horse, but deserved way better.
ReplyDeleteDidn't help they gave him the laziest theme music in history to get the crowd cheering. Yes, I think theme music is that important.
ReplyDeleteIn my dream booking I have Austin beating Dean at Mania 14 for the world title, Dean taking time off and then returning to ref the Rock/Hunter Iron Man Match.
ReplyDeleteI was dubious. But the 16 question marks wore me down like 16 Brock Lesnar German Suplexes.
ReplyDeleteThat'll put butts in the seats.
ReplyDeleteSo if you had a time machine and could switch any 1999 WWE guy into Owen's spot, who would it be?
ReplyDeleteI pick Viscera. The only way a guy falling from that far is funny is if he's 500 lbs.
The original rumor at the time was that they were gonna put Shane Douglas under the hood and drop him from the ceiling instead. Would have still been awful, but not QUITE as terrible, I feel like.
ReplyDeleteSo now we're nominating people to meet a horrible, unnecessary, public death? It has been a good day.
ReplyDeleteThe Mean Street Posse guy who wasn't Pete Gas.
A young Kofi. He'd land on his feet, jump back up, and cinch the harness on the right way.
ReplyDeleteThis is the greatest day, in the history of our blog!
ReplyDeleteI support people's right to bear arms for defense, although I personally do not care to be around guns in the least. That said...who in the fuck think it's a good idea to let a 9 year old fire off an UZI? Oh yeah, that's right, I live in Texas, where I literally heard someone earlier say ' Well, now them damn demmercrats wanna take our guns we need to protect our homes from commies and n*ggers'.
ReplyDeleteHis ignorant inbred ass is just a reminder of why I need to get the fuck out of here.
Kofi would have made that a spectacle.
ReplyDeletePutting a star instead of an I doesn't suddenly make it okay.
ReplyDeleteMorals have been put to the test.
ReplyDeleteso he hates naggers?
ReplyDeletejust got home; don't want to read 1000 comments; what happened?
ReplyDeleteThey are people who annoy me.
ReplyDeleteThe option to be a good person ended about twenty minutes into the Benoit thread.
ReplyDeleteI know. Didnt know how else to edit it.
ReplyDeleteHook up the Sting Dummy?
ReplyDeleteThey're saving it for the season premiere of America's Funniest Home Videos.
ReplyDeleteGo the HHH route. "Those people"
ReplyDeleteAmerica, this is you!
ReplyDeleteEh, morbid but true. A lot of it is because it was Owen. From most stories, the sane Hart, the family guy, the spend thrift who wanted to get out of the business. Switch him for any number of pieces of shit in wrestling history or guys that pillaged and raped, high on all types of shit? Not the same type of outcry.
ReplyDeleteNothing horrible would have happened if there'd just have been another 9-year old with an Uzi to stop her!
ReplyDeletenine year olds using guns is bad.
ReplyDeletebetter?
I think it is a gun rights issue, as it shows America's gun culture to be so ingrained and irrational as to allow for nine year olds to fire Uzis. Legally. As an outsider, it's quite amazing watching year after year of gun tragedy in America and watching as nothing gets done. It's hard to care when the nation shows no signs that it'll ever get it.
ReplyDeleteAfter Lex's debut on Nitro, there was a huge portion of that weekend's WWF Superstars or Action Zone (whichever was the main show after RAW at the time) being edited out and replaced with video filler footage. I remember reading in one of the dirt sheets that the big gap in the Superstars/Action Zone show was originally supposed to be taped footage of angle setting up a Luger-Mabel feud. It was supposedly based on Lex's interference in the Summerslam main event. Doesn't make a lot of sense because it's not like Luger cost Mabel the match but I guess they want to keep both guys busy near the top of the card. They probably would have been booked for the September IYH. As for who would have won, my guess would have been Mabel on some screwy finish because they were building him up for the Undertaker feud. Where that would have left Luger, who knows. No wonder he went to WCW.
ReplyDeleteMeh, if you hand a 9 year an uzi, and you accidentally get shot, don't come to me for giving a shit.
ReplyDeleteNext.
Benoit video gets posted by Dock Muraco, and people question his posting privileges. This subsequently leads Cultstatus to bomb Tommy Hall's NXT recap with Benoit questions, in all caps. Then we get a racially motivated conversation in the Evenin Thread. To top it off, we get a post about the Owen Hart death.
ReplyDeleteMaybe not the greatest day ever, but it certainly has not been dull.
This is why Owen's death to me is the biggest tragedy in wrestling history. He was the one guy who never had substance abuse problems, by all accounts was a family man, loved by everyone he worked with (except perhaps Austin, with good reason), and was planning to leave the business before it consumed so many others.
ReplyDeleteTHIS is the guy who dies in a freak accident. It's a crying shame.
Does the Network version have a mention of Owen at the beginning of the show and/or where the segment occurred during the show?
ReplyDeleteThe emailer isn't a bad person, but what was he expecting to feel when he immediately jumped to the show with one of the most tragic in-ring wrestling segments? Excitement?
"Well it's not like you were seeking out the video of the 9 year old girl who shot her gun instructor with an Uzi.."
ReplyDelete*Hangs head in shame, logs off PC.*
Cena, just to watch him get back in time to perform in the main event.
ReplyDeleteIf he got shot in the head he won't be coming to you for anything...unless your the angel at the gates of Heaven.
ReplyDeleteSay it with the "azs" at the end instead of the "ers" and you won't get your ass kicked as fast by the brothers..
ReplyDelete*Giant at Halloween Havoc 1995
ReplyDeleteI've always been morbidly curious about this myself.
ReplyDeleteLOL
ReplyDeleteThis just reminded me, I started watching wrestling in 1998 at the age of 10 and the segment where Triple H breaks The Rock's arm in the casket is one of the first disturbing wrestling segments I have ever seen. It just seems like a random thing now, but I'll always remember that.
ReplyDeleteNever give up.
ReplyDeleteMore like 2 minutes.
ReplyDeleteThey haven't used that for over 15 years.
ReplyDeleteNo kidding. It's only getting worse here, too. It's one thing to have a gun in the home for protection. It's another when you seem to be stockpiling a damn arsenal. I used to install AT&T U-Verse, and one of the homes I went to, this guy had several gunracks in his house. One for himself, one for his wife, and one for his daughter, who was about 7-8 at the time. What a little girl needs with a Hello Kitty assault rife is beyond me.
ReplyDeleteSo i haven't see WCW's early Nitro's but i know in that first ep when Luger shows up, he cuts a promo on Hogan saying he wanted to fight the best, clearly hinting at Hogan vs. Luger at some point. What came of that? I don't recall Luger running with Hogan until 1997 ... did it just sort of peter out and Luger settled back into the upper midcard like he was before he went to the WWF?
ReplyDeleteAnd how awesome would a Starceade 1995 headlined by Hulk Hogan vs. Lex Luger have been?
he had a random run-in during the Diesel-Mable Summerslam match. WTF was that?
ReplyDeleteVince just hates stars he did not create, he has such a hard time with it. Luger was a star before he got there, people knew who he was. He's always been like that. Shoot how else do you explain it taking fans ruining a pay per view to finally get him to push Daniel Bryan while he pencils in Roman Reigns eight months out to be champion despite having exactly one singles match on PPV.
ReplyDeleteLex was one of those guys who should have had a run with a title. Besides holding it for a few days of course.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm just going to leave for the next and try again tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteThey fought the next week and Luger played tweener/heel for the better part of the next 8 months, despite being best friends and tag champs with babyface Sting. It was surprisingly decent to have a heel and face as buddies.
ReplyDeletethey gonna pull that episode like they did the giant Homer and the WTC?
ReplyDeleteHey hey, now you have to be at least 12 and five feet tall to shoot that Uzi now. THAT'LL SOLVE EVERYTHING.
ReplyDeleteThe poor booking of Luger is why I have no problems with him jumping to WCW in 1995 even though I was a WWF loyalist in the Monday Night Wars era. The guy should've been a heel in 1995 and feuded with Diesel over the belt. Hell, even his Allied Power tag team didn't even get the titles!
ReplyDeleteWell, the Bulldog had turned heel just prior to that, so Luger was sort of the face foil to help Diesel out. IIRC, Diesel actually decks Luger in that match or is at the very least unsure of what side he's on since his tag partner just ambushed him the previous week.
ReplyDeleteSummerSlam '93 would probably be on my list of top shows ever if Luger went over in the main event. Even if the Lex Express tour didn't set the world on fire, the Michigan crowd was really behind him in that bout (which has some of the best commentary ever between McMahon and Heenan). McMahon should've called an audible and just had Luger go over. The reaction would've made Luger by giving him his big title "moment."
ReplyDeleteWas there a concrete reason for Lex not going over Yoko at Summerslam '93? It seemed like one of the most obvious endings ever and a perfect transition from Hogan to Luger.
ReplyDeleteI've said this on here before, but after putting all of that promotional stuff behind Luger, it still makes absolutely ZERO sense to not put the title on him. It's not like Yokozuna was making him money and he was by far one of the most boring, uninteresting heel champions of all time.
ReplyDeleteThey decided it would be een better to blow off the Lex/Yoko feud at WrestleMania X instead. They didn't realize what a loser it would make Luger look like to choke at Summerslam. Then Bret got more over than Luger.
ReplyDeleteThe long-term plan was eventually to have Luger finally win the belt at WM10, I believe. Once Luger's heat started to die off through the fall, however, Vince decided to switch back to Bret as champion. Of course, Luger's heat might not have died off if he hadn't been booked to choke in the big match.
ReplyDeleteLuger winning at Summerslam would've created its own set of problems, however, given how thin the heel side of the roster was. He can feud with Yoko and the foreign menaces through Survivor Series, probably faces Borga at the Royal Rumble (though Borga probably burns his bridges with the company in this reality too) and I have no idea who Luger would face at Wrestlemania. Would've seen a bit early for a Luger/Bret showdown, though that would've certainly been the biggest match the company could've put on for its big milestone show.
Luger could've been saved turning heel on Bret Hart and blaming fans for not getting behind him enough at the Rumble when they had their double elimination controversy. Hell, I could randomly come up with anything and it would've made Luger's WWF run more successful post-SummerSlam with him "winning" but losing his one and only title shot(tm).
ReplyDeleteI've written this before on the blog, but with Bret and Davey Boy (two international faces) in main event mix, Luger should've turned heel in early 1995. He could've been frustrated that the fans preferred those guys to him, and essentially done a prototype version of the 'Real Americans' gimmick feuding with Davey Boy at WM11, then he could've moved on facing Bret through the spring and summer. Luger as King of the Ring would've made a helluva lot more sense than Mabel, and then it sets up Luger vs. Diesel with Nash pissed off that Luger is a coward hiding behind the flag.
ReplyDeleteThey should have figured out a way to do any other kind of match at Summerslam, like maybe Hart/Luger v. Lawler/Yoko in a tag match or something, so that Luger pins Yoko but doesn't win the title. Then they can run the match on house show with Luger winning by DQ or COR (way less damaging on a house show) until Luger wins the Royal Rumble (Yoko can still do the detour with Undertaker at Royal Rumble) and then finally wins the belt at WrestleMania X.
ReplyDeleteThey wanted Luger to win the belt at WrestleMania X, then just didn't have a good way to get there and Bret's fans hijacked the plans instead.
Acutally Luger winning the belt at Summerslam and dropping it to Bret at WrestleMania X would have been pretty awesome.
ReplyDeleteIt's from the makers of the Strawberry Shortcake Home Pregnancy Test. 'It's nice...to be sure'
ReplyDeleteYokozuna was a decent draw considering how bad business was from 1991-1997.
ReplyDeleteOnly if she shot him in the balls
ReplyDeleteYep. It's a symptom of the bigger gun violence issue. I can't separate it.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more. He even took a pay cut for the opportunity. I hate revisionist history with Vince and his yes men
ReplyDeleteBut 'Football in the Groin' had a football in the groin.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I remember hearing about OTE99 is that the tag title match was really good.
ReplyDeleteHis contract was expiring, so they decreased his role.
ReplyDeleteCabspaintedyellow
ReplyDeleteMakes Topic About How We Should Stop Talking About How Luger Flopped in 93
Comes Back to Find Topic Discussing How Luger Flopped in 95
Oh, it makes a ton of sense in hindsight, but I just wonder if Vince would've gone with another big face/face match, especially if putting Bret over would undercut Lex's run as champion (which presumably goes relatively smoothly in my scenario). Of course, maybe it goes so smoothly that Lex is actually booked to beat Bret at WM10 which sets off another whole universe of fantasy booking.
ReplyDeleteThe network version has a dedication to Owen at the beginning, from what I've heard.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, I don't know if the thin heel side would have been a big problem. At the Survivor Series he was in in a elimination match and so he didn't needed to defend his title. At the Rumble they could have made a Rematch against Yokozuna (where maybe Crush or Borga helps Yoko) with Bret winning the Rumble and then Bret vs Yoko and Luger vs Crush/Borga at Wrestlemania.
ReplyDeleteThey even showed Allied Powers vs Yoko & Owen at the IYHs events and at Summer Slam we got Smoking Gunns vs Blu Twins.
ReplyDeleteLuger's career after '93?
ReplyDeleteWell the downfall of Luger is the downfall of WWF. ;) If they pushed Luger and Bulldog instead of Mabel and Savio Vega, 95 would have been much more different. Bulldog could also have turned Heel and we could have gotten Bret Hart vs British Bulldog at Summer Slam 95 instead of Isaac Yankem...
ReplyDeleteI was a fan of the idea that Lex beats Yoko at WMX for the title but loses it to Bret Hart later that night. But I guess it made more sense to right the wrong from the year before and have Hart pin Yoko.
ReplyDeleteThey make Hello Kitty vibrators, so nothing surprises me now.
ReplyDeletePart of the problem was how limp the foreign heels thing felt in peacetime Clinton era. Borga from evil....Finland? Crush from evil...Hawaii?!? Wait...
ReplyDeleteI remember watching that live (I was 10) and being like... wait, Lex Luger is still here? I guess that goes to show how badly he'd been booked that summer.
ReplyDeleteHis music in 1994 was the WORST! Although when they merged it with Bulldog's for the Allied Powers, I'll admit I loved it.
ReplyDeleteIt still is crazy to me that they push the crap out of him in 93 make him the new hulk have him go around the country in a bus make a music video....and then he doesn't go over. What was Vince thinking? How did he think a count out was going to cut it? They could have used Survivor Series or Rumble to get the belt off him if they wanted him or Bret to win it at mania but why did they think they could run the USA angle for so long off a count out?
ReplyDeleteAs for 95, Yea I doubt Vince had much plans for him even if he had stuck around, I think Bulldog would have went over in that feud and then he probably would have just been another dude in Million Dollar Man's group. As 94 went on he went for a top guy to mid card pretty apparently. Still him and Bulldog had an awesome theme song.
It's his legendary Wrestlemania bouts against The Undertaker that I remember Dean Douglas most for.
ReplyDeleteI regularly get the 'Dah dah dah!' keyboard stabs from the Allied Powers theme stuck in my head. Great theme.
ReplyDeleteEither just say it or use a different word
ReplyDeleteThe Undertaker-Austin match was awful. I'm sure their heads weren't in it. Plus, don't you think that after what happened they, ya know, change plans and send the fans home happy? Ministry Taker as WWF Champ was shit.
ReplyDeleteIt's quite simple.
ReplyDeleteTurn him heel in 95 and have him win the King of the Ring and feud with Big Daddy Cool.
They should have never turned him face in the first place and have him be the guy that beat Hogan at KotR 93 and run to WMX against Bret Hart.
ReplyDeleteNot sure who all here are toy people, but they have a really cool Made-in-the-USA era Luger coming out for the next Mattel Elite line (Series 31 I believe). It's an awesome line for anyone interested in old-school characters. L.O.D. is apart of the S31 as well I believe.
ReplyDeleteI like to picture and alternate universe where Bret retains at WM9 and Luger wins KOTR as a heel to set him up as Hart's Summerslam opponent.
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly where I thought they were going. There was even a feud teased between the two right before WM.
ReplyDeleteYep. Put the Dungeon over at Fall Brawl, with the dream team of Hogan, Savage, Luger, Sting failing do to mistrust between Hulk and Luger. Savage and Sting reluctantly dig in with their partners despite being cool with each other. Halloween Havoc is headlined by Savage/Hogan vs Sting/Luger with Sullivan stirring the pot and playing mindgames during the run up. At WW3 put all the star power in the battle royale and let Luger win the vacant title, maybe ratfucking Sting to end it. Luger vs Hogan at Starrcade is planned,but Hilk gets injured off screen (he didnt work thst show). Sting enters the UsA vs Japan cup. Savage returns early to challenge for thr title he never lost. Lex retains against a still injured Macho. Hogan returns to challenge Lex for Superbrawl, with the revelation that Luger injured Hogan before Starrcade
ReplyDeleteYou could say this is a hard hitting topic.
ReplyDeleteThe comments section has fallen off recently.
ReplyDeleteIt's really taken a nose dive over here.
ReplyDeleteSome other terrible pun about Owen's death.
ReplyDeleteA heel-turned Lex had potential. Lex was far better as the arrogant villain anyway.
ReplyDeletePlus, he good chemistry with Bret, inside and outside the ring. They could've built a nice little feud, even while Shawn and Nash were headlining.
ReplyDeleteWell that's one criticism of Clinton I haven't heard before. Damn him for ruining foreign heels! Lol. Lucky for us Bush declared war on the world (and "tear") I guess...
ReplyDeleteThey had built in the storyline before WM when Luger knocked Bret out with the forearm at a Wrestlemania breakfast event. They kept saying during the main event that Bret has a concussion.
ReplyDeleteI was quoting someone. If i use a different word it's no longer a direct quote
ReplyDeleteYeah, the only bad thing you could say about Owen was that he had a somewhat sadistic sense of humor - some of the ribs he pulled were definitely dick things to do, but even then it's not like he was shitting in people's sandwiches or anything.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny on so many levels!
ReplyDeleteA "regular" back body drop, which is much less severe than a "BAAAAAAACK BODY DROP."
ReplyDeleteThey shouldn't have acknowledged that the Blazer was Owen. Just have JR point out that Owen hasn't been seen since the Blazer fell to his death while Lawler denies it.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who never liked Luger as a kid, it didn't feel like he was drastically de-pushed. Every stupid thing he did got tv time and was treated like a big deal.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of it would have to do with Luger's contract situation - he wasn't under a long-term contract so they decreased his role. I'm sure if he'd re-signed they'd have started to use him more. Vince did the same thing with Foley in 1997 and Farrooq in 1998.
Yeah smiling babyface Lex NEVER worked. He was the jock bully stud. The Narcississt Gimmick was perfect for him and a feud between Bret and Luger, the wrestler vs the powerhouse would have been awesome.
ReplyDeleteI also think Luger and HBK could have some really good matches with HBK bouncing around like a super ball.
Only $9.99!
ReplyDeleteThat's definitely a weird dedication, to dedicate a show to a guy who fell to his death on that very show. That's like dedicating The Crow to Brandon Lee.
ReplyDeleteThey dropped the ball with Luger. Say what you will about him, he had start power at a time where they really needed it and could've been used more effectively. How they didn't give him the title after the Lex Express deal is still one of the biggest blunders ever. Give him the title and see what he can do with it! Same with Vader in 96.
ReplyDeleteNo way in hell they should have kept the show going. Forget the moral reasoning, it shouldnt have happened simply because it was a potential crime scene at worst and a serious accident scene at best, so sending people out to work in the ring was a major violation of all sorts of legalities, i would imagine.
ReplyDeleteNot a fan of Luger at all, but I still think it would've been interesting to see what he did with the title.
ReplyDeleteI know this conversation has been done to death, but I still can't believe Vince kept the title on Yoko. Was it seen as too soon to move the strap or something? Or did he not fully trust Luger? Anything would've been better than that title reign...
But that is what people do
ReplyDeleteWell that WWE did crucify Steve Austin and Undertaker prior. The evil promoted by the WWE at the time. Hopefully Owen knew Jesus. If he did, he is in heaven.
ReplyDeletenot sure if it was on every-single-version ever but every copy of the Crow i watched had a "for Brandon" message just before the credits rolled.
ReplyDelete