Bigger Waste of Talent?: Lex Luger or Kerry Von Erich?

[It's...Baylariat!]

What I mean by 'Waste of Talent' is wrestlers who didn't live up to their potential. Lex Luger was a member of the Four Horsemen as a young up and comer. Many promoters thought he was the next big thing in pro wrestling. He had the look of a champion. But what many didn't know is that Luger didn't have much more after that. He drew decent numbers during his heyday, but Luger wasn't the savior he was supposed to be. And for the most part, he ended up flopping when it mattered.

The same could be said for Kerry Von Erich. Despite a run with the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship, he had a lot of demons. He was undependable and at times, didn't have the drive to be the megastar many thought he would be. Kerry also benefited from having his dad be a promoter in his wrestling company, which is why he earned the cult status he did. But he had a motorcycle accident, lost his foot as a result, and his potential went from sky's the limit, to mid-carder at best. Then we all know what happened with Kerry. He committed suicide and many say his career was the biggest waste of talent in wrestling history.

I say Luger would be right up there with Kerry, simply because Luger wrestled for a long time, but wasn't worried about anyone or anything except himself, and not the company he worked for.

So who would you consider the biggest waste of talent? Kerry Von Erich or Lex Luger? And give reasons for your answers. NO spam.

 

[klunderbunker]

Oh Von Erich by FAR. Luger never actually had that thing known as talent. He barely ever had anything close to decent with anyone other than Flair or another great worker that could carry him. Luger had a look and that's about it. VOn Erich could actually work an ok match. His talent was wasted in a few ways. First of all his dad would never let him go anywhere. Second all the drugs messed him up to no end obviously. Even still, he had a great deal of success and likely would have had more had things gone right. Luger just never had anything that set him apart from everyone else which to me says lack of talent rather than untapped potential.

 

[CaptainCrazy74]

I honestly think the real title of this should be "Who was the Bigger Waste of TV Time" if you are going to include Lex Luger. I believe to be a waste was Lex Luger's only claim to fame. I never bought him as a wrestler and he wasn't entertaining at all. His five move repertoire made Hogan look like a man who knew a thousand holds. I believe he was famous for looking good(the Narcissist and why the Lex Express?) and that sucks. The talent that was wasted under him could not be matched by any other. Kerry Von Erich had more talent in his shoelaces than Lex. Kerry was the top superstar in WCCW in Texas at the time because he was the best they had shy of maybe his brother, Kevin. I think Terry's ability and potential was never realized, due to drugs no doubt but, also his Dad holding him back. I think Vince could have done more with him than he did also. I seem to think Vince is more of a talent waster than most are willing to admit. He wastes the talent not the wrestlers/superstars. To suggest Kerry was a waste of talent is not fair or just. So, I stick with Lex in this waste-off. Lex also took other talent with him if we consider his drug sales along with his lack of talent(hello Elizabeth ring any bells).

 

[Shane101]

Von Erich had a ton more talent... The guy much like Bret Hart was the most famous of a legendary family, The Von Erichs like Harts had more respect and value to their names, Von Erich had more respect and potential and in ring skill than Luger. Vince tried to make him the next Hogan however he was not as over as Vince wanted him to be. Even The Tornado was more over, he could even cut good promos, Luger was just horrible on the mic.

So my answer in a nutshell: Luger became stale too fast and did not have as much potential or natural talent as Kerry.

Lex also took other talent with him if we consider his drug sales along with his lack of talent(hello Elizabeth ring any bells).

True...From that moment on i became somewhat of a Lex hater. Bret Hart put it best "Miss Elizabeth like my mother was too good for this business."

 

[Slyfox696]

I find it amazing how so many people have the right answer, but for the wrong reasons. Kerry Von Erich WAS the bigger waste, but not because Luger didn't have talent.

See, apparently, I define "talent" different than the people in this thread. I define it as the ability to be a successful pro wrestler. How ANYONE can argue Luger wasn't a successful pro wrestler is beyond me, and thus, he was obviously talented. He was multi-time World Champion, multi-time World Tag Team champion, and a multi-time United States champion. He was mega over with the crowd, both as a good guy and a bad, and the pop he got when he racked Hogan in '97 was enormous. Trying to say the guy wasn't over, trying to say that Luger didn't make the most out of his tremendous talent is just absurd.

For Von Erich's part, I don't think he had as much talent as some of you give him credit for. In fact, all of the things that people seem to be criticizing Luger for, are FAR more applicable to Kerry Von Erich. Kerry was very much over because of who his father was, and how pretty he looked (oh how he made the women swoon). But really, what was so great about Kerry? In the end, he just wasn't that great of a worker, although he had just about everything working for him in the business to be so.

Kerry Von Erich was the bigger waste. Lex Luger made something out of his tremendous talent.

 

[CynicSteve]

Oh for me this one is a no brainer. It has to be Kerry Von Erich.

When I was young I always watched WCCW wrestling replays on EPSN. For me the 80's/early 90's were all about two things in wrestling. The Four Horsemen and the Von Erich's. Kerry was the most popular of the Von Erich boys even though he didn't wrestle nearly as well as some of his brothers. The only reason I say this is both David and Kevin Von Erich could go into the ring and put on an absolute clinic on what a wrestling match should be. Kerry was the middle of the pack when it came to Fritz's kids in this respect, but Kerry was by far the best when it came to charisma and getting the fans behind him. Kerry had what it took to be incredibly popular in the 90's for Vince McMahon. It was the drug abuse and poor decisions that held him back.

All Luger had was his body which was not that much better than Kerry's. Luger couldn't wrestle or talk nearly as well as Kerry. I'd argue that Chris Von Erich could talk a better game than Lex Luger.

Kerry Von Erich was superior in every aspect to Luger. He was a huge waste of talent.

 

[gully side adidja]

easily kerry von erich, when he was the texas tornado he could have been great, beat perfect for the i.c title, then lost it and that was it, he could have been similar to warrior, and get a high push. As for luger, he got more than what he deserved, compared to tornado's one i.c title, luger got a rumble win 2 us titles, 2 wcw heavyweight titles, the face of wwe during 1993, and a memeber of nwo wolfpac, he did nothing impressive in the ring, he could hold fans interest for short period's not long ones, but von erich was over with fans more consistently, easily von erich.

 

[Louie Music]

First off, let me thank you for starting this thread! I love to discuss anything Von Erich. I grew up in Texas, and any wrestling fan from Texas will tell you this still Von Erich country!

That being said...

I have to say Kerry was the bigger waste of talent. Not only because of how the WWF use to book him, but maybe even more so becauseof his personal demons.

If you go on YouTube and watch the match between Kerry and HBK, you'll see that even though the WWF was pushing HBK very hard and trying to get him over, it was Kerry who got the bigger pop. Especially when he took off his ring jacket. That right there shows you how much charisma he had.

I dont blame WWF at all for how Kerry was booked, etc. Do I think they dropped the ball with him? Yes, I certainly do. But, I'm also honest enough to admit his demons caused him many self inflicted problems with the company and his career as a whole.

Kerry had the look, he had the moves, and as someone who got to see him wrestle many times live (when i was a kid) I can tell you the guy knew how to work a croud when he was on his game. But then again, his brothers were great at that as well.

 

[go2war313]

LMAO how could u include Lex Luger in this BS thread ? Lex Luger was successful he held nwa, wwe, and wcw titles multiple times became a main eventer , did tv commercials , been on tv talk shows , and more so u know who had the weaker career in this thread

 

[Louie Music]

LMAO how could u include Lex Luger in this BS thread ? Lex Luger was successful he held nwa, wwe, and wcw titles multiple times became a main eventer , did tv commercials , been on tv talk shows , and more so u know who had the weaker career in this thread

Wait a minute, seriously, let me, and other people here, get this straight.

You list all of that above and that automatically makes Luger, who I totally respect by the way, the better wrestler? By the way, are you even reading this thread correctly?

So, in your way of thinking, that means that David Arquette and Vince Russo are better wrestlers than Mr. Perfect Curt Henning because he never held the WCW world title, but they did.

Right?

Absolutely NOT! Your statements and your list hold no water. If that's how you measure talent then that means there's alot of admired wrestlers from the past and present that have no right to hold the respect they have form the fans.

Oh, and a little FYI here, Kerry Von Erich DID do commercials, Kerry Von Erich was featured on some TV talk shows as well as radio talk shows, Kerry held the WWF IC title and Kerry Von Erich did hold the NWA title... as well as tag team titles, was a main eventer, etc. etc etc.

Do some home work, ok?

 

[Davi323]

Kerry Von Erich, easily. But, not because a promoter wasted his talent, but because Kerry Von Erich wasted his talent with his addictions to drugs. I grew up watching WCCW on ESPN as a kid, and watching the WWF on USA Network, and NWA/WCW on the Superstation TBS. Kerry Von Erich would have been a HUGE star for Vince McMahon, had be been able to remain sober. His motorcycle accident that amputated his foot occurred in 1986, well before he left WCCW, well before he debuted in the WWF as the Texas Tornado. The fact is, nobody noticed Kerry was missing a foot until Colonel DeBeers accidently pulled off his boot, revealing it. The amputation did not dimish Kerry's wrestling ability one bit. It was the drugs that limited Kerry Von Erich, as CynicSteve pointed out. Lex Luger was just a waste, period. No wrestling ability, no mic skills. All Luger had was a bodybuilder's physique.

 

[Slyfox696]

Wait a minute, seriously, let me, and other people here, get this straight.

You list all of that above and that automatically makes Luger, who I totally respect by the way, the better wrestler? By the way, are you even reading this thread correctly?

So, in your way of thinking, that means that David Arquette and Vince Russo are better wrestlers than Mr. Perfect Curt Henning because he never held the WCW world title, but they did.

Right?

Absolutely NOT! Your statements and your list hold no water. If that's how you measure talent then that means there's alot of admired wrestlers from the past and present that have no right to hold the respect they have form the fans.

Oh, and a little FYI here, Kerry Von Erich DID do commercials, Kerry Von Erich was featured on some TV talk shows as well as radio talk shows, Kerry held the WWF IC title and Kerry Von Erich did hold the NWA title... as well as tag team titles, was a main eventer, etc. etc etc.

Do some home work, ok?

While I see where you are coming from, I'm guessing you don't see where the poster you quoted is coming from. There's a difference between the titles that Arquette and Russo held, and the ones that Luger held, and if I have to explain the difference to you, please quit reading now.

The fact that Luger did hold those titles shows what kind of ability he had, and how over he was with the crowd. If Luger didn't have ability, like people here have suggested, then he never would have won those titles. Just having a good physique does NOT get you multiple World title reigns, just ask guys like Bill Kazmaier, Dino Bravo, Hercules Hernandez, Rick Martel, Brian Pillman etc. Heck, you could throw Kerry Von Erich in there as well. You have to be able to do something with yourself, including being able to work in the ring, make people care about you, etc., things that Lex Luger did very well.

Lex Luger had a lot of talent, and he had a VERY successful wrestling career. Kerry Von Erich, on the other hand, despite having just about every advantage a wrestler could have in the business, never achieved the National level of success that Lex Luger did.

 

[BrothersMinistryofDarknes]

first off i love this thread...i love anything remotely Von Erich... I grew up watching anything and everything there was that had to do with wrestling...

Now that being said, its an easy answer...easy as american pie...LEX LUGER!!!!!!! lets face it he had a physique thats it. Lex had no skills what-so-ever, hence his move the toture rack. In the case of Lex its not what you know, but who you know. And he knew Sting, who was friends with Flair, who was in the back pocket of Crockett Sr. Thats how Lex got his claim to faim in his early NWA/WCW days.

Now as far as his WWF stint any tru wrestling historian and or purist will tell you that it was all about timing. His contract was up with Crockett Sr. and Ted Turner was moving in. At the same time it just so happens that Vince is trying out another one of his money making schemes in the short lived WBF(World Bodybuilding Federation). And who better to be the poster boy, you guessed it no skills Lex.

Now the only reason Lex got in the title picture at WWF was because he won a bet with Vince. And that bet was he couldn't slam Yokozuna. But as always he pisses of Vinve and Bret Hart, hence the double finish at RR. He blows his last chance with Vince and is now out of the WWF. Well once again timing is Lex's friend. He goes to Sting, who goes to Flair, who goes to Bischoff, who goes to Turner. Who by the way just gave Bischoff the power to go up against Vince on Mondays. Who better to bring in than former WWFer Lex 'no type of skills' Luger.

So as you see Lex's career was always a matter of timing and who he knew. Take those facors away and he would not have gotten to the top on his talent because HE HAD NONE!!!!!

Now for Kerry his talen was there from the start. Anybody that knows the Von Erichs and have seen there home wrestling movies of them wrestling each other in the backyard knows this. Kerry was a pure wrestler, but the biggest problem was not his talent. Unfortunately like his brothers it was his name.

Pressure busts pipes. And the pressure of being a Von Erich busted Kerry. As it did his brothers Mike and Chris. If anyone has every been there, its hard living in someone elses shadow. Just ask Dustin Rhodes. Unless you can put out of your mind completely that your in that shadow, it will consume. People make comparisons. And when you don't live up to those comparisons it hurts deep down..You feel like a failure when in actuality your not.

Thats the way it was for Kerry. And unfortunately it got worst for him in the WWF. Unlike being handed the keys to the city because of your name*cough cough Randy Orton*. He was constantly being judged and criticized for not living up to his family name in the eyes of some of the higher ups at the time.

By then Kerry was doing the best he could after his amputation. But in the end it just got to be to much for him..In the end like his brothers Mike and Chris the family name would not let him live his own life. You take the name Von Erich away from Kerry and let him do it on his talents, and you would've had a very succsessful wreslter with a long career.

So when you ask who was the biggest waste of time..just look at the facts. the real facts. Lex had it easy. No talent, but a great body and the right friends. Kerry had the talent. PLenty of talent. And though you could say he had it easy too because of his name. But it was that name in the end that would be his demise.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

While I see where you are coming from, I'm guessing you don't see where the poster you quoted is coming from. There's a difference between the titles that Arquette and Russo held, and the ones that Luger held, and if I have to explain the difference to you, please quit reading now.

The fact that Luger did hold those titles shows what kind of ability he had, and how over he was with the crowd. If Luger didn't have ability, like people here have suggested, then he never would have won those titles. Just having a good physique does NOT get you multiple World title reigns, just ask guys like Bill Kazmaier, Dino Bravo, Hercules Hernandez, Rick Martel, Brian Pillman etc. Heck, you could throw Kerry Von Erich in there as well. You have to be able to do something with yourself, including being able to work in the ring, make people care about you, etc., things that Lex Luger did very well.

Lex Luger had a lot of talent, and he had a VERY successful wrestling career. Kerry Von Erich, on the other hand, despite having just about every advantage a wrestler could have in the business, never achieved the National level of success that Lex Luger did.

Luger had success. He had shots at the World title and was even a world title holder on a few occasions. He was exciting and many were entertained by him. But with his diva attitude in the older days and his timing with Flair leaving, Luger was a beneficiary of circumstance as well. And, Sly... you can't even deny that. Flair refused to lay down for Luger because Luger didn't respect the business. Flair leaves for the WWF, then they put the belt on Luger. Fair enough.

Kerry Von Erich had the world handed to him on a silver platter as far as wrestling is concerned, but so did Luger. Luger was a member of the Four Horsemen. The elite group in wrestling. And even THAT didn't help him get over with the crowd at the time. Longevity helped that out. And as we've talked about before, Dean Malenko could have beaten Hogan that night, and gotten the same reaction Luger did. Just saying. Luger's good, but not THAT good.

 

[Slyfox696]

I'm sorry, but the following post is just so silly.

Now that being said, its an easy answer...easy as american pie...LEX LUGER!!!!!!! lets face it he had a physique thats it.

And charisma, and a good power game, and the ability to make people care about him. Which is really the only thing that is important in wrestling.

Lex had no skills what-so-ever, hence his move the toture rack.

If he had no skills, then why did fans gush over him? How come Lex Luger was a main-eventer and Dustin Rhodes was a midcarder?

In the case of Lex its not what you know, but who you know. And he knew Sting, who was friends with Flair, who was in the back pocket of Crockett Sr. Thats how Lex got his claim to faim in his early NWA/WCW days.

I'm sorry, but this is just absurd. Even if Luger DID get a push based upon who he knew, that doesn't mean the fans will like him. Are you really suggesting that all it takes to be a big time main-eventer, loved by crowds and hated by crowds is a push? Because Lord knows there are more than enough examples to prove that theory wrong.

Furthermore, if you're theory of how Luger got his spot was through his connections, I can't WAIT to read how you think Kerry got his.

Now as far as his WWF stint any tru wrestling historian and or purist will tell you that it was all about timing. His contract was up with Crockett Sr. and Ted Turner was moving in. At the same time it just so happens that Vince is trying out another one of his money making schemes in the short lived WBF(World Bodybuilding Federation). And who better to be the poster boy, you guessed it no skills Lex.

Now the only reason Lex got in the title picture at WWF was because he won a bet with Vince. And that bet was he couldn't slam Yokozuna. But as always he pisses of Vinve and Bret Hart, hence the double finish at RR. He blows his last chance with Vince and is now out of the WWF. Well once again timing is Lex's friend. He goes to Sting, who goes to Flair, who goes to Bischoff, who goes to Turner. Who by the way just gave Bischoff the power to go up against Vince on Mondays. Who better to bring in than former WWFer Lex 'no type of skills' Luger.

This is amazing. It reminds me of a story I heard once.

A reporter asked Magic Johnson about his opinion on Larry Bird. Johnson's reply was something to the effect of, "He's the luckiest player I've ever seen.". When Bird was later asked to comment on Johnson's opinion, Bird just shrugged and said, "You know, it's funny. The more I practice, the luckier I get."

See how you can apply it in this situation.

Now for Kerry his talen was there from the start. Anybody that knows the Von Erichs and have seen there home wrestling movies of them wrestling each other in the backyard knows this. Kerry was a pure wrestler, but the biggest problem was not his talent. Unfortunately like his brothers it was his name.

Wait...Lex Luger got over because of his connections, but Kerry wasn't? Do you know how absurd that is? His fucking father RAN the promotion he worked in. Kerry was, at best, an average in-ring worker, and certainly wasn't the best of the Von Erich clan. He had no more talent in the ring than Luger did, but because he was a Von Erich, and his dad ran the promotion, he got the call...at least he did when his family started dying off.

Thats the way it was for Kerry. And unfortunately it got worst for him in the WWF. Unlike being handed the keys to the city because of your name*cough cough Randy Orton*. He was constantly being judged and criticized for not living up to his family name in the eyes of some of the higher ups at the time.

Yes, how AWFUL that he had to go through the same process Luger did. It's funny, isn't it? That when Luger is successful, it's ONLY because of his connections and timing, but when Von Erich shows up in the WWF, absent of his father's connections and at the same time Hogan was on his way out, he can't do anything.

It seems to me that if Von Erich was truly talented, then he should have been a mega force in the WWF. But once he got away from his father's booking, suddenly he couldn't cut it.

You take the name Von Erich away from Kerry and let him do it on his talents, and you would've had a very succsessful wreslter with a long career.

Bullshit. You take away the Von Erich name from Kerry and you have Hercules Hernandez with a tan and a little more charisma.

So when you ask who was the biggest waste of time..just look at the facts. the real facts.

I have. And Von Erich, despite having things SOO much easier in the business, still failed to accomplish half of what Luger did.

Lex had it easy. No talent, but a great body and the right friends.

As opposed to Kerry who had a great body, a pretty face, and his father as the booker?

Do you even begin to realize how hypocritical you sound?

 

[Louie Music]

While I see where you are coming from, I'm guessing you don't see where the poster you quoted is coming from. There's a difference between the titles that Arquette and Russo held, and the ones that Luger held, and if I have to explain the difference to you, please quit reading now.

Well, I guess maybe you missed the irony of my Russo/Arquette comment?

Anyway, alot of people here are making very good points. And the point of views Kerry having alot handed to him I'll go with that.

But in my eyes, and as a Von Erich fan to no end, Kerry really did piss away alot of oppertunities.

 

[Davi323]

The thing is, a lot of people are forgetting a key word in the title of the thread: TALENT. In order for Lex Luger to qualify as a bigger waste of talent than Kerry Von Erich, you have to start out on the assumption that Lex Luger had talent to begin with. You can't waste talent you don't have. Lex Luger did not have any wrestling talent. He had a look, he had a body, long blond hair, and he had friends in high places...Kerry Von Erich had a look, a body, long blond hair, friends/family in high places, but, he also could wrestle. Kerry had been wrestling since he was a toddler, and while he wasn't as good a pure wrestler as his brother Kevin, Kerry could put on a great match of his own. Kerry has to be the bigger waste of talent, because unlike Luger, he had actual talent that could be wasted.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

The thing is, a lot of people are forgetting a key word in the title of the thread: TALENT. In order for Lex Luger to qualify as a bigger waste of talent than Kerry Von Erich, you have to start out on the assumption that Lex Luger had talent to begin with. You can't waste talent you don't have. Lex Luger did not have any wrestling talent. He had a look, he had a body, long blond hair, and he had friends in high places...Kerry Von Erich had a look, a body, long blond hair, friends/family in high places, but, he also could wrestle. Kerry had been wrestling since he was a toddler, and while he wasn't as good a pure wrestler as his brother Kevin, Kerry could put on a great match of his own. Kerry has to be the bigger waste of talent, because unlike Luger, he had actual talent that could be wasted.

Brilliant.

It's a scathing referrendum on Luger, but it's accurate. He was average at best with a mic in front of his face, and ALL of his professional wrestling success was a bi-product of the people around him making him look vastly better than he was. Sting. The Steiners. Ric Flair. Barry Windham. Yokozuna. Hollywood Hogan.

Kerry von Erich was cut from a legendary mold. In some parts, the "von Erich" name carries similar reverence to the "Hart" and "Guerrero" names. I still love watching the old exchanges between von Erich and Mr. Perfect for the Intercontinental Title, just because it felt like a time warp to the AWA.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

In my view, Kerry Von Erich by far. Kerry Von Erich had a lot of real talent, could whip the fans into a frenzy and did have some outright classic matches in World Class. Kerry Von Erich is someone that really could have been viewed I think as an "all-time great" if he had made different choices in his life.

Von Erich was great in the ring. He had size, strength, speed, agility, stamina and actually had some legitimate wrestling capability. Top it all off, he had a great physical look about him. What ultimately screwed Von Erich up were choices he made in his personal life, particularly regarding his drug usage and other questionable decisions he made in his life. Now, I don't know if this is all 100% true or legit, but I've read from a number of books and articles that Fritz didn't really watch out for the welfare of Kerry or any of his other sons for that matter. Such things were hinted at on the Rise and Fall of WCCW DVD and the Heroes of World Class documentary. For instance, whenever someone expressed concern to Fritz about Kerry's drug use, or drug use in general backstage, that person would often be fired or be buried or something to that degree. If these things are true, then Kerry Von Erich may have had an even brighter career and future had Fritz simply looked out for his best interests because he was his son rather than being one of the faces of his company. I think Kerry did lack some guidance in his life and was allowed to get away with certain things, like no shows at times and his drug use. Had he made different choices, I think things would have turned out differently. Whike he only held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship for about two and a half weeks, he still held it. It could have been potentially much longer and just the first of a number of reigns had different choices been made.

As for Lex Luger, I think Luger is one of the most overrated big names in pro wrestling of the past 25 years. At the very very upmost, Luger was average in the ring and on the mic. The only outstanding thing about Lex Luger was his look. He's arguably the best built man in professional wrestling, but that's really all he ever had. Luger's greatest matches came against guys that carried him the entire way through like Ric Flair, Barry Windham, Sting and a few others. Once Luger worked against guys of a lesser caliber, his weaknesses and flaws were easily seen if he wrestled for longer than 5 minutes. The only reason Luger ever looked as good as he did was because he was surrounded by great wrestlers, but he never really was one himself.

 

[KM.]

Kerry Von Erich was very good in the ring considering. His drug use was while a lot of other people had the exact same problem and it didn't hinder him too much. But he has been placed up against a huge loser in the business (and out of it if you believe reports). Luger was over with management when it mattered whilst Von Erich never really had that option.

Von Erich has had the most talent wasted considering he actually had some. Luger was basically just another James Hellwig.

 

[The_Hooded_One]

Von Erich.

Luger wasn't half bad his 1st few years around, he had potential but I dont think he wanted it. Kerry was the golden boy of WCCW at 1 point and for a while. I think Von Erich could of improved his Ring Psychology and of course lay off the drugs but still very talented and filled with potential. Luger wasted himself, nobody but himself with his poor attitude and lack of love for the business. It's a shame WWE did Kerry so crappy in his run there except for a short mediocre IC Title reign. If Kerry laid of the drugs and went in NWA/WCW full time I think he would of been HUGE.

 

[JJohns]

Out of the two, I have to give it to Kerry. Luger did what he was meant to do in his wrestling career. He held multiple world titles, main evented in three major promotions (WWF, NWA and WCW). Kerry on the other hand had a ton of talent, but would always be remembered for his time in WCCW. His time in WWF, even with an Intercontinental Title reign, was for the most part forgettable. He didn't win the NWA World Title because of his talent, but because the various promoters in the NWA wanted to put the belt on his brother, but he had passed away, so that putting the belt on Kerry at a show as a tribute to his brother was a feel-good gesture.

 

[Terry'sGordy]

I'd have to give it to Kerry. As has been mentioned Luger didn't have any talent, unless you count having a roided up body as talent ? Kerry had the look, charisma, and wasn't a bad worker before his accident in 1986. But the drugs just killed any chance he had of reaching his potential, as well as the accident.

 

[December2Dismember]

Kerry Von Erich by far, he was NWA champion, he had a great I.C. title run and if you ask me he could have been WWF Champ as well.

What gets me is how WWF didn't exploit the fact that he HAD ONE FOOT - they could have built up his inspirational story as big as Hulkamania was...considering he stayed clean long enough.