The Narcissist Lex Luger

[waylonmercy]

Ok, I remember when Lex Luger came to the WWE as The Narcissist. I honestly thought this was his BEST gimmick of his career. I wish they could have given him a longer run as a heel. He actually had great ring attire, he looked like a Narcissist and I thought he was building up steam as a heel.

Do you think this was his best gimmick if given a fair chance?

 

[RatedRSuperstar84]

I agree it was probably Luger's best gimmick although not his most successful. The problem was not the gimmick, just the fact that Luger's in-ring ability was no match for his physique. It also did not help that Shawn Michaels already had his Heartbreak Kid gimmick in full swing. I know it was not exactly the same but carried a lot of the same attitude and mannerisms. The difference was that HBK as we all know was actually a good performer.

 

[brighamosity]

Remember when he bodyslammed Yokozuna on that ship and then changed his gimmick overnight to "All-American Lex Luger"? I marked for it at the time, but looking back, it just didn't make a lot of sense.

He had that steel plate in his arm, remember? I thought wrestling was real back then so I believed it when he kept knocking people unconscious with it. In reality though, that's probably the lamest signature move ever. An elbow charge. Even the Hogan leg drop was more believable.

 

[waylonmercy]

doesnt even fucking matter he is long gone why do people on the website always talj about old wrestlers and shit. yes it was his best gimmick

Look at the section this post is in moron! "OLD SCHOOL WRESTLING"

I liked the Narcissist gimmick because he looked cocky, he had a great body, one that was believable that he'd fall in love with and he was at the prime of his career. I hated how he turned into All-American Lex Luger to be honest becuase i found it too over the top and thought this gimmick had so much potential. He really could have been the top heel back then.

 

[Travaje]

It was an alright idea for a gimmick (I loved the music), but never had a chance, for several reasons.

-Luger. Luger was a top 5 star in NWA/WCW, who ended up having problems with all the top stars he worked with (except Sting) as well as management (can't blame the guy there though). He ended up leaving because he didn't want to work X amount of dates, which is baffling. Way back when, I'm sure there were quite a few people that thought Luger should have beat Flair for that belt, and I believe Flair was against that. Flair left, Luger was finally given the chance to carry the ball, and he didn't want to. Major mistake.

-The motorcycle accident. Who can say for sure if it really affected how he wrestles, but the fact is he never had the same success after it.

-Vince. Vince sometimes hits home runs. Vince, like many great HR hitters, strikes out a lot too. Luger's stock was still very high at the time, but instead uses him to promote the WBF. We all know what happened there. Then, the narcissist gimmick. He had to start from scratch (Flair didn't have to), with a new gimmick, which many people didn't buy because of his work in NWA. He didn't use that torture rack, which was a very over move. It'd be like Flair coming to WWF and not using the Figure Four and using a new finisher. People didn't buy that, either. It was probably a good idea on paper that just wasn't executed/people didn't want.

-Then, the Lex Express. Not only people were being force fed this new gimmick, Luger didn't wrestle. He just toured the country and made appearances. Meanwhile, Bret was wrestling his ass off, and people to this day still love Bret, and it was still a wrestling show at that time. Lex finally wrestles, doesn't even win the belt, and I can't honestly remember what Lex did for the next year and a half, but he never got over. Lex and Bret were both fighting for that #1 spot, and the people chose Bret.

Vince might have had a better chance if he just built off what Lex was in the NWA, but you know how Vince works there....Daniel Bryan will tell you.

Then his second WCW run, which to me, was nowhere near the 1st. He was working, but if you ask me, the one and only thing that Lex did right was befriended the #1 face in the history of WCW. I also don't know if Lex loved wrestling, and just got into it because football didn't work out, and over time, it became a grind and injuries took their toll, and slowly burned out after peaking too early and getting early success.

Lex in the 80's: awesome. Lex after 1991, not so awesome.

 

[brighamosity]

I can't honestly remember what Lex did for the next year and a half, but he never got over.

About a year later, he had an interesting feud with Tatanka. It didn't make any sense, but I still enjoyed it. Tatanka kept accusing Lex Luger of selling out to Ted Dibiase and then they fought, and Tatanka turned on him and joined Ted Dibiase himself. Tatanka wasn't very believable as a heel, and they really didn't offer much of a reason for a heel turn, other than he likes money.

 

[Vintage]

Was it his best gimmick? Yes

Was he given a fair chance? He sure was and the big mouth meat head fucked it up for himself. He sucked in the ring too and was boring on the stick. It was a great gimmick, he really didn't look or act the part and sucked at it. Chris Masters is more what he should have been to get where I'm coming from.

 

[WorldHeavyweightChampion]

Actually, Luger's BEST years were 1988-1991, after he was kicked out the 4-Horsemen (he never fit in the group in the first place) and just totally dominated the United States Heavyweight Title (4 reigns, one of them lasting over 17+ months).

Only thing is he did finally win the World Heavyweight Title, but he beat #2 contender Barry Windham for the vacated title and not Ric Flair. Luger had (what I remember hearing back then) over 300+ chances against Flair and never beat him - EVER! But 1988-1991 were his best years in both NWA (JCP) and WCW. After he left WCW he was crap. Even after his 1995 return to WCW he still wasn't the same. Even his 'Human Torture Rack' wasn't the same.

 

[The Brain]

It’s not so much that the Narcissist gimmick wasn’t given a fair chance. Vince had bigger plans for Luger. Hogan had just left WWF for good and Vince wanted to find the new Hogan. Luger had that look. He was given a monster push even though nothing ever really came form it. The Narcissist gimmick was fine, but Vince was looking for the new face of the company and the Narcissist gimmick had to be sacrificed for it. Luger as the face of the company flopped, but the Narcissist wasn't likely to go beyond upper mid card heel. So even though it didn't work out it was worth sacrificing the gimmick for the potential payoff.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

doesnt even fucking matter he is long gone why do people on the website always talj about old wrestlers and shit. yes it was his best gimmick

Dumbest post I have ever read. Good job, I have read some shit posts.

But anyway...Yes, this was a great gimmick. Too bad Luger had it. Luger was terrible in the ring, but during this gimmick, he wasn't too shabby on the mic. Actually, he was quite entertaining.

While I always hated watching Luger in the ring, this gimmick could have taken him places. I always liked Luger better as a heel, and this gimmick would have been far superior to that American Hero garbage he had going on afterwards.

But in all honesty, I am kind of glad he wasn't pushed through the ceiling with this gimmick. Sure, he would have drawn a lot of heat, but that would mean I would have had to watch a lot more of his terrible matches, and that's never a good thing.