Flashback: Lex Luger Slams Yokozuna

After shouting at the man who had stood victorious over all thus far, Luger ejected Mr. Fuji and ripped off his shirt as the audience popped for a new hero. Keeping his wits about him, Lex intercepted a Yokozuna charge and with one side-step sent the fiend crashing into the turnbuckle. Readying his surgically repaired arm, America’s newest defender cracked Yoko over the head and with one gigantic effort scooped him into the air, slamming him to the canvas to win the day. It was a wonderful moment which remains a staple of your writer’s childhood.

A new hero was born in a matter of seconds. A once reviled heel had redeemed himself in the eyes of the country and Vince McMahon had his next Hulk Hogan. Well, sort of. You see, the company was moving away from what had worked in the past and onto a new era with smaller guys like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. Lex Luger had come to prominence too late. Still, everyone involved rode the train for as long as it lasted. We got the Lex Express and a WWF Championship Match at SummerSlam out of it, but the company failed to pull the trigger on Luger’s main event reign. He did defeat Yokozuna, but only by count-out.

In 1993, Lex Luger, the WWF, and America had a wonderful Independence Day. Everyone at WrestleTalk hopes and wishes you one too.

Tell us your memories of this event, if you were a Lex Luger fan, and whether you think they should have put the title on him at SummerSlam on Twitter and Discord.

• lex luger
• Yokozuna
• bret hart
• shawn michaels
• SummerSlam
• Royal Rumble

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