Original subtitles

- Put the camera on my man.

Put the camera on luger!

- You recognize lex luger, the total package,

As the greatest wrestling phenomenon to ever come along.

♪ ♪

- This guy looks like a million dollars.

I mean, really one of the top five physiques.

- Yeah, look at this. [cheering]

- Yeah, he was full of himself, and he had every right to be.

- I've won every major title,

And I've looked better than everyone else

Doing it every day of my life!

- He came off as arrogant sometimes.

Announcer: The most egotistical,

Narcissistic man this sport has ever created.

- Lex didn't like being around people.

- Can I have it for my brother? - [chuckles]

- We shouldn't be getting this stuff on camera.

- I don't know if this is the guy.

- He built his entire career on his presence,

And his athletic look...

- Come on!

[cheering]

♪ ♪

- It ain't easy being lex luger.

[laughs]

- And he went through hell.

Self-imposed hell.

[eerie music]

- Lawrence pfohl, better known as lex luger,

Accused of possessing and selling drugs.

♪ ♪

- I was really wasn't thinking of others,

I was thinking more of just myself.

Me, myself, and I.

- 911. - I'm scared to death.

- Depths I was in with drugs and alcohol,

To be sitting here in front of a camera,

Talking to you is just an absolute...

Miracle of god.

[tense music]

♪ ♪

I grew up in buffalo, new york.

Blue collar town.

Immigrant town.

Its nickname is the city of good neighbors.

♪ ♪

People there are very genuine, authentic.

I just loved it.

♪ ♪

My family was musically orientated--

Academically and musically orientated.

But I just loved sports.

When I got to high school age,

I kinda zeroed in on basketball.

I started lifting weights.

My whole family's like, what happened to larry?

The way my body developed,

That probably if I had a future

Beyond high school in a sport,

It was definitely gonna be football.

♪ ♪

My dad didn't really see my vision for where

I was gonna go in sports, potentially.

So he thought it was more of a wasted effort

'cause he was a virtuoso pianist.

He would not sign my permission slip

To play football.

My freshman year in high school

Was when I started playing football,

And I forged his name.

He didn't even know I was playing football at the time.

- He saw himself as a running back.

He was tall and lean.

♪ ♪

He had great speed, good size.

So I said to him, you know, larry

You really could be a much better help with us

Playing lineman.

And he goes, "no, no."

He says, "I'm a running back.

I said I'll give you a deal.

I said you could be a running back until you fumble.

Well, he fumbled the first practice.

♪ ♪

So, I sent him to the line coach.

- Jim burt, who had a couple of super bowl rings

In his career, and craig wolfley,

Who played 13 years for the steelers,

Were teammates of mine.

Wolfley, burt, and myself were able to train

With a world champion powerlifter.

His name was don reinhoudt.

- The world's strongest man, don reinhoudt.

- Larry was a powerhouse.

♪ ♪

He was built like a you-know-what.

Just a phenomenal physique, and a true athlete.

- [laughs] I was kinda awestruck.

He came across as a bit arrogant,

And I guess that's not even surprising.

We're talking about a high school athlete

Who had this kind of an amazing body,

Was a fantastic athlete.

- I always had high expectations for myself.

People always said I never lacked confidence

That's for sure.

♪ ♪

- He kinda had that swagger about him, you know?

That was his confidence in himself.

- He was an enigma.

He was relatively quiet, very hardworking.

But he also was more me than we.

I believe there's no "I" in the word team,

And he sometimes was the I.

- Set, go! [all grunting]

- Feet, feet, feet, feet, hands!

[blows whistle]

♪ ♪

- Went to penn state my freshman year,

'cause it was nearby.

I met my ex-wife, peggy, freshman year in study hall.

- She was, as larry, very disciplined into the nutrition

Part of going to the gym, and was a very fine athlete.

She used to run track at penn state.

- But, after my freshman year and spending the winter

In state college, after growing up buffalo,

I transferred to miami after my freshman year

To sunshine u, we called it back then.

♪ ♪

- He sat the bench as a freshman.

Said, "either play me or cut me."

So, of course, paterno cut him.

♪ ♪

- Larry pfohl was a member of that penn state team.

Now he's a miami hurricane player.

The offensive lineman transferred to miami

This summer and is redshirting this season.

He won't be able to play Saturday,

But he's provided the coaching staff

And squad members some insights about penn state.

- I played offensive lineman, and they've asked me

Like how they run some of their plays,

Which I pretty much know.

- We actually played against each other in college--

He at the university of miami,

Myself at florida state university.

He had good mobility.

He had the size.

He had the smarts, he had the strength.

You really had to be on your a-game

When you were playing against him.

- I see a confidence,

I see like in practice, the atmosphere.

And the more you win, the more confidence you get.

- I had a great time while I was there.

Went to the beach and got in a couple of fights.

We did some--a little damage to our on-campus apartment

When a party got kinda carried away.

Only lasted about a year and a half there.

I got suspended. I dropped out of school.

I wasn't old enough to play in the nfl at the time.

I ended up signing with a canadian football.

- 66, larry pfohl.

They say he may be the strongest man in the league.

- He was a young man, and so there was

A lot of growing and experience

That he had to gain.

Having to mature, having to learn

To become more coachable.

- David greene fumbles,

But it's recovered by montreal's larry pfohl.

- I ended up playing there almost three seasons.

- When he was in the midst

Of a contract negotiation,

He asked if I would act as his agent.

He said, "tom, I know what I need.

"I know what I want.

I just need somebody who I can trust."

♪ ♪

He then aged up to become eligible for the nfl,

Which was kind of the dream.

- Ended up coming down and signing with green bay.

Offensive line, just not the type of position

Where you're looking for headlines.

It's personal satisfaction and knowing

That your teammates know whether you're

Doing the job or not.

And there is an opportunity here,

And it always comes down to how well you play.

- Well, when they saw him, they couldn't believe it.

I mean, here's a guy that's, I don't know,

Roughly 6'4", 272 pounds,

With a 4.6 40 at that size.

A 32-inch vertical jump.

I mean, he had stats that they couldn't believe.

- His physical credentials made the coaching staff

Sit up and take notice,

But pfohl spent the season on the injured reserve list

With a groin injury.

- They were pretty high on me,

But I was injury prone when I was there,

Which that stuff happens sometimes.

- Set!

- And I don't know

If my attitude was the best.

- He let his ego get in his way.

He wasn't ready for the discipline

That is required to be successful at that level.

- I was definitely looking to make another move.

I actually went to bart starr's office

And asked him if I could be released.

To be honest with you, I was really looking

To leave green bay and go to the usfl,

'cause that was down in tampa.

They had bandit ball-- coach steve spurrier,

The ol' ball coach.

And I ended up buying a house down there

And got the opportunity to play down there.

I never was quite happy where I was at.

I always thought there had to be something more.

So that was even kinda manifesting itself

And starting back then.

♪ ♪

Well, the usfl was folding.

And in memphis, when I played football there

For the memphis showboats,

That was a big wrestling town--

Jerry "the king" lawler.

- The king snaps his strap,

And everybody in memphis, tennessee

Knows what that means.

- Everywhere I went around that town,

Because of my physique,

Everybody was like, "are you a pro wrestler?"

And I'm like, man, what is it

With this town, everywhere I go?

I'm a football player.

And some of the guys said, you should do that.

Football imparted a good financial head start for me,

But I was looking for other opportunities.

The competitive aspects of professional wrestling

Were very appealing to me, the one-on-one aspect.

And being sort of the free spirit personality that I was,

Wrestling was very attractive in that sense, also.

I looked into it

In the offseason.

Like I said, I played for tampa and bought a home there.

I was married at that point to my wife peggy.

And I ended up walking into

Championship wrestling in florida.

And I walked into the office, and they told me

To go talk to hiro matsuda.

He came from japan, a judo champion,

And he made it in pro wrestling.

And it did well for his family.

He had a real respect for the wrestling business,

And he taught that to me.

He was really dialed in on doing flexibility training

And a lot of the other things outside

Of just going to the gym.

- When you are trained by matsuda,

You are trained thoroughly.

He trains these people until they can't walk.

They can't stand up.

- Turned the air conditioning off until there's

A puddle of sweat,

And he did everything with you.

It was brutal,

And I absolutely loved it!

- I watched him go through the routine

With matsuda's workout.

He was a can't miss guy.

♪ ♪

- I finished his requirements,

As he called them, to get the privilege

Of getting in the ring.

Well, within about a couple of months, which was like almost

Record time for him.

And I never even looked into getting back in the nfl

Or after usfl folded, because my pro wrestling career

Began in the offseason--

My training, and I ended up making my debut.

- This is championship wrestling from florida.

- And for the next hour, I'll guarantee you

We've got a lot of excitement upcoming.

♪ ♪

- Right before my first time out on tv,

I was sitting in the wrestling office,

Championship wrestling in florida.

They go, well, what's your name?

I go, "I don't have a wrestling name."

They were thinking, oh my gosh.

They were gonna send me out to tv in, like, an hour.

So they all look at each other, "what do we call him?

What do we call him?"

I kind of like--like, raised my hand, like, "I got a name."

My favorite tv show--it was number one on television

Back then--was tom selleck in "magnum pi."

Everybody just called him magnum.

Well, if he can be called magnum--

I was trying to be creative.

I should be called luger, which is a german firearm.

- Put the camera on my man.

Put the camera on luger!

My man, gordon, is here today.

- They go, "you got a first name?"

I go, "well, yeah. Lex."

Lex luthor was a villain in the comic books,

So I said lex luger.

- Here's lex luger.

- I was excited about the opportunity in wrestling.

Thought it might be a lot of fun,

And it kinda worked out pretty good.

♪ ♪

- Now we're going to see luger for his first time

Here on championship wrestling.

- Lex luger, I managed him in his very first match.

He was horrible. [laughs]

Horrible.

He was pretty difficult, because he was new,

And he had his own mind about him.

But I guess most guys were, until they learned the trade.

- My debut was my first time I'd ever been

To a live pro wrestling match.

That's how little I knew about it.

- Bear hug by luger, and has his man up,

And jams him into the turnbuckle.

- I'm like, what? Holy smoke, that's--that's larry.

He's the one that kind of led me in

To try to start a career in professional wrestling,

And I'm forever grateful to him.

But he came in and kinda changed

The stereotype of what people perceived

Professional wrestlers to look like.

- Lex luger was one of the most physically impressive

Guys to get in the wrestling business in the '80s.

The problem was, he had never been a wrestling fan

And didn't know anything about it.

But he had amazing genetics and incredible physique.

- Arnold schwarzenegger, who won every physique contest

In the world, I don't think he has anything

On the physique of the luger here.

- So he was immediately pushed to the top.

- Presently the southern heavyweight champion

And the florida television champion,

Here he is, lex luger.

- To win the big title down there was, like,

Pretty incredible, when I only had just

A few matches under my belt.

I didn't even know enough about wrestling

To appreciate the opportunity.

I just started my wrestling career

When we had brian on January 1 in 1986.

Our family life at home was good,

And my career took off like a rocket ship down there.

It was incredible.

Whoever the top wrestlers are in the area,

I'll wrestle them.

♪ ♪

- Now you see the nwa champion, flair,

Driven up to the front of the spartan sports center.

- I'm the traveling world champion.

And as a traveling world champion,

I worked different territories.

One of the territories was the florida territory.

I flew in, so they say we got a kid here who just started.

We want you to wrestle him for an hour.

- Every pro in the country has wanted to see this match

Between me and ric flair.

It's billed as the present champion--

He's a good champion-- versus the future champion.

- First time I laid eyes on ric,

He pulled up with that custom suit,

And the sunglasses, and the gold,

And the rolex watch with diamonds all over.

I was real nervous, but, man,

I was all in, man.

I was--and I wanted to be like him.

He was styling and profiling.

At that stage of my life, I was--

Who wouldn't want to be like ric?

- I met him. I went, like, wow.

You're a great, great, young wrestler.

This guy looks like a million dollars.

I mean, one of the top five physiques

In all the time I've been in the business.

- 60 minutes you'll see these men compete.

- I said, listen to the champ.

That's all his job was.

Flair was a veteran, and luger was a rookie.

- Luger, bringing him up,

Pressing him over his head.

A full slam once again on the champion

By the challenger lex luger.

And lex luger can feel it!

- And flair made him look like a million dollars.

- He's begging not to be tossed.

Tremendous strength of lex luger.

- And I was so mad.

It wasn't his fault at all.

But an hour, when you're green and can't do anything,

And it was just-- it was a long night.

- It is a draw, and ric flair retains

The world heavyweight championship.

- Learning it on the fly, and learning how to work

Are two different things.

But next time I get to crockett,

Which is my home territory,

I told jimmy, I said, "you gotta see this kid in tampa.

Man, he's built phenomenal,

Played football, legit athlete.

- Back in the '80s, jim crockett promotions

Grew to a national power.

We were bringing in young talent that we thought had it.

Matched it up with some of the old guys,

So that young guys could learn.

- Luger, he's got a great body. He's got great potential.

He just needs some experience.

Jimmy said, well, he said, the horsemen thing is red hot.

- We are--woo!

The four horsemen.

We're talking about the cream of the crop.

The most successful group of wrestlers

Anywhere in the world.

- The four horsemen--

Flair, tully, arn, ole, and myself.

If there was one person whose personality didn't seem

To fit in with everybody else's,

It probably would have been ole.

If we were going to spin somebody off,

That ole would have been the one to spin off.

And we basically kicked him out.

- We could break lex in and protect him by putting him in

Among a group that's going to help speed up the process

And take some of the pressure off of him.

And that's what happened.

Mr. Lex luger is officially the fourth horseman.

Then, oh, here's a fresh guy coming in.

God, he does look good, and he's a new face.

[women screaming]

- Because you see, this, right here,

Is the finest physical specimen in professional sports today.

- Take it off! - And we could take,

And we could help bring him along.

And he's receptive, because he realizes that he's

Stepping into an enviable situation

That other guys would die for.

He was the right place at the right time.

- I knew about the four horsemen,

But I didn't realize how big a group they were.

- We are what's going on in this sport.

- My associations with them, and "the rub," we called it--

I got off all those guys that skyrocketed my career

And really launched it.

♪ ♪

- Lex luger, my kinda man.

He styles.

He profiles.

And most of all, he likes this.

- Wanted to really pattern myself after natch.

Asked him if I could wear one of those robes.

He let me go to his robe girl,

And she made me a glittery robe.

- There he is, the total package.

- Oh, it was definitely a different lifestyle,

Flying in private jets or first class.

And stayed at nice hotels, and went to the gym together.

We hung out together, and socialized,

And have beers, and have fun.

- He had a rolex first week he was a horseman, I think.

And he went and bought the mercedes.

- I blame ric for my profligate lifestyle

When I was wrestling.

But he was a great mentor to me,

Along with arn, and tully, and jj.

To be around those guys at that early stage--

I was just barely out of my rookie year--was enormous.

[bell dinging]

Narrator: The new united states champion, lex luger!

- Lex luger was immediately a main event guy.

- I will go down in history as the greatest

U.S. Champion there ever was.

Come on, guys!

- He got the first guaranteed contract

That crockett had given out.

- The total package, look at him!

- Crockett was thinking, okay, vince mcmahon

Is my only competition.

Lex luger looks perfect for vince mcmahon,

So I've gotta get him first.

This did not go over well with anybody else

In the locker room

Because luger was a totally unproven commodity.

All the other guys, the veterans,

They had to work against him.

They had to work as his partner.

They had to cover up for this so he could go out

And flex and pose.

- Larry was tough to work with,

And he was so stiff and so uncoordinated.

The company was really babysitting luger.

They liked the persona that they saw,

And they thought that they can market that

Different than wrestling.

There was so much jealousy and animosity that went on.

- A lot of beers went down over his contract.

I can guarantee you that.

Riding down the road was not pleasant

When a guy is getting paid double what you are.

♪ ♪

- They asked me to sign a contract.

I didn't understand why it was just unilateral.

We sign you a contract, but there's no money amount.

So I said, is there, like, a money amount in this contract?

And jim crockett kinda looked at me like, "well, no.

We don't give out guaranteed contracts."

There's not like anything in there,

Like our football contract?

So I was looking how a football contract

Was structured.

Jim crockett was like, "well, what do you want

In that contract?"

I gave him a figure, and he agreed to it.

I had a million-plus dollar guaranteed contract,

Which I didn't realize was kinda unheard of at the time.

- Mr. Ego himself right there, jim.

He's got an ego as big as those muscles.

- Lex was an egomaniac.

That's a good thing, not a bad thing.

In this form of entertainment, if you don't have

The drive to do it, you're not gonna do it.

- The bottom line is I'm the best at what I do.

- Lex had the ability for the fans

To hate him or love him, and would draw numbers and people,

But could have been a lot better

If he'd learned to work with people

And not think 100% of himself.

♪ ♪

- My first impression of lex luger was when I was

A c-squad announcer, batting cleanup for jim ross

And tony schiavone.

My name is eric bischoff.

At the time, I was like, man that is--

That's one arrogant son of a bitch.

- This is perfection each and every time

You see it in your arena.

- It's really easy to understand

How someone develops into that kind of a personality.

Ever since I stepped foot in the wrestling business,

I've had people around me telling me that "I'm going

To be the next big thing."

- Cause I've got the brains.

I've got the looks, and the physical tools

To take whatever I want.

- I think he was perceived as being arrogant.

He is a genuinely good guy.

If I looked like that, god, I might have been

Really hard to live with, too.

[cheering] yeah!

- Physically, just put together like no one else.

Had a body like no one else.

And I said, how do you stay in such incredible condition?

I mean you're--you're jacked.

And he just, real casually and nonchalant,

Like, with just total disrespect--

He didn't even look at me.

He just stood up, he said, "yeah, I drink stoli

And I eat m&ms."

And I went, "oh, all right."

♪ ♪

But we got close.

I mean, he was my age, and we had a lot of things in common.

We were a new generation of guys coming up

Who wanted to have the physiques.

We wanted to look the part.

So we ended up traveling up and down the roads together.

- Started mainly, our relationship,

With how to train properly and work out,

'cause he loved working out.

- Then we just started hanging together all the time.

- Families were friends, hung out together.

We were neighbors.

- I ended up moving into the same neighborhood

That he had moved into.

- We opened some gyms together,

Did really well.

- And he loved to train.

And he loved to watch his body change, and grow,

And, you know, get lean.

- This, baby, is for real.

- And not only did he try to keep that physique going,

But he learned how to work.

He really did.

- He did great, and he looked the part.

And the four horsemen thing, it worked out great with him.

♪ ♪

And then working against him was great.

- When I finally left the horsemen,

Be able to get a one-on-one program

With one of the greatest wrestlers ever lived,

Ric flair.

- This is an event with the two best that the nwa has

Facing one another.

♪ ♪

- Crowd and the fans were really into it,

And we had, like, sellout crowds everywhere we went.

- We're put in a position of drawing money,

And we did--a lot.

He worked his ass off.

He let me knock the [bleep] out of him.

- Oh!

♪ ♪

- Woo!

He did anything that was asked him, and he worked hard.

- It took about five years, but lex got to be

A talented performer in the ring.

That's the same time where turner broadcasting

Took over the company from crockett,

And all business went in the toilet.

♪ ♪

- When they sold the company to turner,

I was so miserable with wcw.

My contract was up for renewal,

And they wanted me to lose the title

To luger in baltimore.

And I said, "I will be more than happy to."

I said, "the belt's mine. I own it.

"no one's paid me for the deposit from the old days.

You guys owe me 25 and interest for 10 years."

So what am I gonna do? Hand them the belt

Knowing I'll never get paid?

So I went to wwe to work for vince in '91.

He said, "send me the belt."

Phew, and away it went.

The rest is history.

♪ ♪

- Ric had just left.

He had actually taken the big gold belt with him,

So I ended up wrestling-- I was supposed to wrestle ric.

Ended up wrestling barry windham in a cage match as a--

Barry was a substitute.

We didn't even have a real belt made yet.

They made kind of a fake belt.

♪ ♪

They made the best of a difficult situation.

- He's got him up in a piledriver.

And there he--he planted him.

Luger with the piledriver.

He's hooked the leg.

[bell dings] and luger wins it!

[cheers and applause]

Lex luger has won the wcw

World's heavyweight championship.

♪ ♪

- It was an honor, obviously, to become world champion

For the first time.

But it was a little different with it

Not being the intended match with ric.

And we had to kinda--

We were scrambling kinda to make things work.

♪ ♪

- Lex was very frustrated.

We were all very frustrated,

Because we were always the second class citizens to wwe.

- Here comes the hulkster!

Listen to these fans!

- We'd always hear the stories.

"yeah, you gotta jump ship.

"you gotta go.

"the grass is greener.

Oh, man what an incredible place."

And lex was lured into that.

He had to get out.

He was world champ, but he was looking beyond.

He was looking at the ultimate.

And at the time, it was wwe.

♪ ♪

- So I reached out to wwe.

We worked out a deal where I'd be with

This bodybuilding program for a year.

- In the early '90s, vince wanted to create

A rival to joe weider's bodybuilding federation,

And vince created the wbf,

The world bodybuilding federation.

And he wanted lex to be a part of his wbf.

- What is the world bodybuilding federation?

It's about looking good, feeling great.

It's about sports entertainment.

♪ ♪

- I had a year left on my contract with wcw,

And I went to wcw and said I'd like some time off.

Didn't tell them I was planning on signing

A bodybuilding contract.

The total package lex luger has it all,

Whether it's arms, shoulders, chest.

- There was nothing in lex's contract with wcw

That prevented lex from going to work for the wbf,

A bodybuilding federation.

So lex came in as the bodybuilding guru,

Or fitness guru, if you will.

- Nobody knows better than me, lex luger,

That it's important not only to look good in the gym,

But outside the gym, as well.

- To be a co-host on this television show with vince

That aired on Saturday mornings--

- You might wanna practice a little ab work

Yourself there, fella.

Thought that'd be pretty cool. Do bodybuilding for a year,

Stay home and train, and then break into wrestling

The following year with wwe.

[exhales]

You gotta want it.

A lot of people wonder why I didn't

Actually compete for wbf.

I was just a few weeks away, was in peak condition.

I was so excited. I was gonna actually be a guest poser,

And I was so close to the event,

But I ended up having a near-fatal motorcycle wreck.

♪ ♪

That was a life and death.

Head on with a car, 45 miles an hour.

♪ ♪

Never forget the nurse at the emergency room

When I finally got there.

"you better be thanking the lord," she said.

You are a doa.

♪ ♪

I was in so much pain.

I had bones sticking out everywhere, and there was--

I was like, "what's a doa?" to her, I said.

She goes, "dead on arrival."

Dead on arrival, she told me.

♪ ♪

I wouldn't sign the permission forms,

'cause they were talking about amputating my arm.

And who walked in but sting.

♪ ♪

- It was such a mess.

They ended up taking the bandages off,

And I looked at his arm.

There was bones literally sticking out of his arm.

It was like his whole elbow and arm was completely open wide.

♪ ♪

And I thought, I don't know how this arm can be saved.

And lex is like, "stinger, don't let him touch me."

He goes, "can you call dr. Andrews?"

Dr. Andrews, jim andrews out of birmingham, alabama.

And it just so happened I had his pager, and I paged him,

And he got right back with me.

And I explained what was going on.

He said, "get him to birmingham,

And I'll make sure that he's okay."

♪ ♪

I don't know how he put his arm back together.

I really don't.

- Even dr. Andrews said, "I don't know if you're gonna

Have full use of that arm again."

But I made my debut with wwe

Less than six months later after the wreck.

It was just a miraculous recovery.

- I believe that vince had high expectations

For lex luger, and felt that lex had the potential

To become this huge star.

♪ ♪

I didn't even know what the hell a narcissist was

Until, you know, we met lex luger

And vince came up with this, "he's the narcissist!"

Narcissistic personality, and someone who

Really adores themselves,

And is very enamored with the presence of themselves.

And it was like yeah, perfect.

- As I've been told back then,

My personality can be pretty self-focused,

And I called it very confident.

Some people called it arrogant.

So we kinda thought that might

Be a natural character for me to portray, the narcissist.

It's like, ooh, that might be kinda neat.

Kinda thought, I can sink my teeth into being

A narcissistic bad guy.

I was excited about being the narcissist.

♪ ♪

- Are you ready?

It is my pleasure to introduce,

And to unveil, narcissist lex luger!

[theme music playing]

Yes! Yes, he is here!

- Excited to be making my debut with bobby heenan.

One of the greatest ever introducing me was awesome.

I was excited. I was pumped.

- I know how you feel about yourself.

Oh, yes! Look at that!

Look at that! Look at that!

Oh, my god.

♪ ♪

- We were always looking for some good, new talent

In those days, somebody that would be a good dance partner.

♪ ♪

When he came onto the scene,

And they brought him in as the narcissist.

Not a very friendly guy.

Seemed to have a bit of an attitude,

Even though he never really did.

- He was a kind, good soul, but he was just--

Yeah, he was full of himself.

And he had every right to be.

- I truly am incredible.

- He was the total package.

- Lex never met a mirror he didn't like.

Just making sure that everything's just right.

- I can feel the momentum building for wrestlemania.

I feel, I know, and everyone else will see,

I will be the most dominant force ever.

You know, vince is-- man, he's a force of nature.

His confidence and his optimism for what he does--

He loves the business.

- Okay, hold 'em above your head.

Okay, get 'em level, if you would.

And hit it!

[fireworks crackling]

[woman screaming]

- Keep 'em up there. Keep them up.

Va-va-voom.

[theme music playing]

- Vince was very happy with the narcissist character,

And I was enjoying it.

- Oh no! He caught him.

He caught him with that big forearm, that elbow.

- As a heel, as the narcissist, okay,

He was a little--it's gimmicky,

Like all wwe gimmicks were at that time.

But that was kind of a pretty good use for lex,

But vince saw him as the next hulk hogan.

- Vince kind of viewed lex luger

Possibly as a replacement for hulk hogan

And some of the bigger stars--

The randy savages, the ultimate warriors--

And felt that lex had the potential

To become this huge star.

♪ ♪

- They were actually looking for

A top good guy at the time.

Vince called me into his office, said,

"we're gonna switch you to lex luger,

Like, the all-american."

I was like, "are you kidding? I'm the narcissist."

But he said, "no, it'll work."

♪ ♪

It wasn't so much that the narcissist wasn't working out.

This was like it'd be a newer, better opportunity

For everyone involved, including myself.

♪ ♪

- I think that vince's vision for lex

Came out as an opponent for yokozuna.

- Yokozuna appears to be unstoppable!

This man is fearless!

- The audience couldn't figure out how

And who can possibly defeat this monster.

Because in a lot of ways, he was unbeatable.

- Who's gonna take this man off his feet?

- Lex luger was hopefully going to be that

Red, white, and blue all-american hero

To up see this evil

International champion in yokozuna.

♪ ♪

- Wwe fans by the thousands

Turned out for america's birthday

Onboard the uss intrepid.

Yokozuna versus the u.S. Of a.

All the competitive professional athletes

Attempting to slam yokozuna.

- Are you up for the challenge?

- You know I'm ready.

- Nobody could slam this 500-plus pound behemoth.

- Wait a minute, ladies and gentlemen.

We have just been told one more try.

Arriving by helicopter right now.

- Here comes lex in the helicopter,

Arriving on the intrepid,

And by god, here's my savior.

[crowd chanting] lex! Lex! Lex!

- The last chance of america,

With a look of determination in his eyes.

- Come on!

I wasn't sure. As strong as I was back then,

I wasn't sure I could really actually slam him.

He was a load.

So I was nervous.

- Yes! Lex luger has done it!

Lex luger has accomplished the impossible!

He slammed the 550-pound

Wwe champion down to the mat.

- It was an electrifying moment

With the skyline of new york in the background.

The crowd went berserk.

I started thinking, man, I--

This is kind of a defining moment.

I'm really making it at this wrestling thing, man.

I'm--this is a pretty big deal.

The big man went down on July 4th,

Right here on the intrepid! [cheers and applause]

- Oh yeah!

- Go, lex!

- I was just coming in when they turned lex

Into captain america, basically.

And it got over.

Like, I thought it worked great.

- I think lex luger is one of the best wwe wrestlers

Here today.

- When no other american athlete could slam yokozuna,

He came in for his country, and he helped our country

When we needed it the most.

- For saving america, I think he definitely

Deserves a title shot.

- No question about it.

If he can slam him, he should be able to get a title shot.

[crowd chanting] usa! Usa! Usa!

- A whistle stop tour

Through the southern states on a train

Named spirit of america.

The presidential wave, all the traditional

Campaign trimmings.

- George bush had done a train campaign

Where he would stop in small towns,

And he would get out on the back of the train

And meet everybody.

And that was his campaign.

The idea was to do something very similar with lex,

To campaign across the united states

For a championship match at summerslam with yokozuna.

And we got a bus.

Painted this bus red, white, and blue.

Deemed it the lex express.

- Well, here we are, red, white, and blue, for yokozuna.

- We did this whole big sendoff

Of lex leaving from stamford, and the bus.

- Mr. Lex luger!

[cheers and applause]

["stars and stripes forever" playing]

♪ ♪

- George m. Cohan should have scored

This thing, for god's sake.

♪ I'm a yankee doodle dandy ♪

America, patriotism, the flag,

Mother, apple pie, all that stuff.

♪ ♪

- This is the kickoff for lex luger call to action,

And a world title match hopefully down the line here.

And let's just crank it up!

[cheers and applause]

♪ ♪

- Hey, young fella. How you doing?

Good guys, there's more responsibility, more pr work.

I thought, I mean, I can do this.

- The lex express, it was a difficult sell.

You wanna put me on a bus and drive me around the nation?

- I had a family at home, and they said I'm gonna

Be on tour all summer.

We had our boy, we had our girl,

And we were a team,

And we knew that that was what I was doing

And the way I provided for the family.

I'm used to being on the road, but like, all summer in a bus?

Oh, man, you gotta go out and see my bus.

Red, white, and blue curtains.

This is my son, brian, and he is excited.

Aren't you, brian?

[laughs]

Flew me home to see my family a couple of times,

For, like, one or two days.

But I was on the bus.

[crowd chanting] luger! Luger! Luger!

- Lex luger is here.

He's the next big thing in wrestling.

- We're talking about the lex express this morning.

- Lex luger! [cheers and applause]

- All over the country, doing appearances

From 5:00 in the morning at local affiliates

In major cities, to the night shows,

To 11:00 at night.

[crowd chanting] lex! Lex! Lex!

- Oh, wow.

You've been pumping up, haven't you?

- The bus was supposed to lead

To more exposure for the company,

And more exposure for lex.

Go places that you wouldn't ordinarily go.

- Coming to you from the mall of america!

[cheers and applause]

- Give the everyday man an opportunity

To touch a wwe superstar.

[cheering]

♪ ♪

I don't think that lex shared the same visions that we did,

And lex wanted to have the bus,

But lex wanted to stay at the marriott.

- I've done everything I possibly could.

- I asked mona lisa if I could have a suite upgrade.

It was supposed to be complementary with my marquis.

I shouldn't have to ask or beg.

And she said immediately, no, and now

The other woman here, who's the supervisor,

Says they probably do have one.

What do you think of that?

- I rode on that bus for the first week

With lex and the crew.

The crew was great.

Crew was awesome.

- This stuff, we cannot have these days like this, man.

We gotta have time to do this [bleep].

I'm fatigued.

- Probably by the end of week one, like--

I don't know if this is the guy.

- As much as you can smile, smile.

- [laughs] oh, yes.

That nice, phony smile.

- Lex was like, "uh, uh, I don't wanna do it.

"just let me-- I wanna go in.

I need a chicken breast."

It's like, oh, god,

- I get very cranky when I don't eat,

And I'm low energy now.

I'm droning when I talk, and bruce knows how I am.

And I'm very easy to get along with, but I have to eat.

My concern was that I couldn't eat properly.

We're stuck here, and I'm hungry.

And, I did lose about ten pounds

In that four or five weeks.

And it was probably good muscle.

I'm going to the gym now. De-mic me.

Bye!

I think about athletes saying I don't wanna be a role model.

You know, today, a lot of the professional athletes,

And I think that's--

You are whether you want to be or not.

- There are a lot of assumptions

That lex was going to be the next big thing.

And he was going to be the guy to take the company

Into the next ten years as its conquering hero

And the face of the company.

- You're the franchise of the '90s, buddy.

- Oh, man. I don't know about that.

- There was one problem with that,

And that was it wasn't true to the human being.

♪ ♪

- The question is, just who is lex luger?

- It's kinda funny you should ask that.

You know, since I've been out on tour,

I think it's amazing some of the questions people

Have already asked me.

I mean, they come right up to you and ask you questions.

And I wanna say, emphatically,

I welcome anybody that comes up and asks me

A question on tour.

Feel free.

- He wanted to know what it felt like to lift 550 pounds.

- Heavy.

- I love lex, and he was a great guy,

And you had to be around him to know

That he was a quality guy.

But he wasn't very personable.

Didn't have his heart into being a babyface,

And he didn't like that interaction with the fans.

- Hold that. - Okay.

- And just point to this.

- Pretending to be a nice guy

And pretending to be in a good mood

When he wasn't necessarily.

- Is anybody else hot?

- I think he just didn't want anything to do with them.

They were outside his circle of life.

- All right.

- Lex didn't like going out, signing autographs,

And talking to the fan base.

- Oh, I don't wanna sign your shirt.

- So when he did it,

It came across as very disingenuous,

And came across as phony

- Now look at this, isn't this wonderful?

The gifts I get.

- Because it was.

- Thank you. Nice meeting you all.

Oh, my knees, from bending down

To all those little kids, man.

It's arthritis.

- The babyface, the hero, hulk hogan.

"say your prayers, take your vitamins," right?

Stone cold steve austin-- "don't trust anybody."

He was one of us. He's the common man.

Lex luger was not one of them.

He wasn't common.

He wasn't really a superhero.

He was a statue that you looked at, and you admired.

But you didn't really have any personal feelings for.

- I was very focused on my training and my working out,

And I might not always be able to hide my displeasure

With some of the other things outside of the ring

They wanted me to do.

I don't wanna hear about wcw or minor league wrestling,

So keep your mouth shut.

♪ ♪

So I could see some people definitely

Had that impression that I was not always

The easiest guy to work with.

I understand that.

I actually got to shake their hands, look 'em in the eye,

And meet those people.

I grew great strength from that.

Oh, grew. Oh, [bleep].

Drew. Damn it. What am I doing?

- But grew would have been fine, too.

- I knew I was never gonna be hulk hogan

Or replacement hulk hogan.

I was just gonna--

I always wanted to be the best lex luger I could be,

And that they wanted me to be,

And do my job the very best that I could.

[bleep]

- Don't get down on yourself.

- Can't get through the first line.

- Yes, you can.

You're human - okay.

- They want--they want you to flub up.

They don't want you to be perfect.

- Start again. - Okay.

- I'm getting flustered now.

[bleep]

- [laughs] no, you're okay.

- Okay. Let's go.

- Here we go. - In three, two--

- I didn't shy away from trying to be the guy.

Who wouldn't wanna be the guy?

Well, this is it.

The last day in the lex express.

The moment of truth has arrived--

Myself versus yokozuna for the title.

♪ ♪

- Will this be the end of a long journey?

Or the start of another?

- Lex luger!

- Unbelievable applause for lex luger.

Many feel that no human being alive can defeat yokozuna.

♪ ♪

Can lex luger do the impossible?

[cheers and applause]

And look out, here comes lex luger!

[cheers and applause]

- Yoko's out of the ring. He is out cold!

[cheering]

Luger's won it! [bell dings]

[cheers and applause] [theme music playing]

- But you cannot win this title on a countout.

♪ ♪

- The rules are such that

In order for a championship to change hands,

You have to win by a pinfall or a submission.

- He may have won the match, lex luger,

But the championship remains in the possession of yokozuna.

♪ ♪

- So herein, the rules were in the champion's favor,

Because lex luger was able to hit yokozuna

Out to the floor,

And yoko wasn't able to answer the ten count

To get back into the ring.

Therefore, lex was victorious,

But lex didn't get the championship.

♪ ♪

- We were just like, huh?

'cause, like, the balloons came down.

It was like he won the championship, but he didn't.

- What the countout finish did

Was it felt forced and fake,

The balloons dropping, and all-american,

And that's patriotism, right?

♪ ♪

- For him not to become the champion was kind of

Like, really?

We went all the way to the moon,

And we just circled and came back?

And we were supposed to land? Like--

♪ ♪

- I said, he is going to end up looking like

A plate full of piss out of this.

And that's what happened.

♪ ♪

- That u.S. Gimmick that he had, it was like a curse.

It ruined him.

- He doesn't look too happy, does he?

He's got a little bit of a smirk on his face,

But you're not seeing those big, white pearlies.

- If lex luger had won the title at summerslam '93,

He would have been over, and he would have been an attraction.

♪ ♪

- People say, "they should have given you the title,"

And this, and that.

And I was never given any promises of winning

The title at summerslam.

- Vince mcmahon wanted to prolong the chase

Until wrestlemania, the following spring in '94.

- Tomorrow.

- Yeah.

- By the time that the next year's wrestlemania

Came along, vince had changed his mind because he had seen

That lex looked great,

And could talk and work as a heel,

But his babyface was limited.

- And still world wrestling entertainment champion,

Yokozuna!

- Once he sort of failed at getting the title,

In the fans eyes, they just, it was like, move on.

- So that meant that lex was worthless in the wwe

From that point, because he'd failed to win the title

And then didn't come back and make good on it.

It's just something--I don't know whether he didn't

Wanna carry the weight.

I didn't know whether he didn't

Connect with the people.

He could be one of the guys. He couldn't be the guy.

[tense music]

- The office, at that time, had basically had enough.

The poor road agents that had to deal with him every day.

And you know, I'm not trying to make lex sound like anything

That he isn't, you know.

But I would get a report after each and every show.

And there was never any positive feedback

On lex's matches or lex's attitude.

- I don't think he was happy.

He never really fit in in wwe, and at the same time,

Wcw was like home to him.

[applause]

- Wcw, over the past 12 months, and since the addition

Of hulk hogan and randy savage, is really closing the gap.

We're coming on strong. We've got a lot of momentum.

And all I can say is tune in September 4.

You'll see the difference.

- Lex was always looking to see

Where the grass was greener,

And personally, I did not see lex re-signing the contract.

Lex was all about the bottom line.

And as that date got closer and closer,

He continually lied and said, "I'm going sign it.

I'm going to sign it." - what do you guys feel--

- You don't want to tape this.

- After the third time you tell me you're going to sign it,

You don't sign it,

You're not signing it.

- Vince and I worked with his attorneys and everything,

Thinking we're probably gonna re-sign,

And reset my character with wwe,

And that's what I intended to do.

On a happenchance conversation with sting,

That all changed.

- I think that the grass maybe was greener there for a while,

And it was kind of exciting in the beginning.

And eventually, I think he realized,

"oh, man, this sucks, man."

He was gone more than ever now.

At least with wcw, a lot of things that we did

Were in and around the mid-atlantic area.

We could drive to, and from, and get back home.

And he had his kids and his family, and he--

At that particular time, you know, he wanted to get back.

♪ ♪

He asked if I would speak with eric bischoff

And put a good word in because eric

Was suddenly running the show.

He was our boss.

I remember sting pulling me aside, and he said, "eric, I--

"can I talk to you?

I want to talk to you about lex."

I went, "oh, I saw this coming."

I was afraid I saw it coming.

And I listened to steve.

And he was passionate, you know.

He explained to me how I didn't really know lex luger,

And that lex luger knows that he probably

Didn't handle himself as well as he could have

Or should have in wcw.

And you know, lex really wanted to come back.

And I didn't really want him back.

I just couldn't believe

That he had changed that much

Or was willing to change that much.

- I'm vouching for him, of course.

You know, he's not gonna be the same as he was.

He's gonna be different.

- I made up my mind that I was going to offer lex a deal,

But I was gonna lowball him.

In fact, it was such a lowball offer

That I thought, well, I can honestly say

I offered to bring him back.

And I--honestly, I thought he would turn it down.

I thought it was an insulting offer, and it really was.

I offered him $150,000.

He was the guy that was making $750,000 a year when he left.

And now he's coming back after a run in wwe,

And I'm offering him $150,000.

Keep in mind, there were guys in our developmental system

That were not far from that number.

And I was thinking there's no way he's gonna take this.

- Eric bischoff was not a big lex luger fan,

And he gave me a lowball offer.

But I was--love the challenge, and wanted to make a change.

I thought it'd be cool to be part of the new show

And be back with my best buddy, sting.

And I said, well, I'll prove myself all over again.

I'll go back there.

- From minneapolis, minnesota,

The mall of america, the only building

Big enough to hold the debut edition

Of "wcw Monday nitro."

It became crystal clear to me early on

How I wanted to use lex, and use him as a surprise,

Because that would set the tone for "nitro."

Let me tell you, we've got some great surprises

Coming your way.

- The internet was just starting

To come into the fold, and everyone was trying

To get the scoop on what was gonna

Be on a particular program.

So wcw wanted a surprise factor.

Now, I was raised that no matter what,

You always left the right way and would give

A two week notice.

But one of the stipulations for eric was, well, yeah,

But if you do that, there's no surprise with you coming in.

- We got a lot of great action coming your way.

- And I really felt I couldn't pass up

The opportunity for myself and my family

To go back to wcw.

- I had just left him on the road, like two days earlier,

Up in nova scotia or something,

Up in the maritimes,

And you never would have known.

He knew he was leaving, but he was pro

Up until the very last day.

- And they flew me in that same day into minneapolis

And did hide me at a hotel.

And they waited till, like, 30 minutes

Before the show started and brought me in

With, like, towels around my head

To a back door in a room.

It was all, like, incredible, the lengths they went to

To protect whether or not I was there.

- What a match up we have got in store

In this debut broadcast.

What--what in the hell is he doing here?

I'm in shock.

Lex luger making an appearance,

Here of all places? [cheering]

- It was a very well-kept secret,

And people are freaking out.

[crowd chanting] luger! Luger! Luger!

- Well, you said things are gonna happen

Every Monday night, bischoff.

And it's happening.

- He had jumped ship back with wcw,

And it really helped set us up for great success,

Because there was already controversy.

- Wait, luger's in there! - Lex luger! In the ring!

- Vince mcmahon, wwe had always been good to me,

And that really bothered me,

'cause I wasn't a class act, just being on their tv taping

A few days prior, then walking on wcw's

Without giving proper notice.

- Vince was betrayed and hurt,

Because I do believe that vince really liked lex

And really wanted to make that potential reality.

Lex was a challenge, and vince loves those challenges.

"I'll show you. I'll make him a star."

And never happened.

- Jimmy hart leads in the total package lex luger.

- Look at him, tony.

This man has been world champion before.

He could very well do it again.

Wow! Look at the strength of this man.

- It's the torture rack! - He's got him!

- Look at him, baby!

The next wcw champion!

- You're looking at the past, the present,

And the future of world championship wrestling.

- One of the things that was great for lex

And for wcw is lex came back

As the tide was really beginning to shift for wcw.

- These fans are about to tear the roof off of this thing.

- Lex had the opportunity to come back

And re-establish himself at a time

When wcw was now riding a wave of success.

- Not a seat to be found, a capacity crowd,

Thousands turned away today

For the hottest ticket on pay-per-view.

It's world championship wrestling,

And you can see why we are number one.

- His popularity was like-- in an instant, it was back.

It was like, oh, okay, you're home now

Where you're supposed to be.

- When luger came in, it was a huge benefit for wcw.

He was a main event player.

He was a guy that had been a world champion,

That had worked against world champions,

That understood what it took to draw money

And work his character.

- Lex luger was instrumental to the success of "nitro,"

And his attitude was so good.

I mean, he went out of his way to kind of raise

The energy in the locker room.

He really was a part of the team,

And he made you feel like he was excited to be

A part of that team.

And that really won me over.

So at that point, didn't have to do it.

I sat down with him, and we started

Talking about his contract.

I said, "okay, lex, I offered you something

"that I was hoping you'd, you know,

"get so pissed off at me over that you wouldn't come back.

"you've proven yourself.

"let's talk about what your career looks like

Going forward here."

And I renegotiated his deal as a result of just

The way he contributed.

- He came in, and he was different.

He had, perhaps, been humbled somewhat,

And was grateful for the opportunity

To be able to come back.

And he was a little bit more helpful for some of the guys.

You know, he realized, hey, you know, I guess this can

Be kind of like a team effort.

- I love lex luger, personally.

Lex and I always get along great.

He was always super kind with me.

I didn't understand that a lot of the heat that I was getting

From other people that were a little bit

Envious of the position that I was in,

And lex helped me deal with that a lot.

Luger gave me a lot of insight in the business.

- Lex luger was awesome.

He brought an attitude and a work ethic

That I've never seen before.

He was a perfectionist.

And he helped me out a lot.

He was a guy who came from football,

So you could still talk to him on that level

Without him just giving you a wrestling perspective.

- Lex luger, one half

Of the world tag team champions,

Also television champion.

- Lex's success that he was having at the time--

- He's gonna rack rodman!

- Definitely led to lex getting an opportunity

To have higher profile matches.

I just had more trust and confidence in lex

As a performer.

And he certainly got more popular, I think,

Than he ever had been.

And a lot of that was just because his attitude changed.

[cheers and applause]

- We are live, and we are awaiting

The biggest matchup ever on "nitro."

Lex luger's last world title reign ended in 1992,

But now he will go after the man who has set the standard

For world titles in our sport.

[dramatic music]

- Hogan was the champ,

But by the time we got to auburn hills,

Lex was red hot.

- Who has more confidence and momentum on their side

Than the total package lex luger?

- They're standing in detroit!

- Yes!

- He's got him in the rack!

He's got him in the rack! - Hogan's--

Hogan says yes!

Hogan says yes! [bell dinging]

- Look at him tap out!

- Luger won the title!

- Luger's the champion! - Wow!

- Luger defeats hogan!

♪ ♪

- The night in detroit, when I won the wcw title,

Against hulk hogan,

The response, I'll never forget.

It was incredible in detroit that night.

- It is celebration time in the motor city!

- And in the exact same building

Where I didn't win it back in '93.

[cheers and applause]

- That place went nuts when he won, man.

'cause I think they were just thinking it's not

Really going to happen, is it?

You know, like--

It was really cool.

- Look at the show of unity.

All in to show their support.

- Never with so much emotion and so much camaraderie

As we are seeing right there.

- Being the main event spot with hogan

And then winning a world title--

That was a huge deal.

♪ ♪

He proved whatever he had to do to get back,

It was all worth it.

- He reached his own expectations

As a performer, and he won the respect of the people

That he worked with and shared a locker room with.

And that has to be important to anybody.

[all chanting] luger! Luger! Luger!

- Yeah! - Whoo!

- Ahh! - Lex luger, at that time,

Those Monday night wars,

Was someone that wcw needed to carry the title.

♪ ♪

- The fireworks are going off

For the heavyweight champion of the world, lex luger.

- The Monday night wars was just magical.

It was definitely an amazing time

To be a professional wrestler.

- Look at the fans, standing, cheering

The total package lex luger.

- We were all together. It was great. Ah!

All hugs and kisses.

Wow, what a great rating on the tv show.

We're number one now.

- We had a great camaraderie together on the road.

Wolfpac is most definitely in the--

All: House!

- In and out, both in the ring, out of the ring,

Afterwards we'd go out and hang out.

- So a lot of times, we could get done with a tv taping,

Get back to the hotel bar, and watch "nitro" on tv together.

- Everyone would gather and watch the replay,

And put ourselves over.

- And the bar was open, the guys were celebrating.

I used to always socialize with the guys a little bit,

Have a few beers.

Some of the guys, who might have a couple of pills,

Say, hey, try a couple of these.

♪ ♪

It was a kind of time of celebration, and good times,

And camaraderie, really.

♪ ♪

- Over the months, and a couple of years,

It got pretty dark for all of us, you know?

Alcohol, you know, pills

Caused us to make all the wrong choices.

- Giant party!

♪ ♪

- Towards about the middle or end of 1998,

Or whenever it was, started noticing

That lex was never around.

He went back to his room,

And he obviously had a relationship

With miss elizabeth.

Wasn't a big secret.

It was pretty obvious to everybody.

- We got to know each other at the tapings.

I had respect for her and what she'd done in the business.

- The first lady of wrestling, the lovely elizabeth.

- She'd worked with randy for many years.

- He has the most charisma of any wrestler in the world.

He's the best.

- They'd been apart for-- divorced for many, many years.

- The total package, the stunning elizabeth, come out.

- I always thought, well, I would never get involved

With someone that I work with.

That wouldn't be very smart.

Sure enough--

- So--

- [clears throat]

Hi.

After liz and randy got their divorce,

She ended up getting remarried.

She was married. I was married.

Obviously not something either of us should have been doing.

And it just progressed from there.

♪ ♪

- Everybody is like, this is crazy.

What are you doing? You know, you and liz--

But, you know, there was no getting through.

- They were not only in a clandestine relationship,

But they were both participating a little bit

Too much in the pharmaceutical side of

Their recreational activities.

- Without me realizing it, towards the end of my career,

Which really was '01,

The last couple of years I was definitely starting

To drink a little bit more at home,

More and more gradually popping a few more pills

Here and there, like, oh, I'll take a pain pill

To go to the gym to get a good workout.

I always had a reason.

♪ ♪

- Even when we were partying, you could party

Till 4:00 in the morning.

9:00, your phone would ring.

He'd be in the lobby with two cups of coffee

Like, "let's go."

And you didn't miss your workouts.

- Lex, he was going deep.

He went deep.

And then I ended up going down that road, too.

It got pretty dark for all of us,

But he was still able to function and have his matches.

- I have won every major title,

And I've looked better than everyone else doing it.

I'm a successful businessman.

I'm good. I'm great at everything I do.

I never thought of myself-- because of my discipline,

And training, and eating, and getting to the gym,

I never thought I would have any--

Any kind of issue with drugs, or alcohol,

Or anything like that.

You know the old saying, too much time, too much money.

Too much time on my hands, too much money.

That's kinda the devil's workshop.

- Mm.

Well, it definitely manifested itself in my life.

- We are stunned. We are floored.

The very last telecast of

"wcw Monday nitro" on tnt.

- Wcw just got bought out and swallowed up by wwe

After that long term Monday night war.

♪ ♪

I figured, well, if tnt and tbs

Don't have wrestling anymore, I'll go wrestle in japan,

Or back to potentially wwe.

I didn't dwell on it.

I had a guaranteed contract of a lot of money.

You got all that money coming in.

You don't have to go to work, which wasn't good for me

For almost three more years.

- It got really bad.

He was a mess.

I cleaned my life up with god's help,

And now I was able to try to help him.

♪ ♪

There was no, no getting through to him.

♪ ♪

- At that phase, elizabeth had moved to atlanta.

I was seeing her more.

She was on one side of town.

My wife and family are on the other side of town in atlanta.

♪ ♪

My marriage disintegrated.

My wife realized that I had been seeing elizabeth.

She tried to give me a second chance, a third chance.

I let her down every time.

♪ ♪

I was not making good decisions.

♪ ♪

- I hung out with them, and, like, I was around them a lot.

So I knew they were going hard.

♪ ♪

- Elizabeth turned into a different person,

As drugs will often do to people.

- Things continued in a steady downward spiral.

More alcohol, more drugs.

♪ ♪

- It was tough because lex got lost

In the booze at that time.

♪ ♪

- I had my first arrest.

I got pulled over, they said under the influence.

I had had just a couple of beers.

They gave me a breathalyzer.

I passed it, but they felt that I was on something else,

Which I was, I had popped a few pills.

Never did I imagine I'd ever be in jail.

♪ ♪

First of over-- I don't know how many--

Maybe a dozen or more arrests after that.

♪ ♪

One of the neighbors called the police

For a domestic disturbance.

♪ ♪

Both liz and I were shocked that I got arrested.

I mean, we had an argument, but--

♪ ♪

I've learned now from law enforcement,

When they come to a domestic dispute,

They usually--they end up taking somebody in.

And so I went in.

And that, you know, that stuck.

♪ ♪

And so I was making a lot of really

Bad decisions, selfish decisions

At that time in my life.

Things were really--still, I wouldn't have admitted it

At the time, but really going to a dark place

And really getting out of control, in a bad way.

- 911.

- Yeah, I have an emergency medical.

[dramatic tone]

♪ ♪

- We were watching some movies, and went to drinking,

Popping some pills.

I hadn't been there most of the day that--actually,

Our cleaning lady was at the townhouse we were at together,

And she thought liz was fine.

And I didn't know what-- what she'd been doing,

Whether she'd been drinking or doing during her day,

But she seemed fine.

♪ ♪

One minute, we were at the microwave,

Heating up some food.

And I--I brought hers over to her, went and heated mine up.

By the time I got back from the microwave, ten feet away,

She was what I thought was asleep on the couch.

And I thought that was strange, and asked her, hey--

Asked her to, "hey, liz wake up.

Your food's gonna get cold."

And she didn't respond.

So I knew, well, that's strange.

So I got up and--

She's maybe five, six feet away, and--

And tried to shake her, and she didn't respond.

And I immediately called 911.

I was panicked.

- When the ambulance gets there,

And they wheeled her out on the gurney

And put her in back of the ambulance,

You just figure everything's gonna be okay.

- Police were called here about 5:30 in the morning.

A 911 call said a woman was unresponsive.

A few minutes later, by the time she arrived

At kennestone hospital, the woman was dead.

♪ ♪

- The moment I found out that she had passed--

I remember it was-- it was just total shock.

I remember it was hot.

I was overheated. I was dehydrated.

I felt like I was gonna pass out.

Just--when I'm asked my feeling in that moment.

Just total disbelief and shock that--

That she didn't make it.

- He called me, freaking out, in tears.

"stinger, stinger!

"oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh.

"she's gone. She's gone. She died. She died. She--

"I don't know what I'm gonna do, you know.

My life is over."

♪ ♪

- I knew, 'cause we talked about it,

Like, he was really in love with her.

I mean, he'd have done anything for her.

And it really took him down when she passed.

It mentally destroyed him for a long time.

♪ ♪

- I was devastated, and I was angry as hell at lex,

Which is really immature on my part,

Because she made her own decisions and choices.

She was an adult woman.

I felt that lex took advantage of her, and influenced her,

You know, and maybe took her down that path.

I blamed lex for a long time.

♪ ♪

- After I found out-- I was sitting out front

Of my townhouse-- that she didn't make it,

They arrested me on drug charges.

- Police say his arrest is not connected

To miss elizabeth's death,

But what investigators found inside the townhouse.

Pfohl is charged with violating

The controlled substance act.

- The charges are spelled out in the new arrest warrant.

Lawrence pfohl, better known as lex luger,

Accused of possessing and selling drugs--

Drugs like anabolic steroids, and saizen, a growth hormone.

♪ ♪

- Marriage fell apart, divorce,

A horrible impact on my children.

♪ ♪

My life had become a total train wreck,

And I always think I could pull it back together

And do one more big run in the ring.

[cheering] - these people have come

To see lex luger, no doubt.

The total package has been making a hot trailblazing path

On the independent scene.

- My body was starting to break down a little bit.

15 years of high school, college,

Pro football, and 15 years of wrestling

Almost 5,000 matches.

- Luger off the ropes.

Both men trying for a clothesline, and stumble.

I think luger got the better of that one.

- Again, arrogance. Ignorance.

Not realizing that I was in a big time

Life and death struggle with drugs and alcohol.

And I kept on thinking I could end it any time I wanted.

More pills, more alcohol.

The exact opposite of what you would've thought

Might have been a wake-up call.

♪ ♪

I actually received a five-year sentence

For the drugs and did some jail time.

Got back out, went back to the same lifestyle...

♪ ♪

But even worse.

- Luger, or pfohl, as he's known,

Was arrested on dui charges, open container,

No proof of insurance, alteration of a tag

And an expired tag.

- Lex was all over the news in atlanta,

And it was just mind-boggling to me how far he had fallen.

♪ ♪

- I was living out of a hotel room.

So all those mansions and all that stuff,

There I was renting a hotel room.

Do my community service, and I'd do that during the day,

And go back and get high, and--

I wouldn't answer the phone for anybody--

My own family, my best friends.

Really, really dark five-year period.

♪ ♪

There was moments I didn't care whether

I woke up or not when it got-- things got really dark.

And my cell--I was in a small jail cell by myself.

I actually contemplated climbing up

To the top of the partition--

There was a real high ceiling in there--

And standing up on the partition,

Putting my hands behind my back,

'cause everything was cement in there,

And just falling head first, and maybe I could end it.

- I was the jail chaplain for 28 years at

The cobb county adult detention center.

And he had been arrested a few times, and he really--

In my opinion, he looked beat down.

♪ ♪

And he was kinda scary.

♪ ♪

- He kept on trying

To knock on the window of my jail cell

And, "come see me."

I finally was so bored I gave in.

He told me when I got out that wanted me to help him

Get in shape again.

- When he was released, I found him at a gym.

At first, he tried to get rid of me.

- I'm gonna make him so sore tomorrow at the gym

That he'll never set foot in the gym again.

♪ ♪

I couldn't get rid of pastor steve.

♪ ♪

- So I began to just slowly win his trust.

♪ ♪

- And I kept on thinking, man, he's never

Asked me to, like, come to church.

And finally, he popped the big question.

He wanted me to come to a Sunday night service.

♪ ♪

And I went to this church service,

And there in the front of the church--

I never met him before in person--

But dr. Marvin j. Frady.

- And lex came to hear doc, my husband of 64 beautiful years.

♪ ♪

And for the first time ever in his life,

He came to our little church and sat on the back pew.

He was scared to death.

Doc preached on, is your house built on the rock or the sand?

- And man, did he hit me.

♪ ♪

That my whole life here, I'd been just frittering

It away on money and stuff.

And I was building my whole life on sinking sand.

I had a vision of all my mansions,

And money, and fame, and stuff,

And being on a beach, and it being washed away.

♪ ♪

That my life really had no true purpose or meaning.

♪ ♪

I went back to my hotel that night.

Couldn't eat, couldn't sleep.

I called pastor steve up and said,

"man, something happened to me."

He came to my hotel room April 23 of '06,

And shared the plan of salvation with me,

The plan that god has for all of us.

And I asked, "well, what do I gotta do?"

Just gotta get down on your knees and pray.

I'd never done that in my life.

♪ ♪

When I got down on that couch, I was weeping.

I had to make a full commitment to come clean

And ask for forgiveness, and ask jesus to come in my heart.

- I actually saw, when he prayed to jesus,

A physical change.

It was almost like he was in pain.

- I felt instant peace and serenity.

People ask, did you feel anything?

I go, man, I felt like I kind of got powerwashed

From inside out by the holy spirit.

And I felt a peace and serenity that I'd never felt

In my entire life, my first 47 years of my life,

At that moment.

And my life was forever changed

In that moment forward, in a good way.

♪ ♪

- And I could see something was completely different in him.

I was able to literally baptize him

And watch his life change.

- It was a really powerful moment for steve and I.

We were reunited as now,

Not just friends, but brothers in christ.

And the book of proverbs talks about how a friend

Is a friend at all times.

That describes my relationship with sting.

- Lex, who is the real total package?

- Hm, boy, after a long trip,

I found that, praise the lord,

God is the real total package.

Now I'm a ambassador and soldier for our lord

And savior, jesus christ, and god.

[cheering]

I'm part of his team.

The first month after I got saved,

I had, like, godly remorse for my past.

And I knew what real sorrow was.

I was, like, crying all the time

Until I talked to dr. Frady one time.

He said, "lex, you gotta let go of the past.

Those bells have been rung. You can unring 'em."

♪ ♪

I'm not talking about the obviously

Negative things that affected other people in my life.

I would never diminish or disrespect that.

I understand their feelings.

But I had to forgive myself to move forward.

♪ ♪

When I look back on devastation

With my own children,

The relationship I don't have with them, understandable.

There's consequences for the things we did in the past.

I always hold out hope for that

In the future at some point,

Because they don't really know their new dad.

♪ ♪

- After he had gotten saved, and after he'd

Gone through this, I was excited to see lex,

Because we're both going to be at this show in san francisco.

The promoter called me, and he said,

"can I meet you at lex's room?

He's had some kind of stroke."

I'm like, "what?"

- I had not seen lex in years.

And after elizabeth, the drinking and the driving,

And arrests, I mean, this is not lex luger.

After he had gotten saved and after he'd gone through this,

I was excited to see lex, because we're both

Gonna be--so actually, there's, like, 80 guys

Going to be at this show in san francisco.

- He got on the plane and went from atlanta

To san francisco, five hour flight.

- I did a heavy shoulder, trap and neck

Workout the night before.

I got in the airplane with my head

Turned at an unusual angle.

- He was in conversation.

He had his neck craned the whole time,

And at the end of the flight, felt stiffness in his neck.

♪ ♪

- I woke up the next morning

With a stabbing, searing pain in my shoulder blades

And realized I couldn't move.

I didn't realize--I thought maybe I was dehydrated.

I was paralyzed from the neck down.

- I go down I grab, you know, lex up,

And the other emt grabs him, and we put him in there.

And didn't really notice that he wasn't

Really being able to move.

- They're not sure what caused it,

But there definitely was massive swelling from my c5

And my cervical area down to t5,

Which is about mid-chest level.

And they can't really explain how it happened or why.

And they don't know whether maybe some of the bone spurs

Pierced that central cord that we've got to keep protected.

They saw a little bit of spinal stenosis in there.

- The prognosis was he couldn't move hardly anything.

They flew him to the shepherd center.

So for like a whole year, he lived in a bed.

- It was a scary thing to find out

That he was paralyzed like that,

The way it went down.

And then to watch his progress,

He came back over time.

And watching him do his therapy, you know,

I can remember in the very, very beginning

He was in a chair.

And they had him tied here,

And they had to untie him for a few moments to--

I forget what they were trying to do,

But I can remember he literally fell uncontrollably,

Like this, forward.

And I reached out to catch him,

And I put him back up like this.

I literally fed him with a fork...

♪ ♪

Because he couldn't feed himself.

♪ ♪

Unbelievable.

♪ ♪

- I was stunned by it.

He always had a great physique,

And it must have been

Such a challenge to overcome.

- I was like, lord, I don't know how to live this way.

So either bring me home to heaven

Or teach me how to live this way.

And man, he showed me the way.

He was the light through all that.

And I had really a miraculous recovery.

I'm not 100%, obviously.

I can live independently, and feed, and bathe myself,

And dress myself.

And I'm like-- there are 1% of people

With an injury like mine.

I never got the big muscles back, but still

Go to the gym a little bit.

I still love going in and mentoring the young guys.

At least six.

Let's get ten if you can.

- Lex started training me in the gym.

He started giving me his personal workout plan

And what he ate.

- A lot of people made me who I was.

I maybe didn't have the appreciation back then

I should have, but a lot of people

Worked with me, getting me where I wanted to be in life.

I feel now I could work with guys like jonathan

And help them get to where they want in life.

Kinda like a life coach, I guess.

♪ ♪

- Now he is trying to give back for everything

That he took or stole.

♪ ♪

- For 30 years, I was all about lex--

Me, myself, and I.

God has shown me personally

That our true strength comes through him,

From the inside out, not from the outside in.

♪ ♪

- For a guy who took such pride

In his physique, and he was such a physical specimen.

And now to be the opposite of that,

And then to be around wrestling fans--

In my mind, I thought, oh, that must be hard.

And then I look at him, he's beaming!

- Great to see you! - Good to see you.

- He is more cheerful and more friendly

Than he ever was when he was making all that money,

When he looked like a million dollars.

- If I knew now what god's taught me now,

I could have been a much better

Leader in the locker room.

I would have been a much better person

To be around, much more positive,

Much more encouraging.

I think about it all the time.

- Here he is, lex luger!

- Sometimes we don't realize

What we had until it's gone.

This is the finest physical specimen

In professional sports today.

Looking back on my career,

There's a lot of cool, defining moments

In my 15-year wrestling career, for sure.

- Lex luger has done it! [cheers and applause]

- I think of some of my heroes in the wrestling business,

There's very few that are on the same level that lex was.

- Nothing is gonna stop this man!

- I don't talk about him as being a tragedy,

'cause I see him now.

And I see this guy that is so humbled.

But I wish he hadn't had to go through so much.

- Your heart breaks a little bit for somebody

That you know, and somebody that's a friend

That had to go through what he went through.

But on the other hand, he came out of it stronger than ever.

- We staked our careers on never,

Ever backing away from a challenge.

- His enthusiasm for life is remarkable.

I wanna be like that.

- There's a verse in the bible that said

"I finished the race. I have fought the good fight."

- This is the total package lex luger!

- I guess that's how I'd like to be remembered.

♪ ♪