WWE Exec Bruce Prichard Explains Lex Luger's Downfall In Promotion

At one point in the early 1990s, Lex Luger appeared poised to take over from Hulk Hogan as the face of the wrestling business. His "Lex Express" gimmick was picking up a great deal of momentum, but Luger never captured the world title in WWE, with many fans seeing it as one of the company's biggest missed opportunities. Looking back at Luger's run on an episode of "Something to Wrestle," Bruce Prichard placed the blame solely at the feet of Luger, stating that WWE didn't do anything to hold the wrestler back.

"Lex killed 'The Lex Express.' Lex killed Lex. Make no mistake about it," Prichard said. "Lex's attitude and Lex's everything else is what ended up killing Lex Luger, and why he didn't win the championship, and why he wasn't chosen to be the guy during that time."

The WWE executive stated that the company tried in numerous ways to set Luger up for success but did not wish to get into the specific details of what went wrong. It's no secret that Luger previously struggled with substance abuse disorder, which could be part of what Prichard was hinting at, but the producer also stated that crew members who worked with Luger did not have a very good time.

Luger seemed to be in a position to beat Yokozuna for the world championship at WWE SummerSlam 1993, and Luger did, in fact, go on to win that night. However, Luger's victory came by count-out, meaning Yokozuna retained the WWF Championship. Though things didn't work out, and Luger wound up returning to WCW a couple of years later, there are no hard feelings on Prichard's end.

"Last time I saw Lex, man, I thought Lex was in a good place," Prichard continued. "I hope he is."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Something to Wrestle" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.