Lex Luger Details WWE Subterfuge Around Hall Of Fame Announcement

For the last year, WWE Hall of Famer and DDP Yoga program founder Diamond Dallas Page has led workouts with former wrestler Lex Luger, who is partially paralyzed, in an effort to improve his mobility. Recently, one of those workouts came with the added presence of Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, who informed Luger of his upcoming induction into the WWE Hall of Fame. According to Luger, Rhodes' presence and news delivery came as a genuine surprise, as he, DDP, and WWE successfully tricked Luger en route to the announcement.

"I was doing my weekly workout with Dallas, and man, did I get set up. The film crew from WWE was coming through Atlanta," Luger recalled on the "83 Weeks" podcast. "They had been in Charlotte interviewing Arn [Anderson]. They're doing a thing on the Four Horsemen. They said 'Lex, we need some footage of you.' The Horsemen I know were coming to town on Wednesday, two weeks ago. 

"I go 'Okay well, I have a workout with DDP on Wednesday.' They had it about the same time. I go 'If you could talk to Dallas, I don't want to stand him up on his workout.' They go 'I'll tell you what, we'll come to his house and do it. Will that work?' I go 'Well yeah, if it's okay with him. It's his house here in Atlanta.'"

After taping content related to The Four Horseman, WWE then asked Luger for permission to record his workout with DDP, which Luger granted. Amidst WWE's additional filming, Luger noticed DDP glancing down at text messages on his phone. Shortly after, "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes emerged in the nearby door frame, which Luger interpreted as a sign that he also had business with DDP to handle that day. Instead, Cody recalled the "Total Package" moniker given to Luger by his father, the late Dusty Rhodes, while also referencing several of Luger's in-ring career accolades. Eventually, Cody relayed the news of WWE's desire to put Luger in the 2025 Hall of Fame class as well.

"I was totally caught off by surprise," Luger said. "He went into this thing about my career. He was just kind of talking to me, [about my] Royal Rumble [win], and he's naming all these things. I go 'Stop it, Cody.' I realize these guys are kind of filming this. They got me right up until the very end."

Across his work in Jim Crockett Promotions and WCW, Luger enjoyed five United States Heavyweight Championship reigns, two with the WCW Television Championship, and another two as WCW World Heavyweight Champion. In WWE, Luger notably emerged as the co-winner of the 1994 Royal Rumble alongside Bret "The Hitman" Hart.

The 2025 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony will emanate from the Fontainebleau Las Vegas hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada on the evening of Friday, April 18, with Michelle McCool, Paul "Triple H" Levesque, and others joining Luger in the respective class.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "83 Weeks" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.