Unwrapping The Total Package
It’s amazing to gauge yours & others reactions when someone of importance “graces” you with their presence. In my small role as a member of various wrestling promotions over the past few years (actually come March ’07, I’ll have officially been involved in wrestling for 4 years) I’ll have met a variety of people with varying degrees of name recognition & professional success throughout their careers. Some would be considered huge stars like the Road Warriors & Jimmy Snuka. And some others would probably be labeled as having success of various levels, but have “made” it like Raven, Jerry Lynn, Justin Credible, Simon Diamond, Tracey Smothers, Shane Douglas & now I can add Lex Luger to the list.
For those of you not interested in wrestling, there was a time in the late 80’s/early 90’s when Luger was the next big thing. Briefly he ascended to that throne, but he never held on to it for too long. But his nickname “The Total Package” was appropriate considering that physically he had all the tools. He had the look. Chiseled out of stone is often a term used to describe him. There are a lot of factors as to why he was never a bigger star. Some chalk it up to the lack of desire, others say he had no charisma or personality & some have said “all body, no brain.” He’s a well-educated man academically, so I’m not sure I buy that. If you want to present the argument that he had no mind for the business, then I’m willing to listen. Not everyone gets the business. I’d like to think I get it, but then again everyone involved thinks they get it.
Moving along, on February 24th, Fire Pro Wrestling, which I’m proud to be associated with, had Luger in for an appearance on our “Heroes Reign” show. It was a big moment for us given that it was our inaugural show in our new building & we were kicking it off with someone very recognizable to even the most casual of wrestling fans.
Bringing in Luger had a two-prong effect. One, Luger is a hugely recognizable star in the business & two, he is now a born again Christian. And seeing as how Fire Pro Wrestling is a Christian wrestling promotion, this was the desired plan. Luger would be scheduled to appear on Saturday night at the wrestling show, then Sunday he would appear at the mass to give his testimony about being born again.
There is a lot I can say about Luger & my opinions on how he has handled his life, fame, fortune, etc. But for the purposes of this, I’ll stick to how my personal interaction with the man went.
Thankfully, he was about as gracious & cordial as you could expect/hope someone who has achieved a certain level of fame. In talking to him & listening to him teach a few tricks of the trade, it seems as though the lights are on, but no one is home. Don’t get me wrong; he didn’t come across as stupid, just as though he’s a little fried mentally. But seeing as what he’s been through, I guess I can understand why he is a little out of it. Thankfully he was nice.
While he was there, he was able to conduct a training camp for some of the wrestlers who opted to participate. He also talked about his experiences in the business & gave tips on fitness, nutrition & bodybuilding. And you can’t question that since the man is still in phenomenal shape. Once the camp was over, Luger decided to go back to his hotel room to relax between the camp & the show, which is not a big deal considering there were a few hours to kill in between.
With the show scheduled to start at 7 P.M. & everyone hanging out in the locker room with the fans arriving (in a horrible rain/sleet/ice storm), we all were awaiting the arrival of Luger. But with about ten minutes ‘til show time, Luger was M.I.A. Well naturally we started getting nervous about this seeing as how he is the big star for the show & a lot of people had braved some really horrible weather to show up.
Finally, with about five minutes to spare, Luger comes strolling in. It turns out he was late because he had to wait for his Chinese food to come. I’m not big into Chinese food, but even I know that when you order over $50 worth of any kind of food, it’s gonna take some time for it to be cooked. Yeah, you read that correctly, Luger was almost late to the show because he had to wait on his order of over $50 worth of Chinese food. Good to see he still has an appetite.
So the show starts & I begin to head out to the ring to do my opening festivities when I barely get halfway to the ring & the music dies. Talk about awkward silences, but I covered as best I could & went about my shtick. But once I get in the ring to start talking & welcoming the crowd to the show, the lights die. Now I don’t know if it was just opening night bugs being worked out of the system or someone sending me a message, but come on, first the music now the lights! Oh well, we had fun & the mic still worked, so I just went with the flow. The show must go on as they say.
Later on in the night, it comes time for Luger to make his first appearance of the night. He is supposed to come out for the save & run off the bad guys. It was a huge moment because we know the crowd is gonna go nuts for his first appearance. So his music hits & the crowd is getting pumped. They know he is coming & it’s just a matter of time…and we keep waiting & waiting & waiting…then finally he comes out. It felt like 10 minutes, but it was probably like 30 seconds. Now the story as to why Luger was late getting out is actually the best part of the story, however I heard it secondhand since I was out by the ring doing my duties. And seeing as how I got the story secondhand, I don’t like to relay information that I didn’t witness myself. But trust me, if you get a chance to hear the story from someone who was in the locker room, it’s a classic wrestling moment. But where was I? Oh yeah, out in front of the crowd…
When I set out to write this, I had intended it to be one of those “It’s so sad to see how the mighty have fallen” pieces, but I don’t have the heart to bash the man. Some of what he has done is truly bashable, but why would I throw stones from a distance when I had a chance to tell him to his face what I thought of him.
What I do know is that Luger was a huge star, and now he’s not anymore. He’s still immensely recognizable & judging from our crowd’s reaction that night, wildly popular. He was gracious to me & I had a good time helping him out to ensure he had a great time in return & had a positive vibe from our promotion.
I guess the fans were the big story of the night. Luger himself stated he didn’t expect more than 50 given the weather conditions. Instead, we were near capacity (and truth be told, close to OVER capacity) & that’s a great problem to have. Luger was welcomed warmly & the fans treated him right. He gets it when it comes to the fans. He knows that without them, he’s a nobody. Instead, to 95% of the crowd we had that night, Luger is still somebody.
And come on, I got to say “Ladies & gentleman, THE TOTAL PACKAGE, LEX LUGER!” Can you go wrong with that?
(Cheap plug warning, Fire Pro Wrestling is in action again March 31st)
For those of you not interested in wrestling, there was a time in the late 80’s/early 90’s when Luger was the next big thing. Briefly he ascended to that throne, but he never held on to it for too long. But his nickname “The Total Package” was appropriate considering that physically he had all the tools. He had the look. Chiseled out of stone is often a term used to describe him. There are a lot of factors as to why he was never a bigger star. Some chalk it up to the lack of desire, others say he had no charisma or personality & some have said “all body, no brain.” He’s a well-educated man academically, so I’m not sure I buy that. If you want to present the argument that he had no mind for the business, then I’m willing to listen. Not everyone gets the business. I’d like to think I get it, but then again everyone involved thinks they get it.
Moving along, on February 24th, Fire Pro Wrestling, which I’m proud to be associated with, had Luger in for an appearance on our “Heroes Reign” show. It was a big moment for us given that it was our inaugural show in our new building & we were kicking it off with someone very recognizable to even the most casual of wrestling fans.
Bringing in Luger had a two-prong effect. One, Luger is a hugely recognizable star in the business & two, he is now a born again Christian. And seeing as how Fire Pro Wrestling is a Christian wrestling promotion, this was the desired plan. Luger would be scheduled to appear on Saturday night at the wrestling show, then Sunday he would appear at the mass to give his testimony about being born again.
There is a lot I can say about Luger & my opinions on how he has handled his life, fame, fortune, etc. But for the purposes of this, I’ll stick to how my personal interaction with the man went.
Thankfully, he was about as gracious & cordial as you could expect/hope someone who has achieved a certain level of fame. In talking to him & listening to him teach a few tricks of the trade, it seems as though the lights are on, but no one is home. Don’t get me wrong; he didn’t come across as stupid, just as though he’s a little fried mentally. But seeing as what he’s been through, I guess I can understand why he is a little out of it. Thankfully he was nice.
While he was there, he was able to conduct a training camp for some of the wrestlers who opted to participate. He also talked about his experiences in the business & gave tips on fitness, nutrition & bodybuilding. And you can’t question that since the man is still in phenomenal shape. Once the camp was over, Luger decided to go back to his hotel room to relax between the camp & the show, which is not a big deal considering there were a few hours to kill in between.
With the show scheduled to start at 7 P.M. & everyone hanging out in the locker room with the fans arriving (in a horrible rain/sleet/ice storm), we all were awaiting the arrival of Luger. But with about ten minutes ‘til show time, Luger was M.I.A. Well naturally we started getting nervous about this seeing as how he is the big star for the show & a lot of people had braved some really horrible weather to show up.
Finally, with about five minutes to spare, Luger comes strolling in. It turns out he was late because he had to wait for his Chinese food to come. I’m not big into Chinese food, but even I know that when you order over $50 worth of any kind of food, it’s gonna take some time for it to be cooked. Yeah, you read that correctly, Luger was almost late to the show because he had to wait on his order of over $50 worth of Chinese food. Good to see he still has an appetite.
So the show starts & I begin to head out to the ring to do my opening festivities when I barely get halfway to the ring & the music dies. Talk about awkward silences, but I covered as best I could & went about my shtick. But once I get in the ring to start talking & welcoming the crowd to the show, the lights die. Now I don’t know if it was just opening night bugs being worked out of the system or someone sending me a message, but come on, first the music now the lights! Oh well, we had fun & the mic still worked, so I just went with the flow. The show must go on as they say.
Later on in the night, it comes time for Luger to make his first appearance of the night. He is supposed to come out for the save & run off the bad guys. It was a huge moment because we know the crowd is gonna go nuts for his first appearance. So his music hits & the crowd is getting pumped. They know he is coming & it’s just a matter of time…and we keep waiting & waiting & waiting…then finally he comes out. It felt like 10 minutes, but it was probably like 30 seconds. Now the story as to why Luger was late getting out is actually the best part of the story, however I heard it secondhand since I was out by the ring doing my duties. And seeing as how I got the story secondhand, I don’t like to relay information that I didn’t witness myself. But trust me, if you get a chance to hear the story from someone who was in the locker room, it’s a classic wrestling moment. But where was I? Oh yeah, out in front of the crowd…
When I set out to write this, I had intended it to be one of those “It’s so sad to see how the mighty have fallen” pieces, but I don’t have the heart to bash the man. Some of what he has done is truly bashable, but why would I throw stones from a distance when I had a chance to tell him to his face what I thought of him.
What I do know is that Luger was a huge star, and now he’s not anymore. He’s still immensely recognizable & judging from our crowd’s reaction that night, wildly popular. He was gracious to me & I had a good time helping him out to ensure he had a great time in return & had a positive vibe from our promotion.
I guess the fans were the big story of the night. Luger himself stated he didn’t expect more than 50 given the weather conditions. Instead, we were near capacity (and truth be told, close to OVER capacity) & that’s a great problem to have. Luger was welcomed warmly & the fans treated him right. He gets it when it comes to the fans. He knows that without them, he’s a nobody. Instead, to 95% of the crowd we had that night, Luger is still somebody.
And come on, I got to say “Ladies & gentleman, THE TOTAL PACKAGE, LEX LUGER!” Can you go wrong with that?
(Cheap plug warning, Fire Pro Wrestling is in action again March 31st)
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