WWE: 25 Years Since Lex Luger Harnessed Patriotic Power on July 4th

1993 was a strange time for the then-World Wrestling Federation. But no one could have expected how things would turn out on July 4th, when Lex Luger became the new Greatest American Hero.

For the last few years in WWE, July 4th has been an excuse to have a food fight. Back in 2011, Raw featured a fight near food that saw Vickie Guerrero end up in a cake. Just two years ago, the “world’s biggest food fight” ended with poor Heath Slater getting the brunt of the damage as Kevin Owens hid. However, the Prizefighter still took a pie to the face for his troubles.

But in 1993, the then-World Wrestling Federation was in turmoil. A steroid scandal had enveloped the company, leading to a business slump from the bad press. Vince McMahon was being investigated by the federal government, and would be indicted on drug trafficking charges before the year was over. Hulk Hogan, the biggest star in WWF’s history, had left the company. What’s a promoter to do?

For McMahon, it was the tried and true “United States vs. The World” angle. While inherently xenophobic and ultimately unsustainable, the beloved patriotic babyface taking on an evil foreign superpower has been a pro wrestling booking tool since the dawn of time. Iron Shiek, Nikita Koloff, and Los Gringos Locos in Mexico are some examples of the antagonists that heroes like Hogan, Magnum TA, and El Hijo del Santo would face.

As summer of 1993 kicked off, Yokozuna regained the WWF Championship at King of the Ring when he defeated the departing Hogan. Representing Japan, the monstrous superstar claimed that no American could pick him up and slam him. So Yokozuna and his manager, Mr. Fuji, set up the “WWF Stars & Stripes Challenge” for July 4th.

On the deck of the USS Intrepid, a decommissioned aircraft carrier docked in New York City, a series of professional athletes and WWF superstars took a shot at a very simple task: bodyslamming the 550-pound WWF Champion. Piece of cake!

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There were football players (Lee Rouson, Bill Fralic, and others), basketball players (Scott Burrell), and hockey players (Peter Taglianetti). Bob Backlund, Tatanka, Crush, Scott Steiner, and Macho Man Randy Savage even gave it the old college try. But no one could hoist the big man up — especially after a brief intermission where Yokozuna ate some rice.

When all hope seemed lost, and America looked like she failed on her birthday, one lone figure stood poised to save the day. A helicopter appeared in the distance, and it landed on the deck of the ship. And to restore America’s honor, out came… Lex Luger?

Up until that point, Luger’s WWF career had been spent as “The Narcissist,” a vain heel who posed in front of mirrors before every match. A mere three weeks prior, Luger’s last appearance on television was under his Narcissist persona at King of the Ring. He loved himself above all others — surely this couldn’t be the man to fight for his country?

But no, there was the Total Package, decked out in a flag polo shirt tucked into his dad jeans. Despite being told the contest was over, Luger took to the mic, and, well, said this:

"“Let me tell you something: Ever since King of the Ring, I’ve had an itch under my skin, and it became a rash… What you are is a cancer in the World Wrestling Federation! Everybody wants to know what’s wrong with America, but there’s nothing wrong with America! What’s wrong with America is blood-sucking leeches like you [points to Mr. Fuji], and over-stuffed, sushi-eating, rice-chomping wrestler [points to Yokozuna] you call a champion! He’s a disgrace to the World Wrestling Federation — the only thing wrong with America is YOU, and we’re gonna clean house right here, right now!”"

Yikes. You don’t know just how thinly-veiled the xenophobia and racism was in early 90s pro wrestling if you’re 10 years old watching it, like I was. But that is pretty bad. Glad the good guy is here to get rid of the blood-sucking leech from another country!

Fuji spit at Luger’s feet, so the big bad bodybuilder grabbed an old man to throw him out of the ring. And of course, Luger then picked up Yokozuna for a big bodyslam to win the challenge — and a brand new 1993 Chevy Silverado pick-up truck!

Today in 2018, fans tend to find fault with Roman Reigns for how he’s been groomed to be “the guy” for so long. But back in 1993, Lex Luger literally went from midcard heel to AMERICAN HERO MAIN EVENTER in a split second. I can’t speak for whether one path is better than the other. But I can say that Luger never really lived up to his “new Hulk Hogan” gimmick. The Lex Express was silly, and following his second WWF Championship match at WrestleMania X, Luger never really went anywhere in the company and left to rejoin WCW in late 1995.

Next: SummerSlam 2018: Reigns Dethroning Lesnar Best Option

Since the infamous Intrepid event on July 4th, 1993, WWE hasn’t really done anything so blatantly jingoistic on America’s birthday. Sure, the company runs the Tribute to the Troops event every year, but that happens in the holiday season, and not on July 4th. With Independence Day falling on a Wednesday this year, there’s no live WWE broadcasts to take advantage of the holiday. But we can always relive that moment from a quarter century ago atop an aircraft carrier instead.