Lex Luger on Vince McMahon Repackaging Him in WWE, Enjoying Working as Heel

– During the latest edition of the Lex Expressed podcast, former WWE and WCW Superstar Lex Luger recalled his time in WWE, and Vince McMahon wanting to change his ring name and finisher. Below are some highlights (via WrestlingInc.com):

Lex Luger on Vince McMahon wanting to repackage him: “I trademarked ‘The Total Package’ Lex Luger with a really good attorney. I wouldn’t have thought of it when I first started wrestling down in Florida. So they had to utilize that, borrow that from me while I was there, my trademark. He wanted to completely rename me. I get it. But we ended up coming to an agreement to use ‘Lex the Narcissist,’ or ‘Lex Luger the Narcissist.'”

On McMahon wanting to give him a new finisher: “As far as finisher, I think, once again, it crept in that the Torture Rack was my finisher as the WCW wrestler. So he didn’t really want me to use that finish. I wanted to use it, but he didn’t want to. So I think it morphed eventually, as a heel, as ‘The Narcissist,’ ‘Hey, let’s do a program, a storyline, with that steel plate…in your arm. And let’s use that as a heel.'”

On wanting to have a longer run as a heel: “I wish I had a way longer run as a heel before doing the Lex Express because we had some good stuff going with that I thought. I really enjoyed working as a heel, probably more than a babyface in my career, if you had to ask me the question. It’s much easier to get people to hate you emotionally than it is to earn their respect, their admiration, and their trust. Wrestling fans are really special that way. So I guess it was easier to be a heel, and can be a lot more fun sometimes in that regard.”