Lex Luger On Not Winning WWE Title At SummerSlam 1993, Vince McMahon Not Promising Him WWE Title Win

In a recent interview on Pro Wrestling 4 Life, Lex Luger discussed slamming Yokozuna on the USS Intrepid, not winning the WWE title at SummerSlam 1993, and much more. You can read his comments below.

Lex Luger on slamming Yokozuna on the USS Intrepid: “We did a walkthrough the week before. They didn’t allow me to slam Yoko because they didn’t want him to get hurt. I’m the one lifting 627 pounds, and they didn’t want him to get hurt. So, I was so nervous. I didn’t have good footing when I got in that ring there. I had cowboy boots on, and Yoko calmed me down and said, ‘Don’t worry, I got this. Just get a wide base.’ I just got a good base and helped turn him, but Yoko, as you know, I called The Dancing Bear. Those island boys, so athletic and born to wrestle. He literally almost slammed himself off of me getting a good base and helping turn him just a little bit. He was that agile. I was so relieved after that. He was unbelievable. The crowd reaction, Manhattan Skyline in the background, and the surprise that we had with me coming down and pushing Bobby Heenan out of the way, the setup to the whole thing was great. One of the great moments I’ll always remember in my career for sure.”

On not winning the WWE title at SummerSlam 1993: “A lot of people felt that way that it would have been better even if I turned the belt over to him the following night on RAW and got heat on Yoko. He did something to get it back or something. With that big of a buildup, as a babyface, you almost have to come through because it lets all the air out of your tires. I enjoyed the opportunity obviously, and it was a great promotion, but a lot of people thought it might have been more beneficial if you’re going to still go with Yoko to have the babyface win and have Yoko win it right back or something. It might have been good. I agree with that for sure.”

On Vince McMahon never promising him that he’d win the championship: “In defense of Vince and the decision makers at the time, Vince was really big — you know how much The Garden meant to Vince. He never promised me the title. Vince and I had a great relationship. ‘If I want to put the title on you, rather than do it at SummerSlam, I’d rather wait and do it at WrestleMania 10 at Madison Square Garden.’ He had that in his head that if you’re going to be my guy, I’m going to put the belt on you as a babyface and give you a run with it. Then things happened after that, and he ended up putting it on Bret, who was a great champion. That really was, ‘Why did they not give him the belt?’ That really was Vince’s thinking. ‘I’ll get everything revved back up for WrestleMania, and what a way to coronate Lex as my champion if that’s the way we decide to go at WrestleMania 10.’ That was kind of a little backstory to that whole thing.”

If using any of the above quotes, please credit Pro Wrestling 4 Life with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.