Ted DiBiase was often regarded as the Million Dollar Man in WWE and he was one of the biggest stars of the promotion during his time. It is still believed that he is one of the top wrestlers of the promotion who could never win the WWE World Championship, in spite he has featured on the main events of multiple big events of WWE.
Recently, DiBiase talked about the push of wrestling Legend Lex Luger whom WWE wanted to build as the top star of the promotion during the mid 90s. Luger mostly known for his work in WCW and in spite he was treated as a top star in WWE, he is not much remembered for his time in the promotion.
The Top Guy That Almost Was: Ted DiBiase’s Inside Account of WWE’s Push for This Talent
Lex Luger was one of the biggest names that WCW ever produced. He won multiple big championships in the promotion including the likes of WCW World Heavyweight Championship and the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship for multiple times. He was indeed one of the biggest stars of WCW.
One of the biggest reasons behind the success of WWE during the 80’s and the early 90s was the rise of Hulk Hogan who remained the face of WWE for a long amount of time. But in 1993 he left WWE and on the very next year he decided to join WCW which was the biggest rival of WWE during the time.
Lex Luger Was Projected To Be A Top Guy In WWE
Losing his biggest star to the rival brand was a big matter of concern for Vince McMahon. He needed someone else who could replace Hulk Hogan and the answer he found was Lex Luger. WWE Hall of Famer Ted DiBiase recently explained how WWE wanted to build Luger as the top star of the promotion. On the latest episode of his “Everybody’s Got A Pod” Podcast, DiBiase explained the following;
On WWE trying to make Lex Luger the new top guy: “I love Lex, you know. But I don’t know if he was ready for it. I mean, obviously, he’s got that look. I mean, this guy’s, you know, huge, great, unbelievable physique. Which I mean, like I said before, Vince was — that’s what he was crazy about, was his great bodies. A great body and a great look is one thing. But you know, I didn’t know if Lex Luger had the know-how to carry the belt. And I love Lex. I wouldn’t have, but I wouldn’t have done that at that time.”
Luger received a massive push upon joining WWE. He even declared the co winner of Royal Rumble match of 1994 along with the Hitman Bret Hart. But ultimately Vince McMahon understood that Luger is not the ideal replacement of Hulk Hogan, neither he could be the face of WWE. Ultimately he was released from WWE in 1995 and he returned to WCW.
H/T – eWrestlingNews.com