In 1989 or 1990, I discovered wrestling one Saturday evening on TBS and fell in love. I was too young to know it was "scripted" or understand the difference between federations like the National Wrestling Alliance or World Championship Wrestling, so I watched wrestling whenever I could sneak it in since my parents banned wrestling after that first night. I'd catch Saturday morning syndicated shows between cartoons, flipping back and forth from WCW to WWF. I was captivated by the colorful, larger-than-life characters that felt like a real-life comic book superhero battle every time.
By 1993, I was a "casual" fan, sneaking wrestling on Saturday nights and watching Saturday morning shows when my parents assumed I was watching kids' programming. This continued until 1995, when WCW's Fall Brawl War Games campaign began, and I was utterly hooked.
My mother used to watch Regis and Kathie Lee every weekday morning, and during the summer of 1993 (on July 20th, if my research is correct), she called me into the room and told me one of my "wrestlers" was on. She wouldn't let me watch wrestling, but she knew I'd be interested in this. I don't remember much of the appearance, but I do remember Lex Luger flexing his muscles and several highlight clips of a patriotic event on the USS Intrepid in New York City. Mom was impressed by the interview, and I (probably poorly) feigned surprise, having secretly seen some of these highlights a week or so before.
It was a hot, sticky Saturday morning (they refused to use air conditioning when I was young), and I was lying on my parents' bed, watching their small bedroom television. I'd usually retreat there when I'd overstayed my welcome on the living room TV, but in their bedroom, I enjoyed control of the remote and a snack with about as much privacy as I got back then. It was likely a syndicated clip show like WWF Superstars, where I had seen highlights of the event at the USS Intrepid. The full Stars and Stripes program wasn't broadcast live and was only shown in lengthy recaps on Monday Night RAW the next evening. In contrast, the syndicated weekend programs showed shorter clips for several weeks.
On Regis and Kathie Lee, Luger discussed his cross-country bus tour, "The Lex Express." Hearing about and seeing the bus grabbed my attention. My wanderlust had already begun, and my love for road trips and big vehicles like planes, trains, buses, and RVs excited me. Urged by the wrestling programs to watch for the bus in a city near me, I scanned the highway every time we were in the car, but I never did see that bus.
These days, every 4th of July or other patriotic event, I try to post a GIF on X of Luger atop the Lex Express bus at Mount Rushmore. His flexing in American flag Zubaz pants is a perfect blend of wrestling, patriotism, and one of my favorite places in the world, the Black Hills of South Dakota.
That summer, the WWF launched a bold campaign to redefine itself with a new superhero. The Lex Express, that star-spangled bus, carried Lex Luger across America to rally fans, launching off his historic bodyslam of "the evil foreigner" Yokozuna on the USS Intrepid. This was more than a wrestling angle; it was a cultural moment capturing 1990s WWF campiness, Fourth of July patriotism, and childhood summer joy.
To understand the Lex Express, we must revisit the WWF's turbulent history, Hulk Hogan's exit, and Luger's ascension.
In 1992, Luger transitioned from World Championship Wrestling to WWF, driven by contractual disputes, ambition, and Vince McMahon's vision for a new professional bodybuilding venture.
Luger (real name Lawrence Pfohl) was already a wrestling star in World Championship Wrestling, winning the World Heavyweight Championship in 1991 among icons like Sting, Ric Flair, and the Four Horsemen. By early 1992, contract disputes and dissatisfaction with WCW's direction and new management soured his tenure. After losing the title to Sting at SuperBrawl II on February 29, 1992, Luger had fulfilled his WCW obligations and left the company.
On his podcast Lex Expressed, Luger explained that WCW used up all of his 1992 contracted dates when he dropped the title to Sting, his real-life friend. He agreed to continue working past his contract, at the SuperBrawl event, in part as a favor to his friend Sting and partly because WCW agreed to allow him to join Vince McMahon's new World Bodybuilding Federation (WBF), provided he avoided any in-ring wrestling until his non-compete clause expired.
Orchestrated by McMahon, the creation of the WBF was seen as an extension of his wrestling empire. It aimed to rival established bodybuilding organizations, and Luger, with his chiseled physique, was positioned as a co-host on the Saturday morning television program, WBF BodyStars, with Luger co-hosting the show. BodyStars proved more pro-wrestling than bodybuilding, but what could one expect?
Shortly after the debut of WBF, a motorcycle accident cut Luger's tenure short, sidelining him from guest posing during a pay-per-view. With the absence of the company's biggest star and continued failing finances, the WBF cost McMahon a reported $15 million by the time it was shuttered.
By the time he was healed, the WBF was already defunct, and his non-compete expired. Luger joined WWF's wrestling roster in 1993, debuting at the Royal Rumble as "The Narcissist," a self-obsessed heel managed by Bobby Heenan. His physique and reported real-life self-centeredness suited the gimmick well. However, he struggled to connect with fans who noticed his leaner look (allegedly) due to the stricter drug testing amid the Federal investigation into the WWF's use of steroids. His storylines as "The Narcissist" against Tatanka and Mr. Perfect failed to gain much traction.
Earlier, in June 1992, a steroid scandal implicated Hulk Hogan and others in the WWF, pushing McMahon toward smaller, more athletic wrestlers. Seeing the writing on the wall, Hulk Hogan left for Hollywood, making films like Mr. Nanny and Suburban Commando, which were convenient career moves to dodge the scandal and enhance his career (and bank account.)
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| Hogan returns at WrestleMania IX at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas |
Hogan's part-time status frustrated McMahon, who needed a reliable top star. Hogan would reappear briefly at WrestleMania IX in April 1993 for a tag match with his best friend, Brutus Beefcake. They would lose the tag match, but Hogan suddenly appeared in the show's closing moments and defeated Yokozuna for the WWF Championship. He and Yokozuna would face each other on several lucrative European house shows in May before Hogan departed the company for good in June after losing to Yokozuna at King of the Ring '93.
At WrestleMania, Luger's "Narcissist" defeated Mr. Perfect, but his storyline stalled.
Yokozuna's reign following the King of the Ring was as a dominant "evil foreigner" heel, managed by Mr. Fuji, leaning heavily on anti-American tropes. Positioned as a foreign threat to American pride, Bret Hart, the WWF's top technical wrestler, was the fan favorite to take down the champion, but lacked the size and charisma McMahon craved. Hart was also Canadian and wouldn't be seen as the All-American Hero.
Then, as luck had it, McMahon and Luger happened to be in an airport together. According to the podcast Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard, McMahon's right-hand man at the time, explained that Vince saw Lex in an airport and said, "That's a star!" He further explained that Luger's size and physique caught everyone's attention, and Vince saw dollar signs in Luger's physique.
Immediately, he pulled Luger off the road to repackage him as a patriotic hero, mimicking Hogan's All-American gimmick, with the Lex Express bus tour scheduled to solidify the transformation.
The Lex Express was WWF showmanship: a red, white, and blue Prevost bus with "Lex Express" on its sides, patriotic decals, American flags, and amenities like a small onboard gym and red, white, and blue upholstery. The fridge was stocked with meal replacement bars and Luger's protein shakes, and a sound system blared songs about Americana, like "Sweet Home Alabama," "God Bless the USA," and Luger's new theme, "I'll Be Your Hero."
On Chris Van Vliet's Insight podcast, Lex called it "a rolling billboard" but noted its air conditioning struggled in summer heat and made for miserable travel.
However, before boarding the bus to tour the country, Luger needed to "turn" into a good guy in front of the WWF audience so that this new persona made sense.
The Lex Express campaign launched in conjunction with the "Stars and Stripes Challenge" live wrestling event on July 4, 1993, aboard the USS Intrepid. The Intrepid, a decommissioned aircraft carrier turned museum, was docked on the famed Hudson River in the heart of New York City. The event was full of WWF pageantry, blending wrestling drama with Independence Day fervor.
The challenge was to see what American could lift (and body slam) the giant Yokozuna. A ring was built on the Intrepid's deck, surrounded by military personnel, flags, and Manhattan's skyline, setting the stage for this patriotic event. The PW Torch Newsletter noted the grandeur of fireworks, helicopters, and a battleship while professional athletes like the NFL's Refrigerator Perry and WWF stars Randy Savage, the Steiner Brothers, Bob Backlund, and Crush failed to lift Yokozuna.
Mr. Fuji taunted fans at ringside with a Japanese flag as the "evil" Yokozuna smirked from the ring.
As hope faded that anyone could lift the sumo, a helicopter swooped in from the Hudson River and landed aboard the Intrepid. Luger emerged in cowboy boots, acid-washed jeans, and a stars-and-stripes polo, later saying, "I was holding on for dear life in that chopper. Those boots made me feel like I was on ice." Despite slipping, he made his grand entrance among screaming children who followed him to the ring.
To cement his babyface turn, he was approached by his manager Bobby "The Brain" Heenan during the entrance, and Luger didn't even slow down, shoving Heenan out of the way, signaling to the world he was now a good guy and no longer aligned with "The Brain."
Luger climbed into the ring and, after a few tense moments and a flurry of maneuvers, picked up Yokozuna and slammed him to the mat.
The crowd erupted, and Savage handed Luger American flags while the Steiners lifted him on their shoulders. Fireworks, music, and confetti cemented the moment.
The bus tour lasted six weeks from early July through mid-August 1993. Modeled after presidential "whistlestop" campaigns, Luger made appearances in over 50 cities to drum up support for his SummerSlam title match against Yokozuna. The WWF promoted the tour heavily, with vignettes on WWF Superstars and Monday Night RAW showing Luger meeting fans at malls, hardware stores, and county fairs.
One specific stop included a Toys "R" Us in Paramus, New Jersey, where Luger signed autographs for 4,000 fans. Paramus was just over a half hour (give or take) from where we lived. The neighbor kid who got everything he wanted went and met Luger, of course, but I didn't. I'm not sure what the given reason was at the time, but I always assumed it was because my parents didn't want to stand in line with me just to "meet a wrestler."
Other stops on the tour included a Home Depot in Boston, drawing nearly 6,000, and a county fair in Des Moines, Iowa, where Luger posed with kids on a Ferris wheel. In Denver, a heatwave pushed temperatures over 100°F, and Luger recalled that "EMTs were passing out ice water to keep fans from passing out." A stop near St. Louis saw Luger join a parade, waving from a float full of local Little Leaguers, a moment PW Torch described as "peak WWF Americana."
Despite the spectacle, the tour had several challenges that Prichard revealed on Something to Wrestle. According to Bruce, Luger was unenthusiastic about the bus trip, often demanding to fly to cities and stay in luxury hotels, only riding the bus for short distances to maintain the illusion of a road trip.
"Back then, Lex wasn't a people person," Prichard said, saying that the constant fan interactions were mentally draining for Luger. In his 2025 interview with Chris Van Vliet, Luger countered this, insisting that they exaggerated his discomfort, but admitted, "I wasn't used to that level of public interaction."
The Lex Express tour built momentum all summer long, heading into SummerSlam 1993 at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan. There, Luger challenged Yokozuna for the WWF Championship. The WWF hyped the match-up all summer as Luger's defining moment. They hyped the match as USA against the world. It was a must-win for Luger AND the USA, according to WWF programming. Yokozuna's new manager, the legendary Jim Cornette, stipulated that this would be Luger's only title shot should he lose the match.
The buildup included vignettes of Luger training and fans chanting "USA, USA!" at these bus tour stops. It is safe to say that fans everywhere were excited for the match and ready to cheer on Lex Luger.
However, the match ended in disappointment. Luger knocked Yokozuna out of the ring and won by countout when the giant sumo wrestler couldn't get back into the ring in time. Luger won the match, but a longstanding rule in professional wrestling states that the title cannot change hands by countout, only through pinfall or submission. Yokozuna was still champion.
After, a post-match celebration began, as Luger was joined by The Steiner Brothers, Tatanka, and a handful of others while balloons and confetti fell from the sky.
The crowd went... mild.
The air felt like it had been let out of the room, and fans who clamored all summer long to see Lex Luger, the all-American hero, win the World Championship, went home disappointed.
Prichard said, "Vince wasn't 100% sold on Lex… we needed Yokozuna to stay strong." On another podcast, Luger said, "That decision let the air out of my tires."
The Wrestling Observer noted Luger's struggle to emotionally connect with adults, lacking Hogan or Shawn Michaels' charisma. Kids loved him, but the Lex Express failed to make him the next All-American Hero like Hogan.
By the next spring's Royal Rumble '94, McMahon again tested the waters. Luger and Bret Hart were chosen as co-winners of the namesake Rumble match, both men falling out of the ring at the exact same time. Hart's louder cheers signaled the fans' preference, causing McMahon to (backstage) choose Hart, not Luger, to defeat Yokozuna for the title at WrestleMania X at Madison Square Garden.
Luger's All-American babyface push waned, and after a brief alliance with Tatanka and a feud with Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation, Luger was placed in a fairly well-loved tag team with the British Bulldog known as The Allied Powers. The Allied Powers, although popular, never achieved widespread success. Winning several matches against low-level tag teams like Well Dunn (Rex King and Steve Doll) and Jeff Jarrett and The Roadie, The Allied Powers failed in their one attempt at the Tag Team Championship. At "In Your House 2," Luger's nemesis Yokozuna (teaming with Owen Hart) defeated the Allied Powers when Luger took the pinfall loss from Yokozuna, following a leg drop.
In August 1995, British Bulldog completed a "heel turn," when he attacked Diesel (Kevin Nash). Luger was upset, and infighting destroyed the Allied Powers. Bulldog and Luger took opposite sides of the match between Diesel and King Mabel in August 1995 at SummerSlam. Luger had been working for the WWF on a handshake agreement, his contract having expired months prior, and did so during the August tentpole event.
Meanwhile, WCW's Eric Bischoff and Ted Turner were busy preparing for the launch of Monday Nitro to challenge Monday Night Raw, sparking the now-infamous Monday Night War.
On September 4, 1995, the landscape of pro wrestling changed forever when Nitro debuted live from the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. The show featured high-profile matches like Hulk Hogan vs. Big Bubba Rogers and Sting vs. Ric Flair, but an incident during the Sting/Flair match stole the spotlight and sent shockwaves through the wrestling world.
Lex Luger walked out live in the middle of Nitro, just a mere 24 hours after appearing for the WWF. Standing silently in the entryway, Luger smirked at Flair and Sting, wearing a white shirt that had always reminded me of "the puffy shirt" from Seinfeld. This unadvertised appearance was not just a spontaneous act of one wrestler "crashing" another promotion's event, but a carefully orchestrated surprise, facilitated by Luger's close relationship with Sting.
Luger, who has said many times he had hoped to end his career with the WWF, was frustrated over the stalled push of his patriotic character and other promised non-wrestling opportunities. With a desire for a fresh start, he reached out to his good personal friend, Sting (Steve Borden). While he may have worked for the competition, Borden was the co-owner of several health clubs in and around Atlanta with Luger, and the two always remained close friends.
Eric Bischoff, initially skeptical about Luger due to previous personal interactions, recognized the value of a surprise appearance. As he noted on his own podcast, 83 Weeks, the fact that both the WWF and fans believed Luger was still under contract made the debut a true "shocker."
Bischoff admitted that he wasn't fond of Luger at the time, citing his attitude, inflated ego, and self-centeredness. In recent years, Larry Pfohl (the man who plays Lex Luger) has devoted his life to God and, by all accounts, is an entirely different person who is now a joy to be around, compared to his personality in the 90s.
Insisting that Luger not even give notice to WWF since the fledgling internet and wrestling "dirt sheets" would leak the news, Bischoff lowballed Luger, figuring that he wouldn't agree to the conditions and at the very least, could tell Sting that "he tried."
Luger agreed, much to Bischoff's surprise, despite not wanting to ruin a chance at future work with McMahon.
Luger appeared at a WWF house show on Sunday, September 3rd, and signed his contract with WCW the next morning to ensure no legal conflicts. To avoid detection, WCW secluded Luger in a hotel several miles from the Mall of America, transporting him to the venue in a van under a towel and trench coat to conceal his identity. Except for Bischoff, Sting, and Flair, no one in the locker room or audience knew that Luger was in attendance.
During Sting's United States Championship match against Ric Flair, Luger appeared in the entranceway, prompting a stunned reaction from the crowd and commentators Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan, and Steve McMichael. Bischoff feigned shock, demanding the camera cut away from a competitor's wrestler, while Heenan noted Luger's right to be in a public mall. The announcers' genuine confusion, including McMichael barely recognizing Luger, amplified the moment's authenticity. Fans chanted Luger's name, and Sting and Flair paused to acknowledge the interruption, underscoring its significance.
In a post-match confrontation with Hogan, Randy Savage, and Sting, Luger declared his intent to challenge for Hogan's WCW World Heavyweight Championship, framing himself as a contender ready to "play with the big boys." Hogan accepted, setting up a title match for next week's Nitro.
This segment highlighted the new Nitro's unpredictability, establishing its "anything can happen" ethos and marking the very beginning of the Monday Night War.
For Luger, the debut revitalized his career, positioning him as a main-event player in WCW. He would later play a significant role in the New World Order (nWo) storyline and WCW's dominance for 83 consecutive weeks.
The WWF, meanwhile, entered the "New Generation" era, emphasizing younger stars like Hart, Shawn Michaels, and Diesel. The company faced financial struggles and competition from WCW, exacerbated by the Monday Night Wars. However, the Lex Express laid the groundwork for future WWF spectacles, proving the power of patriotic narratives and multimedia campaigns. By 1997, the WWF shifted to the edgier Attitude Era, with Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock redefining the industry.
The Lex Express is a complete time capsule of 1990s wrestling and childhood summers, and evokes nostalgia for a simpler time and a better era. The Lex Express was a bold, yet flawed, experiment that captured the ambition of the WWF and the spirit of 1990s America. Its roots in Hogan's exit and the steroid scandal highlight the company's desperation for a new superstar, while Luger's selection reflected the fixation on physicality in 90s wrestling.
The bus, a rolling patriotic monument, and its multiple cross-country stops were a logistical feat, despite Luger's ambivalence. The USS Intrepid bodyslam remains a high-water mark in the history of wrestling theatrics, its imagery permanently burned into fans' memories.
Although Lex's push faltered, and the WWF evolved without him, the Lex Express remains a nostalgic, feel-good memory for many wrestling fans.
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Comments
That was a lot of interesting information that I had no idea about before.
ReplyDeleteI was only into wrestling for a short time, and it was before the era that you got into it (Ultimate Warrior vs Hulk Hogan times). Some of my friends still watched it, so I do remember hearing about Lex becoming a good guy (which I found weird), but I definitely didn’t know about the bus.
I really respect the level of ridiculousness of that bus tour, though - the concept is so crazy, yet hilariously awesome. I would’ve totally been on board with that.