During the latest edition of his “Grilling JR” podcast, WWE Hall of Famer and AEW commentator Jim Ross commented on Lex Luger slamming Yokozuna on the USS Intrepid, and more. You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On Lex Luger slamming Yokozuna on the USS Intrepid: “The concept I liked. The presentation was pretty much amazing to have that big of a crowd – it was 100 degrees that day. I know some of the boys were talking about how hot the mat was and the heat coming off the mat was almost insurmountable. The idea was good…….and no disrespect to Lex, he’s battled some health problems over the years, he’s a born-again Christian, he’s living a good life and he’s coping. Going into it, did he have the look? Hell yeah, he looked amazing, and he looked good in red, white, and blue. They had the plan to do the Lex Express and all that good stuff. The idea, in general, was a good idea to get a babyface over because remember, he didn’t beat Yokozuna, he bodyslammed him. So, I could buy that. It’s just over time, Lex had challenges connecting with the audience somewhat and that natural organic connection. But how would you know that until you get on your journey and get on your Lex Express driving around? I didn’t have a problem with the angle, but in hindsight, it was probably the wrong guy. You could say ‘Well, who else would’ve it had been?’ I don’t know if you could’ve done the same angle with someone else because Luger was so big, so strong. It just didn’t pan out, but in the beginning, I thought what a hell of an idea this is. And then when you see all the people on the ship on the Fourth of July – McMahon knew how to create sizzle, and that situation had sizzle.”
On Luger not winning the WWE title at SummerSlam 1993 and the company changing its plans for him: “I think the plan was eventually to get the title on Luger so he could be the new Hogan. That seemed like the direction we were headed. Somewhere along the way – isn’t it interesting the timeline, you’re talking about this whole Luger thing evolving on July 4 and the bloom was off the rose not that much later. People have gotta give McMahon credit. He can see things and sense things and he had Pat and Bruce around him to say ‘Look, he’s not getting over’ or the agent reports…….and I think the agent reports just weren’t good. They consistently weren’t good. So you’ve gotta make the decision if you’re gonna fish or cut bait. In that situation, we cut bait.”
(h/t – 411 Wrestling)
