Lex Luger

Lex Luger
Born	(1958-06-02) June 2, 1958 Buffalo, New York
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Lex Luger The Total Package The Narcissist
Billed height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Billed weight	265 lb (120 kg; 18.9 st)
Billed from	Chicago, Illinois Atlanta, Georgia Boca Raton, Florida
Trained by	Bob Roop Hiro Matsuda
Debut	September 1985

Lawrence ("Larry") Wendell Pfohl (born June 2, 1958 Buffalo, New York) better known by his ring name Lex Luger, is an American former bodybuilder, professional wrestler and football player.

Professional wrestling career

Training

In 1985, Pfohl met Bob Roop at a celebrity golfing event in Florida and was given the chance to get into professional wrestling. Roop arranged for Pfohl to be trained by Hiro Matsuda, who had previously trained Hulk Hogan and "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff. Pfohl adopted the ring name "Lex Luger", being a fan of the comic book villain Lex Luthor, and made his in-ring debut in September 1985.

NWA Florida (1985-1986)

Luger began wrestling in the NWA Florida territory, and quickly came to dominate the area. He got his first victory on Halloween 1985 against Ed "The Bull" Gantner, and won the Southern Heavyweight Championship from Wahoo McDaniel the next month. In 1986, he fought NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair.

Towards the end of his run in Florida, Luger was involved in a now-legendary steel cage match with Bruiser Brody, where Brody stopped cooperating, leading to Luger leaving the match.

World Championship Wrestling (WCW)

1987-1988

In 1987, Luger went to work for Jim Crockett's World Championship Wrestling (WCW), which was under the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) banner, with the nickname "The Total Package" and began using the "The Human Torture Rack", an Argentine backbreaker as his finisher. He was first booked as an associate to Ric Flair's "Four Horsemen" stable until Ole Anderson was kicked out and he became an official member of the group. His first big feud was with Nikita Koloff, whom he defeated for the NWA United States Championship in July at The Great American Bash. Manager J.J. Dillon threw a chair over the top of the cage while the referee, Earl Hebner, was down. Luger knocked Koloff unconscious with it and then lifted up Koloff in the Torture Rack. A revived Hebner then dropped Koloff's arm three times with no response and awarded Luger a submission victory. He held the title until StarrCade in November, when he lost it to Dusty Rhodes in a steel cage. This loss set the stage for Luger leaving the Four Horsemen, as manager J.J. Dillon's interference cost Luger the match. A steel chair thrown in by Dillon was dropped by Luger and Rhodes DDT'd Luger on it prior to pinning him for the win.

Luger left the Four Horsemen in 1988 after he and his stable-mates (Tully Blanchard, Arn Anderson, and J.J. Dillon) were the sole wrestlers left in a Bunkhouse Stampede battle royal and Dillon asked the other wrestlers to give themselves up so he could win. Although Blanchard and Anderson complied, Luger refused and eliminated Dillon, leaving the Horsemen in the process.

Out of all the Horsemen, Luger befriended Barry Windham, his former Florida ally, and formed a tag team, dubbed""The Twin Towers", with him. "The Twin Towers" first teamed at Clash of the Champions in March to defeat Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson for the NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version). Only a few weeks after the title win, a swerve took place in the NWA with Barry Windham suddenly turning on Luger during a title defense (against Blanchard and Anderson) and joined his former stable, The Four Horsemen.

Days later, the Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup tag team tournament was held with its first night in Greenville, South Carolina. A partner-less Luger was teamed with an equally eaually so Sting (whose partner Ronnie Garvin had been kayfabe injured) and together the impromptu team won the entire tournament, defeating Blanchard and Anderson in the finals.

As Clash of the Champions II, held in June, approached it was announced that Luger would challenge Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at The Great American Bash on July 10 in Baltimore. The contract was signed on a yacht with Flair delivering the line "You gotta make it to Baltimore..." to Luger. As Luger arrived at The Clash in a limousine he was attacked by The Four Horsemen, leaving him (kayfabe) injured and bleeding in the parking lot on live television. The build up to the Flair/Luger match helped the event draw a 14,000 person crowd, only to see Luger lose the match in one of the biggest wrestling controversies ever. While Luger had Flair in the "Torture Rack" and Flair was about to submit, the match was abruptly stopped by the referee who cited (kayfabe) "Maryland State Athletic Commission" rules about a cut that had opened up on Luger's forehead "bleeding excessively".

Luger faced Flair in many rematches across the country, never winning the title - although he did frequently win their matches by disqualification (titles don't, usually, change hands on a disqualification). The Luger/Flair feud came to an end after December's StarrCade where Flair pinned Luger in the main event by illegally using the ropes.

1989-1990

With the feud with Flair over, Luger was matched up against old foe Barry Windham at The Chi Town Rumble in February, winning the NWA United States Championship from him. Luger defended the U.S. Championship regularly, remaining one of the top draws in the NWA.

He teamed up with Michael P.S. Hayes against Barry and Kendall Windham in a match which saw Hayes turn on Luger, setting himself as a contender to the U.S. Title at Wrestle War in Nashville, Tennessee. In what was considered a shocking upset at the time, Hayes defeated Luger for the title when a surprise appearance by Hayes's ex-Freebird mate Terry Gordy helped cost Luger the match. As a groggy Hayes had Luger pinned, Luger put his foot on the ropes trying to negate the pin but Gordy illegally shoved his foot off. Luger regained the U.S. Title from Hayes in a rematch a couple of weeks later, beginning a heel turn when he broke the rules by pulling Hayes' tights while pinning Hayes to win the match. The turn became "official" shortly after, when at Clash of the Champions VII Luger attacked the popular Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat after Steamboat had defeated Terry Funk by disqualification. Luger yelled out in frustration about the former world champion Steamboat continuing to be the #1 contender for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and a feud between between the two occurred with matches around the country for Luger's U.S. Title, with Luger always coming out on top. Eventually, Luger and Steamboat faced each other at The Great American Bash in July with Luger winning by disqualification after Luger refused to wrestle Steamboat until the match's no-disqualification clause had been waived. Steamboat departed the NWA shortly afterward.

In the fall of 1989, Luger's U.S. Title began taking a back seat to the main event feuds occurring between Flair, Sting, Terry Funk, and The Great Muta, relegating Luger to defend the U.S. Title against lower caliber opponents. In November, things picked up for him again as Brian Pillman challenged him at Clash of the Champions IX. Luger won the match after hitting Pillman with a chair, pushing him back into the spotlight. After the main event of the card, which saw Ric Flair and Terry Funk in a (now famous) "I Quit" match, Luger made a surprise run in, attacking both Flair and Sting, who had come out to save Flair from a post match attack by The Great Muta.

December's Starrcade featured an "Ironman" tournament between Flair, Sting, Luger, and Muta. The tournament featured 15 minute time limit matches pitting all of the men against each other, with no titles on the line, and points awarded for victories. Though Sting eventually won the tournament, Luger was the only participant to go undefeated (Sting got pinfall victories over Muta and Flair, giving him the most points to win the tournament). This elevated Sting to the #1 contender for Flair's world title.

With Sting and Flair set to square off at Wrestle War '90 in February, Luger seemed to be dwindling away from the main event scene. He was booked to defend the U.S. Title against "Dr. Death" Steve Williams on the card, but a legitimate injury to Sting caused the entire booking of the card to get changed. Luger was elevated to face Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. An injured Sting appeared in Luger's corner during the match, eventually being attacked by Ole and Arn Anderson. When Luger left the ring to help Sting he was counted out, giving the match to Flair. The idea here was to build Luger up as a "changed man" that had "gained self-respect" by saving Sting. Luger challenged Flair across the country in rematches, but similar to their 1988 feud, the matches always ended with Luger not winning or winning but not earning the title. In the final match of the feud, a few months after Wrestle War, another screwjob finish occurred where Luger won by disqualification against Flair in a steel cage match when the cage rose up from the ground and outside interference marred the match.

In mid-1990, Luger's focus went back to defending his U.S. Championship while the NWA focused on Sting and his reign as World Heavyweight Champion. It became difficult coming up with opponents to feud with Luger until Stan Hansen entered the company and the two of them feuded for a brief period of months, with Luger eventually dropping the title to Hansen at Halloween Havoc in October, though he won it back atthe next month's Starrcade. Luger's title reign lasted a total of 523 days, making him, the longest reiging United States Champion in history. As of 2008 this record still stands, as it is longer than any other reign for the belt in the NWA, WCW or WWE.

1991-1992

Beginning in 1991 World Championship Wrestling began to withdraw from the National Wrestling Alliance to become its own company. For more information see here.

Luger started 1991 feuding with Dan Spivey, who unsuccessfully challenged him at Wrestle War in February for the WCW United States Championship. Following their match, Nikita Koloff suddenly appeared to attack Luger, reigniting their feud from 1987. It didn't last long, however, as Koloff found himself being pushed into an angle with Sting instead of Luger, and Luger again began to challenge Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship after becoming #1 contender by defeating The Great Muta at Clash of the Champions XV.

With the history of "screwjob finishes" between Flair and Luger, their title match was set to be contested at The Great American Bash in a Steel cage match with the added stipulation that, should Flair get disqualified he would lose the title. The match never occurred, however, as Ric Flair began to have disagreements with Jim Herd, the head of WCW, over his future and salary. He eventually quit the company (being "stripped" of the title in the process) and took the World Title belt with him.

With the title now vacant, Barry Windham was declared the #2 contender and was set to face Luger in the cage match at The Bash. During the match Luger was turned heel (and Windham face) when Harley Race and Mr. Hughes came to ringside and "ordered" Luger to piledrive (an illegal maneuver) Windham. He did it, winning his first WCW World Heavyweight Championship.

The rest of 1991 was spent getting Luger over as champion and top heel, including a controversial racial angle with Ron Simmons where he asked Simmons to join his entourage, but as a chauffeur. Luger defeated Simmons at Halloween Havoc in October. Eventually, Luger began to have his own issues with WCW, and the contract he had, seemed to have him wrestling less and less while still collecting money.

In the fall of '91 Luger had a brief feud with Rick Steiner, defeating him at Clash of the Champions XVII in November. The next month's Starrcade was booked with the BattleBowl format, with Sting winning #1 contendership at the end of the night.

Luger's contract only required him to work a specific number of dates, and having fulfilled them he "sat out" the end of 1991 and beginning of 1992. This left Sting to build the feud against him on his own. Aside from one January title defense (against Masa Chono), Luger did not wrestle a match until February's SuperBrawl II, where he lost cleanly to Sting.

World Bodybuilding Federation (1992)

After losing to Sting at SuperBrawl, Luger negotiated a departure from WCW and joined Vince McMahon's World Bodybuilding Federation (WBF), appearing regularly as a co-host on its Saturday morning program, WBF BodyStars. He also made an appearance at the WWF's WrestleMania VIII, taking part in an on air interview with Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon. He was slated to guest pose at a WBF pay-per-view event, but was injured in a motorcycle accident. By the time he recovered, the WBF was out of business.

World Wrestling Federation

1993

After his accident and the closure of the WBF, Luger joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). His first TV appearances were vignettes hyping his "greatness" until he was "unveiled" by Bobby "the Brain" Heenan at the Royal Rumble. Luger then adopted the moniker of The Narcissist, a heel gimmick that saw him pose before full-length mirrors before every match. The WWF also incorporated his motorcycle accident into his gimmick, capitalizing on the fact that he had a "metal plate" inserted into his forearm which was said to cause more damage when it struck an opponent. This caused a number of his opponents to demand that he wear a cover over it during matches when he had a streak of knocking people out. The Narcissist only had one real feud, which was against Mr. Perfect. The feud was based on Heenan, his manager, calling him "more than perfect" in a slight at Mr. Perfect, his former managerial client. The feud ended at WrestleMania IX when Luger defeated Perfect.

In mid-1993, after Hulk Hogan's departure from the company, Luger had taken the nickname "Made in the USA" and transformed himself from a heel to a "mega-face". On July 4 he took part in a memorable event where he arrived (by a red helicopter) on the dock of the USS Intrepid (CV-11) and body slammed the over 500 pound (227 kg) WWF champion Yokozuna after a number of other WWF superstars, jobbers, pretend guys, and other athletes, including television legend Betty White, attempted and failed four times. Following this he began the "Lex Express" tour, traveling the country in a Red, White, and Blue painted bus to greet fans and to "campaign" for a shot at the WWF Title. Luger got his shot at Yokozuna at SummerSlam, with the stipulation that this would be Luger's only shot at the title forever. Luger, with the use of the metal plate in his forearm, eventually won the match, but by count-out, meaning that Yokozuna retained the title.

1994-1995

At the January Royal Rumble, Luger and Bret Hart were declared "co-winners" of the Royal Rumble match after both men went over the top rope and had their feet hit the ground at the simutaniously. As such, both received shots at the WWF Championship at WrestleMania X. Luger was disqualified in his title match, and Hart went on to win the title.

For the summer of 1994 Luger aligned himself with Tatanka until (kayfabe) rumors began to swirl that Luger was planning to join Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation. Tatanka and Luger's friendship was strained by the lack of trust between them, until Tatanka joined the Corporation at SummerSlam, the very action of which he'd accused Luger. Luger continued to feud with The Million Dollar Corporation, leading a Survivor Series team consisting of himself, Mabel, Adam Bomb and The Smokin' Gunns (Billy and Bart Gunn), dubbed "Guts & Glory", to a loss against the Corporate team of Tatanka, King Kong Bundy, Bam Bam Bigelow and The Heavenly Bodies ("Gigolo" Jimmy Del Ray and Tom Prichard) in a match at the November event - with only King Kong Bundy and Bam Bam Bigelow surviving.

1995 saw Luger form a team with Davey Boy Smith, dubbed the "The Allied Powers". Between March and July 1995 The Allied Powers joined the hunt for the World Tag Team Championship, until Luger left the company.

World Championship Wrestling (WCW)

1995-1997

In late August 1995, after expressing to Sting that he wanted to leave the WWF, Luger got a call from World Championship Wrestling Vice-President Eric Bischoff to set up a meeting about a contract and Luger possibly "jumping ship". Years later, Bischoff would claim that he was never a fan of Luger on a personal or professional level and only decided to hire him only to have his debut be a big shock to wrestling fans on the first of WCW Monday Nitro. Where he came out during a match between sting and Ric Flair.

After Luger's debut, he acted as a sort of tweener character, not making his allegiances known, except for his long-time friendship with Sting. He merely claimed that he wanted to stake his claim at Hulk Hogan's World Heavyweight Title, facing him on only the second episode of Nitro. At Halloween Havoc 1995, Luger officially turned heel, attacking Hulk Hogan after his match with The Giant and joining Kevin Sullivan's Dungeon of Doom stable. After the match, Luger would continue his feud with Hogan but also feud with "Macho Man" Randy Savage. Strangely enough, however, despite being a heel, he would retain his friendship with Sting. The two men teamed up to defeat Harlem Heat for the WCW World Tag Team Championship on the January 22, 1996 edition of Monday Nitro, with Luger constantly teasing dissention due to his allegiance to the Dungeon of Doom, but always seeming to stay on the same path as his friend. Luger would also defeat Johnny B. Badd for the WCW World Television Title on February 17, losing it back to him the next night, and winning it again on March 6.

At WCW's 1996Uncensored 1996 pay-per-view, Luger teamed with 9 other men in a "Doomsday Cage Match", but was unsuccessful in defeating the team of Hogan and Savage. Luger was blamed for the loss and kicked out of the stable, thus turning him face again. During the summer, Luger began a feud with The Giant for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, unsuccessfully challenging on at June's Great American Bash. During this time, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, both former WWF superstars, began appearing on WCW television and claimed they were "taking over" the company. Randy Savage spearheaded the WCW wrestlers against them, with Luger and Sting by his side. Luger, along with Savage and Sting, took on The Outsiders and a third, mystery, partner that they claimed was an "insider" at July's Bash at the Beach 1996. In the first few minutes of the match Luger went down to a (kayfabe) injury, leaving Sting and Savage on their own when the mystery partner revealed himself to be Hulk Hogan. With Luger no longer around, Savage and Sting were "easy prey" for Hall, Nash, and Hogan who announced themselves as the New World Order (nWo) afterwards.

Luger continued to be one of the leaders for the WCW's siege against the nWo, wrestling and feuding with a number of their members. He would win a "Four Corners" match to become the #1 contender for Hogan's WCW title at Spring Stampede, and teamed with his new ally, The Giant, to defeat Hogan and basketball star Dennis Rodman at the 1997 Bash at the Beach pay-per-view. When he began to focus on Hulk Hogan, he eventually won the World Heavyweight title from him on the Nitro six days before August's Road Wild in an impromptu title match made that night to fill the third hour of an unusually long edition of Nitro. However, he lost it right back to him at the pay per view. His victory, however, marked the first time in a year that WCW had "won their world title back" from the nWo.

1998-2001

Luger feuded with Randy Savage, Scott Hall, and Buff Bagwell in the first half of 1998 until he joined the nWo Wolfpac. Luger played a central role in the group's war with Hogan's original nWo, and even convinced the long standing anti-nWo Sting to join. He also took part in the incident that became known as The Fingerpoke of Doom, in which both nWo factions united against the dominant Bill Goldberg in early 1999. He remained a member of the new nWo until he was sidelined with a (legitimate) biceps injury.

In mid-1999, Luger began another heel run. He started off by bringing back Miss Elizabeth as his Manager. Under his new moniker, he began using steel chairs to (kayfabe) break the arms of his fallen opponents. Also during this time, Luger had a long feud with Goldberg and formed a tag team with Buff Bagwell named "Totally Buff", which he stayed in until The WWF purchased WCW.

Since Luger's WCW contract was not a part of the WWF's purchase of WCW's assets, Luger collected the remainder of his guaranteed contract through a subsidiary of Time Warner that had been set up to handle outstanding debts and business from WCW.

World Wrestling All-Stars

In late 2002, Luger joined the European tour of World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA). He debuted on November 28, 2002 in Dublin, Ireland, teaming with Sting to defeat Buff Bagwell and Malice. On December 6, 2002 at WWA's Retribution pay-per-view, Luger defeated Sting to win the vacant WWA World Heavyweight Championship after Jeff Jarrett interfered on his behalf. In Manchester, England on December 7, Luger and Sting faced Bagwell and Jarrett in a match in which both Luger's WWA World Heavyweight Championship and Jarrett's NWA World Heavyweight Championship were on the line, though neither title changed hands, as Sting pinned Bagwell. Luger made his final appearance with WWA on December 13, in Zürich, Switzerland, when he lost the WWA World Heavyweight Championship to Sting in a three way dance that also featured Malice.

Total Non-Stop Action Wrestling

In late 2003 Luger began working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), appearing on November 12, teaming with Jeff Jarrett in a loss to Sting and A.J. Styles. He returned to TNA on February 25, 2004, interfering in Styles' match with Abyss for sole possession of the NWA World Tag Team Championship and helping Abyss defeat Styles.

Throughout 2004 and 2005, Luger made sporadic appearances on the independent circuit. He returned to TNA in 2006, first appearing during the April 27 TNA Impact! as the second of Sting's potential tag team partners for Sacrifice. Throughout September and October, he appeared on Impact! as one of the people (along with Buff Bagwell) helping Sting to "prepare" for his upcoming match against Jarrett at Bound for Glory.

Wrestling facts

• Finishing and signature moves

• Human Torture Rack / Rebel Rack (Argentine backbreaker rack)
• Bionic Forearm / Luger's Elbow / Ace-Is-The-Place Elbow (Running elbow smash / Running forearm smash)
• Lex-Plex (Superplex)
• Attitude Adjustment (Piledriver)
• Hip toss
• Neckbreaker
• Powerslam
• Scoop slam
• Military press slam

• Managers

• J.J. Dillon
• Miss Elizabeth
• Ric Flair
• Jimmy Hart
• Hiro Matsuda
• Harley Race
• Bob Roop
• Kevin Sullivan

Championships and accomplishments

• Championship Wrestling from Florida

• NWA Florida Bahamian Championship (1 time)
• NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
• NWA Florida Television Championship (1 time)

• Jim Crockett Promotions | World Championship Wrestling

• NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (4 times) (Last)
• NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) (1 time) - with Barry Windham
• WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)¹ (First)
• WCW World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
• WCW World Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Sting (1) and The Giant (1)
• WCW World Television Championship (2 times)
• Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament Winner in 1988 - with Sting
• First WCW Triple Crown Champion (First)²
• WCW Grand Slam Champion (First)

• World Wrestling All-Stars

• WWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• World Wrestling Federation

• Royal Rumble (1994) – with Bret Hart

¹Luger's 4th NWA United States Heavyweight Championship reign carried over to World Championship Wrestling when it was renamed the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship, making him the last NWA United States Champion and first WCW United States Champion.
²Luger and Sting technically tied for being the first WCW Triple Crown Champion.

Personal life

Luger is divorced and has two children, a son, Brian and a daughter, Lauren .

Legal problems

File:Lexlugermug.jpg

Luger's mug shots after being arrested in May 2003 on 14 drug possession charges and then in April 2003 for misdemeanor battery charges

.

On April 19, 2003, Luger was involved in a domestic dispute with his, then, live-in girlfriend, and former valet, Elizabeth Hulette, in the garage of their townhouse in Marietta, Georgia. Luger had allegedly struck her. Cobb County police found Elizabeth with two bruised eyes, a bump on her head and a cut lip. Luger was charged with a misdemeanour count of battery and released on $2,500 bond. Two days later on April 21, Luger was arrested for driving under the influence after rear-ending another car while driving his Porsche. According to the report on the arrest, Luger had slurred speech, bloodshot eyes and could not locate his driver's license. Luger had a 9-mm handgun in the car. Elizabeth was a passenger in the vehicle, and was sent home in a taxicab. Luger was also driving with a suspended license for not appearing in court on March 5, 2003 for a hearing on a previous offence (driving with expired tags and having no proof of insurance).

On May 1, 2003, Hulette died in the townhouse they shared in Marietta, after mixing pills of hydrocodone, Alprazolam (Xanax), and anabolic steroids (testosterone and sazien) with vodka. Luger was arrested later that day after a search of the residence revealed a number of illicit controlled substances, including anabolic steroids, OxyContin, synthetic growth hormone, testosterone, and Alprazolam. He was charged with 14 drug possession counts, 13 of them felonies. He was released the following day on $27,500 bail. Hulette's death was eventually ruled accidental. Luger pled guilty to the charges on February 3, 2005. He was given a $1,000 fine, sentenced to five years probation, and required to submit to periodic drug testing.

In December 2005, Luger and fellow wrestlers Buff Bagwell and Scott Steiner were removed from a flight from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Canada. They were detained for several hours before Bagwell and Steiner were released, while Luger was held without bail as a result of two outstanding felony charges in the state of Georgia (he had neglected to obtain permission to leave the country from his parole officer). Luger was detained in the Hennepin County jail for two weeks before being extradited to Georgia to stand trial on December 22, 2005. Luger was sentenced to nine weeks imprisonment, and was released in February 2006.

Trinity Broadcasting Network appearance

On September 28, 2006, Luger appeared on Praise the Lord, the flagship talk program of the Trinity Broadcasting Network, and declared himself a born again Christian. In an interview conducted by guest host Steve Borden (known as "Sting" in wrestling), an emotional Luger discussed the downward turn of his career and personal life -- including the events surrounding Hulette's death -- and how it led to his religious conversion.

Present Circumstances

Pfohl credits Steve Baskin, the pastor of Western Hills Baptist Church in Kennesaw, Georgia, with pulling him from a terminal tailspin. The jail chaplain met Luger in early 2006 and sensed the former wrestler was spiritually bankrupt. As of July 2007, Pfohl lives in a spare bedroom in Baskin's apartment and is trying to figure out a path in life. Pfohl also is an admitted steroid user who says he took handfulls of pills a day in a recent interview.

"Spinal Stroke"

On October 19, 2007, Pfohl suffered a nerve impingement in his neck that led to temporary paralysis. He was at Stanford Hospital in stable condition. He underwent intravenous antibiotic treatment and was expected to make a full recovery.

Luger issued a statement thanking all of his fans for their continued support. He mentions that doctors are puzzled how this happened, and are not sure if the damage done is permanent. He continues to say that life is fragile, and not to take it for granted.

Nearly a month after his "spinal stroke", Luger was finally transferred from California to an Atlanta hospital. Pfohl still was in a quadriplegic state, having no movement in either his arms or legs. Pfohl was scheduled to have hip replacement surgery the week before, had it not been for the stroke. Doctors had told him that they would be amazed if he was able to walk without the surgery.

Despite regaining some feeling and movement, Pfohl still remains paralyzed.

Nikita Koloff appeared on the Wrestling-Radio.com online show and gave an update on Pfohl. He said he's traveled twice recently to see Pfohl. He said Pfohl is still in a wheelchair after the San Francisco wrestling convention fiasco, and that for a long time, he was paralyzed from the neck down. After Luger spent a week at Stanford Hospital, tests determined nothing. He was sent to an Atlanta rehab facility where their testing also came back with no answers. According to Koloff, "Lex said his spinal column short circuited," but lately he's been making "remarkable improvement." According to Koloff, Pfohl can lift his legs and move his torso, and can hold a can in his hand. Koloff said Pfohl told him, "I've had 49 good years with these legs, and if I never walk again, I'll be the best wheelchairer for Jesus, you've ever seen."

External links

• Official Website
• Lex Luger at IMDb