When Flair jumped ship to the WWF in 1991, Lex Luger was firmly ingrained as his number one contender. He had reached this position by defeating the Great Muta, and a steel cage match was signed for the 1991 edition of The Great American Bash. Of course, you can't face yourself in a cage match, and with Flair gone Barry Windham was named as the number two contender. The two battled it out over the vacant title. Luger would win and hold the title for an impressive 230 days. He didn't hold the big gold belt during this time, however, as Flair had the original belt. Luger's time as champion was marred by a particularly tasteless angle with future champion Ron Simmons, who Luger wanted to bring into his group as a chauffeur. Luger barely defended the title due to his own contractual issues with WCW, and he eventually dropped it to Sting at the beginning of 1992.