The WORST Wrestling Story Every Year (1989-2025)

1993 - Lex Luger Vs. Yokozuna

lex luger yokozuna
WWE.com

The WWF was in a strange position in 1993.

The fad was half-dead on a commercial scale. The buildings were smaller. So were the wrestlers. Vince McMahon sensed that his dwindling ultra audience was far more into the full-blooded wrestling angles - the Bret Hart Vs. Jerry Lawler business was incredibly well-done - but he was Vince McMahon. He could not help himself. If he had a soul, it sang to him a familiar tune: “Book a muscle freak and have him racially abuse a foreigner, you know you want to”.

Enter Lex Luger, who referred to heel Japanese (Hawaiian) champion Yokozuna as a “sushi-eating’, rice-chompin’” wrestler before he cosplayed as Hulk Hogan and hit Yoko with the body-slam on the USS Intrepid. Luger then spent the time between his big angle and the big encounter at SummerSlam riding on a bus and visiting his fans. He didn’t wrestle a single match on Raw. This was such an odd move, particularly since Luger’s babyface turn was so sudden and rushed. Young, thoroughly bemused fans were expected to receive this guy as their new hero, except, he did nothing heroic. He did nothing at all!

This was the plan:

Be racist.

Ride a bus.

Beat Yokozuna by count-out, fail to win the World title, celebrate like he had.

Become the next Hulk Hogan.

It’s genuinely weird that Vince McMahon thought there was even a choice to make between Luger and Bret Hart at Royal Rumble 1994. Then again, Luger did have a better physique.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!