Lex Luger recently opened up about his decision to leave WWE and make a surprise appearance on the inaugural episode of WCW Monday Nitro on September 4, 1995, a moment that is considered one of the first major shots fired in the Monday Night Wars. While the move was a massive success for WCW and created an iconic moment in wrestling history, Luger revealed on his “Lex Expressed” podcast that he has regrets about the way he handled his departure from WWE. He explained that he had a great personal relationship with Vince McMahon and that leaving the company without giving any notice was a difficult decision that left him with mixed emotions at the time. His comments provide a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at one of the most pivotal moments in the history of the wrestling business.
Luger detailed the difficult position he was in, as he was working on a handshake agreement with Vince McMahon at the time.
“Vince McMahon always treated me very well. We had a great personal relationship… There were no hard feelings… So yeah, if there was a regret, it was definitely at the time. I had very mixed emotions on that. I went home and told my wife, ‘They want me to come in. I think it’s a long-term, not short-term, money-wise, but it could be a great opportunity for me to go back to WCW, but they want me to leave, not give any notice.’ Yeah, it was hard for me back then to get my arms around doing that.”
He also recalled bumping into Vince McMahon about a year and a half later, at the height of the Monday Night Wars.
“I bumped him into an airport about a year and a half later, and the wars were up full board. Vince was gracious, smiled, and came up and shook my hand. Outwardly, at least, he didn’t seem like he had any hard feelings about it. It hurt me doing it, so my guess was, and only he can answer that, that it definitely was hurtful. So yeah, that was a definite regret. As good as things were going, it hurt a little bit, for sure.”
H/T to Fightful for the transcription. Thanks for checking out this article. Make sure to follow Jeff Jarrett and all things GFE on Facebook.