SUMMERDALE, Alabama – One of pro wrestling's most recognizable figures, Lex Luger seemed to be on top of the world in the '80s and '90s. A three-time world champion, he was one of the Four Horsemen. He even defeated Hulk Hogan.
“We were the bad group who had all the belts,” Luger recalled.
But there was a loneliness he couldn't shake. "I was leading a double life behind the scenes of all this," he told the Central Baldwin Chamber of Commerce's 10th Annual Prayer Breakfast in Summerdale, one of several National Day of Prayer events Thursday. "We get on that chase for fame, fortune and glamour. That was me."
Luger’s life made a 180-degree turn in 2006, when he was led to Christ by a jail chaplain – but not before a friend had died in his arms and he had been jailed on drug charges. Luger’s story is the subject of his 2013 book “Wrestling with the Devil: The True Story of a World Champion Professional Wrestler – His Reign, Ruin and Redemption.”
Lex Luger's 2013 book
Luger now has physical limitations, a consequence of years of pro wrestling and football, including with the Miami Hurricanes. His connection to Baldwin County was through last year's speaker, Mark Tidwell, who has since died of colon cancer.
“When people talked about Jesus, I’d give them the ‘Heisman,’” Luger said Thursday, holding up a hand. But chaplain Steve Baskin of Western Hills Baptist Church in Kennesaw, Ga., wouldn’t take no for an answer. The two became friends, and eventually Baskin invited the wrestler to a Sunday night church service.
He recalled arriving late to the service at a red-brick church with a white steeple. “I had spiritual warfare in the parking lot,” he said. “I opened the door and slid into the back pew.”
A week later, Luger pulled out a gospel tract he had taken from Baskin and asked his friend to explain it. “I can live forever and be forgiven?” he recalled asking. “I had the most incredible experience of the Holy Spirit coming into my body. It’s been supernatural ever since.”
More than a year later, Luger was to face a serious physical challenge. He suffered a spinal stroke in 2007 that left him paralyzed. There was damage to his C5 and C6 vertebrae from years of pro wrestling and football.
Despite predictions that he would remain paralyzed, Luger is mobile today. He has the use of his limbs and can walk short distances. On Thursday, he spoke from a wheelchair, a black copy of the King James Bible in his lap.
“I cried out to God … ‘What kind of warrior for Christ am I going to be now?’” he said, adding that God gave him a verse from 2 Corinthians 12:9: “And he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
“When that happened, God was with me to carry me through it,” he said.
During his heyday, promoters came up with the idea of Luger wrestling – and slamming -- Yokozuna, a Samoan-American who wrestled as a representative of Japan. Even for Luger, known as “the total package,” slamming the 627-pound Yokozuna would be a challenge, he recalled.
Also, promoters wanted Luger to wear cowboy boots.
“I thought I was on ice skates,” he said, describing the slick-bottomed boots. “ ‘ No problem, brother,’” Yokozuna told him. “ ‘I’ll do it all myself.’
“I thought I’d be a little ink spot in the middle of the rink,” Luger said. But “he literally slammed himself.”