"Some old wounds don't heal quickly" - Jim Ross explains why WWE icon is not a Hall of Famer
Jim Ross believes Lex Luger is not in the WWE Hall of Fame due to the circumstances surrounding his exit from the company.
On September 3, 1995, Luger’s WWE contract expired after he teamed up with Shawn Michaels to defeat Owen Hart and Yokozuna at a live event. The following night, he surprisingly returned to WCW on the first episode of WCW Nitro.
Speaking on his Grilling JR podcast, Jim Ross said The Ultimate Warrior became a Hall of Famer despite having disagreements with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. He added that Luger’s decision to rejoin WCW without informing WWE should not prevent him from being inducted.
“I think some old wounds just don’t heal as quickly as others,” Ross said. “And when you embarrass the company to some degree… Look, here’s the thing, Vince put The Warrior in, so I don’t know that Lex did anything any more egregious, by a long shot, than what Warrior did to WWF, WWE.”
Luger will be the focus of the next episode of WWE Network series WWE Icons. A trailer for the documentary, which will air on Sunday, can be found above.
Jim Ross on Lex Luger embarrassing WWE
Lex Luger was still in negotiations with WWE over a new contract when he appeared on WCW Nitro in 1995. As part of his WCW deal, the 1994 Royal Rumble co-winner was told not to let anyone in WWE know about his next move.
Asked why Luger is not in the WWE Hall of Fame, Jim Ross pointed to that moment as the reason why.
“The embarrassment he’d thrown on the company,” Ross said. “I believe he will be, I believe that Lex Luger will be in the WWE Hall of Fame. I think it’ll be a popular decision when it occurs because he’ll be allowed [to discuss his career] in his two to three minutes that he’s allocated, which we’ve talked about before is ridiculous [WWE’s short Hall of Fame speeches].”
Ross added that WWE should “use common sense and logic” with future Hall of Fame speeches. He believes the short amount of time that the 2020 and 2021 inductees received was not enough.
Please credit Grilling JR and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.