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Lex Luger had a friendship with a real-life Bloodline member that not many know about. Despite being bitter rivals on-screen, Luger opened up about the relationship they had.
Speaking to Sportskeeda Wrestling's Bill Apter in an exclusive interview, Lex Luger briefly spoke about one of the all-time great real-life Bloodline members - Yokozuna. Although he portrayed a Japanese sumo wrestling character, he was, in fact, Samoan and a part of the legendary Anoa'i family.
Lex Luger opened up about the wholesome relationship he shared with Yokozuna, praising the former WWE Champion:
"Yoko[zuna] was a special guy, we all miss him. We used to call him the showstopper because when he came out with his music and Fuji-man [Mr. Fuji], he had to go on last. Because he had such a presence in the crowd and the ring. 600 pounds, there was nothing like him. We called him the dancing bear because he was so agile, still at that size. He could really move around, and I think it was because of his sumo training he really had. Those Island Boys, those guys were so athletic. Those guys were big and strong. Yoko was no exception to the rule. He was incredible, we were really good friends outside the ring. In all the European tours, he and I would play cards at the back of the bus. We were rivals, but in real life we were close. He was such an incredible guy, we all miss him so much. And what an underrated career. One of the best big men ever." (7:10-8:21)
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Lex Luger had a bizarre SummerSlam match with Yokozuna
By the summer of 1993, Yokozuna had regained the WWE Championship from Hulk Hogan, whose legendary tenure with the company subsequently came to an end.
It was well documented that Vince McMahon saw Lex Luger as the successor to Hogan after failing to create the same magic with The Ultimate Warrior a few years ago. However, Luger, despite getting pushed heavily, was unable to live up to the massive expectations set for him.
In the main event of SummerSlam 1993, Lex Luger challenged Yokozuna for the WWE Championship. Luger willingly let Yokozuna get counted out so he could win the match. After he won via countout, the locker room came out to celebrate with him, even having him hoisted up on the shoulders of the Steiner Brothers while he waved the American flag.
It was rightfully pointed out on commentary that his win made no difference because he didn't win the WWE Championship. It would serve as the final nail in the coffin to Luger's run as a babyface, with many in hindsight believing that he would have been better off with his villainous "narcissist" character.
Despite this, Luger went on to win the Royal Rumble in 1994 along with Bret Hart, making them the only co-winners in history. Luger lost to Yokozuna via disqualification at WrestleMania 10, while Bret Hart dethroned him to get revenge for his loss at WrestleMania 9.
Luger went on to have more success in WCW, but the decision to have him celebrate a countout win at SummerSlam 1993 remains one of the more questionable ones in wrestling history.
Please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling and embed the YouTube video if you use the quotes from this article.
