Austin Region, Lexington Subregion, First Round: (14) Lex Luger vs. (19) Goldust

[klunderbunker]

This is a first round match in the Austin Region, Lexington Subregion. It is a standard one on one match. It will be held at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky.

#14. Lex Luger

Vs.

#19. Goldust

​

Polls will be open for three days following a one day period for discussion. Voting will be based on who you feel is the greater of the two competitors. Post your reasons for why your pick should win below. Remember that this is non-spam and the most votes in the poll win. Any ties will be broken by the amount of posts of support for each candidate, with one vote per poster.

Also remember that this is a non-spam forum. If you post a response without giving a reason for your selection, it will be penalized for spam and deleted.

 

[Spidey Revivey]

Lex Luger was a fairly bland character who was pushed up the ranks due to Hulk Hogan leaving WWF. He was given the American Savior gimmick and did absolutely nothing special with it. He also beat on Miss Elizabeth, and since domestic abuse is a dark mark for Steve Austin, it should be for Lex, too.

Goldust was leaps and bounds ahead of his time, running a character that played against the macho men's fear of that era- homoeroticism. He cut promos hypnotically, and besides a few hiccups, managed to attain his character for almost 30 years. Lex Luger was a patriot for about a year or two. His other gimmick included "look at my muscles". Clearly Goldust was the superior personality.

I'd make the case, at least here, that accolades don't matter. Lex Luger was a guy thrown into the Main Event because of his look and WWF losing their big names. Goldust was something completely original in a place where his sort of style should not have been popular, yet he was.

Seriously. Early 90s was rasslin' and there was a guy kissing other dudes and flirting with them, and he was over. Luger could barely speak. He could flex though, so a World Champ he was.

Vote Goldust.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Lex Luger vs Goldust is a mid card match on every card. Luger wins by DQ because Goldust continued to nut shot him. I can't give Goldust a win over Luger if I'm really comparing careers here.

 

[Bernkastel]

I agree with Jeff here. If I'm comparing singles careers then it's a no brainer win for Luger. Luger was very popular starting out but had absolutely zero staying power. Despite being dressed in the brightest colors imaginable, he still managed to be as dull as white paper. Dustin Rhodes managing to keep the Goldust gimmick fresh and interesting for 20 years is nothing short of remarkable. I've always liked Goldust. I even liked Black Reign; but we won't talk about that here. But the fact is Luger reached plateaus that Goldust never did. The difference between this match and the Liger/Hardy match is that Liger had tons of appeal and was a major moneymaker despite never being a world champion. Goldust really wasn't. He was a niche character.

So yeah. Luger.

 

[Spidey Revivey]

Is it really fair to go by looks here? Because that's what Vince did, because WWF even at that time was sinking like The Titanic. Luger had a look, therefore was pushed to the moon. Look back at his matches. He can't even compete with the Goldust we saw in 2014 onwards. We're giving Luger much more credit than what he deserves. He was a WBF standout that got lucky in early WCW and then hit a goldmine in a failing WWF.

Goldust is a character we remember. What the fuck was Luger? Besides a guy given titles because he was buff?

 

[enviousdominous]

I'm going with Goldust on this one, mainly because he would have one Hell of a psychological advantage over Lex. When Goldust has the psychological advantage, he gets big wins (albeit; rarely).

Lex Luger prides himself on being eye candy for women, kind of like a less entertaining version of Rick Rude. Hell, he had Bobby Heenan creepily swooning over his physique. If you put a character like that into a situation with a character like Goldust, Lex would either go nuclear like Razor Ramon and lose, or he would be petrified with terror like Val Venis and lose.

I realize that Lex can anticlimactically win matches just by using the torture rack, but I'm really hoping for an upset on this one.

Vote Goldust.

 

[Bernkastel]

Luger won Wrestling Illustrated's Most Popular Wrestler award in 1993. I remember the man being super popular when he exploded; he just didn't have talent to make it last. Goldust was a great character, but he just lacked the appeal to be anything other than a niche character. Whether it be in a serious or comedic role, it wasn't the type of character that could have been anything other than a mid card gimmick. Luger at least had the popularity to break through to the next level. Even if it didn't last.

 

[tdmoon]

I've a feeling Goldust is going to make a very strong showing here and may even win. While I like Goldust as both a wrestler and a character, Luger should win this in a landslide.

No doubt Goldust was exceptional in the role. And if this tourney should be decided by who has the best act, then Dust should win this hands down. I like to think more goes into these results than mere character, though. It's kind of funny people criticize Luger for being pushed because of his looks but tout Goldy, who is known mainly for his gimmick. Dustin Runnels is a fine, solid wrestler but a bit bland and didn't have extraordinary success without his shtick.

And that's why I see Luger winning this easily....success. Look, I know that hating on Lex Luger is the cool thing to do among the smart wrestling fans. He couldn't work like Windham, he didn't have the charisma of Flair and he never quite lived up to the lofty expectations many had for him, but Lex Luger still ended up with one heckuva' career. Goldust's peak was the upper mid-card and a lot of the time was spent lower than that and even in a comedy role. Luger was at or near the top of the card from his debut to his departure from the ring.

Lex Luger was a strong US champ-possibly even the best-at a time when it was one of the most prestigious belts in the country. Though ultimately on the losing end of it, his feud with Ric Flair was the hottest thing going in the NWA and headlined a lot of big shows. He was a member of one of the strongest incarnations of the most influential group in wrestling history, was part of a team(along with Sting) that prevailed in one of the very best Crockett Cup tournaments and he slammed Yokozuna on a fuckin' aircraft carrier. Sure, it was kind of lame, but it's still a bodyslam on an aircraft carrier. He had memorable moments with his jump to WCW from WWF, his stirring World title win over Hulk Hogan and he co-won a Royal Rumble. His feuds with Flair, Windham, Rhodes, Steamboat and Koloff were terrific and a focal point of the company. He's a multiple time World champion and held the US belt longer than any wrestler in history.

There is no question few-if any-wrestlers could pull off the Goldust character like Dustin Runnels. The man was brilliant in the role. Let's be honest here, though-as entertaining as he was, can you see him being put in a position to have a long-running headlining feud with Ric Flair for the World title? Was Dustin Runnels important enough to be put in the Horseman role Luger held? Would he have been on equal footing in a partnership with Sting? Would the NWA have seen him as being good enough to make a long-term champion of one of their most coveted titles?

Dismiss Lex Luger as a wrestler all you want but you can't dismiss everything he accomplished. And looking back, he accomplished a helluva' lot. Vote Lex Luger.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

I'm apathetic to either guy. Since this is the Austin (Jerry Springer) Region, I pick Goldust. Lexington is filled with Baptists, perverts, and perverted Baptists who secretly crave the likes of someone like Goldust in round two.

 

[Makaveli31]

Lex Luger had something you can't teach. "The Look". Not everyone can be 6'5/6'6, 270 ripped, tanned, blonde hair. It was the reason why we was given a push almost as soon as he walked in the door. He was JCP's and WCW's answer to Hulk Hogan, he was given the mega push by McMahon and Hogan put him over on Nitro when Hogan was a white hot heel.

The knock on Luger was of course his in-ring work and the fact he never lived up to his lofty expectations. He didn't take JCP or WCW to the next level. He didn't make a major impact in the WWF never winning the WWF title despite he huge shove. I could not include Luger with the likes of Sting or Goldberg or even DDP as far as fan popularity. He was main event but he was 3,4 even 5 on the main event scale. He could not carry the company in the Monday Night War-era when so much was predicated on talking.

Goldust was the character of the "Attitude-era." He was introduced toward the end the New-Gen era feuding with Razor Ramon in a sexually explicit angle not seen during that time. He could also back up his gimmick with solid matches like the Backlot Brawl vs Roddy Piper. He was able to evolve his character. He was able to add to his character. Over two decades in WWE speaks for itself.....but he was never main event. He was like Robert Horry. Solid role player but never the guy while you could say Luger was like a Carmelo Anthony-type. Flawed but you could build a team around him. Whether or not that team would win is another story.

So my vote is Luger. His year 1988, 1993, and 1997 were successful years for him. Probably as successful as any wrestler not named Hogan in history. He fell short but made it to the championship game something Runnels could not say.

So my vote is Luger,

 

[justtxyank]

As most of wrestling history is basically "What did they do in WWF" apparently, it makes sense that Luger routinely gets snubbed.

However, Luger was not some bland castoff that couldn't work that got a push because all the stars left the WWF.

He was a star in NWA/WCW before jumping to the WWF and, though history has forgotten, was considered the better worker and the bigger star over Sting prior to Luger's jump.

Luger got a bad push in the WWF when they needed a new babyface and that ruined his reputation with WWF biased fans, however, his career before and after the WWF was actively good. He was a consistent main eventer, was carrying house shows for WCW during their most popular times when the other stars didn't work them, etc. He had good matches in the early 90s and the late 90s.

Lex Luger was a bigger draw than Dustin ever was. That said, Dustin Rhodes is one of the best American workers ever and if not for his own personal demons would likely be a multiple time world champion at this point. His WCW work outshines his WWF stuff by far, but as it was mostly pre-Hogan WCW, most people don't have much exposure to it. Guy was a tremendous worker.

I'll sit on this one before casting a vote.

 

[SSJPhenom]

If we're to go by each wrestler's career, then Luger has the more impressive resume. NWA and WCW Heavyweight Champion, U.S. Champion, Tag Team Titles, and so on and so forth.

All Goldust had was the IC Title and a few Tag Titles, however, Goldust had something that Luger never had. Charisma. Goldust was a homosexual character in wrestling when it was very very taboo to be homosexual in anything, and he got over with it. He was good on the mic, in the ring, and he had longevity. Hell, he still get's over with the fans to this day. I know that Goldust never made it past the midcard and Luger did, but if you were to ask me; I mean genuinely ask me who the better professional wrestler was, I'd take Goldust all day long.

Vote Goldust.

 

[Tastycles]

Goldust might be one of the most successful lower mid card wrestlers ever, with his longevity and popularity being something truly remarkable. Remember, when Goldust first was around, Ultimate Warrior was still an active member of the WWF roster. That's an incredible achievement, and I'd be quite happy for him to win here. But the reality is that he shouldn't. Goldust never got close to the highs of Lex Luger, and while Luger may not have fulfilled all that was hoped for him, in getting half way there achieved more than Goldust could dream of.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I'm surprised at how close this match is. I was never a big fan of Luger, guy was hugely overrated, bland, had little to no personality and definitely wasn't the best inside the ring. Luger's godlike physique is ultimately what made Crockett Promotions push him into the Four Horsemen as they hoped he'd one day be the NWA's version of Hulk Hogan. Luger was surrounded by great talent, literally some of the greatest of all time, and he looked great by association due in no small part to Flair, Anderson & Blanchard being able to cover his shortcomings.

Goldust was a niche character, as has been mentioned, who was a solid mid-card and tag team wrestler his entire career. A unique character with a lot of personality who could outwrestle Luger any ol' day of the week.

The problem is that Luger was a huge star and Goldust never really was. Luger made it to the main event and while I don't think he had the talent, he still made it there and that's more than Goldust can say. So yeah, gotta go with Luger.