Lex Luger’s Age, Height, Children & More

A familiar name to wrestling fans through his work in WWE and WCW during the ’80s and ’90s Lex Luger was a megastar, holding numerous championships and regularly being entangled on the card with top stars of the era, such as Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart. Despite this, ‘The Total Package’ is scarcely held in the same league as his peers.

Due to enter the WWE Hall of Fame’s 2025 class over WrestleMania 41 weekend, there is a ton to learn about Lex Luger, including why he has had to use a wheelchair, the legal issues that plagued his life, and how he turned himself around by becoming a Christian.

He Was Signed To The Green Bay Packers

• Lex Luger played football in high school and college, and turned professional in 1979.
• He played in the offensive lineman position.
• Luger was signed to the Green Bay Packers, though he never played a game.

Before he stepped through the doors of Championship Wrestling From Florida, Lex Luger tried his hand at American football. He had previously partaken in the sport during his studies, attending both Penn State University and the University of Miami on football scholarships.

Luger was signed to a handful of football groups during his six-year professional career, including the Tampa Bay Bandits, where he shared a locker room with future WCW colleague, Ron Simmons. He was also briefly signed to the Green Bay Packers, though he never played a game for them, hence why he is absent from their all-time roster. He stated in 2018 that if he lasted as a Packer, then he would never have become a wrestler (H/T Green Bay Press Gazette)

“I would have loved to have had a long-term career with the Packers. Are you kidding me? If I did, I probably wouldn’t have become a wrestler. So, in the big picture, it worked out for me in that regard. Had it worked out in Green Bay, I seriously doubt I would have become a pro wrestler.”

Lex Luger Is An Avid Soccer Fan

He Follows Two British Teams

• Lex Luger is also a fan of soccer, despite never playing professionally.
• He follows two British teams: England’s Manchester United and Scotland’s Rangers.
• Lex is of Scottish and German descent, which is why he supports the latter.

As well as having played professional American football, Lex Luger also follows soccer, or what the United Kingdom refers to as football. He is a fan of two UK teams, vocalizing his support for England’s Manchester United and Scotland’s Rangers.

Luger’s backing of Rangers is closer to home than his love of ‘Man United’, though, as he revealed via X in 2023 that both of his mother’s parents were “born and raised” in Coatbridge, a town in North Lanarkshire that is a 22-minute drive from Ibrox Stadium, the homeland of Rangers.

Lex Luger Has The Most Combined Days As United States Champion

He Is Also The Longest-Reigning US Champion

Inaugurated in January 1975 and held by almost every major star in professional wrestling, the

United States Championship is one of the most prestigious in the history of the sport
. Holding the title five times, Lex Luger has the most combined days as United States Champion at 950 days, though only 945 are officially recognized in WWE’s lineage.

Lex is also the longest-reigning champion in its overall history: his third reign, between May 1989 and October 1990, lasted 523 days.

Lex Luger Is 66 Years Old

He Was Born In 1958

Wrestling his first match in October 1985, Lex Luger was 27 years old when he first stepped through the curtain. He was born Lawrence Wendell Pfohl on June 2, 1958 in Buffalo, New York, giving him the same birth year as several other iconic figures in professional wrestling.

Lex Luger Co-Won The 1994 Royal Rumble Match

He And Bret Hart Were Eliminated Simultaneously

History was made in 1994 as, during the annual Royal Rumble match,

Lex Luger and Bret Hart were declared co-winners of the match
. They eliminated each other at the same time and, unlike Batista and John Cena’s feat in 2005, the match was not restarted, as they were both awarded a crack at Yokozuna’s WWF Championship at WrestleMania 10.

Luger has credited ‘The Hitman’ with creating the iconic spot, stating as such to Chris Van Vliet on his Insight podcast (H/T Fightful):

“Bret tries to credit me and I credit Bret. It was Bret. The ‘Excellence of Execution’. All I had to do was catch him and go backwards over the top rope, which is not fun, I didn’t do a lot of backwards over the top rope kind of stuff, but I trusted Bret. He had to tuck my head and everything. Bret crossbodied me and took us out, then he spider-monkey’d me. He pulled me in, pulled my head in. […] They even did it in slow-mo, what a miracle. You couldn’t tell in slow motion who hit first.”

Lex Luger Challenged For Every WWE Championship

Luger Never Held WWE Gold

Lex Luger is among the most famous grapplers to have never held the WWE Championship, though he twice challenged Yokozuna for the title on pay-per-view. They headlined 1993’s SummerSlam, while at WrestleMania 10 the following March, he was once more unsuccessful in a match that featured Mr Perfect as the guest referee.

Luger’s failed title aspirations in the World Wrestling Federation didn’t end with the top prize, though, as he was fruitless with every active title at the time. He was powerless at prying the Intercontinental Championship away from Diesel in the summer of 1994 and, in July 1995, he and The British Bulldog were toppled by the defending World Tag Team Champions, Owen Hart and Yokozuna.

Lex Luger Has Two Children

He Has Both A Son And A Daughter

Between 1979 and 2003, Lex Luger was married to Peggy Fulbright, with whom he shares two children: Brian Pfohl, born on New Year’s Day in 1986, and Lauren Ashley Pfohl in September 1990. They were featured in a short music video at 1993’s Survivor Series pay-per-view, where Lex headlined alongside The Undertaker and The Steiner Brothers against The Foreign Fanatics.

Lex Luger Replaced Ole Anderson In The Four Horsemen

He Was Initially An Associate Of The Group

• Lex Luger was an ally of The Four Horsemen in 1987.
• He replaced Ole Anderson as an official member.
• Ole was ejected from the group after punching Tully Blanchard.

The Four Horsemen – originally comprised of Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, Arn and Ole Anderson, and their manager J.J. Dillon –

are among the most legendary wrestling factions in history
. Like most groups, though, the lineup didn’t remain for their duration as, after just two years, Ole was canned in favor of Lex Luger.

Luger was already portrayed as an associate of the Horsemen, with his formal initiation into the group coming after Ole Anderson attended his son’s high school wrestling match. This prompted the remaining Horsemen to in-storylinr question his devotion, thus leading to his removal.

Lex Luger Took Inspiration From Lex Luthor

His Iconic Ring Name Had Various Meanings

• Lawrence Pfohl adopted the Lex Luger name at the start of his career.
• The name took inspiration from various pop culture genres.
• ‘Lex’ came from Lex Luthor, the nemesis of Superman.

Concocting a ring name for your wrestling debut
is among the most strenuous aspects of stepping between the ropes. In the case of Lex Luger, he was influenced by various avenues of pop culture, while also paying homage to his German roots. He stated as such on Eric Bischoff’s Bischoff on Wrestling podcast in 2017 (H/T Wrestling Inc.):

“Yes, the first name was from him. Lex Luthor from Superman. The last name, Luger, was actually because of my German heritage. We all thought that was a good last name. At the time, I’m going back for nostalgia, Magnum PI was the number one television series on network television. They figured Magnum was a popular TV series, so they’d call me Luger. So I became Lex Luger.”

He wrestled as Lex Luger for the duration of his career, bar a two-year period between 1999 and 2001 where he wrestled as The Total Package.

Lex Luger Is Halfway To Being Seven Feet Tall

He Is Also Almost 300 Pounds

The squared circle has been home to many gargantuans over the years, and while Lex Luger doesn’t quite tip the scales, he remains a sizable force. He was billed as being six feet six inches tall and 275 pounds throughout his career.

Lex Luger Has Faced Several Legal Issues

He Was Heavily Linked To Miss Elizabeth’s Death

• Lex Luger has been plagued by legal problems, including a 2003 arrest.
• He was charged following a domestic disturbance with Miss Elizabeth.
• Luger has been linked with causing her death.

Though he now describes himself as being a reformed Christian, Lex Luger has faced his share of legal issues throughout his life, including being linked to the 2003 death of Miss Elizabeth, his girlfriend at the time. He was charged with a misdeamonor count of battery that April following a domestic disturbance, where Elizabeth suffered bruised eyes, a bump on the head, and a cut lip.

Her passing around a week later saw Luger placed as a prime suspect after a search of their house revealed several illicit substances. Though Elizabeth’s death was ruled an accident, Lex still faced a stiff payout from the law, being fined $1,000, forced to undergo occasional drug tests, and given five years’ probation.

He Used It As Part Of His Finishing Move

• Lex Luger was involved in a motorcycle accident in 1992.
• He had a metal plate inserted into his elbow.
• This was used as part of his running forearm finisher.

Lex Luger’s primary finishing move was a Torture Rack, however, he also made use of a running forearm smash after he was involved in a motorcycle accident. The crash left Lex requiring a metal plate to be placed in his elbow, the same arm he used to knock opponents out.

The finishing move was chiefly used during Luger’s initial WWF character as ‘The Narcissist’.

Lex Luger Took A Major Pay Cut To Return To WCW

Eric Bischoff Didn’t Want To Rehire Him

• Lex Luger left the WWF to return to WCW in 1995.
• His new contract saw Lex take a 20% pay cut from what he previously earned in WCW.
• Eric Bischoff didn’t want to hire Luger, but did so to appease Sting.

Though he left WCW for the WWF in 1992, Lex Luger discovered that the grass wasn’t always greener on the other side. He expressed to Sting, a long-time friend of his, that he was eyeing a move away from Vince McMahon’s empire in 1995, though Eric Bischoff, WCW’s Vice President at the time, wasn’t interested.

‘Easy E’ was so against rehiring Lex Luger that he offered him $150,000, which would have been 20% less than what his original WCW deal was worth. Lex accepted the egregious contract to prove his naysayers wrong and returned to WCW on the maiden Nitro, surfacing just one day after wrestling his final WWF match.

Lex Luger Was Paralyzed In 2007

He Suffered A Nerve Impingement In His Neck

• Lex Luger was temporarily paralyzed in October 2007.
• He had no movement in his arms or legs and had to rely on a wheelchair.
• As of 2025, Lex can now stand up from his wheelchair.

In October 2007, a nerve impingement in his neck – also known as a spinal stroke – left Lex Luger temporarily paralyzed, though he told the Under The Ring podcast that he was “never supposed” to be partially paralyzed, as he was in fact a “high-functioning quadriplegic”.

As of February 2025, though, Lex Luger can now stand on his own from his wheelchair, having worked alongside Diamond Dallas Page to regain his strength. DDP, who is also credited with helping the likes of Jake Roberts and the late Scott Hall through their personal demons, told Chris Van Vliet in late 2024 that he doesn’t know if Lex would walk again (H/T Inside The Ropes):

“I don’t know. I mean, I really don’t. There’s so much nerve damage in there. I really don’t know, but I do know that if it’s possible, Lex is gonna do it. There’s so many things I do in the chair workouts, even the bed. No one could tell me you can’t do DDP Yoga. It starts in bed. You can’t get out of bed? I got nine workouts for you in bed.”

Lex Luger Works On WWE’s Wellness Policy

He Has Been In The Role Since 2011

• Lex Luger returned to WWE in 2011 in a behind-the-scenes role.
• He works as a Wellness Counselor, helping Superstars care for their bodies.
• Luger credited WWE with being “proactive” regarding their Wellness Policy.

Lex Luger returned to WWE in the spring of 2011, beginning a role as the company’s Wellness Counselor. In his own words, Lex helps WWE Superstars take care of their bodies, an aspect of professional wrestling that wasn’t critical during Lex’s peak.

Luger discussed his role in an interview with Busted Open Radio, noting that WWE is keen to prevent today’s Superstars from suffering the same fates as those from previous generations (H/T PWTorch):

“That’s another thing that WWE is being very proactive now with the Wellness Department, and really train these guys with health and nutrition and drug prevention. We’re trying to prevent the young guys, this young generation of guys, from going down the same path as we did back in the ’80s and ’90s.”