Dutch Mantell recently stated that Lex Luger does not deserve to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. During an episode of Storytime with Dutch Mantell, he was asked whether Luger’s body of work merited the honor.
Mantell expressed clear opposition to Luger’s induction, pointing to issues that began early in Luger’s career. He noted that Luger was the first wrestler to leave Florida for the Mid-Atlantic territory in Charlotte with a guaranteed contract, which created discontent among other performers.
No, he doesn’t deserve it. But his name was used in such a way—on top, in the main event—and he was the first one who left Florida. I remember he was there, and then he went to Mid-Atlantic, which was the Charlotte territory. They gave him a pretty good guarantee, and none of the other guys had guarantees. That started him off on the wrong foot.
Mantell compared Luger to current AEW star Jade Cargill, stating both had impressive physical appearances but limited wrestling ability. He specifically criticized Luger’s performance as a babyface, saying Luger relied on his opponents to make him look good in matches.
He was kind of in the same boat that Jade Cargill is in—he looked great and was big, but he had no clue what to do. Not a clue. He was a babyface, and the heel would go out of his way to make him look good—that was his job.
Mantell also claimed that Luger failed to show gratitude to wrestlers who helped him look good, describing this as a significant violation of wrestling etiquette.
The heel would take the pin so Lex could look good. But sometimes, I heard he came back and didn’t even thank the guy he was in the ring with. And that’s really a no-no. You always do that. Even if it’s a bad match, you go over and say, ‘Hey, thanks.’ But he was very hard to work with.
Luger will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year after a career that included multiple championships and main event appearances across various promotions.