On the 100th edition of "WCW Nitro" in 1997, Lex Luger famously defeated Hollywood Hulk Hogan for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan. After Luger avoided Hogan's leg drop, members of the NWO rushed down to the ring in an attempt to prevent "The Total Package" from winning the title. However, Luger fought off the likes of Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and the "Macho Man" Randy Savage before putting Hogan in the Torture Rack to become world champion. Luger received a massive ovation from the crowd in Michigan that night, making the title win one of the most memorable moments in WCW history. Speaking with "Monopoly Events,"Luger reflected on defeating Hogan, sharing that he was told moments before the match that he would come out victorious, and expressed his gratitude towards the audience in attendance that night.
"Once again, spontaneity. The boys in the back didn'tknow, which led to that celebration both in the ring and in the locker room ...the guys were so excited when that happened and Ifound out almost on my way to the ring." Luger said. "Like are you kidding me? Hogan'sgoing to put me over on national TV for free? On a non-pay-per-view event? Well it's 100th Nitro, the fans need something, they've leftyou laying for like 63 straight weeks. We're going to give them something, and man that crowd in Detroit, I don't think I ever had a response like that in my career to a victory. I mean, that roof almost came off that building."
Unfortunately for Luger, he would drop theWCW World Heavyweight Championship back to Hogan six days later on pay-per-view at WCW Road Wild in South Dakota.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Monopoly Events" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
