Editing Lex Luger (section)

==== The Four Horsemen (1987–1989) ====
{{Main|Four Horsemen (professional wrestling)|l1=Four Horsemen}}
In 1987, Luger went to work for [[Jim Crockett Promotions]] (JCP), which was under the NWA banner, with the nickname "The Total Package" and began using "[[#In wrestling|The Human Torture Rack]]", an [[Backbreaker#Argentine backbreaker rack|Argentine backbreaker rack]], as his finisher.<ref name="acceleratorbio">{{cite web|url=http://www.accelerator3359.com/Wrestling/bios/luger.html|title=Lex Luger|access-date=October 29, 2008|publisher=The Accelerator's Wrestling Rollercoaster}}</ref> He was first [[List of professional wrestling terms#B|booked]] as an associate to [[Ric Flair]]'s "Four Horsemen" [[List of professional wrestling terms#S|stable]] until [[Ole Anderson]] was kicked out and he became an official member of the group.<ref name="OWW" /> His first big [[Feud (professional wrestling)|feud]] was with [[Nikita Koloff]], whom he defeated for the [[WWE United States Championship|NWA United States Heavyweight Championship]] on July 11, 1987.<ref name="acceleratorbio" /> [[Manager (professional wrestling)|Manager]] [[J. J. Dillon]] threw a chair over the top of the cage while the referee, [[Earl Hebner]], was down. Luger knocked Koloff unconscious with it and then lifted up Koloff in the Torture Rack. A revived Hebner then dropped Koloff's arm three times with no response and awarded Luger a submission victory.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wwe.com/classics/titlehistory/unitedstates/30445412212|title=Lex Luger's first United States Championship reign|publisher=WWE|access-date=April 17, 2008|archive-date=June 3, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120603035737/http://www.wwe.com/classics/titlehistory/unitedstates/30445412212|url-status=dead}}</ref>

It was during this time that the Horsemen debuted the [[WarGames match]].

He held the title until JCP's first [[pay-per-view]] event [[Starrcade (1987)|Starrcade]] in November, when he [[List of professional wrestling terms#D|dropped]] it to [[Dusty Rhodes]] in a steel cage. This loss set the stage for Luger leaving the Four Horsemen, as manager Dillon's interference cost Luger the match. A steel chair thrown in by Dillon was dropped by Luger and Rhodes DDT'd Luger on it prior to pinning him for the win.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/starrcad.html#87|title=Starrcade 1987: Chi-Town Heat results|publisher=Pro Wrestling History|access-date=April 17, 2008}}</ref> Luger left the Four Horsemen on December 2, 1987, at the Knight Centre in Miami, Florida,<ref name="lexleaves4h">{{cite web|url=http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/jcp87.htm|title=JCP 87|website=The History of WWE |access-date=January 16, 2020}}</ref> after he and his stablemates ([[Tully Blanchard]], [[Arn Anderson]], and Dillon) were the sole wrestlers left in a [[Battle royal (professional wrestling)#Bunkhouse Stampede|Bunkhouse Stampede]] [[Battle royal (professional wrestling)|battle royal]] and Dillon asked the other wrestlers to eliminate themselves so he could win. Although Blanchard and Anderson complied, Luger refused and eliminated Dillon,<ref>{{Citation|title=Lex Luger turns against The Four Horsemen, NWA 1988|url=https://www.bitchute.com/video/pakfdWPmy52y/|language=en|access-date=July 3, 2021}}</ref> leaving the Horsemen in the process.<ref name="lexleaves4h" /><ref name="OWW" />[[File:Lex Luger robe 1988.png|thumb|285x285px|Luger, {{Circa|1988}}]]Luger then befriended [[Barry Windham]], his former Florida ally, and together they formed a [[tag team]], dubbed '''The Twin Towers'''. Their first match as a team was on February 3, 1988, at a TV taping at WTBS Studios in Atlanta.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/jcp88.htm|title=JCP 88|website=The History of WWE |access-date=January 16, 2020}}</ref> On March 27, 1988, at ''[[Clash of the Champions I]]'' they defeated [[Brain Busters|Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson]] for the [[WCW World Tag Team Championship|NWA World Tag Team Championship]].<ref name="nwatag">{{cite web|url=http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/midatlantic/nwa/ma-nwa-t.html|title=NWA World Tag Team Title (Mid-Atlantic/WCW)|publisher=Wrestling Titles|access-date=October 27, 2012}}</ref> Only a few weeks after the title win, Windham suddenly turned on Luger during a title defense (against Blanchard and Anderson, who regained the title as a result) and joining Luger's former stable, The Four Horsemen.<ref name="acceleratorbio" /> Days later, the [[Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament#1988|Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament]] was held with its first night in [[Greenville, South Carolina|Greenville]], South Carolina. A partner-less Luger was teamed with [[Steve Borden|Sting]] (whose partner [[Ron Garvin|Ronnie Garvin]] had been [[kayfabe]] injured) and the impromptu team won the entire tournament, defeating Blanchard and Anderson in the finals.<ref name="croccup" />

Luger continued his feud with the Four Horsemen and Windham. At the June 8 ''[[Clash of the Champions II: Miami Mayhem]]'', it was announced that Luger would challenge Horsemen leader [[Ric Flair]] for the [[NWA World Heavyweight Championship]] at [[The Great American Bash (1988)|The Great American Bash]] on July 10 in Baltimore.<ref name="acceleratorbio" /> As Luger arrived at ''The Clash'' in a [[limousine]] he was attacked by The Four Horsemen, leaving him (kayfabe) injured and bleeding in the parking lot on live television.<ref name="acceleratorbio" /> While Luger had Flair in the "Torture Rack" and Flair was about to submit, the match was abruptly stopped by the [[Referee (professional wrestling)|referee]] who cited (kayfabe) "Maryland State Athletic Commission" rules about a cut that had opened up on Luger's forehead "bleeding excessively".<ref name="OWW" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/gabash.html#88|title=The Great American Bash 1988: The Price of Freedom|publisher=Pro Wrestling History|access-date=April 17, 2008}}</ref> In November 1988, [[Jim Crockett Jr.]] sold JCP to [[Turner Broadcasting System]], ultimately the promotion was renamed to [[World Championship Wrestling]] (WCW). The feud with Flair came to an end after December's [[Starrcade (1988)|Starrcade 1988: True Gritt]] where Flair pinned Luger in a rematch [[main event]] for the NWA title by illegally using the ropes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wcw/starrcad.html#88|title=Starrcade 1988: True Gritt results|publisher=Pro Wrestling History|access-date=April 17, 2008}}</ref>