AEW's Tony Schiavone Explains Why It Wasn't Fair That Lex Luger Had Heat

As the voice of WCW throughout the 1990s, Tony Schiavone was on hand for several of WCW legend Lex Luger's accomplishment, including his WCW World Heavyweight Championship victory over Hulk Hogan in 1997, a moment that is arguably the highlight of Luger's career. Alas, Schiavone was also on hand to witness Luger's less than stellar reputation with both the fans and the wrestlers at the time, which only got lower after a series of controversies and setbacks plagued Luger towards the latter end of his career.

While reviewing WCW Clash of the Champions 15 on last week's "What Happened When," Schiavone received a fan message hoping that Schiavone would talk more about his memories of Luger. The AEW announcer then gave a sterling endorsement for his former co-worker, stating "The Total Package" didn't quite deserve the friction he received from co-workers.

"I know that Lex did have some heat because he was kind of aloof," Schiavone said. "But again, I always thought that that was...that was fair to him. I thought Lex was a good guy. And I thought that when they talked about Lex kind of distant and kind of like, [it wasn't fai]...But anyway, I always did like Lex a lot, and understood him. We always had some great conversations...I always liked [him]."

Schiavone also provided one example of the disdain Luger faced from his co-workers in the form of a less than flattering nickname that was given to him by rival and former Four Horsemen teammate, Arn Anderson.

"Arn called him 'Eggplant,'" Schiavone said. "That was his nickname for him, cause he thought he was a knucklehead. That was his name."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "What Happened When" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription