Pro wrestler Lex Luger spends 2 weeks in Hennepin County jail

Luger, 47, whose real name is Lawrence Pfohl, was arrested Dec. 6 after Canadian border authorities in Winnipeg discovered he had two outstanding warrants for drug charges. He was sent back to Minneapolis, where his strange odyssey began, and where he remained in jail for two weeks before his extradition Tuesday to Georgia.

Luger and fellow wrestler Marcus Bagwell were traveling to a wrestling show in Winnipeg Dec. 5. After boarding a sparsely filled connecting flight in the Twin Cities, the wrestlers asked whether they could each take up a row of three seats, Mike Davidson, director of wrestling operations for Canadian-based Action Wrestling Entertainment, said Wednesday.

Then the flight began to fill and the wrestlers were asked to return to their original seats, Davidson said.

"They were joking around with the flight attendant, and I guess she was caught off guard by it," Davidson said from Winnipeg.

The wrestlers spent the night in the Twin Cities, but were allowed to board another flight the next day. But upon entering Canada, border patrol agents detained Luger for five hours and then sent him back to the Twin Cities, where he was arrested on two felony counts -- a drug charge from Georgia and as a fugitive from justice, stemming from the original charge.

Luger, a two-time World Champion Wrestling champion who once played for the Tampa Bay Bandits and Memphis Showboats of the now-defunct United States Football League, is no stranger to law enforcement.

He pleaded guilty in February to possession of illegal steroids, which were seized from his Marietta, Ga., condo after his girlfriend, Miss Elizabeth, the one-time manager of Macho Man Randy Savage, was found dead of a drug and alcohol overdose in 2003. He was sentenced to five years' probation.

His plea bargain allowed him to plea as a first offender -- even though he also has been arrested for driving under the influence and nonpayment of child support.

Luger, who grew up in Buffalo, N.Y., and played football at Penn State and the University of Miami, spent 1982 on the Green Bay Packers' injured reserve list. He was cut the following season, having never played a down for the Pack.

An offensive lineman, Luger played for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League before entering pro wrestling in 1985. He defeated Wahoo McDaniel, another former football player for something called the Southern title and, in 1986, fought world heavyweight champ Ric Flair to a draw.

Alternating between villain and hero, Luger was known as the Narciss, often posing before a full-length mirror before matches.

"He's a super human being," Davidson said. "Lex Luger is not a bad person. When he's had problems, he's always shown accountability and remorse.

"He's a standup guy. This whole episode is just shocking to me."