WINNIPEG -- A Winnipeg promoter is upset with the Canada Border Services Agency for not allowing a popular American wrestler to enter the country for a pair of shows at the University of Manitoba this week.

Lex Luger was scheduled to appear at Action Wrestling Entertainment's (AWE) shows Tuesday and yesterday, but was not allowed into Canada after landing in Winnipeg Tuesday morning. The wrestler, who lives in Georgia and has had some past brushes with the law, was sent home.

"I'm very, very frustrated. I guess they're protecting our country by stopping professional wrestlers from appearing at shows," said Mike Davidson, director of wrestling operations for AWE.

Luger arrived in Winnipeg on a flight from Minneapolis and was held for five hours before being sent home, said Davidson.

Because of privacy laws, Loretta Nyhus, a spokesman for the Canada Border Services Agency, could not say why Luger was refused entry.

But she did say there are several possible reasons someone could be refused, including criminality, a danger to public safety or a lack of funds.

Luger, whose real name is Lawrence Pfohl, pleaded guilty in February to possession of illegal steroids, which were seized from his home shortly after his girlfriend, Elizabeth Hulette (known as Miss Elizabeth in the wrestling world), died in their home of a drug and alcohol overdose in 2003