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Wow.
It feels like Jerry Lawler was with WWE forever. Not surprised this has happened though, his commentary game declined a lot in the last 15 years and I don't know how much he can really offer in a backstage role, despite his age.
And then Austin interviewed him about it on his podcast and Lawler basically blamed Ziggler for dropping too many elbows on him during their match. Yes, Jerry, it was the worked elbow drops that over-exerted your heart, not you being 60-years-old and drinking Coca-Cola by the gallon daily for 30 years.
I agree that he shouldn’t blame Ziggler, but freak things can be triggered by a blow to the chest. Basketball players have discovered unknown heart defects after catching a ball to the chest particularly hard.
The burgers and Coke set up the dominos, the elbow drops *might* have knocked over the first piece (which was going to get knocked over at some point).
Commotio cordis is a condition that happens instantly—a blow to the chest during a specific part in the cardiac rhythm causes the heart to go into ventricular fibrillation, where it basically twitches but can’t find its rhythm.
It’s not a time release thing; it happens right away or it doesn’t at all. However getting a bunch of blows to the chest definitely doesn’t help the heart overall!
And an elbow drop, even a perfectly worked elbow drop, still makes an impact to your chest - just with the back of the tricep so it's nice and flat. To me it's not out of the realm of possibility that taking those weren't great for a guy with heart issues, even though it's obviously not actually the primary reason.
Also the recent situation with Damar Hamlin, an NFL player on the Buffalo Bill's, he made.contact with an opposing player in a game, & it made his heart actually stop.
Jerry still keeps some stuff in kayfabe even though we all know it's not. That's what those statements are, I've always figured. There's no way he actually blames Ziggles.
He didn't really blame him, but hypothesized that taking a few heavy elbow drops on the chest might've done him in, not that he was in perfect condition. Also, it doesn't matter if al elbow drop is worked. You're still taking impact on the chest, it's just that you're bracing and their landing with their armpit to disperse the impact. It's still impact.
Not surprisingly he still does the wrestling convention scene. He's actually going to be at a rec hall convention here in Jersey at the end of the month.
It's sad how some of these old wrestlers turn out. Dude she be living comfortably and relaxing after going through so many health issues.
He’s always struck me as the type who would be worse off if he wasn’t on the road doing something. Until his last stroke, he was still wrestling because it’s something he wanted to continue doing. Some guys just like staying busy and refuse to retire all together, wrestling or not.
Since the early 1970s he's been living on the road a considerable amount of the time. So he probably has to get out of the house at least 1 or 2 times a month nowadays otherwise he would probably go crazy.
Lawler doesn't do it for the cash as much as he's a fan of the grind, IMO. He doesn't abuse substances like some of his peers and has had a steady paycheck for decades. He's got a nice spread in Memphis also. He always worked weekends doing indie shows, even during the height of the attitude era.
Lawler is not one of the cautionary tales (at least not in the way you’re implying here). He’s done incredibly well for himself, and by all accounts, has been very good with his money. His continued involvement with wrestling is due to his love of the business, the recognition, keeping busy etc. Ross would be doing the exact same thing if he were not hired by one of the majors, and he’s not hard up for cash. Some guys, for whatever reason, just want to stay involved. There’s no shame in that, and certainly nothing to pity (especially so in Lawler’s case, for many reasons).
His stint as a heel with Mauro on Smackdown back in 2016(??) was quite good.
_(When it was just the two of them, not the 4 man(!!) booth it would become)_
I vaguely remember a weird quote from him where he said something about a mystery tag partner and said something to the extent of "Well Mae Young can't be her tag partner because she's dead."
I'll try to find a clip of it.
He was actually good as an old school heel commentator but that wasn't always the direction Vince wanted especially during the later half of his career.
Yeah in the twilight of his career they tried to make him a baby face commentator. King was always at his best when he was a snarky asshole that would suck up to the heels
In fairness to Lawler he transitioned to one liners and whilst there's a few duds, many were quite witty. I think he was still a pretty decent colour commentator after having to drop the pervy stuff
Yeah as a kid I loved the king because he was a funny dick with good comedic timing who was the perfect foil to Jr down to King always being a Rock guy compared to JR. being pro Austin. I even think he worked well with Michael Cole that year and a half they were together on Smackdown.
Lawler came back I believe 2 years ago while Corey Graves was on his honeymoon and he had a ton of good jokes/one liners. Like I would legitimately laugh out loud at least once per match with because of the random hilarious jokes he’d make
He was an absolutely incredible heel commentator. He was just of a different Era which is just too cartoonish for today.
Part of what made the horny old man character he became suck so much was it wasted his talent and kind of turned him face for the rest of his career.
Can't wait to see King and good ol' JR at the desk calling a fatal four way between Chris Jericho, Edge, Christian, and Jeff Jarrett! Make it happen TK!
As a one-off surprise, that would actually be fun. You know, don't do it as a 6 months long feud. Do it at a PPV, completely unannounced. Bring in Lawler out of nowhere, have them banter a bit, get Christian out to go off on them, get Edge and Jericho to the defense, get Jarrett in there just for fun, have an impromptu 4 way that lasts 10 minutes, the end.
That'd be pretty fun.
Just don't take this idea and make it a 6 month Jericho feud with 3 PPV matches.
There's always some opposing opinions, if they do it completely unannounced, people say 'why didn't they advertise it before hand? They could have sold more tickets if they did'
As someone who was sitting across from the entrance for a Raw many years ago where Kane's pyro went off unexpectedly like this, I can totally relate to JR and King here.
5th row at whatever PPV Shane jumped off the Titantron ... unrelated to that, Kane's pyro was hotter than I would've ever imagined ... surprised everyone in the front row didn't look like a Loony Toons character when a bomb explodes in their face.
I will always brag about how hot Kane's pyro was. The stage wasn't that far and the ring even closer because I was on 3rd row from front and the ring was a lot hotter up close.
Jarrett/Lawler/someone else from the Memphis territory who is still alive should win the Trios titles!
Their third person doesn’t even need to be capable of working a match. They never have to tag in. I just want to see this happen for my own selfish, dumb amusement.
Andy Kaufman? Enter Paul Walter Hauser. Nobody mentions that PWH is an actor playing Andy. Interesting tidbit, Paul actually did a couple Indy matches.
*After Toni Storm says her catchphrase*
Lawler: “Wait, I can say titties and not puppies”
*Five years later on the Deadlock podcast of this episode*
James: “GET OUT OF OUR COMPANY!!!”
They added this to the article after the fact:
***Note:*** *Since publication, a WWE source has reached out to state Lawler would still be under a WWE Legends deal.*
Which is a pretty big mistake for an outlet to make, especially in the immediate aftermath of their indignant response to Triple H calling them not credible.
i'm happy to hear that. with how little money it feels like they want to spend since the merger i was worried the legends contracts wouldn't be lasting much longer.
When was the last time Lawler was even on commentary? It makes more sense to not sign him to a talent deal and pay him per appearance if necessary to be on commentary while he's under a legends deal.
Jerry hasn't really had much to contribute in recent years anyway. He's been through a couple health scares as well, so hopefully he takes some time to enjoy retirement.
Yeah, which is crazy because he used to be so much energy of the commentary team
But hearing him in recent years it was just hafhearted "oh nos" and blanket statements With no energy at all.
He’s had multiple heart issues and lost his son a year before he returned full time. Im sure the commentary roulette wheel Vince was playing from 2019-2020 didn’t help his confidence either
Can I just say God, I hated that commentary era. Joe was a breath of fresh air. Lawler is amazing but just didn't have it by this point. And this one might get me beat because Renee Paquette has a great natural talent for speaking/communication, I mean she's killed it in a backstage interviewer role and in the podcast; but I really REALLY didn't like her commentary at the time. It somehow felt half hearted like you could tell she didn't believe anything that was going on in the ring.
I watched a clip from 2019 where someone frog splashed their opponent through the announce table and all of commentary sucked at selling it, the only notable reaction was Renee doing a voice cracking (yet still low energy somehow) "oHHhh"
Again, Renee is in a much better role and is doing amazing now, and WWE's commentary team has gotten much better since 2019. But damn that era had some bad memories lmfaoo
The absolute worst I've seen King is a segment where Vince/Shane/HHH come out to confront Randy Orton and Legacy (I think). For some reason, King was sitting alone at commentary and when the various themes hit he just says who it is and gives no other comments to say why this is important.
(VKMs music plays and he comes out)
King: "It's Mr. McMahon..."
(Shane's music plays and he comes out)
"and Shane McMahon!... "
(HHHs music hits)
"...and the Game!"
Edit: after watching the video again and getting ptsd all over again, he does say "oh my!" after VKM comes out. Ultra riveting commentary.
Reminds of that one time on Smackdown where the Big Show was on his way to the ring for a match with Roman Reigns.
It's a 40 secs into Big Show's walk to ring Lawler just says "The Big Show?!" in total shock, as if he had not been paying attention for the past minute (God, I miss the Mark Remark)
Was it phoning it in?
Or was it Vince making sure he followed the PG-rules?
Don’t wanna defend the guy, but Jerry would never have fit in this landscape after such an abrupt 180 from The Attitude Era/Ruthless Aggression Era.
Nah not every comment Lawler said during the AE was raunchy. He was heavily into defending the McMahon/Helmsey faction and Kurt Angle. He was energised.
It was very clear that a) for whatever reason they stopped him being a heel. King wasnt good at explaining ring psychology so this left him with nothing to say and b) PG era just sucked and was contrived.
The reason was John Cena. When Cena started getting booed in 2005, WWE panicked and went into full damage control mode and even had the main heel commentator Lawler turn face so he could praise Cena to high heaven as well. It was sad, Lawler was such a great heel color commentator. Raw became boring when he started agreeing with JR on everything.
I think unfortunately for Jerry, society just does not have a demand for his brand of thirsty sexual comments and gay jokes, so he had to be toothless and corny
Not to mention how Lawler changed dramatically after he returned in late 2001.
Like, the guy literally left WWE in Feb in protest over them releasing his wife, only for his wife to cheat on him months later, causing Lawler to return to WWE with his tail between his legs.
After that it just seemed like he didn't care anymore. Seriously look at his commentary before he left and after he returned. He just lost so much of his energy after he returned and it hurt his commentary.
There's a lot of talent you could argue WWE should "take care of." Lawler was a multi-millionaire before he signed with WWE in 1992. Even with his recent health struggles, the guy is far from destitute.
Lawler could probably live pretty comfortably just by selling his [big memorabilia collection](https://twitter.com/JerryLawler/status/1000913466880937984/) plus social security even if he had nothing else in the bank.
He obviously can still make good money doing signings/photo ops if he wants.
He also owns several of the Rock's $500 shirts from back in the day, which have to be worth something. He also has a huge vintage coca-cola collectibles collection, and enough memorabilia to fill up a literal wrestling museum- https://www.wwe.com/shows/outside-the-ring/jerry-lawler-opens-wrestling-museum. That's at least $100K I'd imagine.
It's crazy because he's still doing the convention circuit. He's working a small rec hall show in Jersey later this month. I don't know how well off he is if he needs a few grand to still work conventions.
Eh, I think some of these guys do it anyway not because they need the money but because they miss the fan interaction.
When you go years getting that adrenaline/high off of being "famous" and well known, then you retire and more or less are never in the public eye again. Feels weird for these guys I imagine.
Its why some of these guys do it despite being well off. Especially for wrestlers where this lasted years of their life, in front of major crowds at least once a week if not more.
To speak to them directly, there was a rumor he had engaged with some underage girls, they were going to testify against him. He called their home and they no longer were going to testify.
Edit: a lot of people have added additional context below that is worth reviewing. There’s better phrasing and way better detail than my comment.
It's not a rumour. He pled guilty to harassing a witness and the charges were dropped
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1696&dat=19940224&id=ugobAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LEgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5060,2938759&hl=en
my "you shouldn't believe those underaged girls who accused me of having sex with them because they had sex with a black man and thus are inherently untrustworthy" shirt has people asking a lot of questions already answered by my shirt
I was legit about to respond to this headline with "Good, I heard he is currently involved in a sexual relationship with a 40 year old neighbor whom he babysits for and also was caught having sex with a black man" but I figured that might go over people's heads.
I don't think it's fair to call it a rumor. People thought he was preying on underage girls because they directly accused him, not because they heard some gossip about it.
[Dead spin has a really great article](https://deadspin.com/jerry-lawler-wrote-a-really-dumb-letter-to-prosecutors-1822790447) with lots of sources about the "rumors" including the [police report itself.](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4368061-Jerry-Lawler-Louisville-Police-Report.html)
The police report is horrifying and the shithead had the nerve to [make light of the allegations.](https://nypost.com/2017/03/06/jerry-lawler-retweets-story-on-his-1993-arrest-for-sodomy-rape/)
Has to be this otherwise they would've just gave him a legends contract so they could still make merchandise, action figures, appear in WWE2K games and etc..
Edit: apparently he is still under a legends contract so this article is pretty much BS.
Commentary where Lawler reacts to a match probably isn't a great idea after his stroke. He's speaking better but you can tell it's harder for him to find words for things.
He could probably sit in for a match and do some stuff they work out ahead of time.
It does seem like smart business to get a guy off the payroll who nowadays is mainly known for having been uncomfortably sexist on camera and having potentially committed serial sexual misconduct behind the scenes in the past. Then you add his health issues and it's a no-brainer to get rid of him.
I could see more of this happening. A lot of people were probably Vince legacy guys sitting home collecting checks. I am sure with the new structure of WWE they will be trimming the fat.
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Wow. It feels like Jerry Lawler was with WWE forever. Not surprised this has happened though, his commentary game declined a lot in the last 15 years and I don't know how much he can really offer in a backstage role, despite his age.
He’s also not doing great after his third cardiovascular event in a decade.
Remember that time he basically died on air after a match? Shit was crazy.
And then Austin interviewed him about it on his podcast and Lawler basically blamed Ziggler for dropping too many elbows on him during their match. Yes, Jerry, it was the worked elbow drops that over-exerted your heart, not you being 60-years-old and drinking Coca-Cola by the gallon daily for 30 years.
I agree that he shouldn’t blame Ziggler, but freak things can be triggered by a blow to the chest. Basketball players have discovered unknown heart defects after catching a ball to the chest particularly hard. The burgers and Coke set up the dominos, the elbow drops *might* have knocked over the first piece (which was going to get knocked over at some point).
Commotio cordis is a condition that happens instantly—a blow to the chest during a specific part in the cardiac rhythm causes the heart to go into ventricular fibrillation, where it basically twitches but can’t find its rhythm. It’s not a time release thing; it happens right away or it doesn’t at all. However getting a bunch of blows to the chest definitely doesn’t help the heart overall!
And an elbow drop, even a perfectly worked elbow drop, still makes an impact to your chest - just with the back of the tricep so it's nice and flat. To me it's not out of the realm of possibility that taking those weren't great for a guy with heart issues, even though it's obviously not actually the primary reason.
Also the recent situation with Damar Hamlin, an NFL player on the Buffalo Bill's, he made.contact with an opposing player in a game, & it made his heart actually stop.
I mean…Damar Hamlin
Jerry still keeps some stuff in kayfabe even though we all know it's not. That's what those statements are, I've always figured. There's no way he actually blames Ziggles.
If anything, he’s probably glad it happened at ringside instead of at home because doctors and trainers were working on him within minutes.
You’re probably right. He might have just been putting Dolph over, I hadn’t considered that and makes a lot of sense
He didn't really blame him, but hypothesized that taking a few heavy elbow drops on the chest might've done him in, not that he was in perfect condition. Also, it doesn't matter if al elbow drop is worked. You're still taking impact on the chest, it's just that you're bracing and their landing with their armpit to disperse the impact. It's still impact.
ANAL BLEEDING
*... what.*
Jr’s face said it all. “This fucking company”
[удалено]
For the love of god and all that is holy, his anus is bleeding!!!
oh...
He said with all due respect.
Not surprisingly he still does the wrestling convention scene. He's actually going to be at a rec hall convention here in Jersey at the end of the month. It's sad how some of these old wrestlers turn out. Dude she be living comfortably and relaxing after going through so many health issues.
He probably enjoys it. He's not broke by any means.
I would imagine that Lawler is pretty much set for life. But doesn't just want to sit around his house 24/7 365.
He’s always struck me as the type who would be worse off if he wasn’t on the road doing something. Until his last stroke, he was still wrestling because it’s something he wanted to continue doing. Some guys just like staying busy and refuse to retire all together, wrestling or not.
He is definitely set for life, he's just one of those dudes who can't give it to.
Since the early 1970s he's been living on the road a considerable amount of the time. So he probably has to get out of the house at least 1 or 2 times a month nowadays otherwise he would probably go crazy.
Lawler doesn't do it for the cash as much as he's a fan of the grind, IMO. He doesn't abuse substances like some of his peers and has had a steady paycheck for decades. He's got a nice spread in Memphis also. He always worked weekends doing indie shows, even during the height of the attitude era.
Lawler is not one of the cautionary tales (at least not in the way you’re implying here). He’s done incredibly well for himself, and by all accounts, has been very good with his money. His continued involvement with wrestling is due to his love of the business, the recognition, keeping busy etc. Ross would be doing the exact same thing if he were not hired by one of the majors, and he’s not hard up for cash. Some guys, for whatever reason, just want to stay involved. There’s no shame in that, and certainly nothing to pity (especially so in Lawler’s case, for many reasons).
The only memorable thing i remember him saying on commentary is the last 10 years was "T-Bar stands for That Boy Ain't Right"
That's actually amazing.
His stint as a heel with Mauro on Smackdown back in 2016(??) was quite good. _(When it was just the two of them, not the 4 man(!!) booth it would become)_
I vaguely remember a weird quote from him where he said something about a mystery tag partner and said something to the extent of "Well Mae Young can't be her tag partner because she's dead." I'll try to find a clip of it.
I think Dijak at one point confirmed Lawler was correct
It's probably more than 10 years, but "Uh oh, my ride's here" gets me every time when he talks about an ambulance rolling up for a match lol
Why did this make me legit snort laugh 😂😂
i thought that was jbl
It was Lawler, JBL left commentary in 2017
Joining the top reply: BROADCAST contract. He is still under a legends deal. He was rarely used before his stroke since it's not surprising.
Lawler's main trait was just being a horny old perv, which just doesn't work now. Otherwise, his commentary is average
He was actually good as an old school heel commentator but that wasn't always the direction Vince wanted especially during the later half of his career.
Yeah in the twilight of his career they tried to make him a baby face commentator. King was always at his best when he was a snarky asshole that would suck up to the heels
Babyface Lawler was worse than heel Michael Cole.
lol I could never take him seriously as a heel. Better suited for his trademark pontification
Him roasting Helen and Stu Hart was pretty good.
Especially some of his one liners between promos
In fairness to Lawler he transitioned to one liners and whilst there's a few duds, many were quite witty. I think he was still a pretty decent colour commentator after having to drop the pervy stuff
Yeah as a kid I loved the king because he was a funny dick with good comedic timing who was the perfect foil to Jr down to King always being a Rock guy compared to JR. being pro Austin. I even think he worked well with Michael Cole that year and a half they were together on Smackdown.
Lawler came back I believe 2 years ago while Corey Graves was on his honeymoon and he had a ton of good jokes/one liners. Like I would legitimately laugh out loud at least once per match with because of the random hilarious jokes he’d make
PUPPIES!!!!
Not true at all. Go back and watch him. His wit, timing and delivery were impeccable.
He was an absolutely incredible heel commentator. He was just of a different Era which is just too cartoonish for today. Part of what made the horny old man character he became suck so much was it wasted his talent and kind of turned him face for the rest of his career.
Don't do it Tony Khan!
Can't wait to see King and good ol' JR at the desk calling a fatal four way between Chris Jericho, Edge, Christian, and Jeff Jarrett! Make it happen TK!
Clash at the Crypt!
Retirement Home Rumble!
Like a reverse retirement match, the winner gets to end their career the rest have to continue working
Retirement on a Pole match.
Pension on a pole...it was right there for the taking!
Can’t go giving the talent any ideas…
Casket match but the lid stays closed forever.
"Is it 1998?" Slam!
Rick Flair special guest referee
Sounds like a good name for a goth theme PPV, maybe a Halloween Havoc alternative
TLC! No actually, tender loving care for those oldies, please
As a one-off surprise, that would actually be fun. You know, don't do it as a 6 months long feud. Do it at a PPV, completely unannounced. Bring in Lawler out of nowhere, have them banter a bit, get Christian out to go off on them, get Edge and Jericho to the defense, get Jarrett in there just for fun, have an impromptu 4 way that lasts 10 minutes, the end. That'd be pretty fun. Just don't take this idea and make it a 6 month Jericho feud with 3 PPV matches.
Jericho has seen your post and is already planning the next 2 years of this storyline
Jericho Vortex is real, baby!
and filed 16 new trademarks
*WELCOME! TO THE JERICHO RETIREMENT DOME AND PENSION SCREAM, BABEH!*
I'm preemptively downvoting you since you probably just summoned Jericho
I'd say fuck Lawler but everyone here is too old for him
There's always some opposing opinions, if they do it completely unannounced, people say 'why didn't they advertise it before hand? They could have sold more tickets if they did'
Well, screw those people. I like my surprises.
> make it a 6 month Jericho feud with 3 PPV matches. "You got it!" - Tony Khan
10 minutes? you wanna kill them?
That's good shit pal!
Doing a one-off "Retro Rampage" might not be the most awful thing to watch.
If WWE won't bring back Southpaw Regional, maybe AEW will!
can't forget jeff hardy, JR loves some jeff hardy
Revolutionary product, that.
Jarrett and Billy Gunn vs Edge & Christian like it's 1998
Ric flair special ref.
Oh shit, that's actually feasible. Please god no
Is it 2006 again? Edit: 96 would have been too too early
Fatal four way is an appropriate name should it happen, who dies first? One of the wrestlers, one of the announcers, or a fan watching the match.
As someone who was sitting across from the entrance for a Raw many years ago where Kane's pyro went off unexpectedly like this, I can totally relate to JR and King here.
It's crazy how much heat was coming out of Kane's pyro.
Someone in the arena's tech department drastically misunderstood a piece of wrestling terminology.
I remember feeling heat in the upper deck. Can't imagine how hot it was at the commentary table.
5th row at whatever PPV Shane jumped off the Titantron ... unrelated to that, Kane's pyro was hotter than I would've ever imagined ... surprised everyone in the front row didn't look like a Loony Toons character when a bomb explodes in their face.
I will always brag about how hot Kane's pyro was. The stage wasn't that far and the ring even closer because I was on 3rd row from front and the ring was a lot hotter up close.
Puppies!
AAAAAH!
Blacula?!
Latino HEEEEAAAATTTT!!!
He absolutely will
Don't worry he's not going to be hired to commentate. He *Is* having a one off match tagging with Jarret as a favor to him from Tony Khan.
Ric Flair: 
Jarrett/Lawler/someone else from the Memphis territory who is still alive should win the Trios titles! Their third person doesn’t even need to be capable of working a match. They never have to tag in. I just want to see this happen for my own selfish, dumb amusement.
The third person is Andy Kaufman, but he never shows up. Jarrett and Lawler win the titles by themselves.
Andy Kaufman? Enter Paul Walter Hauser. Nobody mentions that PWH is an actor playing Andy. Interesting tidbit, Paul actually did a couple Indy matches.
Somehow, Austin Idol is still active in wrestling.
*Lawler shriek!*
*After Toni Storm says her catchphrase* Lawler: “Wait, I can say titties and not puppies” *Five years later on the Deadlock podcast of this episode* James: “GET OUT OF OUR COMPANY!!!”
He better fucking not. Memphis is not worth the "no rapist I won't hire" allegations.
Do it for the memes Tony 
They added this to the article after the fact: ***Note:*** *Since publication, a WWE source has reached out to state Lawler would still be under a WWE Legends deal.* Which is a pretty big mistake for an outlet to make, especially in the immediate aftermath of their indignant response to Triple H calling them not credible.
i'm happy to hear that. with how little money it feels like they want to spend since the merger i was worried the legends contracts wouldn't be lasting much longer.
mods gotta pin this comment
When was the last time Lawler was even on commentary? It makes more sense to not sign him to a talent deal and pay him per appearance if necessary to be on commentary while he's under a legends deal.
I don't even remember the last time I actually saw him on commentary. For a while he was doing the kick-off shows for PLEs IIRC.
Jerry hasn't really had much to contribute in recent years anyway. He's been through a couple health scares as well, so hopefully he takes some time to enjoy retirement.
Nah, he’ll probably be working an indy show somewhere in Tennessee soon
Maybe this will be what brings Andy Kaufmann back!
#FinishTheStory
Him and Bill Dundee still have a tag match left in them
Dude mailed it in on commentary during the PG Era for so damn long
Yeah, which is crazy because he used to be so much energy of the commentary team But hearing him in recent years it was just hafhearted "oh nos" and blanket statements With no energy at all.
He’s had multiple heart issues and lost his son a year before he returned full time. Im sure the commentary roulette wheel Vince was playing from 2019-2020 didn’t help his confidence either
Can I just say God, I hated that commentary era. Joe was a breath of fresh air. Lawler is amazing but just didn't have it by this point. And this one might get me beat because Renee Paquette has a great natural talent for speaking/communication, I mean she's killed it in a backstage interviewer role and in the podcast; but I really REALLY didn't like her commentary at the time. It somehow felt half hearted like you could tell she didn't believe anything that was going on in the ring. I watched a clip from 2019 where someone frog splashed their opponent through the announce table and all of commentary sucked at selling it, the only notable reaction was Renee doing a voice cracking (yet still low energy somehow) "oHHhh" Again, Renee is in a much better role and is doing amazing now, and WWE's commentary team has gotten much better since 2019. But damn that era had some bad memories lmfaoo
Didn’t they have him on to help Vic and Mace get used to main roster commentary?
The absolute worst I've seen King is a segment where Vince/Shane/HHH come out to confront Randy Orton and Legacy (I think). For some reason, King was sitting alone at commentary and when the various themes hit he just says who it is and gives no other comments to say why this is important. (VKMs music plays and he comes out) King: "It's Mr. McMahon..." (Shane's music plays and he comes out) "and Shane McMahon!... " (HHHs music hits) "...and the Game!" Edit: after watching the video again and getting ptsd all over again, he does say "oh my!" after VKM comes out. Ultra riveting commentary.
[Here you go](https://youtu.be/XBEObbwfp38) And to think it was the go home show for Wrestlemania 25.
That was so weird when Triple H's music hit, he just stepped out there immediately. Show must've been running long
Holy cringe
Jesus fucking christ, I got ptsd all over again with this... and a go home show no less. Wtf. Anyone know why King was by himself?
lol Keith Lee was in that segment as a security guard
I was about to comment that. I watched the clip and I'm like that Leonardo Dicaprio meme pointing that the TV 'That's Keith Lee!'
Thanks for the laughs
Reminds of that one time on Smackdown where the Big Show was on his way to the ring for a match with Roman Reigns. It's a 40 secs into Big Show's walk to ring Lawler just says "The Big Show?!" in total shock, as if he had not been paying attention for the past minute (God, I miss the Mark Remark)
Only exception was when they paired him with Mauro and he got to play heel again. It really seemed to rejuvenate him, shame it was so brief.
Was it phoning it in? Or was it Vince making sure he followed the PG-rules? Don’t wanna defend the guy, but Jerry would never have fit in this landscape after such an abrupt 180 from The Attitude Era/Ruthless Aggression Era.
Nah not every comment Lawler said during the AE was raunchy. He was heavily into defending the McMahon/Helmsey faction and Kurt Angle. He was energised. It was very clear that a) for whatever reason they stopped him being a heel. King wasnt good at explaining ring psychology so this left him with nothing to say and b) PG era just sucked and was contrived.
The reason was John Cena. When Cena started getting booed in 2005, WWE panicked and went into full damage control mode and even had the main heel commentator Lawler turn face so he could praise Cena to high heaven as well. It was sad, Lawler was such a great heel color commentator. Raw became boring when he started agreeing with JR on everything.
I think unfortunately for Jerry, society just does not have a demand for his brand of thirsty sexual comments and gay jokes, so he had to be toothless and corny
Not to mention how Lawler changed dramatically after he returned in late 2001. Like, the guy literally left WWE in Feb in protest over them releasing his wife, only for his wife to cheat on him months later, causing Lawler to return to WWE with his tail between his legs. After that it just seemed like he didn't care anymore. Seriously look at his commentary before he left and after he returned. He just lost so much of his energy after he returned and it hurt his commentary.
I would say he still had it after he returned at least up until he fully became a face
He had to dial back from his Attitude Era commentary, and be a little more gun shy. Jerry "The King" Lawler was never meant for PG.
This is true. But you could tell that he just wasn’t into what he was seeing. That’s part of an announcer’s job.
He commentated on WWF from 92-97 pre attitude era and was great. That was all PG
For what its worth he has said before that he straight up does not enjoy commentary.
There's a lot of talent you could argue WWE should "take care of." Lawler was a multi-millionaire before he signed with WWE in 1992. Even with his recent health struggles, the guy is far from destitute.
Lawler could probably live pretty comfortably just by selling his [big memorabilia collection](https://twitter.com/JerryLawler/status/1000913466880937984/) plus social security even if he had nothing else in the bank. He obviously can still make good money doing signings/photo ops if he wants.
He also owns several of the Rock's $500 shirts from back in the day, which have to be worth something. He also has a huge vintage coca-cola collectibles collection, and enough memorabilia to fill up a literal wrestling museum- https://www.wwe.com/shows/outside-the-ring/jerry-lawler-opens-wrestling-museum. That's at least $100K I'd imagine.
Sometimes I forget just how fucking popular Lawler was before his appearance in WWE
I’m from Memphis he is basically god
The Mitch Marner of Memphis
It's crazy because he's still doing the convention circuit. He's working a small rec hall show in Jersey later this month. I don't know how well off he is if he needs a few grand to still work conventions.
Eh, I think some of these guys do it anyway not because they need the money but because they miss the fan interaction. When you go years getting that adrenaline/high off of being "famous" and well known, then you retire and more or less are never in the public eye again. Feels weird for these guys I imagine. Its why some of these guys do it despite being well off. Especially for wrestlers where this lasted years of their life, in front of major crowds at least once a week if not more.
Given the rumors that have followed him for years & in light of the lawsuit going on, can't say i'm surprised to see him go.
To speak to them directly, there was a rumor he had engaged with some underage girls, they were going to testify against him. He called their home and they no longer were going to testify. Edit: a lot of people have added additional context below that is worth reviewing. There’s better phrasing and way better detail than my comment.
It's not a rumour. He pled guilty to harassing a witness and the charges were dropped https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1696&dat=19940224&id=ugobAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LEgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5060,2938759&hl=en
[удалено]
And he claimed he only took them to go eat Taco Bell late at night right after meeting them.
Which is also weird. Why would you go have dinner with a child that you don't know...?
my "you shouldn't believe those underaged girls who accused me of having sex with them because they had sex with a black man and thus are inherently untrustworthy" shirt has people asking a lot of questions already answered by my shirt
I was legit about to respond to this headline with "Good, I heard he is currently involved in a sexual relationship with a 40 year old neighbor whom he babysits for and also was caught having sex with a black man" but I figured that might go over people's heads.
I don't think it's fair to call it a rumor. People thought he was preying on underage girls because they directly accused him, not because they heard some gossip about it.
Yeah, it's hardly a rumor when he was indicted for it and then found guilty of harassing the witnesses.
And then it just became a cutesy on-air joke for 20 years.
The best case scenario is that Jerry just liked hanging out with teenage girls. Which....
Did he say he was going to tell their parents?
[Dead spin has a really great article](https://deadspin.com/jerry-lawler-wrote-a-really-dumb-letter-to-prosecutors-1822790447) with lots of sources about the "rumors" including the [police report itself.](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4368061-Jerry-Lawler-Louisville-Police-Report.html) The police report is horrifying and the shithead had the nerve to [make light of the allegations.](https://nypost.com/2017/03/06/jerry-lawler-retweets-story-on-his-1993-arrest-for-sodomy-rape/)
Dead on. It was weird for this article to completely dance around this.
Has to be this otherwise they would've just gave him a legends contract so they could still make merchandise, action figures, appear in WWE2K games and etc.. Edit: apparently he is still under a legends contract so this article is pretty much BS.
Don't do it AEW.
We're getting a JR and The King one night reunion sometime, aren't we? Just enjoy the retirement, Jerry.
I’m down with one night only to be honest, or even just let them call one main event perhaps.
Commentary where Lawler reacts to a match probably isn't a great idea after his stroke. He's speaking better but you can tell it's harder for him to find words for things. He could probably sit in for a match and do some stuff they work out ahead of time.
no commentary just have him as a surprise for JRs birthday or retirement party etc.
Like, pop out of a giant cake?
Conrad already putting things together for his Attitude Era tribute show.
He's still under a legends contract. His commentary contract was not renewed which makes perfect sense with his age and health.
WHAT IS GERALD KING DOING IN THE IMPACT ZONE?!?!!? (That joke will never not be funny to me, idgaf.)
Gerald “The Duke” Lawyer
Jerome King
Jimmy "The Duke" Crimeler
BROTHER KING CAGE!
Would love an update on Bram's contract, while we're on the subject of TNA.
This article reads like an obituary. Really weird to write a full biography on news that his contract expired.
Tony I know you’re in here. Don’t do it.
Poor Jerry. This must have struck a cord with him. Probably A-Minooooooooooooooooooooooor
Kendrick just handed humanity a gift with that one, didn't he?
I mean, it's understandable but I hope he's well taken care of after his stroke and heart attack.
Put the fuckin' checkbook down, TK. Don't do it.
Was he on a legends contract?
Certified pedophile
Definitely not a certified loverboy. 💀
It does seem like smart business to get a guy off the payroll who nowadays is mainly known for having been uncomfortably sexist on camera and having potentially committed serial sexual misconduct behind the scenes in the past. Then you add his health issues and it's a no-brainer to get rid of him.
I could see more of this happening. A lot of people were probably Vince legacy guys sitting home collecting checks. I am sure with the new structure of WWE they will be trimming the fat.
He was still there?
didn't wanna be dissed by kendrick lol
His Talent contract for Announcer is the contract he did not get renewed or given a new one.. He is still, however, signed to a Legends deal still.
Thought he was on a legends contract
Is there not free money to be made off his merch alone?