If you’ve been watching the WWE for a while then you’ve seen Jerry “The King” Lawler come and go, and you might have been glad about it or sad depending on how you feel about the guy. The truth is that he’s been back and forth with the company for a while since he and Mr. McMahon don’t always see eye to eye, as it seems to happen with some individuals that work for the company. But overall the King has been a vital part of the announce team for WWE for too long to simply dismiss him for anything short of being labeled as a criminal. He’s been allowed to be a bit cocky during his time in the company, but at least in some ways he’s earned it since he had provided a good deal of commentary and, at times, one heck of a good show, especially when he’s sitting next to JR on commentary, as the two of them are absolutely great together.
Here are a few things about Jerry you might not have known.
10. He’s suing a Tennessee sheriff over his son’s death.
When his son Brian was incarcerated Lawler apparently asked the officers to make certain he got the help he needed, and to keep an eye on him. The officers apparently said they would, but somehow failed to notice that Brian was in the same position with a towel over his head. Unfortunately Brian had hung himself and the officers didn’t even notice.
9. Jerry used to work as a disc jockey.
It’s hard to see Jerry poring over records and a turntable trying to select what to play next, but apparently this is where he was discovered and introduced to the idea of wrestling. Apparently he took to it rather quickly and didn’t look back.
8. He started his career as a heel.
Over the years he’s kind of gone back and forth between being a heel and being the face and a lot of people seem to prefer him as the latter rather than the former since at this point in his career he’s a lot more fun when he’s simply out to comment on the matches and have a good time.
7. Lawler admitted that Andy Kaufman was a good friend of his.
The whole feud they had back in the day was staged, though many people thought it was completely real since Kaufman was so off the wall with his sense of humor that people didn’t know how to react most of the time. Apparently it caused a bit of a stir behind the scenes, what with legal issues and such.
6. He started up in the WWE as an announcer.
Over the years King has managed to get in the ring a few times and have a couple of decent matches, but for the most part he’s been confined to announcing wrestlers, commentating on the match, and just being the loud and boisterous character that people love.
5. For a while he feuded with the Brett Hart.
It seems like a lot of people feuded with Brett Hart at one point or another, he was kind of like a lightning rod that the WWE used to hone the talent and create some of the best story lines back in the day. It did work for some people, but it’s easy to think that a lot of people have forgotten about Brett and King’s feud at this point.
4. He quit the WWE for a while when they fired his wife at the time.
Stacey “the Kat” Carter was a pretty notable diva at one time in the WWE and yet she wasn’t the most loved despite the fact that she was quite attractive and fun to watch in the ring. Jerry happens to think that there was an issue about Stacey’s offer to pose in Playboy since Chyna had just posed in the magazine and might have been a bit jealous.
3. The Honky Tonk Man is his cousin.
It’s likely that not a lot of people knew this since wrestlers don’t often break kayfabe unless it can’t be helped or is part of a story line. Considering how little people knew about their favorite wrestlers when the Honky Tonk Man was still around it’s likely that this went without comment for a while.
2. He was falsely accused of raping a 15-year old girl.
Jerry had to miss Survivor Series for this one year and it was unfortunate since the girl recanted on her statement and admitted it was a false accusation. It did make some people look askance at Jerry for a bit though.
1. At one point he was suspended from the WWE due to a domestic violence charge.
Both he and his girlfriend at the time called the cops on each other and he ended up being suspended for a while until he was finally allowed to come back.
That’s the King, for better or worse.
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