Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
After over three decades working with World Wrestling Entertainment, Jerry’ the King’ Lawler is no longer under a full time contract with the company. He is still signed to a legend’s deal, so we may still see Lawler pop up from time to time. This does mark the end of a glorious era the King was a huge part of. Today, we will be discussing his WWF/WWE career overall and what he meant to the company for over 30 years.
Make no mistake about it, Jerry Lawler already had a hall of fame worthy wrestling career before joining the WWF back in 1992. He had legendary feuds in the Memphis territory with the likes of Terry Funk, Bill Dundee, Randy Savage and of course…comedian Andy Kaufman. This piece will just focus on his time with WWE and how Lawler made himself into a legend for the company, not so much as a wrestler, but as a commentator. The story of how the King landed with the WWF back in 1992 is an interesting one, which we covered here. Lawler was always blessed with the gift of gab and his mic skills would prove important to the WWF’s growth in the 1990’s.
Sure, Lawler had a few memorable feuds in the ring as a wrestler with the company. The one that stands out the most was his battles with Bret ‘the Hitman’ Hart. Lawler made that feud with his quick, sarcastic wit and jabs at Bret and his family. Insults like “Helen Hart is so old, she remembers when the Dead Sea was sick,” “Helen Hart is the only person I know with an autographed copy of the Bible” and “As a baby, Bret Hart was so ugly…they had to put tinted windows on his incubator.” Lawler and Hart would have several matches, which all culminated with a ‘Kiss My Foot’ match that Lawler admitted was one of the biggest paydays he ever received in his entire career.
Jerry’s biggest contribution to the WWF, however, was his color commentary and broadcasting skills. From his sitting by the side of Vince McMahon being the heel commentator that others like Jesse Ventura and Bobby Heenan were before him. Lawler also had his own interview segment on WWF shows called ‘The King’s Court,’ very much in similar to segments like Piper’s Pit where he would build up the heels and put down the faces of the company.
He would also introduce…as an accomplished, talented artist…something called ‘The Magistrator.’ During video replays of matches, Lawler would draw funny, cartoons to explain feuds or diss other wrestlers. As good as Lawler was in his role as the typical heel color commentator, the King really didn’t hit his full stride until he was paired with long time friend Jim Ross.
The pairing started out in the usual way with JR playing the straight commentator role to Lawler’s heel antics. Once the Attitude Era hit in full stride, the lines were more blurred and Lawler was more of a babyface than ever as a commentator. The on air chemistry between Ross and Lawler was magic and in my personal opinion only second to the great team of Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan.
Of course, Lawler really enamored himself with fans by being an advocate for all the sex that the WWF was selling during that era. His pure excitement and joy by complimenting the various women helped get Lawler over with the rabid fanbase of the time. His screaming of “Puppies!” which he “borrowed” from the Road Dogg became his signature catchphrase whenever a women with ample bosoms made their way on screen. He also helped ECW get more recognition on a national level with his feud against the company
As popular as the Attitude Era was for the WWF in the late 90’s, it probably wouldn’t have been as successful if not for the commentary team of Good Ol’ JR and the King. They were just as vital to that era’s success as were stars like the Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin and DX. A whole generation of fans were introduced to the product by the voices of Ross and Lawler.
As the Attitude Era wound down and the years went by, the team of JR and Lawler were slowly being phased out. The pair would split up and do separate shows. Lawler returned to being much more of a heel broadcaster alongside other commentators like Michael Cole. Lawler literally almost died while sitting doing commentating for the company.
Slowly, but surely Jerry Lawler was being completely phased off the broadcasting position of the company and more as an occasional analyst on various panels. After recovering from a stroke, Lawler was used even more sparingly. According to reports, while Vince McMahon was in power…he always made sure to take care of Lawler and always re-upped his broadcasting contract. Since Vince left WWE, things have changed and the new regime saw things differently.
While Jerry’s WWE career has seemingly come to an end, there is no question the influence he had for over 30 years. It was filled with many highs and lows, good times and bad…but Lawler is no doubt a WWE legend.
