Jerry “The King” Lawler has been one of the most consistent names in the wrestling business for the past 40 years. Becoming the “King of Memphis” and one of the top stars who ever came out of the AWA and USWA, Lawler was acquired by the WWE in the early 90s. While he did have some memorable feuds with Bret Hart and Jake Roberts, his in-ring career in the WWE was not very long. However, he did cement himself in being one of the longest color commentators in WWE history, creating a WWE Hall of Fame career next to his colleague Jim Ross.
As WWE started shifting away from older commentators, infusing names such as Byron Saxton, David Otunga, and Corey Graves, Lawler was left without a home. He was quietly kicked off the Raw roster shifted to the SmackDown team. Then, he was quietly kicked off the SmackDown team to the pre-shows. Now, there is no longer a stable role for Lawler, as he is simply under a Legend’s contract, only expected to host the WWE Hall of Fame along with other infrequent appearances. Apparently, the decision was not as amicable as expected, as Lawler voiced the reason why it was made on a recent podcast.
Per WrestleZone, Lawler believed executive producer Kevin Dunn had something to do with it.
“[Kevin] Dunn said that due to WWE being a public traded company, it comes down to dollars and cents. That having his salary being absorbed on the pre-show after he was taken off of Smackdown made it a very expensive to produce, so they decided to get rid of the pre-game show. Vince McMahon called the next day and said I’m definitely not done with WWE and reiterated that the pre-show was dropped due to cost reasons. I’m under contract to WWE into January…they will talk about a new deal then.”
Aside from a couple stints where Lawler and WWE had to part ways, whether stemming from legal issues or his then-devotion to Stacy Carter, Jerry Lawler has spent the past 24 of his 46-year professional wrestling career under the WWE umbrella.
Now, the 67-year-old is pursuing comedy, and he has a tour scheduled in March.
Lawler has not hung up his boots either, as he is still competing in the ring.
Lawler remains very attached to the wrestling business, whether he is affiliated with the WWE or not. Hopefully, Lawler and WWE are able to hash out any discrepencies come the next time his contract is discussed.
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