Jerry Lawler's slap to Andy Kaufman is considered one of pro wrestling's greatest moments. The segment on Dave Letterman happened years before Vince McMahon made the business mainstream with guest celebrity appearances.
Ad
Speaking on a recent edition of What Were They Thinking? on Backstage Pass, JBL revealed how the iconic pro wrestling moment came close to being pulled off the air.
"It was a fantastic scene. I've seen it many times. But we had Jerry (Lawler) on the show as well. You know, he's told us a story. Dave Letterman was the one that got a little bit cold feet and was going to go to commercial break. And then Andy Kaufman decided he didn't want to do that."
Ad
Trending
He continued that the entire scene was an ad lib.
"That's when they did the whole thing kind of ad lib and did this entire scene. Letterman had the opportunity to edit that out because it was taped and he didn't do it. He showed it just like it happened." [From 15:32 onwards]
Ad
Elsewhere on the podcast, veteran journalist Bill Apter said Vince McMahon wanted to bring the storyline into WWE but his father, Vincent J. McMahon, was against celebrity appearances.
Catch that and more of What Were They Thinking? with JBL and Gerald Brisco on Backstage Pass. You can also unlock our exclusive content via YouTube membership.
×
Feedback
Why did you not like this content?
Was this article helpful?
Thank You for feedback
About the author
Manik Aftab
Manik Aftab writes Exclusive articles for Sportskeeda Wrestling’s WWE division. A BA (Hons) in English Literature helped him improve his writing skills before starting his career as a pro wrestling writer.
Before joining Sportskeeda, Aftab worked for Ringside News and The Sportster, where his wrestling articles and feature pieces consistently ranked on the first page of Google SERPs.
He prioritizes accuracy, relevance, and ethics in his reporting by conducting thorough research, verifying sources, and adhering to professional journalistic standards.
While Aftab’s favorite wrestler in AEW is Hangman Adam Page, he doesn’t have a favorite in WWE yet. However, he considers Stone Cold Steve Austin to be the greatest professional wrestler of all time. His earliest memory of watching pro wrestling was when The Rock faced The New Age Outlaws in a handicap match, but it was the John Cena vs. Edge match from Unforgiven 2006 that got him hooked. If given the chance to manage a star from the Attitude Era, he would choose The British Bulldog, as he believes Davey Boy Smith was a terrific worker and could've benefitted from having a mouthpiece for his lack of mic skills.
When not watching pro wrestling, Aftab enjoys reading science fiction and watching anime.
'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUH/8QAFQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAgP/2gAMAwEAAhADEAAAAM1lkX//xAAjEAABAwMCBwAAAAAAAAAAAAACAQMEAAYRBSITFBUxUZHS/9oACAEBAAE/ACtU4elwwdGM91GBs3KnCPmMivbwi+6fsac0842Rw8gSiuHC+a//xAAVEQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAf/aAAgBAgEBPwCP/8QAFREBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL/2gAIAQMBAT8Ap//Z'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Trending
