Jerry "The King" Lawler is one of the greatest wrestlers to never win the WWE Championship.
His legacy in the sports entertainment industry speaks for itself, but the King was never quite able to lift the most prestigious title in the business up high. It's a shame, but either way he won't allow it to define his many decades as a professional wrestler.
With that being said, it is interesting to look back and think "what if?"
Lawler had a number of opportunities in which to win the WWE Title, and ironically they all came towards the back end of his career. Back in early 2011, the Memphis legend found himself locked into a feud with the recently crowned WWE Champion, The Miz.
It made for some fascinating television with the wily old veteran attempting to shut up the cocky newcomer, who was constantly running down the icons of the past. It didn't really seem like it would amount to anything major.
However, their ladder match for the title on Monday Night Raw opened the WWE Universe's eyes to just how good Lawler still was.
Also watch: Video: Jerry "The King" Lawler Vs. Randy Savage - Cage Match
As a result of his fine performance, Lawler went on to challenge The Awesome One for the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber. The story was built around the idea that Jerry had never had a WrestleMania match, and he was determined to walk into the showcase of the immortals as the WWE Champion.
People went back and forth on whether or not they thought he could pull it off, but after a fascinating match, it was The Miz who defeated the legendary superstar in order to walk into Atlanta with the title still wrapped firmly around his waist.
It goes without saying that a lot of people were disappointed, and rightly so. It was a situation that saw fans be split down the middle as some fans thought it would ruin Miz's career if he lost, meanwhile others felt like a quick title reign would be beneficial to everyone.
No matter which camp you fell into, nobody could deny that it was enthralling and we here at Sportskeeda feel as if they indeed should've put the WWE Championship on Jerry Lawler. It may seem odd and it may seem ridiculous, but there are good reasons to support the idea.
First of all - he deserved it. There are so many names in this industry that haven't claimed the top prize despite being legends of the game.
In a situation like this, WWE should've realised that Lawler didn't belong on that list and that a run with the WWE Championship would've been a great feel good moment for old school fans who had followed him through thick and thin.
Then you have The Miz. From the start of his reign, he felt like a transitional champion, which isn't how you should react to the holder of the most important title in the company. Even at WrestleMania, he felt like a sideshow to the Cena vs Rock feud, which only served to progressively devalue the title as the weeks went on.
It's not like he was breaking any records or stunning the world with what he was doing. If anything, losing the strap to Lawler and then having Miz win it back the next night could've helped him immensely.
The embarrassment would've led to a complete revitalisation of his character, leading to a more cynical and dramatically effective heel champion.
Look at the Attitude Era for example. There were so many occasions in which somebody won the World Title back after 24 hours, with Austin's win over Kane on Raw standing out as a particular example.
Nobody complained or moaned about that - instead, they just loved seeing a title change this big on free TV.
Plus, back in 2011, we didn't really get as many feel good moments on a month to month basis.
You don't have to reserve those kinds of things for the big four pay-per-views because they can work just as well throughout the WWE calendar and fans would've got carried away with what was happening.
They'd stop thinking about storylines and future feuds, instead choosing to embrace what they were watching with open arms.
Then there's the King's Mania match to consider. If he held onto the title for a day before losing it back on Raw, it could open up some more interesting possibilities for his first and only bout at the granddaddy of them all.
The Michael Cole match was in utter shambles and although you could just change the booking, having Lawler put over a fresh younger talent would've been much more beneficial.
You could've had someone like Dolph Ziggler cost him the belt because he didn't agree with just how ridiculous an "old man" winning the belt was. It would make sense, it would give the two more of a purpose and it would wrap up one of the major stories of the wrestling year.
Send us news tips at [email protected]
