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What's the story?
WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler was brought back to the company to call the men's Royal Rumble match back in January. On his latest podcast, he shared whether or not WWE tells its announcers who is going to win and who the surprise entrants are.
In case you didn't know...
Lawler has been behind the announce desk for decades. He recently rejoined forces with Commentary legend Jim Ross, as part of Raw's 25th Anniversary two weeks ago.
The duo called all of the action from the Manhattan Center in New York.
Lawler was later invited to be part of the commentary team for the men's Royal Rumble match, much like Stephanie McMahon joined the team for the women.
The men's match included a number of shocks like The Hurricane and Rey Mysterio.
Fans have always wondered whether or not Michael Cole fakes his surprise when he announces the entrants or not.
The heart of the matter
On a recent episode of Lawler's Dinner with the King podcast, the former Champion talked about how much the commentary team actually know about The Royal Rumble before they are sent out to announce it. (transcript courtesy of Wrestlinginc)
"Honestly, I think Michael Cole does know. When I said I don't have to go to production meetings, Michael Cole does. I mean, he has to. When you are the main guy you have to be ready for that information so I'm pretty sure who was coming out next from 1-30."
Lawler wasn't the main announcer on the panel that night, so it seems that he wasn't given as much information about the match as his broadcast colleague.
"I just felt weird because we were getting closer to the time of the Royal Rumble but nobody told me anything. Then, I finally had gone to Billy Kidman because he's the one who kind of runs the time of the show becuase the Royal Rumble was about to start and then they run a package.
The WWE legend continued:
I went over to him to ask if I was supposed to be out there already and he looked over at the sheet and said, 'Oh no; you are going to have your music and entrance.' I let out a big sigh of relief. Then, little bit after that I went out. I hadn't talked to anybody; I hadn't talked to Michael Cole or Corey Graves about what to do or say about the show. I had no clue about anything on the order that was going to happen."
What's next?
Lawler hasn't been invited back to be part of the commentary team over the past few weeks. He is usually a part of the kickoff show panel alongside Renee Young. So, he could return to the company as part of the Elimination Chamber panel in a few weeks.
Author's take
It actually isn't that much of a shock to know that Michael Cole already knows who is coming out before they do. I feel he's very good at his job because he is able to act as though it's a huge surprise every time.
Many people would rather be in Lawler's position though. It feels much more genuine if you don't have to fake a reaction and then you get to enjoy the surprises as well.
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