|
Los Angeles, California "Mr. Lawler, you don't have any brains, you're just some dumb hick from Memphis, Tennessee," cackled Andy Kaufman, the controversial comedian turned inter-gender professional wrestling champion. With those words, and many an insult just like them, the late Kaufman instigated one of professional wrestling history's most storied and publicized feuds. In the process, Jerry "The King" Lawler grabbed mainstream notoriety and began his reign as one of the industry's top stars throughout the 1980s. Now, 25 years after Kaufman uttered those words, it's evident just how preposterous they were. Still an iconic figure in his native Memphis, Lawler continues an illustrious career that has spanned almost 40 years. He's shown the brains, brawn, talent and staying power to reign as a champion, incite masses to riotous reaction, cause capacity crowds to stand up and cheer and captivate audiences with his comedic commentary. Quite simply, in the cavalcade of characters that is the world of professional wrestling, Lawler has played out every role. A hero and a villain, a curtain jerker and a champion, a jester and, of course, a king.  Jerry Lawler made his pro wrestling debut 37 years ago, but the 57-year-old is still going strong, whether as an in-ring performer or color commentator. And on March 31 - a day before Wrestlemania, the industry's prevailing event - "The King" will take his rightful place in the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame. "To be in there with all the great performers and all the superstars is such an honor," says Lawler, who will take his due spot alongside fellow WWE Hall of Famers such as Andre the Giant, Jesse "The Body" Ventura, "Classy" Freddie Blassie, Sgt. Slaughter and Hulk Hogan. It's been 37 years since Lawler made his pro wrestling debut, but the 57-year-old is still going strong, whether it's as an in-ring performer or, as most of today's sports entertainment fans recognize him, as the color commentator on the USA Network's "Monday Night Raw," always quick with a raunchy joke or a witty zinger. While he's the glitz, the glamour and the standard of the current sports entertainment world that is the WWE and "Monday Night Raw," he's still also the roots of pro wrestling - the independent circuits, the high school gyms, the small towns and the fundraisers. "In that sense, I don't like to think I'm done with pro wrestling at all," says Lawler, as he's on his way to a small, fundraising wrestling show in Birmingham, Alabama. "I don't like to think my career is over." Still the squared circle's most notable star in his own Memphis Wrestling organization, Lawler was taken aback when the WWE approached him about taking on hall-of-fame status. "I was shocked in the sense that it was something that I had never thought about," Lawler says. While nobody can argue that he's built a legacy over the last four decades that is hall-of-fame worthy, "The King" is quite certainly continuing to build upon that legacy. In fact, it's hardly a happenstance occurrence when Lawler jumps into the ring on Raw to come to the rescue of a damsel - er, a WWE Diva - in distress. Most recently, he made the save on the show's March 19 edition, saving "Playboy" cover girl Ashley Massaro from the 7-foot-3, 420-pound monster, The Great Khali.
|
Newswire 
