Of course, this statistic must be interpreted in the light of how professional wrestling operates. Jerry Lawler has made history as being the wrestler with the most championship reigns of all time. He has had more than titles in his career. This includes the USWA title. In , perhaps inspired by fellow wrestler Jesse Ventura 's successful run for the governorship of Minnesota , Lawler ran for mayor of Memphis, finishing third in a field of 12 candidates.
Earlier in his career, like many wrestlers, Lawler took his turns as both face "good guy" and heel "bad guy". Perhaps the best gimmick of this period was his on-and-off feud with an erstwhile tag-team partner, Aussie wrestler "Superstar" Bill Dundee.
A celebrated "grudge match" between the two at Memphis' Mid-South Coliseum represented a rare example of theatrical make-up blood actually being found in use at a pro wrestling event, since the match was being taped for an NBC television program documenting the rise in popularity of pro wrestling. Most blood in professional wrestling has traditionally been real, the result of " blading. Lawler wanted to record a wrestling album with him singing and, since they had gone to school together, he called Hart and asked him to be a part of it.
This ultimately led to a match between the two at King of the Ring which Lawler lost. In the fall of , Lawler initiated a feud with Doink the Clown. Lawler popped the balloons carried by Doink's midget sidekick, Dink. After Doink and Dink retaliated, Lawler introduced a midget sidekick of his own, who he named Queasy. This led to an elimination match at Survivor Series , which Lawler's team won.
After the match, however, Lawler's team turned on him, joining with Doink's team to attack Lawler. In late and early , Lawler wrestled briefly in Smoky Mountain Wrestling while still continuing to commentate sporadically for the WWF. He defeated Tony Anthony for the promotion's top title in January By , Lawler wrestled occasionally on WWF Superstars where he would take on jobbers while holding a microphone in the ring to, essentially, "do the commentary on his very own matches" while occasionally serving as the official cornerman for Isaac Yankem D.
After a brief feud with the Ultimate Warrior , Lawler began feuding with Jake Roberts after making fun of Roberts' drug and alcohol problems.
The two met in a match at SummerSlam , which Lawler won. After the match, Lawler poured Jim Beam whiskey down Roberts' throat. In interviews and commentary, he referred to the promotion as "Extremely Crappy Wrestling". In mid, Lawler entered the King of the Ring tournament for the first time and advanced to the semi-final round where he was defeated by Mankind. By the fall, the WWF introduced a new "light-heavyweight division" to compete with World Championship Wrestling 's cruiserweight division.
Lawler's son, Brian Christopher , was one of the major light-heavyweight superstars in the division, although, the WWF played up an angle where both Lawler and Christopher would deny their family relationship, even though the two would aide each other in matches and so on. By , Lawler rarely wrestled in the WWF and focused on commentary. It was McMahon's departure from the commentary team which led to the strong on-screen chemistry between Lawler and Ross in subsequent years.
This played a key role in a change of Lawler's character; although he still supported the heels, he showed a sense of right and wrong, and would condemn actions of heels when they went too far. This began when Lawler surprisingly attacked Tazz when he started bullying Ross. With the creation of the XFL in , Lawler was given the job as an announcer for the new football league. In his account, there was no clear notice as to why she was fired; when Jim Ross broke the news to him, he stated that the Creative Team simply said that Stacy had "an attitude problem.
Lawler has stated several theories as to why he was allowed to leave. His first involves the ascent of Carter's career alongside the downfall of Chyna 's.
In his contention, Chyna was jealous of his wife's push inside the company, in part due to the Right to Censor storyline, and in part because of his wife's offer to pose for Playboy magazine. Until that time, Chyna had been the second major wrestling star from the World Wrestling Federation to have done a piece in Playboy after Sable ; during Chyna's debut on the adult magazine, she had suddenly broken her friendship with Carter.
In interviews, he has also stated that there may have been an alternate reason, namely, that the company wanted to fire him. He also criticizes McMahon for the cavalier attitude he had given him on the day he quit.
In his recollection, Jim Ross was fired by McMahon with exactly the same demeanor while struck with a bout of Bell's palsy in , a time when Ross' "usefulness" had run out. Lawler felt that Carter's release was an attempt to remove him as well, stating that the company was well-aware that he would walk-out alongside his wife.
Lawler's replacement with Paul Heyman launched a theory in which Heyman was promoted at Lawler's expense. Internet rumors circulated that the company was in better terms with Heyman than Lawler, and used remarks Lawler had made in criticism of ECW to launch a theory whereby Heyman wanted Lawler out.
Lawler has stated repeatedly that he has no resentment towards Paul Heyman, accusing the media and internet theorists of spreading false information. During this time, Lawler made appearances on the independent circuit in both Australia and North America, as well as joining the fledgling Xcitement Wrestling Federation promotion alongside WCW veteran Tony Schiavone as a color commentator. Also during the time Lawler divorced Carter. He was reintroduced by Vince McMahon on Raw as the replacement for color commentator and The Alliance member Paul Heyman , who had been kayfabe fired in the aftermath of the Alliance's loss at the previous night's Survivor Series.
As he had been before his departure, Lawler once again became color commentator on Raw and pay-per-view events alongside Jim Ross and SmackDown! Lawler stated that his well-worked chemistry with Jim Ross has been a result of their different styles; according to Lawler, Jim Ross is a fine storyteller and keeps fans well-versed with current storylines, whereas he provides reaction and emotion to liven the commentary.
At Unforgiven , Lawler and Ross lost a match against Coachman and Snow, thus losing their right to do commentary on Raw. In a rematch, however, Ross defeated Coachman, winning Lawler and Ross their position back. This created tension between the Raw and SmackDown! The feud concluded when Tazz and Lawler faced each other in a match at One Night Stand , which Tazz won in only 30 seconds by making Lawler pass out to the Tazzmission after a distraction from Joey Styles.
Lawler attacked Orton in defense of Hogan, which set up a match between them on Raw. Orton defeated Lawler after a low blow and an RKO. In August, King Booker claimed to be the only one entitled to be known as "King". After being beaten by Booker in the ring, Lawler was supposed to be forced to crown his opponent at an August 13 show in Madison Square Garden. This led to a worked brawl between Lawler and Booker. On the July 7, edition of Raw , Lawler was attacked by Kane after saving Michael Cole from a similar attack, in which Kane repeatedly asked "Is he alive or is he dead?
However, in previous weeks Randy Orton had abused Vince McMahon and his family thus he was in danger of being fired, so he had to win the Royal Rumble to keep his job. The following week, Lawler lost to Jericho after submitting to the Walls of Jericho. He went on to defeat Kendrick. On the November 16 edition of Raw, after recent acquisition Sheamus attacked the timekeeper in frustration for not receiving an opponent, Lawler left the announce table to confront Sheamus and check on the victim, only to receive a kick to the head for his troubles.
On June 7, , during a Viewer's Choice edition of Raw, Lawler lost his crown to the IRS because he had apparently not paid his taxes, but it was regained by Quinton Jackson later on. At the end of the night, Lawler was one of the many employees at ringside that were brutally attacked by the season 1 NXT rookies. Lawler however, was the only person at ringside that fought back, as he used punches and chops to attack the NXT rookies assaulting him until it was a 3-on-1 assault.
The following week on Raw Lawler got some payback, being part of the Raw roster to fight off the now-called "The Nexus" when they again came to ambush John Cena. Josh Mathews had to replace Lawler for color commentator for the remainder of the show.
Lawler was eliminated by Heath Slater. Miz's decision would be reversed by the anonymous Raw General Manager, who made the match the main event of the night, making it Lawler's first shot at the title, with the match type being a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match.
Cole's interference would cause tension between the two. On the December 6 episode of Raw , Cole would first apologize to Lawler, only for him to take it back and demand an apology from Lawler to himself. After Lawler threatened to attack Cole, the anonymous Raw General Manager would then issue a "cease and desist" order, which barred any physicality between them and that if either of them violated the order, that individual would have their contract terminated immediately.
This would lead to a rematch between Miz and Lawler the following week, with Lawler once again getting the victory, this time by count-out. Later on that night, Miz would attack Lawler from behind as Lawler was sitting at the announce table. Lawler would once again team with Orton on the January 10, episode of Raw to take on Miz and Riley. Lawler was once again successful in getting the victory, this time pinning Riley.
Lawler would win the match by last eliminating King Sheamus. Cole would respond by throwing water into Lawler's face, with Lawler chasing Cole off to the backstage area. He would then announce that he would be trained in the coming weeks by Jack Swagger for the upcoming match. Fargo knew for some time that Jerry wanted to wrestle; he wanted the young man to speak up for himself before introducing him to the business. Jerry and a childhood buddy, Mike Mashburn, would practice moves in the backyard, taking bumps on the ground worse than any they could ever take in the ring.
Lawler thought for a time that he wanted to become a radio broadcaster, and he was a night disc jockey for KWAM in Memphis. For his six dollar payday, Lawler ended up on the arena floor unconscious, as he eagerly jumped out of the ring on a move and landed awkwardly. The fans loved his enthusiasm. But Fargo, who had heard the free on-air wrestling promo that Lawler had cut, decided it was time to take the ambitious Memphian under his wing.
You can ride out there with me. Lawler was a jobber as he learned the ropes. However, he quickly rose up the ranks and was a top star before long.
Lawler was also allowed to wrestle for small, local promotions. It was for such a local outfit, the Tri-State Alabama Wrestling Association, that Jerry won his first ever singles title in a battle royal.
He has used the gimmick, complete with a stunning collection of robes and crowns, for 35 years now. But titles are honorary. Lawler dominated one of the most important wrestling territories in the country Memphis at a critical time in the evolution of professional wrestling. The promotion finally folded in
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