Name	Tazz
Names	Kid KrushThe Tasmanian DevilThe TazmaniacTazTazz
Height
Weight
Birth date	October 11, 1967
Birth place	Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York
Resides	Massapequa, New York
Billed	The Red Hook Section of Brooklyn, New York
Trainer	Johnny Rodz
Debut	1987
Retired	2002 }}

Peter Senerchia (born October 11, 1967) is a retired American professional wrestler and current color commentator best known by his ring name Tazz, originally Tazmaniac and later shortened to simply Taz. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

He is best known from his tenure in Extreme Championship Wrestling, where he was a two time World Heavyweight Champion, a two time World Television Champion, a three time World Tag Team Champion, a two time (and the first ever) FTW Heavyweight Champion, and the fourth ECW Triple Crown winner (the final in the original ECW).

His World Wrestling Entertainment career as an in-ring performer came to an early halt in 2002 when mounting injuries forced him to retire and become a color commentator, which he continued to do until his contract with WWE expired in April 2009. Two months later, Senerchia debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling at their Victory Road pay-per-view under the ring name Taz and eventually reprised his role as a color commentator for TNA's broadcasts, replacing Don West.

Career

Early years (1987–1993)

Senerchia debuted in professional wrestling in World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico in 1987 after being trained by Johnny Rodz. He wrestled as Kid Krush before moving on to the name Tazmaniac, which he would use variations of for the rest of his career. In the early 1990s, as The Tazmaniac, he wrestled for International World Class Championship Wrestling and held its Light Heavyweight Championship for six months in 1991. He would follow Tony Rumble in leaving IWCCW to join the newly-established Century Wrestling Alliance. He would also tour in New Japan Pro Wrestling. He also wrestled in the Memphis based USWA.

Eastern / Extreme Championship Wrestling (1993–1999)

The Tazmaniac (1993–1995)

In October 1993, he and Joe Chetti (brother of Chris Chetti) debuted in the Philadelphia-based Eastern Championship Wrestling (ECW), just prior to its name change to Extreme Championship Wrestling, as the tag team The Tazmaniacs. When that team broke up, he was put into another team with Kevin Sullivan, with whom he won the Tag Team Championship twice. During his second reign as Tag Team Champion with Sullivan, The Tazmaniac became a double champion when he also won the Television Championship for one night in March 1994. For most of the rest of the year he floated around the tag ranks, teaming with different partners. He held the title once more, this time with Sabu, until Sabu was (legitimately) fired by ECW owner Paul Heyman for no showing an event in favor of appearing at another event in Japan.

Tazmaniac was put out of action by a legitimate injury for much of 1995. During a tag team match 2 Cold Scorpio and Dean Malenko delivered a spike piledriver to him, and though he knew it was coming, he didn't have time to properly protect himself. As he explained on the DVD documentary ''The Rise and Fall of ECW'', "I landed right on my forehead and just jacked my whole neck back and that was it." The neck injury was so bad that, according to Tommy Dreamer, hospital staff couldn't believe he'd walked into the hospital where he sought help after the match. Though he was unable to wrestle, Paul Heyman continued to pay him per their oral agreement, forging a loyalty between the men.

Taz (1995–1999)

When Senerchia returned, with inspiration from The Steiner Brothers, he did so with a revamped gimmick and used the shortened name Taz. The new character had him clad in a black singlet and exhibiting a more physically intense in-ring style, focusing his offense on suplexes—which announcer Joey Styles dubbed "Taz–Plexes"—earning him the nickname "The Human Suplex Machine". He also debuted his Tazmission finishing maneuver, causing opponents to tap out to signal their submission as in mixed martial arts instead of nodding their head or vocally saying "yes". This quirk was soon picked up by other companies throughout the country. After feuds with 2 Cold Scorpio, Jason, Tommy Dreamer, and Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Paul Varelans, Taz and his former partner Sabu were put into an angle stemming from the firing incident years earlier. The two chased each other throughout 1996 and 1997, including having an altercation on ''Monday Night Raw'', the flagship show of their "competition", during a working agreement between the two companies. The feud was all designed to lead to ECW's first pay-per-view, Barely Legal, where Taz defeated Sabu with his Tazmission, only to have his manager, Bill Alfonso, turn on him and join Sabu and his partner Rob Van Dam. Two months later, at Wrestlepalooza, Taz won the World Television Championship from Shane Douglas to begin his second reign, starting a feud with Bam Bam Bigelow over it and eventually losing it to him.

After losing the TV Championship, Taz was elevated into the World Heavyweight Championship picture. In May 1998, with Shane Douglas injured and unable to wrestle, Taz was given an old Television Championship belt painted orange—his trademark color—and began cutting promos declaring himself the FTW Heavyweight Champion of the World. Though the championship was unsanctioned in storyline, it was defended at ECW shows until Douglas was healthy, at which time Taz defeated him for the World Heavyweight Title. Just before winning the World title, Taz "gave" the FTW title to long time foe Sabu in a match where he physically pulled Sabu on top of him to allow him to get the pin. Taz held the ECW World Championship for nine months before he signed with the World Wrestling Federation, losing the title as the first man eliminated in a three way dance at Anarchy Rulz. As he walked out of the ring, a large portion of the ECW locker room joined him on the entrance ramp to give him an emotional sendoff. After being off of ECW television for most of the fall, he wrestled one final match as an ECW performer at November to Remember, losing to Rob Van Dam via pinfall.

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (2000–2009)

Wrestling (2000–2002)

After being contacted by the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling in 1999, Taz debuted for the WWF—with the slightly modified ring name Tazz—at the 2000 Royal Rumble in a win over the previously undefeated Kurt Angle. Just a few months after Tazz arrived in the WWF, Mike Awesome, the man he had lost the ECW World Heavyweight Championship to, signed with World Championship Wrestling. Legal wrangling by Paul Heyman prevented Awesome from taking the title belt with him, and in a piece of bizarre wrestling history, ECW and WWF officials agreed to have Tazz, a WWF wrestler, make a surprise appearance at an ECW show to defeat Awesome, a WCW wrestler, for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship. Tazz held the belt for ten days before losing it to Tommy Dreamer, during which time he wore it on various WWF shows, including an episode of ''SmackDown!'' where he lost to the WWF Champion Triple H—a booking decision Vince McMahon later expressed some regret about.

After losing the ECW Title, Tazz was placed into contention for the Intercontinental Championship, but never won the title. In the summer, after taking time off for an arm injury, he was turned into a villainous character and placed into a feud with color commentator Jerry "The King" Lawler. The feud included matches at SummerSlam and Unforgiven, which they split. Tazz was only able to pick up the Unforgiven win when he received help from Raven, who had returned to the company. Afterwards, the duo formed a tag team that lasted until November.

When the Invasion angle began, Tazz acted as "the voice of the WCW/ECW Alliance", sticking up for them and speaking on their behalf whenever possible. He eventually left the stable after the leader Stone Cold Steve Austin criticized his decision to stay on commentary rather than help ECW owner Stephanie McMahon.

Lawler returned to the company on November 19, 2001 and resumed his place as commentator, with Tazz becoming both a wrestler and a commentator. In January he and Spike Dudley won the WWF Tag Team Championship, holding it for over a month before losing it to Billy and Chuck.

Commentating and departure (2002–2009)

With injuries mounting, Tazz began performing part time commentary on ''Sunday Night Heat'' in October 2000. He joined the ''SmackDown!'' team in February 2001 after Jerry "The King" Lawler quit the company, after calling his first PPV on No Way Out with Jim Ross, as well as becoming one of the trainers for the joint WWF/MTV produced reality series ''Tough Enough''.

When World Wrestling Entertainment split into two brands, Tazz was put on SmackDown!, where he again became a color commentator. Not long after he retired from the ring, he became a full time broadcaster. He co-hosted ''SmackDown!'' for World Wrestling Entertainment until a third brand, ECW, was introduced in 2006, at which point he became the color commentator for that show. He was also the co-host, with Joey Styles, of ''History of Extreme Championship Wrestling'' on WWE 24/7 Classics, a show that re-airs archived episodes of the original ECW's weekly television programs. Before and during episodes he and Styles provide insight into the storylines, inner workings, and general ambiance of ECW at the time—as they remember it.

In February 2006, Tazz and his ''SmackDown!'' broadcasting partner, Michael Cole, hosted a week long trial run of a show on Howard 101 on Sirius Satellite Radio, but the show was not picked up. He also hosted a talk show on 92.3 Free FM at sporadic intervals between late summer 2006 and early 2007, but it was not picked up and the station changed formats, replacing all post morning programming with music. On June 11, 2006, Tazz wrestled his final match to date, defeating Jerry Lawler at ECW One Night Stand.

During the recording of the April 29, 2008 episode of ''ECW'', Tazz's broadcast partner Mike Adamle abruptly walked off set prior to the main event. Moments later, after reading the promo for the upcoming pay-per-view, Tazz walked out as well, leaving the main event with no commentators. On December 13, 2010, Tazz joined Right After Wrestling and said that it pisses him off when companies try to re-create the original ECW. He stated that the original ECW worked because "It was that era, that group of people, that leader in Paul Heyman. We were that little engine that could."

In August 2008, Tazz filled in for Mick Foley as a color commentator on the SmackDown brand, while Raw wrestler Matt Striker filled in for Tazz on the ECW brand. When Foley left the company, Tazz became the permanent color commentator for the SmackDown brand once again.

On April 3, 2009, Tazz left WWE when his contract expired. His WWE.com profile was moved from the active SmackDown roster list to the alumni list for a short time, before being completely removed, confirming his departure from the company.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2009–present)

At Victory Road, Senerchia, under his Taz ring name, made his official debut during Samoa Joe's match against Sting, revealing himself to be Joe's on-screen adviser and consequently a villain as well as an ally of the Main Event Mafia. The match ending was booked as Taz's presence enabling Joe to recover from Sting's Scorpion Deathlock submission hold and win the match via submission after applying the Coquina Clutch.

On the August 20, 2009 edition of ''Impact!'', Taz replaced Don West as the promotion's color commentator and also became a fan favorite as a result, stating that he was only loosely associated with the Mafia and that he had taught all he knew to Joe and that it was now up to Joe to use his new found skills.

Personal life

Senerchia and his wife Theresa have a son named Tyler. He has a tattoo of the Looney Tunes Tasmanian Devil on his upper left biceps accompanied by the legend TAZ. His action figure produced by Jakks Pacific does not include the character, but does include the name. He has a self designed tattoo on his left lower biceps. Senerchia also studied judo prior to entering the professional wrestling circuit. He is a fan of the New York Mets, New York Knicks, and the New York Jets.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

''Tazmission'' (ECW) / ''Tazzmission'' (WWF/E) (Half nelson choke with bodyscissors)

''Tazmission-Plex'' (Half nelson choke suplex) – ECW

Signature moves

''Angry Man's Clothesline'' (Lariat)

''Brooklyn Boot'' (Running big boot)

''Concrete Crash'' (Double leg slam)

Crucifix armbar

Multiple suplex variations

*Capture

*Dragon

*German

*''Hardway'' (Half nelson)

*Head and arm, sometimes from the top rope

*Overhead belly to belly, sometimes from the top rope

*''T-Bone Suplex'' (Exploder)

*Tiger

Managers

Bill Alfonso

Paul Heyman

Woman

Wrestlers managed

Samoa Joe

Nicknames

"The Human Suplex Machine"

"The Most Miserable Man / Son of a Bitch on the Planet"

"The One-Man Crime Spree"

Entrance themes

"Breed" by Nirvana (ECW)

"Keep It in the Family" by Anthrax

"Path of Rage" by Harry Slash & The Slashtones

"School" by Nirvana

"Survive (If I Let You)" by Harry Slash & The Slashtones

"War Machine" by Kiss

"13" by Jim Johnston (WWF/E)

"Just Another Victim" by Cypress Hill (WWE)

Wrestlers trained

{| |- | valign=top | Chris Chetti Christopher Nowinski Crash Curly Moe Danny Doring Greg Matthews | valign=top | John Curse Jonah Josh Mathews Kenny King Killer Kumpf Maven | valign=top | Nidia Paul Lauria Roadkill Spike Dudley Taylor Matheny Tom Marquez |}

Championships and accomplishments

Amateur wrestling

Empire States Heavyweight Champion

Professional wrestling

Century Wrestling Alliance

CWA Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Eastern Championship Wrestling / Extreme Championship Wrestling

FTW Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

ECW World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

ECW World Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Kevin Sullivan (2)¹ and Sabu (1)

ECW World Television Championship (2 times)

*Fourth ECW Triple Crown Champion

International World Class Championship Wrestling

IWCCW Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI ranked him #10 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1999

World Wrestling Federation

WWF Hardcore Championship (3 times)²

WWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Spike Dudley

¹Although Tazz and Sullivan won the title twice, only their first reign is recognized officially by WWE. The reign also occurred prior to ECW's withdrawal from the NWA and prior to ECW declaring their tag title a World title.

²Due to inconsistent reports from WWE, Tazz's two additional reigns during WrestleMania 2000 are considered unofficial as they are not featured in their online history for the title, but are listed in the title's history in the "WWE Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to World Wrestling Entertainment" published in 2009.

References

External links

TNA profile

Tazz at Online World of Wrestling

Team Taz Finishing Camp

Category:1967 births Category:American color commentators Category:American professional wrestlers of Italian descent Category:C.W. Post College alumni Category:Living people Category:People from Brooklyn Category:Professional wrestling announcers Category:Professional wrestling trainers Category:The Alliance (professional wrestling) members

ca:Peter Senerchia da:Tazz de:Taz (Wrestler) es:Peter Senerchia fr:Peter Senerchia it:Peter Senerchia nl:Peter Senerchia ja:タズ pl:Tazz pt:Tazz ru:Тазз sm:Tazz simple:Tazz th:แทสส์

Name	Jerry Lawler
Names	Jerry LawlerJerry "The King" Lawler
Height
Weight
Birth name	Jerry O'Neil Lawler
Birth date	November 29, 1949
Birth place	Memphis, Tennessee
Resides	Memphis, Tennessee
Billed	Memphis, Tennessee
Trainer	Jackie Fargo
Debut	1970 }}

Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, businessman, commercial artist and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to WWE, working on its Raw brand as the color commentator and occasional wrestler. He also wrestles and occasionally commentates for the Memphis Wrestling promotion.

Lawler has held 168 championships throughout his career. Overall, Lawler has held more championships than any other current WWE performer, though he has never won any WWE championships since joining the company.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1970-1992)

While working in Memphis, Tennessee as a disc jockey, Lawler's artistic ability attracted the attention of local wrestling promoter Aubrey Griffith. The two made an agreement in which Lawler would give Griffith free publicity in exchange for free wrestling training. Lawler debuted as a wrestler in 1970 and won his first championship in September 1971 by winning a battle royal. He soon won the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship under the managerial service of Sam Bass with partner Jim White. In 1974, Lawler began feuding with Jackie Fargo, who had been his trainer and mentor. This led to a match for the NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship. On July 24, 1974, Lawler was booked to win the belt and the title of "King of Wrestling." While Lawler began his career as a heel, he became a face after splitting from Bass at the end of 1974. On November 12, 1979, while working in the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA), Lawler defeated Billy Graham to become the CWA World Champion. In 1980, his career was put on hold due to a broken leg, but he returned to the ring after several months.

In 1982, Lawler began a notorious feud with comedian Andy Kaufman. At the time, Kaufman wrestled women as part of his skits and had declared himself the Intergender Heavyweight Champion. On April 5, Lawler, who had taken exception to the skits, wrestled Kaufman in Memphis. During the course of the match, Lawler delivered two piledrivers to his opponent, sending him to the hospital. On July 29, Lawler slapped Kaufman in the face on an episode of ''Late Night with David Letterman''. Kaufman responded by throwing his coffee on Lawler.

Years later, Lawler appeared as himself in the Kaufman biopic ''Man on the Moon''; the movie revealed that Lawler's feud with Kaufman had been kayfabe (staged). Lawler later claimed that not only was his entire feud with Kaufman staged, but the two were actually very good friends.

On March 7, 1983, Lawler won the AWA International Championship by defeating Austin Idol. He defeated Ken Patera on July 25 to begin his second reign as the International Champion. Lawler became the NWA Mid America Champion on April 12, 1984 when he was booked to defeat Randy Savage for the title. In 1985, Lawler traveled to Japan, where he won the Polynesian Pacific title on January 25, 1986. He later returned to the United States, where he defeated Bill Dundee on July 29, 1986 to begin a new reign as the AWA International Champion. Lawler feuded with Tommy Rich, Austin Idol, and Paul E. Dangerously throughout early 1987. The animosity began after controversy over an AWA World Championship title shot involving Nick Bockwinkel. During the feud, the trio defeated Lawler in a steel cage match and cut his hair, which caused a riot in the Mid-South Coliseum.

Lawler won the AWA World Heavyweight Championship from Curt Hennig. During his reign, Lawler feuded with World Class Championship Wrestling's Champion Kerry Von Erich. He defeated Von Erich on December 15, 1988 at Superclash III to unify the two titles. Soon after, Lawler's issues with Verne Gagne led to his departure from the AWA. In 1991 and 1992, while working in the United States Wrestling Association (USWA), Lawler teamed with Jeff Jarrett in a match against The Moondogs over the USWA World Tag Team Championship.

World Wrestling Federation (1992–2001)

Lawler began his WWF career in December 1992 as an announcer on ''WWF Superstars of Wrestling''. From 1993 to 1995, he feuded with Bret Hart and the rest of the Hart family. The feud began at King of the Ring when Lawler interrupted Hart's victory ceremony and attacked Bret. Lawler claimed that he was the only true king in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), and the two were scheduled to wrestle at SummerSlam to settle the dispute. At the event, however, Lawler came to the ring on crutches and claimed that he could not wrestle because of injuries suffered in a car accident. Hart faced Lawler's "court jester", Doink the Clown instead, and beat him by submission. Lawler then attacked Hart, revealing that he was not injured. Hart defeated Lawler by submission but refused to release the Sharpshooter. As a result, the referee reversed the decision and awarded the title of "Undisputed King of the World Wrestling Federation" to Lawler.

Simultaneously, in a form of cross-promotion, Lawler engaged in a bitter feud with Vince McMahon (who at the time was never acknowledged as the actual owner of the World Wrestling Federation) back in the USWA. There Lawler played the babyface to his hometown Memphis audience, whereas McMahon (who had always played face in the WWF) was being portrayed as a smug heel intent on dethroning Lawler as the king of professional wrestling. As part of the cross-promotion, McMahon, Bret and Owen Hart, Giant González, Tatanka, and "Macho Man" Randy Savage would begin appearing on USWA television to further the feud. While the program continued in the USWA, the feud between Lawler and McMahon would not be acknowledged on WWF television.

The Hart Family (Bret, Owen, Bruce, and Keith) were scheduled to face a team captained by Lawler in an elimination match at Survivor Series. However, Shawn Michaels had to take Lawler's place because Lawler was facing legal troubles. As a result, the feud between Lawler and Vince McMahon back in the USWA was also abruptly discontinued. Lawler did not face Bret Hart at another pay-per-view until the first In Your House, when he beat Hart after Hakushi and his manager Shinja interfered. This set up a "Kiss My Foot" match at King of the Ring 1995, which Bret won. As a result, Lawler was forced to kiss Bret's feet. The feud took one final turn when Lawler introduced his "dentist" Isaac Yankem, D.D.S.. After Hart defeated Yankem by disqualification, however, the feud quickly disappeared.

Following the end of his legal troubles which kept him out of Survivor Series 1993, Lawler eventually returned to the WWF at WrestleMania X, which was also the first WWF pay-per-view he ever commentated at. During the main event of the night, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper served as special guest referee for the second WWF championship match. During this Lawler began making disparaging remarks about him. Lawler would continue to berate Piper on later episodes of ''Monday Night Raw'', including bringing a skinny kid into the ring dressed as Piper and forcing him to kiss his feet. This ultimately led to a match between the two at King of the Ring 1994 which Lawler lost.

In the fall of 1994, 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. In the following weeks, Doink added two more sidekicks, Wink and Pink, while Lawler introduced Sleazy and Cheesy. This led to an elimination match at Survivor Series 1994, 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 1994 and early 1995, Lawler wrestled briefly in Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) while still continuing to commentate sporadically for the WWF. During his absences, Shawn Michaels filled in for him as color commentator on ''Monday Night Raw''. He defeated Tony Anthony for the promotion's top title in January 1995. By 1996, 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.D.S. 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 1996, which Lawler won. After the match, Lawler poured Jim Beam whiskey down Roberts' throat.

In 1997, Lawler became heavily involved in the working relationship between the WWF and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). In interviews and commentary, he referred to the promotion as "Extremely Crappy Wrestling". His frequent insults toward ECW eventually led to the promotion "invading" ''Monday Night Raw'' in February 1997 and ultimately to a match with ECW wrestler Tommy Dreamer at ECW's Hardcore Heaven pay-per-view in August, which Dreamer won.

In mid-1997, 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 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 1998, Lawler rarely wrestled in the WWF and focused on commentary. Despite their feud in the USWA in 1993, by 1998, Vince McMahon had turned heel in the WWF for the first time and left the announce position, to which Lawler began praising McMahon's name on commentary as part of his own heel persona, much to the chagrin of Jim Ross. 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. At SummerSlam, The King wrestled Tazz in defense of Ross. With the creation of the XFL in 2001, Lawler was given the job as an announcer for the new football league. Lawler claims that he never wanted to announce for the XFL, but that he agreed to it after McMahon and Kevin Dunn asked him.

In February 2001, Lawler's then-wife Stacy "The Kat" Carter was released by the WWF, and Lawler quit the company in protest. 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."

Independent circuit (2001)

During his absence from the WWF, 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.

Memphis Wrestling (2007)

In 2007 it was announced that Lawler would be participating in a 'dream match' with Hulk Hogan which had been set to take place in the Memphis Wrestling promotion on April 27. The match had been heavily-hyped by promoter Corey Maclin as Hogan had competed in the Memphis territory early in his career. On April 12, however, Lawler pulled out of the event citing his contractual obligations to WWE rendering him unable to appear on a show that was due to be filmed by VH1 for the television show Hogan Knows Best. On January 11, 2008, Maclin revealed that he filed a lawsuit against WWE, claiming that pressure on Lawler (and others) to withdraw from the event violated section two of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Jerry Lawler's Memphis Wrestling (2010)

In May 2010, Jerry announced a new TV wrestling show called, "Jerry Lawler's Memphis Wrestling." The show is set to debut on Ion Network Channel 50 in Memphis on June 5 at the classic 11AM timespot. 3 episodes were taped May 20, 2010 at the Vine in Memphis. On September 11, 2010, Jerry announced that there would no longer be any new shows, but that the talent was still available for fundraisers.

Return to World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (2001-present)

Commentator and part-time wrestler (2001–2010)

On November 19, 2001, Lawler returned to the WWF. He was reintroduced by Vince McMahon on ''Raw'' as the replacement for color commentator (and 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!'' with Michael Cole, until the brands were separated and Lawler became exclusive to ''Raw''. 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.

In 2003, ''Raw's'' announce team of Lawler and Jim Ross feuded with ''Sunday Night Heat'''s team of Jonathan Coachman and Al Snow. 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.

In June 2006, Extreme Championship Wrestling was re-launched and began a small invasion within WWE again. ECW and WWE went head to head for several weeks on ''Raw'', which spanned to include the ''SmackDown!'' superstars. This created tension between the Raw and SmackDown! announce teams, as Tazz, an ECW alumnus, insulted and criticized Jim Ross until Lawler came to Ross' defense, reigniting their feud from 2000. 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, who Lawler had slapped just prior to the match.

In July 2006, Randy Orton began a feud with Hulk Hogan. 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.

On March 31, 2007, Lawler was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by William Shatner, whom Lawler had a memorable altercation with on a January 1995 episode of ''Raw''. 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. During the ceremony, however, Lawler announced another king as a new opponent for Booker, "The King of Kings" Triple H. This led to a worked brawl between Lawler and Booker.

On the July 7, 2008 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?" Later that summer, he teamed with "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan to face Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes for the World Tag Team Championship but lost.

On the March 23, 2009 edition of ''Raw'', Lawler challenged Chris Jericho to a match because of his disrespect and erratic behavior to WWE Hall of Famers, which Jericho accepted. The following week, Lawler lost to Jericho after submitting to the Walls of Jericho. After the match, Jericho outlined how he would remain supreme against WWE Hall of Famers at WrestleMania XXV.

On the July 20 episode of ''Raw'', Lawler announced himself as the opponent against The Brian Kendrick. 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, 2010, 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 and the Raw roster fought off the now-called "The Nexus" when they attempted to ambush John Cena a second time. On June 28, Lawler, Ricky Steamboat, Michael Hayes, Arn Anderson, Mike Rotunda, and Dean Malenko were severely attacked by the Nexus, just as they were celebrating Steamboat's career. Josh Mathews replaced Lawler on color commentator for the remainder of the show.

On the July 26, 2010 episode of ''Raw'', Lawler teamed with Mark Henry, Goldust, Yoshi Tatsu, Evan Bourne and The Hart Dynasty in a tag team elimination match versus the Nexus. Lawler was eliminated by Heath Slater.

Feuds with The Miz and Michael Cole (2010–2011)

On the November 29 episode of the King of the Ring special of ''Raw'', Lawler, who was celebrating his 61st birthday, would challenge The Miz for his WWE Championship, to which Miz would decline. 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. Miz would retain his title from Lawler after interference by Alex Riley and Michael Cole.

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.

Lawler would then continue his feud with The Miz, where on the December 20 episode of ''Raw'', Lawler would team with Randy Orton and John Morrison to take on Miz, Riley and Sheamus in a 6-man Tag match with Lawler picking up the win by pinning Miz. 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 after Morrison got involved. 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, 2011 episode of ''Raw'' to take on Miz and Riley. Lawler was once again successful in getting the victory, this time pinning Riley. On the January 31 episode of ''Raw'', Lawler was placed in a 7-man Raw Rumble match, where the winner would receive a WWE Championship match against The Miz at WWE Elimination Chamber. Lawler would win the match by last eliminating Sheamus. At the pay-per-view, Lawler was unsuccessful in winning the title, ending the feud.

The following night on ''Raw'', Lawler, after having enough of Cole's attitude, which included the mocking of Lawler's mother's recent death, would challenge him to a match at WrestleMania XXVII. Cole would respond by throwing water into Lawler's face, with Lawler chasing Cole off to the backstage area. On the February 28 episode of ''Raw'', Cole would accept Lawler's challenge to a match at WrestleMania and announce that he would be trained in the coming weeks by Jack Swagger for the upcoming match. The following week, Stone Cold Steve Austin was announced as the guest referee for the match. On the March 14 episode of ''Raw'', Lawler was confronted by his son Brian Lawler, who was invited to Raw by Michael Cole, to "expose" his father's character. Brian, in storyline, claimed his dad was never there for him, mentioned that Lawler never mentioned that Brian was his son on commentary, boasted that he competed at WrestleMania before his father, and stated that he was ashamed of him. Brian then slapped Lawler and left. Michael Cole continued to harass Lawler, who still couldn't physically harm him, but was interrupted by a returning Jim Ross. Before JR could attack Cole, Swagger attacked Lawler from behind, and then preceeded to attack and lock in the ankle lock on JR, while Cole harassed him. Lawler tried to stop the attack, but fell victim to the ankle lock as well.

At WrestleMania, Lawler originally won the match by submission, but while he was celebrating his win with Stone Cold, the anonymous ''Raw'' General Manager would reverse the decision, due to Stone Cold physically getting involved in the match by pushing Cole, thus, making Cole the winner by disqualification. Lawler would announce on the April 11 episode of ''Raw'' that he and Jim Ross will go against Cole and Swagger at Extreme Rules in a Country Whipping match, which they were unsuccessful. Lawler challenged Cole to one last match at Over the Limit, putting his Hall of Fame ring on the line and would personally induct Cole into the Hall of Fame itself if Cole would win. Cole would decline the challenge at first, but Swagger would accept for him later on when Lawler would attack Cole and he saved him. During their contract signing, Cole announced the match would be a "Kiss My Foot" match. At the pay-per-view, Lawler would defeat Cole. After the match, Jim Ross, Eve Torres and even Bret Hart helped ensure that Cole lived up to the match's stipulations and kissed Lawler's foot (Hart, himself, had previously forced Lawler to kiss his own foot after losing a similar match sixteen years earlier at the 1995 King of the Ring). After Over the Limit, Michael Cole apologized to Lawler, but, continued his antagonistic attitude much to the chagrin of the King.

Raw commentating and occasional wrestler (2011-present)

Lawler competed in the Royal Rumble (2012) main event he entered at No. 12 he eliminated Michael Cole and was eliminated by Cody Rhodes after 43 seconds. On April 30 edition of "Raw" Lawler competed in a Beat the Clock challenge to determine the No. 1 Contender for the WWE Championship match at Over the Limit (2012) he lost to Daniel Bryan who earned the spot.

Other endeavors

Lawler has created some musical recordings. Among these are two late-70s singles: "Cadillac Man/Memphis", and "Bad News". During his feud with manager Jimmy Hart (Lawler is a factor for "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart entering professional wrestling; 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) in the mid-80s, Hart became known as "The Wimp", a nickname given to him by Lawler and chanted by fans. Hart was the subject of the song "Wimpbusters", which was sung by Lawler to the tune of the popular hit ''Ghostbusters'' by Ray Parker, Jr.. A music video was also made, featuring Lawler, legendary announcer Lance Russell, and wrestlers such as Randy Savage, Jimmy Valiant, Dutch Mantel, Tommy Rich, and Rufus R. Jones, along with footage of "The King" beating Hart and his "First Family." A very young Brian Christopher also made an appearance as a young child being bullied, and another child is seen wearing a replica of Tully Blanchard's West Texas State jersey. He also recorded a CD titled "Memphis' Other King".

In 1998, Lawler appeared in the movie ''Man on the Moon'', starring Jim Carrey. According to Lawler's autobiography, ''It's Good To Be The King... Sometimes'', an incident involving Jim Carrey forgetting a line led to animosity between the two actors during filming. Between scenes Jim Carrey often remained in character as Andy Kaufman and at one point spit on Jerry, just as Kaufman had done in 1982. A 'stunned' Lawler reacted by grabbing Carrey by the hair and locked him in a sleeper hold and jerking his neck—supposedly sending Carrey to the hospital.

In 1999, Lawler ran for mayor of Memphis, Tennessee. His platform focused on making the streets safer for residents, beautifying the city, and improving the quality of education. In addition, he vowed to attract businesses to Memphis, improve the flow of traffic, create more parks, and decrease property taxes. Lawler ended up with 11.7% of ballots, beating twelve of the fifteen candidates. Ultimately, however, Mayor Willie Herenton was easily reelected.

In 2000, Lawler made a very brief cameo appearance in the music video of ''I Can't Lie To Me'' By Clay Davidson. In 2002, he released an autobiography titled ''It's Good To Be The King... Sometimes''. On July 8, 2009, Lawler again ran for the position of Mayor of Memphis in a special mayoral election on October 15, 2009. He was in 5th with 4% of the vote.

Lawler is also an accomplished commercial artist, designing a lot of graphics for various companies, including WWE. In 2007, he painted the cover of the wrestling comic book, ''Headlocked''.

Personal life

Lawler has been married three times. He has three children, Brian, Kevin, and his daughter Kendall Lawler from his marriage to his first wife, Kay. His son Brian, who has previously wrestled in WWE as "Brian Christopher" and "Grandmaster Sexay," is now wrestling in independent promotions. His other son, Kevin, has dabbled in professional wrestling as both a referee and wrestler under the names "Kevin Christian" and "Freddie Gilbert," the latter of which was used during a stint as the "brother" of Eddie Gilbert. In his book ''It's Good To Be The King ... Sometimes,'' Lawler says he believes Kevin's short physical stature has prevented him from reaching success similar to Brian. In August 2008, Kevin was arrested on charges of trespassing and aggravated burglary. After divorcing Kay, Lawler was later married to Paula from February 14, 1982 to October 2, 1991.

He met his third wife, Stacy "The Kat" Carter, at a charity softball game in Memphis, Tennessee on July 23, 1989. They married in September 2000. In mid-February 2001, Carter (who was a valet and has also made in-ring appearances) was released by the World Wrestling Federation. Lawler then left the company in protest. Carter decided to leave Lawler in July, 2001 and they separated shortly before Lawler rejoined the WWF in November, 2001. Their divorce was finalized on October 15, 2003.

Lawler is the cousin of professional wrestler The Honky Tonk Man.

In 1993, Lawler was indicted for raping and sodomizing a 15-year old girl, which caused him to miss Survivor Series 1993. The charges were later dropped, after the girl admitted she fabricated some of the story. Lawler was arrested on March 16, 1999 after throwing a ticket at a police officer and running over the officer's foot.

Though he has spent most of his life in Memphis, Lawler did spend a part of his childhood in Ohio after his father was transferred to a job in the state. Though this stay was brief, it would have an influence on Lawler throughout his life thereafter. He often cites Cleveland as his second-favorite city behind only Memphis and is a die-hard fan of both the Cleveland Indians and the Cleveland Browns. When WWE comes to Cleveland, Lawler will usually wear a Browns jersey or an Indians jersey, and during baseball season, he will throw out the first pitch at an Indians game.

Lawler is a collector of Coca-Cola merchandise On February 12, 2011, Lawler's mother died following a long battle with cancer.

Lawler has provided his voice for numerous WWE Video Games in which he has appeared as a commentator. He is also a playable character in a number of WWE Games, most recently WWE All Stars and WWE 12.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

*''Crown Drop'' (Diving fist drop from the second rope, with theatrics)

Fireball

Piledriver

Signature moves

Belly-to-back suplex

*Brainbuster

*Dropkick

Elbow drop

*Knee drop

Multiple punches

Various weapon shots

Managers

Sam Bass

Scott Bowden

Ronnie P. Gossett

Gary Hart

Jimmy Hart

Jimmy Kent

*Mickey Pool

Entrance Theme Music

*The Great Gates of Kiev by Modest Mussorgsky (WWE, 1993-2011; 2012-Present)

*Kingdom Come by Jim Johnston (WWE, 2011)

Championships and accomplishments

American Wrestling Association

WCWA World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)¹

NWA Mid-America / Continental Wrestling Association / Championship Wrestling Association

AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (52 times)

AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (10 times) – with Jimmy Valiant (1), Bill Dundee (3), Mongolian Stomper (1), Jos LeDuc (1), Austin Idol (1), Plowboy Frazier (1), and Big Bubba (1)

AWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)¹

AWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Bill Dundee

CWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

CWA International Heavyweight Championship (3 times)

CWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Austin Idol (1) and Tommy Rich (1)

NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship (3 times)

NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship ''(Memphis version)'' (7 times)

NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' (10 times)

NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Championship (5 times)

NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' (9 times) – with Jim White (7), Plowboy Frazier (1), and Bill Dundee (1)

NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Championship ''(Alabama version)'' (1 time)

NWA Tri-State Tag Team Championship ''(Alabama version)'' (2 times) - with Steve Lawler

NWA United States Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' (1 time) - with Jackie Fargo

*CWA Lord of the Ring (1988)

Georgia Championship Wrestling

NWA Macon Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Mr. Wrestling II (1) and Don Greene (1)

Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling

NWA Tennessee Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jim White

International Wrestling Association

IWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Jersey All Pro Wrestling

JAPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Maryland Championship Wrestling

MCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

MCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with The Bruiser

Memphis Championship Wrestling

MCW Southern Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

Memphis Wrestling

*Memphis Wrestling Southern Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

*Memphis Wrestling Television Championship (1 time)

NWA Polynesian Wrestling

NWA Polynesian Pacific Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

NWA Virginia

NWA All-Star Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Power Pro Wrestling

PPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bill Dundee

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI Feud of the Year (1992) with Jeff Jarrett vs. The Moondogs

PWI Feud of the Year (1993) vs. Bret Hart

PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (1993, 1995)

PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (1988)

PWI ranked him #56 of the 100 best tag teams of the "PWI Years" with Bill Dundee in 2003

PWI ranked him #12 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1991

PWI ranked him #23 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the "PWI Years" in 2003

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum

(Class of 2011)

Smoky Mountain Wrestling

SMW Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

Traditional Championship Wrestling

TCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Matt Riviera

United States Wrestling Association

USWA Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

USWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship (28 times)

USWA World Tag Team Championship (6 times) – with Jeff Jarrett (4) and Bill Dundee (2)

World Class Wrestling Association

WCWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

WCWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment

*Slammy Award for I'm Talking and I Can't Shut Up (1996)

*Slammy Award for Most Embarrassing Moment (1996) Kissing his own foot

WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2007)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

*Feud of the Year (1987) vs. Austin Idol and Tommy Rich

*Feud of the Year (1992) with Jeff Jarrett vs. The Moondogs

*Feud of the Year (1993) vs. Bret Hart

*Worst Feud of the Year (1994) vs. Doink the Clown

*Worst Worked Match of the Year (1994) with Sleazy, Queasy and Cheesy vs. Clowns R' Us at Survivor Series

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)

¹These title changes took place during an AWA hosted card as part of an interpromotional relationship between the American Wrestling Association, World Class Wrestling Association, and Continental Wrestling Association. Lawler also won the championship during a CWA hosted card. ²Lawler won the championship while wrestling on a CWA card in Memphis, Tennessee during the time when the AWA and CWA had a working partnership. It was the same situation during both of Lawler and Dundee's AWA World Tag Team Championship reigns.

References

Further reading

External links

KingJerryLawler.com (Official Website)

WWE Profile

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Profile

Memphis Wrestling History

Match History at Indy Wrestling News

Category:1949 births Category:American color commentators Category:American professional wrestlers Category:Collectors Category:Fictional kings Category:Living people Category:People from Memphis, Tennessee Category:Professional wrestling announcers Category:Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Category:Professional wrestling trainers Category:WWE Hall of Fame

ar:جيري لولر ca:Jerry Lawler da:Jerry Lawler de:Jerry Lawler es:Jerry Lawler fr:Jerry Lawler it:Jerry Lawler nl:Jerry Lawler ja:ジェリー・ローラー no:Jerry Lawler pt:Jerry Lawler ru:Лоулер, Джерри simple:Jerry Lawler fi:Jerry Lawler th:เจอร์รี ลอว์เลอร์ vi:Jerry Lawler

Name	Jerry Lawler
Names	Jerry LawlerJerry "The King" Lawler
Height
Weight
Birth name	Jerry O'Neil Lawler
Birth date	November 29, 1949
Birth place	Memphis, Tennessee
Resides	Memphis, Tennessee
Billed	Memphis, Tennessee
Trainer	Jackie Fargo
Debut	1970 }}

Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, businessman, commercial artist and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to WWE, working on its Raw brand as the color commentator and occasional wrestler. He also wrestles and occasionally commentates for the Memphis Wrestling promotion.

Lawler has held 168 championships throughout his career. Overall, Lawler has held more championships than any other current WWE performer, though he has never won any WWE championships since joining the company.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1970-1992)

While working in Memphis, Tennessee as a disc jockey, Lawler's artistic ability attracted the attention of local wrestling promoter Aubrey Griffith. The two made an agreement in which Lawler would give Griffith free publicity in exchange for free wrestling training. Lawler debuted as a wrestler in 1970 and won his first championship in September 1971 by winning a battle royal. He soon won the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship under the managerial service of Sam Bass with partner Jim White. In 1974, Lawler began feuding with Jackie Fargo, who had been his trainer and mentor. This led to a match for the NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship. On July 24, 1974, Lawler was booked to win the belt and the title of "King of Wrestling." While Lawler began his career as a heel, he became a face after splitting from Bass at the end of 1974. On November 12, 1979, while working in the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA), Lawler defeated Billy Graham to become the CWA World Champion. In 1980, his career was put on hold due to a broken leg, but he returned to the ring after several months.

In 1982, Lawler began a notorious feud with comedian Andy Kaufman. At the time, Kaufman wrestled women as part of his skits and had declared himself the Intergender Heavyweight Champion. On April 5, Lawler, who had taken exception to the skits, wrestled Kaufman in Memphis. During the course of the match, Lawler delivered two piledrivers to his opponent, sending him to the hospital. On July 29, Lawler slapped Kaufman in the face on an episode of ''Late Night with David Letterman''. Kaufman responded by throwing his coffee on Lawler.

Years later, Lawler appeared as himself in the Kaufman biopic ''Man on the Moon''; the movie revealed that Lawler's feud with Kaufman had been kayfabe (staged). Lawler later claimed that not only was his entire feud with Kaufman staged, but the two were actually very good friends.

On March 7, 1983, Lawler won the AWA International Championship by defeating Austin Idol. He defeated Ken Patera on July 25 to begin his second reign as the International Champion. Lawler became the NWA Mid America Champion on April 12, 1984 when he was booked to defeat Randy Savage for the title. In 1985, Lawler traveled to Japan, where he won the Polynesian Pacific title on January 25, 1986. He later returned to the United States, where he defeated Bill Dundee on July 29, 1986 to begin a new reign as the AWA International Champion. Lawler feuded with Tommy Rich, Austin Idol, and Paul E. Dangerously throughout early 1987. The animosity began after controversy over an AWA World Championship title shot involving Nick Bockwinkel. During the feud, the trio defeated Lawler in a steel cage match and cut his hair, which caused a riot in the Mid-South Coliseum.

Lawler won the AWA World Heavyweight Championship from Curt Hennig. During his reign, Lawler feuded with World Class Championship Wrestling's Champion Kerry Von Erich. He defeated Von Erich on December 15, 1988 at Superclash III to unify the two titles. Soon after, Lawler's issues with Verne Gagne led to his departure from the AWA. In 1991 and 1992, while working in the United States Wrestling Association (USWA), Lawler teamed with Jeff Jarrett in a match against The Moondogs over the USWA World Tag Team Championship.

World Wrestling Federation (1992–2001)

Lawler began his WWF career in December 1992 as an announcer on ''WWF Superstars of Wrestling''. From 1993 to 1995, he feuded with Bret Hart and the rest of the Hart family. The feud began at King of the Ring when Lawler interrupted Hart's victory ceremony and attacked Bret. Lawler claimed that he was the only true king in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), and the two were scheduled to wrestle at SummerSlam to settle the dispute. At the event, however, Lawler came to the ring on crutches and claimed that he could not wrestle because of injuries suffered in a car accident. Hart faced Lawler's "court jester", Doink the Clown instead, and beat him by submission. Lawler then attacked Hart, revealing that he was not injured. Hart defeated Lawler by submission but refused to release the Sharpshooter. As a result, the referee reversed the decision and awarded the title of "Undisputed King of the World Wrestling Federation" to Lawler.

Simultaneously, in a form of cross-promotion, Lawler engaged in a bitter feud with Vince McMahon (who at the time was never acknowledged as the actual owner of the World Wrestling Federation) back in the USWA. There Lawler played the babyface to his hometown Memphis audience, whereas McMahon (who had always played face in the WWF) was being portrayed as a smug heel intent on dethroning Lawler as the king of professional wrestling. As part of the cross-promotion, McMahon, Bret and Owen Hart, Giant González, Tatanka, and "Macho Man" Randy Savage would begin appearing on USWA television to further the feud. While the program continued in the USWA, the feud between Lawler and McMahon would not be acknowledged on WWF television.

The Hart Family (Bret, Owen, Bruce, and Keith) were scheduled to face a team captained by Lawler in an elimination match at Survivor Series. However, Shawn Michaels had to take Lawler's place because Lawler was facing legal troubles. As a result, the feud between Lawler and Vince McMahon back in the USWA was also abruptly discontinued. Lawler did not face Bret Hart at another pay-per-view until the first In Your House, when he beat Hart after Hakushi and his manager Shinja interfered. This set up a "Kiss My Foot" match at King of the Ring 1995, which Bret won. As a result, Lawler was forced to kiss Bret's feet. The feud took one final turn when Lawler introduced his "dentist" Isaac Yankem, D.D.S.. After Hart defeated Yankem by disqualification, however, the feud quickly disappeared.

Following the end of his legal troubles which kept him out of Survivor Series 1993, Lawler eventually returned to the WWF at WrestleMania X, which was also the first WWF pay-per-view he ever commentated at. During the main event of the night, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper served as special guest referee for the second WWF championship match. During this Lawler began making disparaging remarks about him. Lawler would continue to berate Piper on later episodes of ''Monday Night Raw'', including bringing a skinny kid into the ring dressed as Piper and forcing him to kiss his feet. This ultimately led to a match between the two at King of the Ring 1994 which Lawler lost.

In the fall of 1994, 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. In the following weeks, Doink added two more sidekicks, Wink and Pink, while Lawler introduced Sleazy and Cheesy. This led to an elimination match at Survivor Series 1994, 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 1994 and early 1995, Lawler wrestled briefly in Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) while still continuing to commentate sporadically for the WWF. During his absences, Shawn Michaels filled in for him as color commentator on ''Monday Night Raw''. He defeated Tony Anthony for the promotion's top title in January 1995. By 1996, 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.D.S. 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 1996, which Lawler won. After the match, Lawler poured Jim Beam whiskey down Roberts' throat.

In 1997, Lawler became heavily involved in the working relationship between the WWF and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). In interviews and commentary, he referred to the promotion as "Extremely Crappy Wrestling". His frequent insults toward ECW eventually led to the promotion "invading" ''Monday Night Raw'' in February 1997 and ultimately to a match with ECW wrestler Tommy Dreamer at ECW's Hardcore Heaven pay-per-view in August, which Dreamer won.

In mid-1997, 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 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 1998, Lawler rarely wrestled in the WWF and focused on commentary. Despite their feud in the USWA in 1993, by 1998, Vince McMahon had turned heel in the WWF for the first time and left the announce position, to which Lawler began praising McMahon's name on commentary as part of his own heel persona, much to the chagrin of Jim Ross. 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. At SummerSlam, The King wrestled Tazz in defense of Ross. With the creation of the XFL in 2001, Lawler was given the job as an announcer for the new football league. Lawler claims that he never wanted to announce for the XFL, but that he agreed to it after McMahon and Kevin Dunn asked him.

In February 2001, Lawler's then-wife Stacy "The Kat" Carter was released by the WWF, and Lawler quit the company in protest. 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."

Independent circuit (2001)

During his absence from the WWF, 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.

Memphis Wrestling (2007)

In 2007 it was announced that Lawler would be participating in a 'dream match' with Hulk Hogan which had been set to take place in the Memphis Wrestling promotion on April 27. The match had been heavily-hyped by promoter Corey Maclin as Hogan had competed in the Memphis territory early in his career. On April 12, however, Lawler pulled out of the event citing his contractual obligations to WWE rendering him unable to appear on a show that was due to be filmed by VH1 for the television show Hogan Knows Best. On January 11, 2008, Maclin revealed that he filed a lawsuit against WWE, claiming that pressure on Lawler (and others) to withdraw from the event violated section two of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Jerry Lawler's Memphis Wrestling (2010)

In May 2010, Jerry announced a new TV wrestling show called, "Jerry Lawler's Memphis Wrestling." The show is set to debut on Ion Network Channel 50 in Memphis on June 5 at the classic 11AM timespot. 3 episodes were taped May 20, 2010 at the Vine in Memphis. On September 11, 2010, Jerry announced that there would no longer be any new shows, but that the talent was still available for fundraisers.

Return to World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (2001-present)

Commentator and part-time wrestler (2001–2010)

On November 19, 2001, Lawler returned to the WWF. He was reintroduced by Vince McMahon on ''Raw'' as the replacement for color commentator (and 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!'' with Michael Cole, until the brands were separated and Lawler became exclusive to ''Raw''. 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.

In 2003, ''Raw's'' announce team of Lawler and Jim Ross feuded with ''Sunday Night Heat'''s team of Jonathan Coachman and Al Snow. 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.

In June 2006, Extreme Championship Wrestling was re-launched and began a small invasion within WWE again. ECW and WWE went head to head for several weeks on ''Raw'', which spanned to include the ''SmackDown!'' superstars. This created tension between the Raw and SmackDown! announce teams, as Tazz, an ECW alumnus, insulted and criticized Jim Ross until Lawler came to Ross' defense, reigniting their feud from 2000. 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, who Lawler had slapped just prior to the match.

In July 2006, Randy Orton began a feud with Hulk Hogan. 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.

On March 31, 2007, Lawler was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by William Shatner, whom Lawler had a memorable altercation with on a January 1995 episode of ''Raw''. 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. During the ceremony, however, Lawler announced another king as a new opponent for Booker, "The King of Kings" Triple H. This led to a worked brawl between Lawler and Booker.

On the July 7, 2008 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?" Later that summer, he teamed with "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan to face Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes for the World Tag Team Championship but lost.

On the March 23, 2009 edition of ''Raw'', Lawler challenged Chris Jericho to a match because of his disrespect and erratic behavior to WWE Hall of Famers, which Jericho accepted. The following week, Lawler lost to Jericho after submitting to the Walls of Jericho. After the match, Jericho outlined how he would remain supreme against WWE Hall of Famers at WrestleMania XXV.

On the July 20 episode of ''Raw'', Lawler announced himself as the opponent against The Brian Kendrick. 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, 2010, 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 and the Raw roster fought off the now-called "The Nexus" when they attempted to ambush John Cena a second time. On June 28, Lawler, Ricky Steamboat, Michael Hayes, Arn Anderson, Mike Rotunda, and Dean Malenko were severely attacked by the Nexus, just as they were celebrating Steamboat's career. Josh Mathews replaced Lawler on color commentator for the remainder of the show.

On the July 26, 2010 episode of ''Raw'', Lawler teamed with Mark Henry, Goldust, Yoshi Tatsu, Evan Bourne and The Hart Dynasty in a tag team elimination match versus the Nexus. Lawler was eliminated by Heath Slater.

Feuds with The Miz and Michael Cole (2010–2011)

On the November 29 episode of the King of the Ring special of ''Raw'', Lawler, who was celebrating his 61st birthday, would challenge The Miz for his WWE Championship, to which Miz would decline. 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. Miz would retain his title from Lawler after interference by Alex Riley and Michael Cole.

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.

Lawler would then continue his feud with The Miz, where on the December 20 episode of ''Raw'', Lawler would team with Randy Orton and John Morrison to take on Miz, Riley and Sheamus in a 6-man Tag match with Lawler picking up the win by pinning Miz. 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 after Morrison got involved. 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, 2011 episode of ''Raw'' to take on Miz and Riley. Lawler was once again successful in getting the victory, this time pinning Riley. On the January 31 episode of ''Raw'', Lawler was placed in a 7-man Raw Rumble match, where the winner would receive a WWE Championship match against The Miz at WWE Elimination Chamber. Lawler would win the match by last eliminating Sheamus. At the pay-per-view, Lawler was unsuccessful in winning the title, ending the feud.

The following night on ''Raw'', Lawler, after having enough of Cole's attitude, which included the mocking of Lawler's mother's recent death, would challenge him to a match at WrestleMania XXVII. Cole would respond by throwing water into Lawler's face, with Lawler chasing Cole off to the backstage area. On the February 28 episode of ''Raw'', Cole would accept Lawler's challenge to a match at WrestleMania and announce that he would be trained in the coming weeks by Jack Swagger for the upcoming match. The following week, Stone Cold Steve Austin was announced as the guest referee for the match. On the March 14 episode of ''Raw'', Lawler was confronted by his son Brian Lawler, who was invited to Raw by Michael Cole, to "expose" his father's character. Brian, in storyline, claimed his dad was never there for him, mentioned that Lawler never mentioned that Brian was his son on commentary, boasted that he competed at WrestleMania before his father, and stated that he was ashamed of him. Brian then slapped Lawler and left. Michael Cole continued to harass Lawler, who still couldn't physically harm him, but was interrupted by a returning Jim Ross. Before JR could attack Cole, Swagger attacked Lawler from behind, and then preceeded to attack and lock in the ankle lock on JR, while Cole harassed him. Lawler tried to stop the attack, but fell victim to the ankle lock as well.

At WrestleMania, Lawler originally won the match by submission, but while he was celebrating his win with Stone Cold, the anonymous ''Raw'' General Manager would reverse the decision, due to Stone Cold physically getting involved in the match by pushing Cole, thus, making Cole the winner by disqualification. Lawler would announce on the April 11 episode of ''Raw'' that he and Jim Ross will go against Cole and Swagger at Extreme Rules in a Country Whipping match, which they were unsuccessful. Lawler challenged Cole to one last match at Over the Limit, putting his Hall of Fame ring on the line and would personally induct Cole into the Hall of Fame itself if Cole would win. Cole would decline the challenge at first, but Swagger would accept for him later on when Lawler would attack Cole and he saved him. During their contract signing, Cole announced the match would be a "Kiss My Foot" match. At the pay-per-view, Lawler would defeat Cole. After the match, Jim Ross, Eve Torres and even Bret Hart helped ensure that Cole lived up to the match's stipulations and kissed Lawler's foot (Hart, himself, had previously forced Lawler to kiss his own foot after losing a similar match sixteen years earlier at the 1995 King of the Ring). After Over the Limit, Michael Cole apologized to Lawler, but, continued his antagonistic attitude much to the chagrin of the King.

Raw commentating and occasional wrestler (2011-present)

Lawler competed in the Royal Rumble (2012) main event he entered at No. 12 he eliminated Michael Cole and was eliminated by Cody Rhodes after 43 seconds. On April 30 edition of "Raw" Lawler competed in a Beat the Clock challenge to determine the No. 1 Contender for the WWE Championship match at Over the Limit (2012) he lost to Daniel Bryan who earned the spot.

Other endeavors

Lawler has created some musical recordings. Among these are two late-70s singles: "Cadillac Man/Memphis", and "Bad News". During his feud with manager Jimmy Hart (Lawler is a factor for "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart entering professional wrestling; 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) in the mid-80s, Hart became known as "The Wimp", a nickname given to him by Lawler and chanted by fans. Hart was the subject of the song "Wimpbusters", which was sung by Lawler to the tune of the popular hit ''Ghostbusters'' by Ray Parker, Jr.. A music video was also made, featuring Lawler, legendary announcer Lance Russell, and wrestlers such as Randy Savage, Jimmy Valiant, Dutch Mantel, Tommy Rich, and Rufus R. Jones, along with footage of "The King" beating Hart and his "First Family." A very young Brian Christopher also made an appearance as a young child being bullied, and another child is seen wearing a replica of Tully Blanchard's West Texas State jersey. He also recorded a CD titled "Memphis' Other King".

In 1998, Lawler appeared in the movie ''Man on the Moon'', starring Jim Carrey. According to Lawler's autobiography, ''It's Good To Be The King... Sometimes'', an incident involving Jim Carrey forgetting a line led to animosity between the two actors during filming. Between scenes Jim Carrey often remained in character as Andy Kaufman and at one point spit on Jerry, just as Kaufman had done in 1982. A 'stunned' Lawler reacted by grabbing Carrey by the hair and locked him in a sleeper hold and jerking his neck—supposedly sending Carrey to the hospital.

In 1999, Lawler ran for mayor of Memphis, Tennessee. His platform focused on making the streets safer for residents, beautifying the city, and improving the quality of education. In addition, he vowed to attract businesses to Memphis, improve the flow of traffic, create more parks, and decrease property taxes. Lawler ended up with 11.7% of ballots, beating twelve of the fifteen candidates. Ultimately, however, Mayor Willie Herenton was easily reelected.

In 2000, Lawler made a very brief cameo appearance in the music video of ''I Can't Lie To Me'' By Clay Davidson. In 2002, he released an autobiography titled ''It's Good To Be The King... Sometimes''. On July 8, 2009, Lawler again ran for the position of Mayor of Memphis in a special mayoral election on October 15, 2009. He was in 5th with 4% of the vote.

Lawler is also an accomplished commercial artist, designing a lot of graphics for various companies, including WWE. In 2007, he painted the cover of the wrestling comic book, ''Headlocked''.

Personal life

Lawler has been married three times. He has three children, Brian, Kevin, and his daughter Kendall Lawler from his marriage to his first wife, Kay. His son Brian, who has previously wrestled in WWE as "Brian Christopher" and "Grandmaster Sexay," is now wrestling in independent promotions. His other son, Kevin, has dabbled in professional wrestling as both a referee and wrestler under the names "Kevin Christian" and "Freddie Gilbert," the latter of which was used during a stint as the "brother" of Eddie Gilbert. In his book ''It's Good To Be The King ... Sometimes,'' Lawler says he believes Kevin's short physical stature has prevented him from reaching success similar to Brian. In August 2008, Kevin was arrested on charges of trespassing and aggravated burglary. After divorcing Kay, Lawler was later married to Paula from February 14, 1982 to October 2, 1991.

He met his third wife, Stacy "The Kat" Carter, at a charity softball game in Memphis, Tennessee on July 23, 1989. They married in September 2000. In mid-February 2001, Carter (who was a valet and has also made in-ring appearances) was released by the World Wrestling Federation. Lawler then left the company in protest. Carter decided to leave Lawler in July, 2001 and they separated shortly before Lawler rejoined the WWF in November, 2001. Their divorce was finalized on October 15, 2003.

Lawler is the cousin of professional wrestler The Honky Tonk Man.

In 1993, Lawler was indicted for raping and sodomizing a 15-year old girl, which caused him to miss Survivor Series 1993. The charges were later dropped, after the girl admitted she fabricated some of the story. Lawler was arrested on March 16, 1999 after throwing a ticket at a police officer and running over the officer's foot.

Though he has spent most of his life in Memphis, Lawler did spend a part of his childhood in Ohio after his father was transferred to a job in the state. Though this stay was brief, it would have an influence on Lawler throughout his life thereafter. He often cites Cleveland as his second-favorite city behind only Memphis and is a die-hard fan of both the Cleveland Indians and the Cleveland Browns. When WWE comes to Cleveland, Lawler will usually wear a Browns jersey or an Indians jersey, and during baseball season, he will throw out the first pitch at an Indians game.

Lawler is a collector of Coca-Cola merchandise On February 12, 2011, Lawler's mother died following a long battle with cancer.

Lawler has provided his voice for numerous WWE Video Games in which he has appeared as a commentator. He is also a playable character in a number of WWE Games, most recently WWE All Stars and WWE 12.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

*''Crown Drop'' (Diving fist drop from the second rope, with theatrics)

Fireball

Piledriver

Signature moves

Belly-to-back suplex

*Brainbuster

*Dropkick

Elbow drop

*Knee drop

Multiple punches

Various weapon shots

Managers

Sam Bass

Scott Bowden

Ronnie P. Gossett

Gary Hart

Jimmy Hart

Jimmy Kent

*Mickey Pool

Entrance Theme Music

*The Great Gates of Kiev by Modest Mussorgsky (WWE, 1993-2011; 2012-Present)

*Kingdom Come by Jim Johnston (WWE, 2011)

Championships and accomplishments

American Wrestling Association

WCWA World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)¹

NWA Mid-America / Continental Wrestling Association / Championship Wrestling Association

AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (52 times)

AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (10 times) – with Jimmy Valiant (1), Bill Dundee (3), Mongolian Stomper (1), Jos LeDuc (1), Austin Idol (1), Plowboy Frazier (1), and Big Bubba (1)

AWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)¹

AWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Bill Dundee

CWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

CWA International Heavyweight Championship (3 times)

CWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Austin Idol (1) and Tommy Rich (1)

NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship (3 times)

NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship ''(Memphis version)'' (7 times)

NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' (10 times)

NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Championship (5 times)

NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' (9 times) – with Jim White (7), Plowboy Frazier (1), and Bill Dundee (1)

NWA Tri-State Heavyweight Championship ''(Alabama version)'' (1 time)

NWA Tri-State Tag Team Championship ''(Alabama version)'' (2 times) - with Steve Lawler

NWA United States Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' (1 time) - with Jackie Fargo

*CWA Lord of the Ring (1988)

Georgia Championship Wrestling

NWA Macon Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Mr. Wrestling II (1) and Don Greene (1)

Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling

NWA Tennessee Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jim White

International Wrestling Association

IWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Jersey All Pro Wrestling

JAPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Maryland Championship Wrestling

MCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

MCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with The Bruiser

Memphis Championship Wrestling

MCW Southern Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

Memphis Wrestling

*Memphis Wrestling Southern Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

*Memphis Wrestling Television Championship (1 time)

NWA Polynesian Wrestling

NWA Polynesian Pacific Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

NWA Virginia

NWA All-Star Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Power Pro Wrestling

PPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bill Dundee

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI Feud of the Year (1992) with Jeff Jarrett vs. The Moondogs

PWI Feud of the Year (1993) vs. Bret Hart

PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (1993, 1995)

PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (1988)

PWI ranked him #56 of the 100 best tag teams of the "PWI Years" with Bill Dundee in 2003

PWI ranked him #12 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1991

PWI ranked him #23 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the "PWI Years" in 2003

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum

(Class of 2011)

Smoky Mountain Wrestling

SMW Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

Traditional Championship Wrestling

TCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Matt Riviera

United States Wrestling Association

USWA Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

USWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship (28 times)

USWA World Tag Team Championship (6 times) – with Jeff Jarrett (4) and Bill Dundee (2)

World Class Wrestling Association

WCWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

WCWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment

*Slammy Award for I'm Talking and I Can't Shut Up (1996)

*Slammy Award for Most Embarrassing Moment (1996) Kissing his own foot

WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2007)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

*Feud of the Year (1987) vs. Austin Idol and Tommy Rich

*Feud of the Year (1992) with Jeff Jarrett vs. The Moondogs

*Feud of the Year (1993) vs. Bret Hart

*Worst Feud of the Year (1994) vs. Doink the Clown

*Worst Worked Match of the Year (1994) with Sleazy, Queasy and Cheesy vs. Clowns R' Us at Survivor Series

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)

¹These title changes took place during an AWA hosted card as part of an interpromotional relationship between the American Wrestling Association, World Class Wrestling Association, and Continental Wrestling Association. Lawler also won the championship during a CWA hosted card. ²Lawler won the championship while wrestling on a CWA card in Memphis, Tennessee during the time when the AWA and CWA had a working partnership. It was the same situation during both of Lawler and Dundee's AWA World Tag Team Championship reigns.

References

Further reading

External links

KingJerryLawler.com (Official Website)

WWE Profile

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Profile

Memphis Wrestling History

Match History at Indy Wrestling News

Category:1949 births Category:American color commentators Category:American professional wrestlers Category:Collectors Category:Fictional kings Category:Living people Category:People from Memphis, Tennessee Category:Professional wrestling announcers Category:Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Category:Professional wrestling trainers Category:WWE Hall of Fame

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