The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 to 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), becoming an independent territory in the late 1950s.

History[link]

Early years[link]

Anton Stecher was a founding member of the NWA in 1948 and had promoted wrestling in Minneapolis since 1933 through his Minneapolis Boxing and Wrestling Club. In 1952, he sold a one third interest in the promotion to Wally Karbo and his son Dennis. Stecher died on October 9, 1954 and control of the promotion passed to Karbo and Dennis. Verne Gagne, a former amateur wrestling champion, had become a well known and popular wrestler nationally in the 1950s as a result of his appearances on the DuMont Network. He aspired to become NWA World Champion, but for various reasons to do with politics inside the NWA, he never became champion. In 1959, Dennis Stecher sold his majority stake in the Minneapolis Boxing and Wrestling Club to Karbo and Gagne. They became co-owners of the promotion from that point onward.

Breaking from the NWA[link]

In 1960, after unsuccessfully lobbying the NWA for a title match between Gagne and the NWA World Champion, Gagne and Karbo led certain territories out of the NWA forming the AWA. The AWA unilaterally recognized NWA World Champion Pat O'Connor as AWA World Champion and gave him 90 days to defend the AWA title against Gagne. The NWA ignored the challenge. O'Connor was stripped of the AWA title and it was awarded to Gagne on August 16, 1960. While O'Connor was considered the first AWA Champion, he never wrestled in the AWA until later in the 1960s (when he teamed with Wilbur Snyder to win the AWA World Tag Team Championship).

Gagne was a former amateur-wrestling champion who had earned a spot on the U.S. team at the 1948 Summer Olympics; he ran the AWA with a traditionalist sensibility, firmly believing that sound technical wrestling—not flashy "sports entertainment"—should be the basis of a pro-wrestling company.^[1] Starting in the 1970s, Gagne trained his newcomer wrestlers from his farm in Chanhassen, Minnesota.^[2]

Expanding the Territory[link]

Under Gagne and Karbo, the AWA became one of the most successful and expansive single territories^[3] in the country, promoting shows in such major cities as Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Chicago, Omaha, Winnipeg, Denver, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Phoenix and throughout the Midwest region. Relationships were also developed with existing promotions in Houston, Memphis and San Antonio. Gagne's westward expansion into traditional NWA territories was made possible due to relationships and business partnerships he had forged for decades. More the result of other promoters struggling to survive rather than by purchase or hostile takeover by Gagne.

The rise of Hulk Hogan[link]

After Gagne's retiring in 1981, he focused the promotion on Nick Bockwinkel, a loyal employee of several years who was a mat-wrestling technician like Gagne had been. Bockwinkel faced numerous challengers for the title during the early 1980s including eventual champions Rick Martel and Otto Wanz, former champion Mad Dog Vachon, and perennial contenders Wahoo McDaniel, and Brad Rheingans, but perhaps his most famous opponent would go on to become arguably the greatest superstar in wrestling history. Starting in 1982 and accelerated by a role in the hit film Rocky III, Hulk Hogan rapidly caught on as a babyface with AWA fans, and became the AWA's top draw. But even as his popularity grew to unprecedented levels, Gagne refused to make him the AWA World Heavyweight Champion, as Hogan was a powerhouse wrestler. He recognized Hogan's showmanship and charisma and was well aware of his potential drawing power, but still believed a wrestling company should be built around one of its best technical wrestlers (e.g., himself and Bockwinkel);^[1] on the Spectacular Legacy of the AWA DVD, Gagne denied bias against Hogan and defended his actions by reasoning that he believed that Hogan's pursuit of the title was the draw for the audience and that "we really didn't need him to be champion".

Talent jumps to the WWF[link]

As Vince McMahon and his northeastern-based World Wrestling Federation (WWF) attempted to end pro wrestling's regional era in the mid-1980s (by establishing the WWF as a national promotion), Gagne made several decisions that caused his AWA to lose momentum in the emerging wrestling promotion war, including overemphasizing his son Greg Gagne in AWA storylines (which led to speculation of nepotism by Verne within the company) and failing to make Hulk Hogan the focus of his company when he had the chance.

Frustrated by Verne Gagne's business decisions, Hogan accepted an offer from rival promoter McMahon to wrestle for the WWF, in December 1983. One month later, Hogan became the World Heavyweight champion. He and the WWF soon became a mainstream media phenomenon and virtually synonymous with professional wrestling in much of the national consciousness, vaulting past the AWA and NWA as the premier promotion in wrestling. Hogan wasn't alone in leaving the AWA. Some of the AWA's other top talent, including announcer "Mean" Gene Okerlund, manager Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, and wrestlers Adrian Adonis, Ken Patera, Jim Brunzell, David Schultz, and Jesse Ventura, also jumped to the WWF. As the AWA required talent to place a six-week notice upon leaving the company for booking and syndication-based reasons, most of the talent reportedly told Gagne that McMahon offered them more money to not work out their notices and previously-scheduled appearance dates, which has been disputed by McMahon today. Of the talent to leave AWA for the WWF in this time, only Heenan worked out his notice in good faith to the Gagne family.^[4]

The sting of the WWF expansion was not shouldered by the AWA alone. The NWA also lost top stars "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, Jack Brisco, Jerry Brisco, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, and "Cowboy" Bob Orton to the WWF during that same time.

Pro Wrestling USA[link]

Despite this talent raid, the AWA went on to have another successful year in 1984, mainly because of the arrival of the Road Warriors and an angle uniting longtime heel Jerry Blackwell with Greg Gagne and feuding with former manager Sheik Adnan El-Kaissey.^[2] Although aging, most of the AWA's longtime core talent still remained. Stars like Nick Bockwinkel, Ray "The Crippler" Stevens, "The Crusher" Reginald Lisowski, Dick the Bruiser, Baron Von Raschke, Mad Dog Vachon, and Larry Hennig were all still active at this time despite all being in their 40s or 50s.

In response to McMahon's expansion, the AWA forged an alliance with several NWA promoters, including Jim Crockett Promotions (Charlotte, NC), Mid-South Wrestling (Oklahoma City, OK), Pacific Northwest Wrestling (Portland, OR), World Class Championship Wrestling (Dallas, TX), and the Continental Wrestling Association (Memphis, TN). This new promotion was known as Pro Wrestling USA and came about in an attempt to establish a national presence to compete against the WWF. The AWA was also able to sign top wrestlers like Sgt. Slaughter and Bob Backlund. By 1985, however, the AWA began to lose audiences, as the WWF was gaining wrestling superiority in the wake of WrestleMania I;^[2] Later in the year, as this struggle against the WWF progressed, Wally Karbo also sold all his stock to Gagne as well.^[2] In September 1985, Pro Wrestling USA would respond to McMahon's rising success by promoting the first SuperClash.^[2] Despite this success,^[2] the Pro Wrestling USA collaboration did not last, as Gagne accused David Crockett of trying to sign away AWA talent over to the NWA backstage at numerous Pro Wrestling USA shows.

The AWA released an AWA Remco Action Figure line with the toy company Remco and a series of 30 minute videos entitled "Wrestling Classics", primarily featuring wrestlers such as Sgt. Slaughter, the Road Warriors, Jim Garvin & Steve Regal, and World Champion Rick Martel.

Decline[link]

Despite falling behind the WWF and NWA as a major promotion throughout 1986 and 1987, Gagne still managed to develop legitimate young talent like Scott Hall, The Midnight Rockers (Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty), "Bull Power" Leon White (later known as Big Van Vader), The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags), and Madusa Miceli during that timeframe.

With the retirement of Nick Bockwinkel, Gagne invested in Curt Hennig as his next champion and future of the company. Hennig, a talented and popular second generation wrestler, defeated Bockwinkel at Super Clash 2. The overall card was relatively weak, but the title match was a critical success, although the title change was not without controversy, involving Larry Zbyszko and a roll of dimes. After further review by on-air AWA President Stanley Blackburn, and following weeks of speculation by AWA fans, the decision was upheld and Hennig was the new champion. Gagne pushed Hennig and the Midnight Rockers throughout 1987 and into 1988, but the WWF came calling and all three of his top stars would soon be gone.

During 1987, in an attempt to remain relevant and survive, Gagne renewed a relationship with Memphis based promoter Jerry Jarrett and the CWA and even allowed Mid-Southern territory legend Jerry "The King" Lawler to win the AWA World Title from Curt Hennig.^[2] in May 1988. This was after the AWA flirted for a month with the idea of giving Greg Gagne the belt, even awarding the belt to Gagne at a couple of house shows, only to return it to Hennig on a technicality. It was widely speculated that the idea of the younger Gagne as heavyweight champion did not play well with AWA fans, who seemed more interested in the involvement of Verne Gagne and Larry Hennig in the feud than they did with Greg Gagne actually winning the title, so Verne decided to go with Lawler instead. Michaels and Jannetty would drop the titles to Badd Company around that same time.

Facing financial trouble of their own, WCCW then allied themselves with the AWA and CWA, and Jerry Lawler would challenge WCCW Heavyweight champion Kerry Von Erich to a title unification match at SuperClash III in December. Super Clash III was the AWA's first venture into the Pay-Per-View market and wrestling's first collaborative PPV between several promotions. However, after months of hype, the end results were somewhat contentious and relatively unsuccessful. Following the event, the collaborative effort was over and Lawler was stripped of the title in January 1989. Lawler kept the AWA Title belt and continued promoting himself in Tennessee, Texas, and on the independent circuit as the unified World Heavyweight Champion. Lawler did this in an attempt to leverage PPV revenue from Gagne that was owed to him, but Gagne never paid him and eventually commissioned a new title belt of similar design.

In February 1989, Larry Zbyszko, a one-time employee and Verne's son-in-law, returned to the AWA and won the vacated World Title in an 18-man Battle Royal, eliminating Tom Zenk to end the match. It was also during this time that Joe Blanchard replaced Stanley Blackburn as AWA President. Zbyszko's first title reign would last for a little over one year. During this time he would defend the title against Zenk, Greg Gagne, Wahoo McDaniel, Ken Patera, Nikita Koloff, Brad Rheingans, The Trooper Del Wilkes, and Masa Saito. Zbyszko would eventually lose the title to Saito in February 1990 in front of 65,000 fans at the Tokyo Dome at the NJPW/AJPW Supershow. Zbyszko would regain the title in May 1990 at SuperClash IV. During 1989 and 1990, the AWA also pushed Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom as the top tag team. In early 1989, Eric Bischoff, who was performing office work for the AWA at the time, mostly in sales and syndication, was placed in front of the camera to replace Larry Nelson as interviewer and occasional commentator. The AWA was Bischoff's first exposure to the world of pro wrestling. He would later become a dominant force in the industry, leading World Championship Wrestling to prominence in the 1990s.

The AWA would become inactive in the fall of 1990 (the last television taping occurred on August 11). As a result, Zbyszko signed with WCW. As his last official act, Verne Gagne stripped the already-departed Zbyszko of the AWA World Title in December 1990. In 1991, Gagne and his inactive promotion officially filed for bankruptcy.^[2] Gagne did promote two cards in Minnesota in May 1991, featuring the return of Greg Gagne and Wahoo McDaniel and other stars such as Baron Von Raschke, Buck Zumhofe, and The Destruction Crew (Mike Enos & Wayne Bloom), but he was unable to revive the promotion. Despite this, the AWA continued re-running matches in their weekly ESPN time slot, and on their syndicated All-Star Wrestling show. The company also managed to release a commercial tape (Hulk Hogan Highlights) during 1991.

On the Spectacular Legacy of the AWA DVD, Eric Bischoff revealed that one of the main reasons the AWA shut down was that Verne Gagne was leveraging money against a valuable property he owned along Lake Minnetonka. Local officials wanted to turn the property into a park. Gagne fought the decision for several years, but eventually lost the eminent domain case, leading to the creation of Lake Minnetonka Regional Park. As a result, he lost the financial resource he was using to keep the AWA up and running and had no choice but to shut down the promotion. In an interview during the late 1990s with KARE 11, an NBC affiliate out of Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Gagne spoke of the devoted fan base in Minnesota and joked about how he may promote again some day, but nothing ever materialized.

International working agreements[link]

Abroad, the AWA had working agreements with Japanese promotions International Pro Wrestling (1969 to 1980), then All Japan Pro Wrestling (1980 to 1988, although the relationship was strained in 1986 by the AWA Title debacle surrounding Stan Hansen), and, near the end, New Japan Pro Wrestling.

On June 29, 1986, in Denver, Colorado, Hansen refused to lose the AWA World Title to Nick Bockwinkel prior to a tour of Japan and left with the championship belt. Hansen argued that he was booked as AWA Champion in Japan and was therefore fulfilling his commitment. Gagne disagreed and awarded the AWA Championship to Bockwinkel, using one of the tag team title belts on a temporary basis. Gagne threatened legal action if Hansen continued to keep the belt and it was returned to the AWA as a result (although according to Nick Bockwinkel on The Spectacular Legacy of the AWA, Hansen had run over the belt with his truck before returning it^[5]).

The AWA also had a brief relationship with the European promotion Catch Wrestling Association, through which its promoter, wrestler Otto Wanz, was given a brief AWA World Title reign in 1982.

Supercards[link]

SuperSunday[link]

WrestleRock 86[link]

SuperClash[link]

Team Challenge Series[link]

The AWA held a "Team Challenge Series" from October 1, 1989 through August 11, 1990. All of the available wrestlers were divided into three teams, "Larry's Legends", headed by Larry Zbyszko, "Slaughter's Snipers", headed by Sgt. Slaughter, and "Baron's Blitzers", headed by Baron Von Raschke. (Sgt. Slaughter left the AWA to return to WWE before the TCS ended, and Colonel DeBeers was named the new team captain.) Babyfaces and heels alike were assigned to teams, forcing bitter rivals to work together. The winners of Team Challenge matches would earn points for their team; at some unspecified point the highest-scoring team would share one million dollars. Some of the earlier TCS matches took place in a TV studio without an audience; the announcers claimed it was part of an effort to stop wrestlers from interfering, but it was actually due to poor ticket sales for arena shows. The remainder of the matches took place at the Rochester Civic Center, where the AWA taped live matches for its television program from 1989-1990.

The final match in the TCS was a royal rumble style battle royal featuring Brad Rheingans, The Destruction Crew, Colonel DeBeers, the Texas Hangmen, the Trooper Del Wilkes, and several others. Jake Milliman again came away with the win by eliminating DeBeers at the end, winning the series and the supposed 1 million dollar check for Larry's Legends.

Television[link]

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, AWA television production was headquartered at Minneapolis independent station WTCN-TV, then owned by Metromedia. The ring announcer was longtime St. Paul-Minneapolis sports broadcaster Marty O'Neill, who also conducted the post-match interviews. O'Neill announced the matches for the local WTCN audience. But fans watching the syndicated version of the show heard commentary provided by Rodger Kent. In the mid-1970s, during a prolonged illness, O'Neill was occasionally replaced as ring announcer by program producer Al DeRusha and interviews were conducted by both Kent and Gene Okerlund. By 1979, Okerlund had permanently replaced O'Neill, who died a couple of years later, and production was transferred to Minneapolis station KMSP-TV. During the AWA's existence, it produced or had a hand in production of several TV programs:

• AWA All-Star Wrestling, the promotion's syndicated program, which aired from 1960 until 1991.
• AWA Championship Wrestling, which aired on cable sports network ESPN from 1985 to 1990 and ScreenSport in Europe via Cable or Satellite TV; it was a continuation of the earlier ESPN program Pro Wrestling USA, the co-operative venture between the AWA and several NWA affiliates (most notably Jim Crockett Promotions).
• AWA Major League Wrestling, a Canadian program produced in Winnipeg, Manitoba for that city's station, CKND, and syndicated across Canada during the 1980s.

In 1985, Gagne began airing weekly programming on ESPN, hoping to help the promotion compete with the national exposure already enjoyed by the WWF (on USA Network) and the NWA's Georgia/World Championship Wrestling (on TBS).^[2] However, weekly AWA shows were not treated with any priority by the cable network, sometimes being delayed, preempted by live programming, or suffering from occasional changes in time slot, making it difficult for fans to tune in on a regular basis.

On February 26, 2008, ESPN Classic began reairing AWA Championship Wrestling episodes, circa 1986-1990.

Pay-per-view[link]

The AWA ran only one pay-per-view card, SuperClash III, during its 30 year run. However, From 1999 to 2002, a series of AWA-related pay-per-views were produced. Titled AWA Classic Wrestling, they featured compilations of old AWA footage, hosted by Greg Gagne and Todd Okerlund (son of Gene Okerlund), with occasional appearances by Verne Gagne.^[6] The pay-per-views ceased following the acquisition of the AWA tape library by World Wrestling Entertainment.

World Wrestling Entertainment ownership[link]

All footage for the AWA is owned by WWE. WWE released The Spectacular Legacy of the AWA on November 21, 2006. The DVD includes a documentary on the amateur and professional career of Verne Gagne, the rise and fall of the AWA over its 30 year history, and numerous interviews and features with Gagne, Hulk Hogan, Jim Brunzell, Michael Hayes, Baron Von Raschke, Greg Gagne, Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan, Gene Okerlund and Nick Bockwinkel.

In 1996, Dale Gagner, a former AWA employee, began using the AWA name in the state of Minnesota and formed an organization known as AWA Superstars of Wrestling, infringing on the AWA name. In April 2007, WWE filed a lawsuit against Gagner, citing trademark infringement, as WWE owned all AWA properties due to their purchase after the AWA's closure.^[7][8][9] In a move to sidestep WWE, former AWA wrestler, Jonnie Stewart, trademarked the name "American Wrestling Alliance" instead. However, the United States Patent and Trademark Office later indicated that the request was abandoned in February 2008.

In October 2008, the court ruled in favor of WWE. The court ruling prohibits Gagner and his associate from exploiting or trading on the AWA name or any other derivatives.^[10] As a result, the organization was renamed to Wrestling Superstars Live.

Championships[link]

• AWA World Heavyweight Championship
• World Heavyweight Championship (Omaha version)
• AWA World Light Heavyweight Championship
• AWA World Tag Team Championship
• NWA World Tag Team Championship (Minneapolis version) (pre-AWA)
• AWA World Women's Championship
• AWA America's Heavyweight Championship
• AWA Brass Knuckles Championship
• AWA British Empire Heavyweight Championship
• AWA/CWA International Heavyweight Championship
• AWA/CWA International Tag Team Championship
• AWA International Television Championship
• AWA Midwest Heavyweight Championship
• AWA Midwest Tag Team Championship
• AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship
• AWA Southern Tag Team Championship
• AWA United States Heavyweight Championship

Alumni[link]

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• Wrestling-Titles.com
• AWA All-Star Wrestling at the Internet Movie Database
• AWA All-Star Wrestling at TV.com

v t e Professional wrestling in the United States Active promotions National promotions WWE · Total Nonstop Action Wrestling · Ring of Honor Notable independent promotions Men: All Pro Wrestling · Chikara · Combat Zone Wrestling · Dory Funk’s Bang · Dragon Gate USA · East Coast Wrestling Association · Empire Wrestling Federation · Evolve · Florida Championship Wrestling · Full Impact Pro · Heartland Wrestling Association · Jersey All Pro Wrestling · Juggalo Championship Wrestling · Lucha Libre USA · Maryland Championship Wrestling · Memphis Wrestling · Ohio Valley Wrestling · Pro Wrestling Alliance · Pro Wrestling Guerrilla · Real Championship Wrestling · United Wrestling Federation · World Xtreme Wrestling · World League Wrestling · Wrestling Retribution Project Women: ChickFight · Professional Girl Wrestling Association · Shimmer Women Athletes · Women Superstars Uncensored · Wrestlicious Governing bodies and interpromotional alliances Global Professional Wrestling Alliance · National Wrestling Alliance Defunct promotions National promotions World Championship Wrestling (Jim Crockett Promotions) · Extreme Championship Wrestling · American Wrestling Association Notable former independent promotions and wrestling territories Men: American Wrestling Federation · Championship Wrestling from Florida · Continental Championship Wrestling · Continental Wrestling Association · Deep South Wrestling · Georgia Championship Wrestling · Global Wrestling Federation · Hardcore Homecoming · Heart of America Sports Attractions/Central States Wrestling · Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South · International Championship Wrestling · International (World Class) Championship Wrestling · Major League Wrestling · Memphis Championship Wrestling · National Wrestling Federation · Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts · Pacific Northwest Wrestling/Portland Wrestling · Pro-Pain Pro Wrestling · Pro Wrestling USA · Smoky Mountain Wrestling · United States Wrestling Association · Universal Wrestling Federation (Bill Watts)/Mid-South Wrestling · Universal Wrestling Federation (Herb Abrams) · Windy City Pro Wrestling · World Wrestling Association (Indianapolis) · World Class Championship Wrestling · Wrestling Society X · Xcitement Wrestling Federation · Xtreme Pro Wrestling Women: Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling · Ladies Major League Wrestling · Ladies Professional Wrestling Association · Powerful Women of Wrestling · Women of Wrestling · Women's Extreme Wrestling · World Women's Wrestling Governing bodies and interpromotional alliances Pro Wrestling USA · Wrestling Superstars Live

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Professional wrestling in the United States, until the late 1920s, was viewed as a legitimate sport. Across the country there were "iron men" who would stand in the center of the ring, usually at state fairs, and literally shout out a challenge to anyone with the nerve to enter the ring. One such Michigan wrestler, Ivy Cutcher, aka "Poison Ivy", took on "all comers" at State Fairs throughout Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana during the 1920s. Archived newspaper clippings show that Poison Ivy rarely lost - even though taking on challengers of any height, weight, or profession, usually several challengers in the same afternoon. Occasionally, a ringer (another professional wrestler), would try for the prize money and step into the ring (often pretending to be a local farmer). They too would soon find themselves tossed from the ring by the Michigan legend, Poison Ivy. These dramatic bouts at state fairs were true contests of physical strength and agility - as there was no telling (or preventing) who would enter the ring. This view did not endure into the 1930s, as [professional wrestling] became identified with modern theatrics, or admitted fakeness ("kayfabe"), moving away from being a showcase for true competition. The scripted nature of the art has made critics view it as an illegitimate sport, particularly in comparison to boxing, mixed martial arts, and amateur wrestling. No major promoter or wrestler denies that modern professional wrestling has predetermined match outcomes.

Through the advent of television in the 1950s and cable in the 1980s, professional wrestling began appearing in powerful media outlets, reaching never before seen numbers of viewers. It became an international phenomenon with the expansion of the World Wrestling Federation. Throughout the 1990s, professional wrestling achieved highs in both viewers and financial success during a time of fierce competition among competing promotions, such as World Wrestling Federation, World Championship Wrestling, and Extreme Championship Wrestling.

The nature of professional wrestling changed dramatically to better fit television, enhancing character traits and storylines. Television also helped many wrestlers break into mainstream media, becoming influential celebrities and icons of popular culture. In the United States, in the First Golden Age of Professional Wrestling in the 1940s–1950s, Gorgeous George gained mainstream popularity, followed in the Second Golden Age in the 1980s–1990s by Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Sting, The Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock and Chris Jericho.

Beginnings (1860s to 1940s)[link]

Carnival days[link]

Professional wrestling, in the sense of traveling performers paid for mass entertainment in staged matches, began in the post-Civil War period in the late 1860s and 1870s.^[1] During this time, wrestlers were often athletes with amateur wrestling experience who competed at traveling carnivals with carnies working as their promoters and bookers. Grand circuses included wrestling exhibitions, quickly enhancing them through colorful costumes and fictional biographies for entertainment, disregarding their competitive nature.^[1] Wrestling exhibits during the late 19th century were also shown across the United States in countless "athletic shows" (or "at shows"), where experienced wrestlers offered open challenges to the audience.^[1] It was at these shows, often done for high-stakes gambling purposes, that the nature of the sport changed through the competing interests of three groups of people: the impresarios, the carnies, and the barnstormers.^[1]

Impresarios were the managers who chose how a wrestler could gain fame and interest among the fans, creating personas and improvising matches to make them more interesting. Carnies, who traveled and wrestled at these events, used tricks to protect their money and reputations during competitions, devising little-known and often dangerous wrestling moves, called "hooks." Hooks are illegal in conventional amateur wrestling, but have high rates of success against even the most athletic and experienced of competitors, essentially removing rules from professional wrestling. In addition, some spectators capable of beating the carnies roamed the country to compete in open challenges, setting side bets to make money. The barnstormers competed as traveling wrestlers did and often cooperated with the carnies to stage the matches, providing enormous profits for both sides in betting.^[1] Through the interest in money-making among the three groups, wrestling became a business-oriented entertainment venue, distinguishing itself further and further from its authentic amateur wrestling background.^[1][2]

Wrestling performers were arranged in a pyramid hierarchy of fame and money, based strictly on athletic talent. The lowest were the journeymen, young performers with promise and some skill, but who relied mainly on showmanship to gain fans. The actual wrestlers, called "shooters" because of their ability to "shoot", or fight real matches competitively, were more successful and less common. At the top were the elites, or the hookers, named for their ability to use arcane wrestling hooks to inflict damage and serious injury on the competition without much effort.^[1] Wrestlers considered themselves among a select group, and often kept the fact that their sport was commonly faked—to an extent—in high secrecy.^[3] They used a jargon of their own (often shared with carnies) to communicate so the audience would not understand them, including the word "kayfabe."^[4]

"Farmer" Burns-Frank Gotch era[link]

During the late 19th century-early 20th century, wrestling was dominated by Martin "Farmer" Burns and his pupil, Frank Gotch. Burns was renowned as a competitive wrestler, who, despite never weighing more than 160 pounds during his wrestling career, fought over 6,000 wrestlers (at a time when most were competitive contests) and lost fewer than 10 of them.^[5] He also gained a reputation for training some of the best wrestlers of the era, including Gotch, known as one of America's first sports superstars.^[5]

Gotch, regarded as "peerless" at his peak, was the first to actually claim the world's undisputed heavyweight championship by beating all contenders in North America and Europe. He became the world's champion by beating European wrestling champion Georg Hackenschmidt, both in 1908 and 1911, seen by modern wrestling historians as two of the most significant matches in wrestling history.^[5]

The popularity of wrestling during the early 20th century was highest in the Midwest, where ethnic European communities, many of them German, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Greek, and Scandinavian in ancestry, continued to carry on fighting styles practiced in their home nations.^[5] At this time, during the late 19th century, and early 20th century, the majority of wrestling was still competitive, and it was immensely popular. In fact, wrestling's popularity was second only to baseball from 1900 to the early 1920s, launching trading cards and competitive wrestling programs in colleges, high schools, and athletic clubs, legacies that have endured to the present day.^[1]

Wrestling's popularity experienced a dramatic tailspin in 1915 to 1920, becoming distanced from the American public because of widespread doubt of its legitimacy and status as a competitive sport. Wrestlers during the time recount it as largely faked by the 1880s. It also waned due to Gotch's retirement in 1913, and no new wrestling superstar emerging to captivate the audience's attention.^[1]

Expansion (1920s to 1930s)[link]

Following the retirement of Frank Gotch, professional wrestling (except in the Midwest) was losing popularity fast. Media attention focused on the illegitimacy of wrestling instead of its athleticism, and without a superstar like Gotch, no major personality reached a wide fanbase.^[6] In response, three professional wrestlers, Ed Lewis, Billy Sandow, and Toots Mondt, joined to form their own promotion in the 1920s, modifying their in-ring product to attract fans. The three were referred to as the "Gold Dust Trio" due to their financial success. Their promotion was the first to use time-limit matches, "flashy" new holds, and signature maneuvers.^[6] They also popularized tag team wrestling, introducing new tactics such as distracting the referee, to make the matches more exciting.^[6]

The Trio's lasting legacy, and perhaps their greatest innovation within professional wrestling, was the use of a regular group of wrestlers for a packaged show.^[6] Rather than paying traveling wrestlers to perform on certain dates and combining wrestlers in match-ups when they were available, they decided to keep wrestlers for months and years at a time, allowing long-term angles and feuds to develop. This was the key to their success; they were able to keep wrestlers from their competition, and were able to have regular wrestling cards.^[6] Their business succeeded quickly, gaining popularity for its freshness and unique approach to wrestling; a traveling stable of wrestlers.^[7] The Trio gained great popularity nationwide during their best years, roughly 1920 to 1925, when they performed in the Eastern territory, acquiring fans from the highly exposed big cities.^[7]

The Trio was dealt a severe blow by Stanislaus Zbyszko, when he beat the rookie Wayne Munn for their world heavyweight championship, against the original booking.^[8] Munn, who had been recruited to wrestling and pushed to the level of champion in only a few months, was the Trio's new star and main attraction. Zbyszko was supposed to lose to Munn, but refused to follow along, beating Munn so decisively and thoroughly that the referee awarded him the title to prevent a riot.^[8] In addition, Zbyszko quickly dropped the title to Joe Stecher, a rival of Ed Lewis, making the situation worse for the Trio.^[8]

Stecher, although an able hooker, was afraid of losing his championship, refusing to wrestle many contenders as a result. This made it impossible for the Trio to retrieve it. They responded by calling the Munn-Zbyszko match illegitimate, and reinstated Munn as champion, but quickly had him drop it to Lewis. This left two champions, Ed Lewis and Joe Stecher, who were regarded as the dominant wrestlers of the period.^[9] Stecher and Lewis agreed to a unification match years later, in 1928, when Stecher gave in and lost the title to Lewis.^[9] By this time, the Zbyszko double-cross had already caused irreparable damage, detracting from the Trio's dominance over the wrestling industry.^[9] In addition, the build-up of Munn followed by such a humiliating loss had devalued his title and credibility as a major wrestling superstar permanently.^[9]

Growth of wrestling promotions[link]

In March 1887, the Evan Lewis defeated Joe Acton for the American Catch-as-Catch-Can championship in Chicago.^[10] Soon, every wrestling promotion had created its own championship, which was considered each company's pride and glory. As promotions were attempting to become nationally renowned, acquiring rival championships marked victory.

In the 1930s and 1940s, small wrestling promotions had fierce competition with each other, often stealing talents and "invading" enemy companies to win over fans. With inter-promotional matches occurring nationwide, the promotions were vying for dominance. In 1948, wrestling reached new heights after a loose confederation was formed between independent wrestling companies. This was known as the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). In the late 1940s to 1950s, the NWA chose Lou Thesz to unify the various world championships into a single "World Heavyweight" title. Thesz's task was not easy, as some promoters, reluctant to lose face, went so far as to shoot title matches to keep their own champions popular with the fans.

Television era (1950s to 1970s)[link]

Following the advent of television, professional wrestling matches began to be aired nationally during the 1950s, reaching a larger fanbase than ever before. This was a time of enormous growth for professional wrestling, as rising demand and national expansion made it a much more popular and lucrative form of entertainment than in decades previous. This was called a "Golden Age" for the wrestling industry. It was also a time of great change in both the character and professionalism of wrestlers as a result of the appeal of television. Wrestling fit naturally with television because it was easy to understand, had drama, comedy and colorful characters, and was inexpensive for production.^[3][11] From 1948 to 1955, each of the three major television networks broadcasted wrestling shows; the largest supporter being the DuMont Television Network.^[3]

Gimmick characters[link]

Gorgeous George became one of the biggest stars during this period, gaining media attention for his outrageous character, which was described as flamboyant and charismatic.^[12] Already popular among wrestling fans, he became renowned after comedian Bob Hope noticed his performance in the Hollywood Legion Stadium in 1945 and 1946, and began to use him for jokes on his radio station.^[12] The publicity brought many people into wrestling events, bringing his stardom to a high point where promoters and television stations alike were paying generously for his performances.^[12]

Gorgeous George's impact on wrestling has been interpreted in many ways, demonstrating how fast television changed the product from athletics to performance. His legacy was the enormous change in wrestling personas he inspired. Before him, wrestlers imitated "ethnic terrors" (Nazis, Arabs, etc.), but his success birthed a more individualistic and narcissist form of character.^[13] He was also among the first to use entrance music.^[14]

Television changed the on-screen product in many other ways as well. Originally, the impact of television was not well planned for during this period.^[11] Promotional spots, which are now used as pre-match rants by wrestlers to warm up the crowds, were often used for simple greetings and welcomes to the local crowds, missing in-ring personality boosts and character skits during this period. No one would discuss promos before shooting them, and promoters usually would not spend time helping wrestlers in front of the camera.^[12]

Competitiveness compromised[link]

Professional wrestlers themselves began to change. As popularity grew during the mid-1950s, many more wrestlers joined the ranks of the business, and the number of professional wrestlers over 2,000, far more than ever before.^[15] Many new wrestlers began fresh without notions of athletic sportsmanship that was popular in competitive arenas, however; they began with dreams of becoming televised superstars. This proved especially true as the product began to lose athletic talent, relying on blood and acrobatic performance.^[16]

Wrestling's competitiveness was degraded by television, a fact regarded by many in the business as a natural effect of television over competition. The New York wrestling office soon became dominant, as it refused to use competitive wrestlers, and instead focused on attracting televised entertainment.^[17] Perhaps the first of the more comic book-like characters known to professional wrestling today was Antonino Rocca.^[18] Comparatively weak in wrestling ability, his marketable personality and barefoot acrobatics attracted fans and made him a national superstar, especially popular among Italian and Hispanic fans.^[18] The New York Wrestling office used him to revive the promotion on television, and found him far easier to exploit than a more athletically skilled wrestler, enabling the office to negotiate wrestler contracts tremendously in its favor.^[17]

Moderate slowdown[link]

By the late 1950s, professional wrestling had lost its high ratings, and producers, realizing that they had overexposed it, soon dropped most wrestling shows from their lineups.^[13] The remaining televised wrestling promoters had small, local syndicated shows, which network producers placed as late-night fillers rather than signature programming.^[19] Promoters used localized television as a weapon for eliminating the competition by purchasing airtime from rival territories, effectively putting them out of business.^[20]

The NWA was the most dominant wrestling body in the 1950s, and a large number of wrestling promotions had been under its leadership. Many promoters, however, viewed it as a crooked tyrant, holding back innovative changes in the sport. It was during this time that several promoters found reason to leave the organization, managing to find niches in the United States. The most prominent of these were the American Wrestling Association (AWA), which became the most popular wrestling promotion during the 1960s, and the New York-based World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), renamed WWF in 1979.

As a top wrestler in the 1950s, Verne Gagne formed his own promotion in the NWA in 1957, which soon became the lead promotion with Gagne winning the World Heavyweight Championship of Omaha. After unsuccessfully lobbying for a title match with the NWA Champion, however, Gagne broke away from the NWA in 1960, renaming his promotion the American Wrestling Association, and making it the dominant organization of the 1960s. Named the AWA World Heavyweight Champion soon after, Gagne was the top wrestler, and engaged in many feuds with heel wrestlers, most notably Nick Bockwinkel, and was the AWA's top draw until his retirement in 1981.

Bruno Sammartino carried the WWWF during the 1960s and 1970s. His brawling, power moves, and personal charisma helped him become the most popular American wrestler during this time period. During the period when MSG was the WWWF's primary arena, Sammartino headlined more Garden cards than any other wrestler (211), including 187 sellouts.

The AWA was no longer the top promotion after the WWWF rejoined the NWA. The AWA reached new heights, however, after powerhouse wrestler Hulk Hogan gained nationwide attention from starring in Rocky III, and became a solid fan favorite. Despite Hogan being the AWA's top draw, Gagne would not let him be champion, believing technical wrestlers, like him and Nick Bockwinkel, should be the focus of a wrestling company. Since founding the AWA, Gagne had built the company off of technical wrestling.^[21] Hogan left in 1983, irreparably damaging the AWA.

In spite of all this, the NWA as a unit was still on top, and gained huge dominance through Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW), becoming the first nationally broadcast wrestling program on cable television in 1979. It aired on the TBS network.^[22] By 1981, GCW became the most watched show on cable television.^[22]

Explosion (1980s – present)[link]

1980s wrestling boom[link]

Hulk Hogan was the face of the WWF during the 1980s. It is for this reason that the decade is also known as the Hulkamania era.

The 1980s represented professional wrestling's greatest period of televised entertainment, reaching widespread popularity among American youth, as well as producing some of its most spectacular characters. In comparison to the declining support of media outlets during the 1960s and 1970s, professional wrestling, notably the emerging World Wrestling Federation (WWF; abridged from WWWF in 1979), received great exposure through its reappearance on network television. The WWF expanded nationally through the acquisition of talent from competing promotions and, because it was the only company to air televised wrestling nationally, became synonymous with the industry, monopolizing the industry and the fanbase. The WWF's owner Vince McMahon revolutionized the sport by coining the term "sports entertainment" to describe his on-screen product, admitting to its fakery as well as enhancing its appeal to children.

The WWF became the most colorful and well-known wrestling brand to children because of its child-oriented characters. Its wrestling product was unreal and noticeably fake, characterized by soap opera dramaticism and cartoon-like personas. Most notable was the muscular Hulk Hogan, who marked the 1980s with his "all-American" persona. His sheer size, colorful character, and extravagance made his main events into excellent ratings draws. By January 1984, Hogan's legions of fans and his dominant role in the industry was termed "Hulkamania." Hogan sold out arenas all across the United States and earned the WWF millions of dollars, making it the number one entity in all of professional wrestling; moments after Hogan defeated the Iron Sheik for the WWF Title, Gorilla Monsoon famously proclaimed "Hulkamania is here."^[23]

Around this time, faces and heels became a generally more obvious and important part of wrestling. 'Gimmicks' were more popular, and it widely became a popular sport again. Wrestling was generally seen more as a form of fun and entertainment, however, than an official sport. It was more about building up face/heel feuds such as Roddy Piper/Hulk Hogan and going into a big blow off match, which people loved. The WWF broke its way into mainstream entertainment and regularly brought in celebrities such as Muhammad Ali.

The "Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection" was a period of cooperation and cross-promotion between the WWF and elements of the music industry. The WWF attracting a degree of mainstream attention with Cyndi Lauper joining in 1984 and WWF personalities appeared in her music videos.^[24] Hogan gained mainstream popularity for appearing in the film Rocky III, reaching to an even greater level of celebrity. In 1985, Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling, an animated television series starring the character of Hogan, expanded Hogan's young fanbase.^[25]

Meanwhile, the NWA's renowned and highly successful territory system^[26] was slowly dying, with Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) becoming the center of the entire NWA. While the WWF had their major stars at almost all of their shows, the NWA could only manage to have a few of its stars at one show at a time, so as to promote the product in every territory. After the WWF gained huge dominance with Wrestlemania, Crockett responded to the success of the WWF and successfully acquired time slots on TBS,^[27] and would continue to buy out NWA promotions between 1985 and 1987 as well. The advent of nationwide television also weakened the system. Wrestlers could no longer travel to a new market and establish a new persona, since fans there already knew who they were. Meanwhile, McMahon took advantage of this phenomenon by purchasing promotions all over the continent, in order to produce a widely popular nationwide television program and make the WWF the only viewing choice.

To counter the NWA's primary supercard, Starrcade, the WWF created its flagship show, WrestleMania, available on 135 closed-circuit networks. The show was a huge success with Hogan, who won in the main event, going on to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated.^[28] After the swimsuit issue, it was the magazine's best seller,^[29] and following WrestleMania, four WWF programs were among the ten most watched shows on cable television.^[30] Professional wrestling began to become mainstream, thanks, in large part, to the appeal of Hulkamania among children. Large television networks also took wrestling into their weekly programming, including Saturday Night's Main Event, premiering on NBC in 1985, the first wrestling show to air prime time since 1955. ESPN also began airing professional wrestling for the first time, first airing Pro Wrestling USA shows—which were created as an alliance between the NWA and AWA in 1984, in an effort to counter the national success the WWF was gaining—and later AWA shows, after Pro Wrestling USA fell apart by 1986. The WWF also became an international success too.

WrestleMania III, with a reported record attendance of 93,173 people, is widely considered to be the pinnacle of the period.^[31] The first episode of WWF The Main Event is the highest rated professional wrestling television show to date, with a 15.2 rating and 33 million viewers.^[32] Both had a main event featuring Hulk Hogan battling André the Giant for the WWF Championship. Following WrestleMania III, the WWF added to its franchise and created both the Survivor Series, to counter-programming against Starrcade directly on PPV, and the Royal Rumble, to counter-programming against the Bunkhouse Stampede originally on the USA cable networks before transitioning to pay-per-view in subsequent years. The NWA responded by creating Clash of the Champions on TBS to compete against WrestleMania IV.

Wrestling promotions across the United States feared being forced into bankruptcy by the WWF. They began to unify and conglomerate under more centralized leadership rather than continue independently. Competing promotions aired better talent and attempted to regain their audiences. In late 1987, Continental Wrestling Association wrestler and co-promoter Jerry Lawler had also joined the AWA, and helped establish a relationship between the AWA and CWA, which was formally an NWA territory, that would be somewhat of a revival of Pro Wrestling USA. In 1988, the struggling World Class Wrestling Association (formerly known as World Class Championship Wrestling until it withdrew from the NWA in 1986) and Continental Wrestling Federation (known as Continental Championship Wrestling until it was bought out in 1988) would also take part in this alliance, which agreed to unify the WCWA and AWA Heavyweight Titles at Superclash III. Superclash III was not a success, however, and the second Pro Wrestling USA alliance soon fell apart. CWA co-promoter Jerry Jarrett then bought out the WCWA and renamed the unified company as the United States Wrestling Association (USWA). Jerry Lawler also took his AWA Title to Jarrett's promotion, and the belt was renamed as the USWA Heavyweight Title. The AWA was able to create a new belt, but the end of 1990, company profits had dwindled so badly that the company went out of business. NWA President Bob Geigel also withdrew from the NWA by December 1987, and attempted to revive his Heart of America Sports Attractions as a national promotion known as World Wrestling Alliance, but would go out of business by 1989.^[33]

After WrestleMania III, Crockett also acquired the Universal Wrestling Federation—which broke from the NWA in 1986—and would also establish a second office in their old Dallas headquarters.^[34] To fight the WWF's control of the industry, JCP took the NWA's pay-per-view names and used its best talent to draw ratings. Crockett was unable to beat McMahon, who took big bites out of Jim Crockett Promotions by successfully airing the 1987 Survivor Series and 1988 Royal Rumble on the same nights as Starrcade 1987 and the 1988 Bunkhouse Stampede PPV cards.^[35] This left him with no viable option other than selling out to media mogul Ted Turner, who renamed the promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and continued to challenge McMahon's monopoly of the industry. Turner promised a more athletic approach to the product, making Ric Flair the promotion's marquee wrestler and giving young stars big storylines and championship opportunities.

Monday Night Wars (1990s)[link]

The Wars changed programming to be more teen-oriented.

During the early 1990s, the growing WWF was being hindered by competing brands and nagging legal troubles. The largest troubles came from WCW, which competed for fans and dominated the industry during the years of 1997 to 1998. The WWF was forced to change itself to overcome its competition, remodeling itself with added bloodshed, violence, and more profane, sexually lewd characters. This new "Attitude Era" quickly dominated the style and nature of wrestling to become far more teen-oriented than ever before, and made the WWF regain its status as wrestling's top company.

The image of WCW changed when Eric Bischoff was appointed Executive Vice President of WCW in late 1993. He signed former WWF stars and departed from their focus on in-ring action in favor of the WWF's approach. The WWF began to suffer immediately and started building new stars. The Monday Night Wars began in 1995, when WCW started WCW Monday Nitro, a show that ran directly against WWF Monday Night Raw. While starting fairly even, the war escalated in 1996 with the formation of the heel stable, the New World Order. They helped WCW gain the upper hand when they became the most powerful group in professional wrestling. WCW also came up with more legitimate, edgy storylines and characters over the WWF's cartoon style.

While the WWF and WCW rivalry was brewing a third promotion was growing in prominence. NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling renamed itself "Extreme Championship Wrestling" (ECW) and left the NWA. ECW adapted a hardcore style of wrestling,^[36] and it exposed the audience to levels of violence rarely seen in wrestling. The unorthodox style of moves, controversial storylines, and intense bloodthirst of ECW made it immensely popular among many wrestling fans in the 18- to 25-year-old demographic. Its intense fanbase, albeit a small constituency, reached near-cultism in the late 1990s and inspired the "hardcore style" in other wrestling promotions, namely WWF and WCW.

In 1998, the WWF gained momentum with the start of The Attitude Era. McMahon recast himself as the evil boss, known authoritatively as "Mr. McMahon". While an interesting character, it was McMahon's realistic feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin which made the company finally dominate its competition.^[37] This was probably among the best of McMahon's storylines, and it came at a time when Bischoff was losing his vigor in WCW's affairs.^[37] The WWF gained infamy for its more sexually explicit, profane, and violent characters. Austin was the top superstar in the company, portraying an anti-hero tough guy who regularly defied his boss; The Rock became a star for his cocky persona, his many catchphrases and attractive charisma; Mankind gained popularity for enduring extreme pain, performing dangerous stunts renowned among the industry today; and the stable D-Generation X was famous for its adult themes. Through the collective success of these characters, the company had finally refocused itself in the 18-25 demographic.

By the start of 1999, both shows were consistently getting ratings of 5.0 or higher, and over ten million people tuned in to Raw and Nitro every week. Wrestling continued to grow, as wrestlers made the mainstream media. From November 1998, the momentum was in the WWF's favor for the remainder of the Wars, with Raw dominating Nitro in the ratings. WCW continued its decline as their main eventers were in their 40s or pushing 40 and younger talent were never given the chance to be elevated to main event status. Their attempts at improving failed to turn the ratings tide, with RAW getting double the amount by 2000.

WWE's dominance (2000s)[link]

Triple H as the "Undisputed" Champion, signifying the WWE's dominance in the industry.

In 2001, the WWF (renamed "World Wrestling Entertainment" to avoid a copyright dispute with the World Wildlife Federation in 2002 and simply "WWE" in 2011) became the dominant company in the global professional wrestling industry with the end of its two leading competitors, WCW and ECW. ECW was in dire financial straits earlier that year and Heyman filed for bankruptcy on April 4, 2001.^[38] WCW continued to lose more money and finally ended on March 23, 2001 with McMahon buying out,^[39] after more than 15 years in business and as the biggest threat to the WWF to date. This left professional wrestling fans with no alternative to WWF programming and led to some leaving the sport.

With a demand remaining for Southern-style, cruiserweight, strong style and hardcore wrestling that WWE was not fulfilling, new promotions attempted to offer an alternative to cater to this niche market. The most successful among these have been Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and Ring of Honor, both starting up in 2002. Other independent promotions like Chikara Pro, Combat Zone Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla also began to gain more exposure.

Controversies[link]

The WWF was investigated by the Federal Government in 1991 for a steroid scandal where, reputedly, steroid use was rampant among wrestlers and in McMahon's World Bodybuilding Federation. Large names, including Hulk Hogan, gained infamy when news of their long-time steroid use was revealed.^[40] In addition, a civil lawsuit involving sexual misconduct on the part of Pat Patterson in 1993 further weakened the company.^[41] This gained great criticism to the WWF, weakening its once "family-oriented" programming.

WWE gained national media coverage in 2007 for the Chris Benoit murder-suicide, hypothesized to be related to steroids and brain damage resulting from concussions. This incident, along with the death of Eddie Guerrero in 2005, made drug use and young deaths in the business a subject of intense controversy. The wrestling industry and the nature of the business were widely criticized for this and WWE was affected on the business-side, with the company's stock losing approximately $15 million in market value in the first week.^[42] Ratings also suffered for a short period, with Raw dropping 10% in total viewers.^[43]

See also[link]

Professional wrestling portal

• 1980s wrestling boom
• History of World Championship Wrestling
• History of WWE
• Monday Night Wars

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Thesz, Lou; Bauman, Kit (2001). Hooker: An Authentic Wrestler's Adventures Inside the Bizarre World of Professional Wrestling. Wrestling Channel Press. ISBN 0-9706516-0-0. 
• Guttman, James (2006). World Wrestling Insanity: The Decline and Fall of a Family Empire. ECW Press. ISBN 1-55022-728-9. 
• Assael, Shaun; Mooneyham, Mike (2004). Sex, Lies, and Headlocks: The Real Story of Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment. Three Rivers Press. ISBN 1-4000-5143-6. 
• Bischoff, Eric (2006). Controversy Creates Cash. World Wrestling Entertainment. ISBN 1-4165-2729-X. 

External links[link]

• House of Deception - Professional Wrestling History
• Wrestling Information Archive - Wrestling Timeline
• Professional Wrestling Online Museum
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated Wrestling History
• History of Regional Promotions
• Wrestling and Fighting sports news/history site (UK)
• Pro-Wrestling Title Histories
• ProWrestlingHistory.com
• The Wrestling Forum: Pro wrestling discussion group

v t e Professional wrestling in the United States Active promotions National promotions WWE · Total Nonstop Action Wrestling · Ring of Honor Notable independent promotions Men: All Pro Wrestling · Chikara · Combat Zone Wrestling · Dory Funk’s Bang · Dragon Gate USA · East Coast Wrestling Association · Empire Wrestling Federation · Evolve · Florida Championship Wrestling · Full Impact Pro · Heartland Wrestling Association · Jersey All Pro Wrestling · Juggalo Championship Wrestling · Lucha Libre USA · Maryland Championship Wrestling · Memphis Wrestling · Ohio Valley Wrestling · Pro Wrestling Alliance · Pro Wrestling Guerrilla · Real Championship Wrestling · United Wrestling Federation · World Xtreme Wrestling · World League Wrestling · Wrestling Retribution Project Women: ChickFight · Professional Girl Wrestling Association · Shimmer Women Athletes · Women Superstars Uncensored · Wrestlicious Governing bodies and interpromotional alliances Global Professional Wrestling Alliance · National Wrestling Alliance Defunct promotions National promotions World Championship Wrestling (Jim Crockett Promotions) · Extreme Championship Wrestling · American Wrestling Association Notable former independent promotions and wrestling territories Men: American Wrestling Federation · Championship Wrestling from Florida · Continental Championship Wrestling · Continental Wrestling Association · Deep South Wrestling · Georgia Championship Wrestling · Global Wrestling Federation · Hardcore Homecoming · Heart of America Sports Attractions/Central States Wrestling · Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South · International Championship Wrestling · International (World Class) Championship Wrestling · Major League Wrestling · Memphis Championship Wrestling · National Wrestling Federation · Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts · Pacific Northwest Wrestling/Portland Wrestling · Pro-Pain Pro Wrestling · Pro Wrestling USA · Smoky Mountain Wrestling · United States Wrestling Association · Universal Wrestling Federation (Bill Watts)/Mid-South Wrestling · Universal Wrestling Federation (Herb Abrams) · Windy City Pro Wrestling · World Wrestling Association (Indianapolis) · World Class Championship Wrestling · Wrestling Society X · Xcitement Wrestling Federation · Xtreme Pro Wrestling Women: Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling · Ladies Major League Wrestling · Ladies Professional Wrestling Association · Powerful Women of Wrestling · Women of Wrestling · Women's Extreme Wrestling · World Women's Wrestling Governing bodies and interpromotional alliances Pro Wrestling USA · Wrestling Superstars Live

Jerry Lawler
Lawler at the New York Comic Con in Manhattan, October 9, 2010.
Ring name(s)	Jerry Lawler Jerry "The King" Lawler
Billed height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1]
Billed weight	243 lb (110 kg)[1]
Born	(1949-11-29) November 29, 1949 (age 62) Memphis, Tennessee[2]
Resides	Memphis, Tennessee
Billed from	Memphis, Tennessee[3]
Trained by	Jackie Fargo[4]
Debut	1970[2]

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[link]

Early career (1970-1992)[link]

While working in Memphis, Tennessee as a disc jockey, Lawler's artistic ability attracted the attention of local wrestling promoter Aubrey Griffith.^[2] The two made an agreement in which Lawler would give Griffith free publicity in exchange for free wrestling training.^[2] Lawler debuted as a wrestler in 1970 and won his first championship in September 1971 by winning a battle royal.^[2] He soon won the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship under the managerial service of Sam Bass with partner Jim White.^[2] 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."^[2][4] While Lawler began his career as a heel, he became a face after splitting from Bass at the end of 1974.^[2] On November 12, 1979, while working in the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA), Lawler defeated Billy Graham to become the CWA World Champion.^[2] In 1980, his career was put on hold due to a broken leg, but he returned to the ring after several months.^[2]

In 1982, Lawler began a notorious feud with comedian Andy Kaufman.^[2] At the time, Kaufman wrestled women as part of his skits and had declared himself the Intergender Heavyweight Champion.^[2] On April 5, Lawler, who had taken exception to the skits, wrestled Kaufman in Memphis.^[2] During the course of the match, Lawler delivered two piledrivers to his opponent, sending him to the hospital.^[2] On July 29, Lawler slapped Kaufman in the face on an episode of Late Night with David Letterman.^[2][5] Kaufman responded by throwing his coffee on Lawler.^[2]

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.^{[citation needed]}

On March 7, 1983, Lawler won the AWA International Championship by defeating Austin Idol.^[2] He defeated Ken Patera on July 25 to begin his second reign as the International Champion.^[2] Lawler became the NWA Mid America Champion on April 12, 1984 when he was booked to defeat Randy Savage for the title.^[2] In 1985, Lawler traveled to Japan, where he won the Polynesian Pacific title on January 25, 1986.^[2] 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.^[2] Lawler feuded with Tommy Rich, Austin Idol, and Paul E. Dangerously throughout early 1987.^[2] The animosity began after controversy over an AWA World Championship title shot involving Nick Bockwinkel.^[2] 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.^[2]

Lawler won the AWA World Heavyweight Championship from Curt Hennig.^[2] During his reign, Lawler feuded with World Class Championship Wrestling's Champion Kerry Von Erich.^[2] He defeated Von Erich on December 15, 1988 at Superclash III to unify the two titles.^[2] Soon after, Lawler's issues with Verne Gagne led to his departure from the AWA.^[2] 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.^[2]

World Wrestling Federation (1992–2001)[link]

Lawler began his WWF career in December 1992 as an announcer on WWF Superstars of Wrestling.^[2][6] 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.^[2][7] 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.^[8] 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.^[8] 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.^[9]

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.^[2][10] 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.^[11] This set up a "Kiss My Foot" match at King of the Ring 1995, which Bret won.^[7] 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,^[12] 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.^[13] After Doink and Dink retaliated, Lawler introduced a midget sidekick of his own, who he named Queasy.^[13] In the following weeks, Doink added two more sidekicks, Wink and Pink, while Lawler introduced Sleazy and Cheesy.^[13] This led to an elimination match at Survivor Series 1994, which Lawler's team won.^[14] After the match, however, Lawler's team turned on him, joining with Doink's team to attack Lawler.^[15]

Lawler at a book signing in 2003

In late 1994 and early 1995, Lawler wrestled briefly in Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) while still continuing to commentate sporadically for the WWF.^[2] 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.^[2] 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.^[2] The two met in a match at SummerSlam 1996, which Lawler won. After the match, Lawler poured Jim Beam whiskey down Roberts' throat.^[16]

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".^[2] 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.^[17]

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.^[2] With the creation of the XFL in 2001, Lawler was given the job as an announcer for the new football league.^[18] Lawler claims that he never wanted to announce for the XFL, but that he agreed to it after McMahon and Kevin Dunn asked him.^[18]

In February 2001, Lawler's then-wife Stacy "The Kat" Carter was released by the WWF, and Lawler quit the company in protest.^[18][19] 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)[link]

During his absence from the WWF, Lawler made appearances on the independent circuit in both Australia and North America,^[2][20] as well as joining the fledgling Xcitement Wrestling Federation promotion alongside WCW veteran Tony Schiavone as a color commentator.^[2]

Memphis Wrestling (2007)[link]

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.^[21] 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.^[22] 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.^[23]

Jerry Lawler's Memphis Wrestling (2010)[link]

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)[link]

Commentator and part-time wrestler (2001–2010)[link]

Lawler and Jim Ross calling the action for WWE.

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.^[24]

In 2003, Raw's announce team of Lawler and Jim Ross feuded with Sunday Night Heat's team of Jonathan Coachman and Al Snow.^[2] At Unforgiven, Lawler and Ross lost a match against Coachman and Snow, thus losing their right to do commentary on Raw.^[2] In a rematch, however, Ross defeated Coachman, winning Lawler and Ross their position back.^[2]

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.^[25]

In July 2006, Randy Orton began a feud with Hulk Hogan. Lawler attacked Orton in defense of Hogan,^[26] which set up a match between them on Raw.^[27] Orton defeated Lawler after a low blow and an RKO.^[28]

On March 31, 2007, Lawler was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by William Shatner,^[3] 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".^[29] After being beaten by Booker in the ring,^[30] Lawler was supposed to be forced to crown his opponent at an August 13 show in Madison Square Garden.^[31] 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.^[31]

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?"^[32] 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)[link]

Lawler making his way to the ring at WrestleMania XXVII.

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.^[33]

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.^[34]

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.^[35] 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.^[36] 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.^[37] 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.^[38] At the pay-per-view, Lawler was unsuccessful in winning the title, ending the feud.^[39]

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.^[40] 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.^[41] 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.^[42]

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)[link]

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^[43]. 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^[44].

Other endeavors[link]

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".^[45]

In 1998, Lawler appeared in the movie Man on the Moon, starring Jim Carrey.^[2] 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.^[5] His platform focused on making the streets safer for residents, beautifying the city, and improving the quality of education.^[46] In addition, he vowed to attract businesses to Memphis, improve the flow of traffic, create more parks, and decrease property taxes.^[46] Lawler ended up with 11.7% of ballots, beating twelve of the fifteen candidates.^[47] Ultimately, however, Mayor Willie Herenton was easily reelected.^[47]

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.^[48]

Personal life[link]

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.^[49] 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.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]} In August 2008, Kevin was arrested on charges of trespassing and aggravated burglary.^[50] After divorcing Kay, Lawler was later married to Paula from February 14, 1982 to October 2, 1991.^[49]

He met his third wife, Stacy "The Kat" Carter, at a charity softball game in Memphis, Tennessee on July 23, 1989.^[51] They married in September 2000.^[2] In mid-February 2001, Carter (who was a valet and has also made in-ring appearances) was released by the World Wrestling Federation.^[52] Lawler then left the company in protest.^[52] Carter decided to leave Lawler in July, 2001 and they separated shortly before Lawler rejoined the WWF in November, 2001.^[20] Their divorce was finalized on October 15, 2003.^[53]