If you watch WWE and I know there are a lot of you who do because the show gets really high ratings, then you know who Jerry "The King" Lawler is. He is a commentator on Monday Night Raw and also a wrestler and had actually competed last night and after a commentary he gave during a live broadcast from Montreal he collapsed and reportedly stopped breathing. He was given CPR and is believed to have suffered a stroke. The collapse never aired because there was a match going on but you could see all the audience members looking over at where the announcers sit. The video below is taken by a fan at the arena as Jerry is moved out on a stretcher.
How awful, strokes are not something to take lightly, I lost my grandmother to a stroke, feel better Jerry.
ReplyDeleteI don't know anything about WWE, but I read this story on a news site, and I guess the guy is just beloved by his peers.
ReplyDeleteStrokes are so scary, I hope he can recover.
I was raised on wrestling. As a kid, my dad and I would always go watch whenever they were close to home. My dad to this day is still a huge wrestling fan. About five years ago, my dad had a stroke (luckily, a minor one thank god), but it was terrifying. My daddy's still my hero and always will be. My thoughts go out to Jerry and his family.
ReplyDeleteFWIW, Frufra Jr. Is a huge wrastlin' fan, and was watching last night. I don't think he had any idea of what happened, because he would have run in and told us. So I guess what I'm saying is kudos to WWE for not turning this medical issue into a part of the storyline.
ReplyDeleteI hope Jerry is able to make a full recovery. He is indeed a big deal in the wrestling world. Feel better soon.
They're saying he had a heart attack, not a stroke. Even the video you attached says heart attack.
ReplyDeleteHere's a link:
http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1254750--jerry-lawler-wwe-wrestling-commentator-suffers-heart-attack-during-live-raw-broadcast
I started watching WWE after a decade away, I'm so saddned by this. I love Jerry and I hope he recovers! He mentioned my beloved Andy Kaufman a few weeks ago when he wrestled CM Punk, and that got me into watching again. Also seeing Cena run to one of his fans, a little boy, after a match to give him a hug warmed my cold stone heart. Get better Jerry!!
ReplyDeleteITA, Frufra. Kudos for not scaring the home audience (kids), and for allowing the man his dignity while he was fighting for his life.
ReplyDeleteIt was a heart attack, not a stroke. I was watching last night. Jerry had fought in a match with CM Punk, John Cena, and Bret Hart and about 20 minutes after that fight, Michael Cole came on and announced that Jerry had collapsed at the announcing table and was then transported to the hospital after receiving CPR at the venue. They reacted VERY quickly and handled it gracefully. My best goes out to him for a quick recovery. It was a VERY frightening moment to experience last night.
ReplyDeleteThey made it very clear that it was not part of the programming or story line and did a wonderful job of keeping people informed, letting the show go on, and treating the situation with the delicacy it deserved. Kudos to the WWE on that front.
You didn't see the collapse at all. In fact, the delay on the cameras went to black from their position for a few minutes thanks to the delay. I had no idea what had happened until They cut to Michael Cole.
ReplyDeleteAnd I was wrong about the match it was Punk, Orton, Lawler & Ziggler.
And as a sidenote - CM Punk was looking good last night and watching him and Randy Orton in the ring together was pretty glorious.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I were raised on Wrestling. This is sad and we hope we recovers fully!
ReplyDeleteI hope he is ok. Didn't Jim Ross suffer a heart attack a few years back?
ReplyDelete@discoflux- I hope you oogled enough for the both of us. I had to watch Major Crimes with my mema and missed it.
Lawler has always been a big part of the WWE.
ReplyDeleteI did not watch the show last night, but I did hear about it. At first I thought it was a new storyline until my friend told me it was real.
No heart attack for JR that I know of. He's just had multiple attacks of Bell's Palsy.
ReplyDeleteOh, believe you me, bobbi... I made the guys I was watching wrestling with blush because I was enjoying that match so much.
@ disco - what's the deal with Bret Hart? My kid was psyched because Bret is his favorite Hall of Famer. I saw Bret come out, looking pretty old. Did he fight or just talk? I was cleaning up dinner and didn't see it.
ReplyDeleteWe knew CM was on the scene cause they played his music and my son yelled "bad guy alert!" :-)
Her just talked, for the most part. He suffered a stroke back in 2002 so he can't really take any knocks to the gourd anymore. He did bitchslap CM Punk a good one at the end of the show after Punk interrupted the interview Hart was doing with Cena.
ReplyDeleteThe reason Bret Hart being in Montreal was such a big was because 15 years ago there was an epic moment in wrestling history known as the Montreal Screwjob. Bret Hart was defending his title against Shawn Michaels before he (Hart)left the WWF for WCW. He was supposed to win the match but Vince McMahon decided he didn't want Hart to leave the WWF still holding the championship. So, they had Shawn Michaels and the ref in on the fact that they were going to turn the fight and have Michaels win instead, unbeknownst to Bret Hart. So, Hart lost his title because of organized dirty pool - hence the Montreal Screwjob. Last night was the first night he'd set foot in a ring in Montreal since that night.
Ok, disco, that makes perfect sense. I've watched the documentary about Bret Hart with my son, and it covers that. That movie was what really got my son into wrestling, which I think is very interesting, because it was depressing in many ways.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the 411, lady. I didn't know he'd had a stroke. Us wrestling folks gotta stick together!
Just a little more about Jerry's situation:
ReplyDeleteHe wrestled at an indy show (a show not put on by WWE, TNA, ROH-the kind you see advertised at the local armory with "Battling" Bill Johnson against The Masked Axehandle or what have you, usually with one or two "name" wrestlers to help sell tickets) in Aruba over the weekend. Then he had to fly out to Montreal and probably got to the arena around 2-3 pm. Then the production meetings for the announcers and then putting his match together with Punk, Orton and Ziggler.
That's a lot for a 62 year old man to do in two days time, plus he does two-three other indy shows a week other than his duties on RAW and the PPV's.
I'd also like to add that Jerry doesn't drink, smoke or do any drugs stronger than Alieve.
I'd also like to point out that his broadcast partner, Michael Cole, who plays a douchebag on TV and is pretty much hated by the wrestling community, gained a lot of respect last night for the way he handled the situation on the air. Cole was close to breaking up but still let everyone know what was going on like a true professional. I said it on Twitter last night and it's true, I hate that it had to happen because of this, but last night Michael Cole took that leap from being a clown to being a great commentator.
Sorry to be so long winded, I've followed wrestling for 30+ years and Jerry Lawler is one of the guys I really looked up to as a fellow Southerner.
@discoflux @Frufra Bret's stroke actually happened when he had a bike wreck a few years after getting a concussion (that ended his career)from a botched kick to the head by Bill Goldberg.
ReplyDeleteI had the same type of stroke Bret did, only mine welled up in my brain for almost 13 years instead of happening instantly. I flipped my bike on a drainage sewer I didn't see and landed headfirst (sort of like a piledriver) on the street. It scarred over but continued to bleed all that time and then one day just burst when I was stressed out from work and college.
Thanks for the scoop, Rowdy. And sorry to hear about your stroke, also. Amazing that a brain injury could be active like that for 13 years, and glad you're better.
ReplyDeleteI can hardly wait for my little fan to get home from school so I can share all this inside knowledge with him. He will love it x 100! He's currently hatching around on the perfect Halloween costume - right now, he's thinking The Rock.
My fiance LOVES WWE, and we watched the first hour or so together before he decided to go play around on his workbench in the garage so i changed it. he came running up stairs and told me what happened and that they even announced that it was not a part of the entertainment - He was literally pale and said "last time they did that was Owen Hart".
ReplyDeletefirst thing both of us could think of was if he possibly threw a clot while in the ring - he isnt young anymore and even as health conscious as he is, there is a ton of previous stress and tear his body took in the past.
IDK if anyone heard the story about a year ago about the former hockey enforcer whose brain resembled that of someone 3x's his age when he died. Similar injuries in the two sports. SCARY
Thanks for the additional info, Rowdy. Man, Jerry still gives it his all. My wrestling viewing party and I were discussing before Raw about how hard those guys work. Raw on Monday, Smackdown tapings on Tuesday, promos, rehearsals and workouts during the week, added to exhibition fights all over the globe - it's a lot of very tough work.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about your stroke but very glad that you recovered.
I completely agree that Michael Cole did a GREAT job handling this situation. His job is to be hated by everyone, but I think at that everyone loved him and felt for him last night. I don't think that the WWE really could've handled it any better, given the situation.
I remember watching WWE with my brother as a kid. My fav was Shawn Michaels...haha but so sad about Jerry Lawler. Hope he makes a speedy recovery.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to assume Lawler was in on the joke when he and Andy Kaufman had their feud on Letterman in the 80's. I love the guy for that. Here's the video, a classic moment in broadcast history:
ReplyDeleteI'm From Hollywood - Kaufman-Lawler
Discoflux-I knew I could count on you to be on this thread!!! I remember not long ago when we hijacked a thread about Jean-Claude Van Damme. Started off with resemblance to RVD and took off from there!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, my cable was highjacked last week (so to speak), so I wasn't viewing last night. Hoping The King recovers! Would love to see him back commentating in the future, but just a recovery would be great at this point.
One of my earliest memories of Jerry Lawler was when he faced off against Kerry Von Erich in a sort of inter-federation match in several matches. Lawler always had a chain or something hidden in his trunks and, of course, cheated his way to victory. Ah, the good old days!!!!
I was actually watching the PPV when Owen Hart fell from the rigging and died. Lawler and Jim Ross were commentating that night; so glad Michael Cole didn't have to deliver that kind of news to the audience. Have heard nothing but good things about the way he handled the situation.
Please get well soon King!!!!
Rowdy - Thanks for your input. Glad to hear you survived your piledriver and are here to add to the info/discussion!
ReplyDelete@ms_ glad someone else remembers the Von Erichs - they were the stuff of schoolgirl fantasies - remember the clip of Kerry (?) riding on the white stallion?? They all died tragically, didn't they? So sad.
ReplyDeleteOf course I was in on this one, ms_goddes!
ReplyDeleteYeah, the von Erichs (stage name) were a tragic story. Fritz Von Erich had six sons. David, Chris & Mike Von Erich all died of drug overdoses (alleged in David's case) and Kerry shot himself. His first son died as a child by electrocution. Only Kevin Von Erich remains and he's doing well by all accounts.
Frufra - OMG do I remember him riding the stallion - clad only in a pair of shorts and a headband...YOWZAH! What a sad ending for someone who had so much promise...
ReplyDeleteDisco - Actually, Chris shot himself too. Took a gun with him out to the barn and pulled the trigger. Truly - a tragic family. Kevin's living in Hawaii, raising horses and married to the same woman. Was so good to see him at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony - he looked great! I believe one of his sons is wrestling now. Do you ever watch TNA/Impact Wrestling? Lacey (Kerry's younger daughter) wrestled for a little while. Absolutely gorgeous young woman!!! She quit - apparently, she didn't feel she was living up to the legend. Guess with Daddy Jack (Fritz) not there pushing them whether they wanted to be in the ring or not...
Can you tell I'm from the Dallas area????
If you "like" lurid stories you all should read this amazing story published in Penthouse(I know, right?)in the late 80's on the Von Erich Family. Sad that it wasn't even close to the end of the tragedies for them.
ReplyDeletehttp://bigelow34.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=oldschool&action=print&thread=7460
Jerry Lawler is a one-of-a-kind color commentator, and when he is gone there will never be another quite like him.
ReplyDeleteOk, update, just for the sake of a complete record - Frufra Jr. hadn't seen the end yet - he had to go to bed. 10 year old problems. He's watching it now. We're going to google right now for an update.
ReplyDeleteMy son (10) is a big wrestling fan, so he always DVRs it (Raw and Smackdown). I don't pay too much attention to it, except maybe when CM Punk and Randy Orton are on. After I heard about Jerry last night, I went and watched it. You couldn't really see much, at one point, you could see Jerry in the background (at the table) with his head almost down by his legs. You could see at one point how the crowd was looking to their left and not at the ring. Since I knew what had happened, I noticed how there wasn't any commentary about what was going on. After (I assume) they had taken Jerry away, it went back to the other commentator and he was saying how something had happened to Jerry and it wasn't part of the show and hopefully Jerry would be fine and how they'd keep us up to date on what was happening. You could tell the commentator was upset.
ReplyDeleteI remember begging my dad to take me to see Wrestlemania 3 at the Silverdome.... didn't win, but he purchased the PPV for me!
ReplyDeleteI remember the Von Erich's and all those wrestlers...Bret Hart was one of my favorites, and I watched the PPV where Owen died as well - it was the first one after I moved out to Colorado in 1999.
I hope Jerry gets well soon - I guess Miss Kitty, his ex wife (Stacy Carter real name) has been giving updates
Get well soon Jerry. A whole lot of us have been entertained by you over the years.
ReplyDeleteLazyday- Jerry was in on it with Kaufman. They became good friends during that time. I'm a big Kaufman fan because of watching wrestling when I was young!
ReplyDelete