Over the last year, WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler has faced a few health concerns, most of which have been connected to a stroke he suffered in February 2023. While he continues to recover from his stroke, Lawler also notably underwent knee replacement surgery in March 2024. During a virtual signing with East Coast Autograph Auctions, Lawler provided a new update on his overall health following this recent knee operation.
“My health is great,” Lawler said (h/t POST Wrestling for the transcription). “I just [went] over to the doctors to get back on the road from my knee replacement and then of course, still some minor difficulties from the stroke. But all of that stuff is coming around fast.”
As Lawler alluded to, his 2023 stroke resulted in a few short-term mental and physical difficulties. According to WWE alumni Dutch Mantel, “The King” was struggling to complete his sentences and create artwork with his right hand in the months following his stroke. After reaching out to Lawler over the phone, journalist Bill Apter also noted that he was experiencing some memory troubles. Despite that, Lawler was said to still be in great spirits at the time.
Six months after his initial hospitalization, Lawler returned to WWE for a surprise appearance in front of his hometown crowd in Memphis, Tennessee. This outing came in the midst of a commercial break segment during “WWE Raw,” in which Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn brought Lawler out onto the entrance stage to wave “hello” to the fans in attendance. Lawler later appeared on the November 28 episode of “WWE NXT” by announcing two of the qualifying matches for the 2023 “NXT” Iron Survivor Challenge.
Lawler’s WWE broadcast contract has expired.
PWInsider reports that WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler is no longer with the WWE after his broadcast contract expired with the promotion “at the onset” of the year, with WWE choosing not to offer “The King” a new deal. WWE and Lawler’s association isn’t fully at an end, however, as Lawler is said to remain under a WWE Legend’s deal.
Lawler’s departure from WWE ends a 31-year relationship between him and the promotion, which began in December 1992. While he continued to wrestle sporadically for WWE over the years, “The King” became best known to WWE fans for his role as color commentator, most notably during the Attitude Era, where he called matches with fellow WWE Hall of Famer and long-time friend Jim Ross.
News of WWE declining to re-sign Lawler was slow to get out, largely due to Lawler’s retreat from the public eye following a stroke in February 2023. Due to his health issues, including a 2012 heart attack on “Raw” that nearly cost Lawler his life, some in WWE were surprised by his departure, with onne person going as far as to say that Lawler would’ve been kept around under the old regime of McMahon’s and that Lawler’s departure was a true sign that “the old company is dead.”
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Wrestling News Blog 