A View from Ringside - 08/03/00
From world champion to color commentator, Jerry 'The King' Lawler has done it all in the sport of kings. An avid puppy lover, Jerry Lawler can best be remembered by his feud with the likes of Andy Kaufman, Bret Hart, and anyone who dared to step into the Memphis Territory. A months ago, at the First Annual Sgt. Slaughter Celebrity Golf  Tournament at the Doral in Miami, Florida, I had a chance to sit down with the living legend. Here’s what he had to say...

Shannon Rose: Hi, this is Shannon Rose, and I’m joined with Jerry 'The King' Lawler.Let me tell you Jerry I’ve been a big mark for your career. I would say your one of the funniest commentators. Along with Jim Ross, your the best combo on television today. Now what would you say takes to be a great heel commentator, and to be on a television show such as WWF RAW?

Jerry 'The King' Lawler: Well I don’t know if I could exactly describe what it would take for anybody else. I just know what I do. I try to basically have fun with the show. When I watch some of the other shows I see guys sort of tentative. It’s almost like they take it too seriously.It’s almost like they treat it like brain surgery or something like that.I think people are watching to be entertained.I think entertainment means enjoying yourself and having fun.To me that means laughing, having a laugh, and adding humor.If you got two guys out there that are saying the same thing, you don’t need one of them. I let Michael Cole or JR (Jim Ross) do the play-by-play, and handle the serious wrestling stuff, and I try to add a laugh or two here or there. I’ve had tons of people, males especially, tell me, 'You don’t know how much I appreciate your commentary, because my wife use to hate it when I watched wrestling, but now she’ll watch because she
enjoys listening to your jokes and things.' I think it helps bring in people that don’t necessarily want to be that intrigued with wrestling. They just want to be entertained and watch the show that way.

Rose: Now what is the status of Memphis Championship Wrestling (MCW)? It’s one of the farm systems for WWF, along with Jim Cornette’s promotion.A lot of guys are in there, like Reckless Youth, K-Krush, and a lot of other guys that are up and coming.Do you feel that it’s basically the promotion in Memphis? I know you also used to work with Randy Hale’s promotion in that area called Memphis Power Pro.Do you feel that you guys are on top still?

The King: Well the whole thing about these promotions like MCW and Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), it’s almost like your looking at a major league baseball farm system.There are literally hundreds of wrestlers that the WWF has under contract. There’s no way the WWF can have these guys booked to wrestle every single night or each and every week even. So instead of having these guys sit at home, and collect ring rust, we offer a place where these guys can stay in shape and work out, and actually continue to wrestle in front of a crowd.We have young guys that are coming up like K-Krush, Reckless Youth, and Bobcat. They are different individuals that haven’t yet made it to the WWF. We’ve also got some WWF stars that have already had a run, and are just waiting for another shot right now. We have Jim Neidhart (Editor's Note: He was at that time but has now moved back to Calgary) down there, Blue Meanie down there (Editor’s Note: Since this interview was conducted, Blue Meanie has been released from the WWF, and is seen on ECW). The Posse (Mean Street Posse) is with us right now.We have Curtis Hughes (Editor's Note: Also no longer with MCW). One of the guys that is doing really, really great is Steven Regal. These are guys that in a matter of months or weeks maybe will get a call from the WWF and will be pushed right back into the spotlight. It offers an opportunity for the WWF to have guys in reserve, and ready to pull right into the starting ranks if they need to be.

Rose: Now of course you can’t wrestle or be a commentator forever. You have sons in the business also, Kevin (MCW Referee) and Brian (GrandMaster Sexay).Do you feel that they are going to be the next King once you decide to step down?

The King: I don’t even worry about it.It’s one of those things where they basically do their own thing.I didn’t want to influence their decision on being involved in wrestling.I didn’t want them to feel like they had to follow in my footsteps. To some people this may sound funny, but I was divorced from their mother when they were very young, and so they didn’t really live with me growing up. It’s almost where we are like business associates or friends more than a father/son relationship. It’s not one of those things where I even ever give Brian advice or anything like that. He’s another guy out their in the business.

Rose: I’m sure your happy with his success in the WWF.