Breaking Jerry Lawler suffers legit heart attack on Raw

[harrythem]

Regarding Lawler being "clinically dead for twenty minutes", as someone in the WrestleZone comments section pointed out - and that's always a wealth of knowledge - footballer Fabrice Muamba recently suffered cardiac arrest and was clinically dead for nearly eighty minutes and has since fully recovered.

This is also an interesting point:



I know I often take the piss out of King for the, uh, "less savoury" rumours surrounding him, but I found this genuinely quite upsetting and I hope he makes a full and swift recovery.

Muamba's made a pretty good recovery but he's retired from football because that's the best thing to do for his health and family. I sincerely hope Lawler follows suit and retires as, at his age, it's far too big a risk to be taking.

Again, second the recovery part, but I hope the King is done in the ring now (even if he can still go).

You had Mark Madden talking about how if a guy wants to still wrestle at any age then he should be able to wrestle. I normally agree with loads of what fatboy says but, this time, I gotta disagree. King should be done now (and so should Flair, surprised the only heart attack he's had was a fake one)

 

[Dilligaf]

Are you kidding me? Ridiculous?? really?? No man in his 60's should be wrestling in the indies or wwe or Tna.

(If the medical staff of the various promotions dont already)

Im sure the older guys & gals go through various medical checks before the bosses of various promotions will approve of them competing.

As Ric Flair & Jerry Lawler say they can still go, with this happening now to Jerry I think this should be re-thought now.

Im praying for Jerry Lawler for a full recovery.

 

[Ellye]

Really hoping for a fast and full recovery.

Cole deserves a lot of praise for yesterday, too - that was an extremely hard situation. The same to all wrestlers perfoming after that, and obviously to the medics and paramedics that saved his life.

And yes, hopefuly this will never be touched in-keyfabe. It would be really untasteful.

 

[Loveless]

This is really odd because I was watching his match last night and thinking "He's doing well but should a guy of his age really be doing this stuff" The guy is 60+ and jumping off turnbuckles. This all takes me back to Steamboat, Misawa etc. This won't be the last time this happens and past a certain age it becomes irresponsible to continue.

 

[D-Man]

This is just surreal... Not since Owen Hart's death has a broadcast had to almost halt in order to deliver this magnitude of bad news to the audience.

The business of pro-wrestling really messes with our minds. We're basically trained to accept 99% of the product to be a "work." Yet every once in a while (especially on live television) things go off-script. I almost feel guilty for the fact that I thought it was a work until they ended commentary for the evening.

Lawler is obviously a beloved legend of the sport. Losing him would be very sad. I'm just happy that it didn't happen during the broadcast. Not to sound callous but if he passed away off-camera then it would be sad but not as much if he passed while the broadcast was still going. Just like when Owen Hart passed away, it's tough to see the roster keep themselves together and put on a live show just after they lose one of their brethren.

Thoughts and prayers are with Lawler and his family.

 

[Honkey_Kong]

Some of you guys on here really make me scratch my head and say in The Miz'es voice "really?"

Sure the King was still wrestling, but he both A) WANTED to wrestle and B) got good exercise from wrestling. For us to cast judgement on these older guys wrestling is wrong. Ask yourself this. Did wrestling cause his heart attack?

Did it? Probably the poor diet from constantly being on the road all those years played a roll. Heart disease is something that take years to build up. Could it be all the Mickey D's he's eaten over the years?

And don't think only older people have heart attacks either. Look at all those wrestlers that have had heart attacks in their 30's and 40's. One of my best friends had a massive heart attack at 29 that required a double bypass. It can happen to anybody on that roster.

As far as it being incorporated in to a storyline, I really don't have a problem with it if Lawler himself says it is ok.

 

[Dagger Dias]

My prayers are with Lawler and his family. I've given the guy a hard time on here about how his announcing has not been great over the past few years, but when it came down to it I still really liked the guy. I wish him the best as he recovers. If they need a replacement they have a few names such as Regal, Striker, or Matthews who they could bring in next week whether that be temporary or long-term. I rewinded my recording back to the tag team contendership match after Cole's first announcement and then re-watched the match Lawler was competing in earlier as well. The first time around I wasn't entirely sure what was going on until Cole's announcement, so I needed to watch it again. I'd be skeptical of ever seeing him compete again, but I wish Lawler a fast recovery. I hope he can return to WWE soon in some way, but it might be better if he does not work another match until they know 100% for sure that he can safely get through it. Sometimes you reach an age when you just cannot safely go in the ring anymore, let alone taking several bumps and jumping off the top rope. Unfortunately, the truth is that Lawler had reached that age.

Also, Michael Cole has earned my respect. He acted extremely professional and provided the updates as needed in between matches despite how you could tell he was holding back his tears out of concern for his close friend. As much as most of us love to hate the guy, that is just a character he plays. The man we saw providing those updates on Lawler's condition was the real Michael Cole, completely breaking kayfabe to let us know what was going on was not part of the show. It's a difficult position to be in and he handled it very well. The decision to honor Lawler by not having any further announcing during the matches was a smart one and I think he would have wanted it that way.

Get well soon, Jerry!

 

[Mustang Sally]

I thought the idea of Michael Cole not providing commentary during the matches after Lawler was stricken was as classy a move as anything he's ever done. It made me think: "If I can't call the action with my buddy, I won't call it at all."

It was completely appropriate and a wonderful way to deliver the message that Jerry Lawler is a vital part of WWE programming. Of course, we don't know whether muting the commentary was Cole's idea....or whether he was instructed to do it, but I thoroughly appreciated the gesture. From my point of view, watching TV without closed-captioned words rolling by on the screen was so unusual that I was continually reminded of why it was happening, which is as it should have been.

Here's hoping the King is back at ringside where he belongs.....and soon.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Bret deserves a great deal of credit too for going through with the segments when his first instinct would likely have been to go and be with his close friend. I am guessing that he maybe felt he owed it to King to be there in the ring for him, the same way King was for Owen.

I can only see them adding an upper age-limit now. 50 is the most likely number. If this can happen to King then it can happen to Taker or Trips.

 

[ProudFlairMark]

It Iiterally took my breathe away when I watched what happened on RAW last night. As Honkey_Kong says, to say this is a result of his wrestling at RAW at his age is beyond ignorance. I just had one of my best friends pass away of a massive heart attack at the age of 30. Jerry Lawler appeared to be in not just good, but remarkable shape for a 62 year old man. Jerry's talent is also undeniable. He's not just a Hall Of Fame in ring performer, but a Hall of Fame announcer. Very few can transition in the way Lawler has and done in anywhere near as well. Only Heenen and Ventura spring to mind. To those immature marks who feel the need to speculate about why this happened, I'd ask you leave it to the medical professionals - i.e. those WITHOUT their heads up their respective asses.

 

[donfryeismyhero]

Get better Kingfish. His Andy Kaufman feud is legendary. His feud with Bret during the New Generation era was one of the few high points during that time. It sickens me to see what some of the morons are saying in the comment section about him but as they say, to troll is to be human Get better King, get better.

 

[AndThat'sTheBottomLine]

how is that trolling? it was in 1993 he got pulled from suvivor series because of it.

girl dropped charges when he paid her off.

The man has a heart attack and all you can say is "Didn't he rape a 15 year old girl?" The man had a heart attack so how about you take your head out of your ass and show some respect. Do you have evidence she was paid off? No? Then shut the hell up.

Anyway, I hope Jerry gets better. I've been hard on him in the past about his commentary but this is truly tragic and I sincerely hope he makes it. Kudos to Cole for being able to carry on and I respect him massively. The commentary silence was a sign of respect to Jerry and was very appropriate. Cole earned a whole lot of respect from me last night. Get well soon King!!!

 

[donfryeismyhero]

The man has a heart attack and all you can say is "Didn't he rape a 15 year old girl?" The man had a heart attack so how about you take your head out of your ass and show some respect. Do you have evidence she was paid off? No? Then shut the hell up.

Anyway, I hope Jerry gets better. I've been hard on him in the past about his commentary but this is truly tragic and I sincerely hope he makes it. Kudos to Cole for being able to carry on and I respect him massively. The commentary silence was a sign of respect to Jerry and was very appropriate. Cole earned a whole lot of respect from me last night. Get well soon King!!!

This is from another website. I remembered the incident but wanted to touble check the facts before I commented on that guys moronic comment.

"In 1993, Jerry Lawler was arrested and indicted on charges that he raped and sodomized a 15-year-old girl.

Fortunately for Jerry, the girl later admitted that she had lied about the encounter and Jerry was declared innocent and released. However, he would receive taunting over the incident for years, regardless. Especially in promotions like ECW, where he was absolutely loathed."

So yeah, no mention of Jerry paying her off. I've said it once & I'll say it again, get better King!!!

 

[Pedigree1]

I say this with respect and concern! Jerry lawler needs to end his in ring career effective immediately and his role as a color commentator effective immediately. God was indeed on his side last night i was expecting the absolute worse last night! Jerry will make a recovery not a full one IMO because of the severity of his heartattack last night.

Again jerry needs to retire from both roles especially his in ring career! When he is well again he deserves a proper send off! PG era be damned he needs to say the word PUPPIES again! Im sorry if im rambling this was disturbing to see i hope and pray at leasat he can make a great recovery

 

[IT Factor]

Despite the fact that Lawler's commentary hasn't been great these last few years, I still felt badly for The King. He's a hall-of-famer who has been with the company a long time and for him to have a heart attack is bad enough. But to have it in the most public of ways on television is a way that no one deserves to check out. The whole time I was watching RAW on DVR earlier this morning I was hoping they weren't going to announce near the end that Lawler had died.

Then, I began to question if this was a work. Remember, CM Punk did briefly look over at Lawler and asked him "How ya feelin' this week, King?". That would've been the most distasteful storyline ever attempted and I'm glad WWE didn't do that. And even though I hate the holy hell outta Michael Cole, it was a classy move to have him not commentate while the Lawler thing went down. He seemed really concerned about The King, which is a nice change from the normal character of Cole on-air. I also noticed that WWE wished King a speedy recovery in hopes that he'll "return soon". I don't agree with the returning soon part. Lawler has been doing the commentary role for quite awhile now and the stress of it along with poor diet obviously has taken its toll on him. He needs to rest a few months and then and only then, should Lawler decide his own future on whether he wants to return at all. It'd be a real shame for Jerry Lawler to return next week only to have the same thing happen again later on and actually die while the broadcast is ongoing. WWE needs to take the high road this time and give Lawler all the time off he needs to get back in good health before even thinking of letting him return to the announce table. I truly wish The King well and hope he'll recover and do the smart thing and look after himself first. His health and well being should come above WWE or anything else.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I was absolutely gutted to hear this news when I woke this morning, and I am very grateful that The King is still with us, the guy is an absolute legend.

I am a Bolton Wanderers fan, and one of our players Fabrice Muamba suffered cardiac arrest during a game last season, was clinically dead for almost an hour but has made a miraculous recovery. However, he has been told by Doctors he will never play again, and he was a very fit man in his 20s. King is 62 years old, and in my opinion we will never see him in the ring again, his career will be over now, and its a very sad way to go but he is incredibly lucky that there were the medics there to keep him alive. If this had happened anywhere else he would have almost certainly died.

Raw won't be the same without King, but as long as he recovers then nothing else matters. Get well soon Jerry, we hope to see you again soon. Legend

 

[Peaky1969]

Just heard on Fox Sports, and also read here, that Jerry has already had heart surgery, so nobody need worry about him returning next week.

Let's hope he returns to his beloved Memphis, takes it easy, recovers, and kicks back and enjoys the fruits of his labor. He truly deserves it. He has entertained some of us for 30 years. Get will soon my friend.

 

[waylonmercy]

I am glad that Michael Cole did not do any further commentary after this all happened. Maybe he refused which would make sense, and I am glad they didn't send out Josh Matthews or anyone else out there to do commentary. You can tell that when Cole first made the announcement he was fighting back tears and wiped his eyes at the beginning. His voice was a little crackly and showed obvious distress.

It's a sad ended to a very upbeat show for Canadians and all the fans at the arena. Seeing Bret Hart in Montreal for the first time since 1997, they crowd there was very ruckus, and the celebration to honor Pat Patterson was all dimmed.

The only good of this happening at the show was that he got immediate attention from elite professionals (I assume WWE doesn't spare any expense for their medical staff) and that he will get the best medical care and got heart surgery which is a major procedure and outlines something previously being wrong.

 

[Marcolino]

I was at the event last night at the Bell Center, and the entire arena fell silent as Lawler fell off his chair and was swarmed by 8 security guards who had carried him outside. My prayers go out to Lawler who is at the Hospital next door to me right now getting his surgery. However the local word going around is this surgery is a preventative surgery and that he is stable and will need some time off , but to his honor Cole didnt do commentary, and the crowd continued to chant for Jerry all through the night

 

[James]

So, I'm not a doctor, but I'm pretty sure "20 minutes" of clinical death with full recovery is impossible. I'm not saying that a person can't live in that scenario, but I feel as though they would be in a coma and severely brain damaged afterwards. I'm going to hope that this is a mistake - this is second hand information from gentlemen who I do not believe have extensive medical experience, and neither of whom are closely connected to the situation. Lawler's girlfriend, meanwhile, has made no mention of this and while she has not specifically discussed brain damage, she made no mention of it and seemed rather optimistic, focusing only on his heart and breathing.

Actually it is possible as many people have been through those situations before. Go look at some youtube videos as their are at least a dozen. I even have a friend who's surgeon and he's witness people lose themselves for 10 minutes, but to come back.

Either way, it is a safe bet to say the King will never been at that table full time again.

I went on youtube and watch the videos of it again, and seeing him fall, with his breathing messed up and basically hearing him make snoring sounds on the air was disturbing. Same as watching a fan video of them taking him out. He was surrounded by about 15 people. The EMT took care of him and SAVED HIS LIFE tonight.

When I heard nothing but silence, I was expecting the worst. It reminded me of Owen Hart. Just waiting for something to be said, and expecting bad news.

When Cole said they were doing CPR in the back, that really reminded me of over the limit. I was thinking in my head " Why would they still be in the arena, they need to get him to the hospital ASAP ". I knew his heart stopped at that moment. Thank God that this happened at Raw and not somewhere else, or he would have died tonight. I hope he is out the woods.

It was the most errie ending of raw I have seen. The silience was crazy.

He was just in a match and that happens. Crazy night for sure.

I also commend Cole so much tonight. I cant imagine how he must of felt or what he was going through. He was completely professional and hats off to that man.

Care to tell us what happened at "Over The Limit"? Because I don't remember anyone needing CPR or needing to be taken to a hospital. You must know something that we don't.

 

[H33LTurn]

People are speculating whether the match had any impact on his heart attack, and being the fact that the incident happened almost 45 minutes after the match I think the match was the final burden his already faulty ticker could take. Wrestlers arent renown for their healthy diets and it looks like all those days on the road finally got to him.

My best wishes to him and his family. Cole deserves a ton of respect for handling the situation in such a professional matter.

 

[MikeyTheAwesome]

I was wondering why it was so awkward during the tag match. I noticed the crowd looking at the same direction and then I was told that Lawler had a heart attack. I was very worried and teary, but when Cole told the news, I completely lost it.

Ive been very critical of Lawler's recent commentary and placement within storylines, but that doesn't mean I dislike him. He's a brave man for even lacing up the boots at this age, but I hope this is a wake-up call to him and WWE.

Also, round of applause to Michael Cole, who was very professional following the accident. Personally, Ive always liked Michael Cole and there are tons of people who love to hate him, but fighting to stay calm was what gave him the respect of people with a sane mind.

#PrayForLawler

 

[Dirk]

If I had to sit next to Cole every week, it would've been suicide, not a heart-attack. Seriously, though, The King is a legend and I'm sure all our hearts go out to him and his family.

 

[Chess]

So, I'm not a doctor, but I'm pretty sure "20 minutes" of clinical death with full recovery is impossible. I'm not saying that a person can't live in that scenario, but I feel as though they would be in a coma and severely brain damaged afterwards.

Last football (Soccer) season in the UK Fabrice Muamba died for 78 minutes. He was only kept alive by receiving muliple cardiac shocks and oxygen. I believe you are considered "Technically dead" if you are unable to breath or keep a heart beat on your own accord. Obviously Jerry was being kept alive by the medical help he received through shocks and oxygen until they got him to hospital where he could be hooked up and recover slowly.

Luckily the WWE medical team new that they needed to get him help ASAP rather than waiting for the stretcher to arive and carried him to the back so he could receive urgent treatment. At least I think that is the case rather than just trying to continue the show with as little distraction as possible.

The great news is Jerry will recover but I hope both WWE and TNA change there policy of using very old talent in wrestling matches. I seriously doubt if Jerry wasn't put in a match earlier he would not have suffered a heart attack. I hope he returns and takes it easier as he does not need to get in the ring anymore.

 

[Dysturbed]

Care to tell us what happened at "Over The Limit"? Because I don't remember anyone needing CPR or needing to be taken to a hospital. You must know something that we don't.

It is probably safe to say that they meant "Over The Edge."

Like everyone else I wish Jerry Lawler well on his road to recovery and am glad that if something had to happen, that is was with medical care readily available.