This sounds exactly like what happened to Bill Eadie/Ax back in the day. Word got back to Vince that he'd had a minor heart attack and his spot was gone... Eadie himself said it was a shellfish allergy that he'd never had before.
In Jerry's case this is definitely his last "warning", Vince will start to wind down his appearances as the idea of him dying on live TV will not appeal to Vince.
Ironically for Jerry, the solution may have just presented itself last night... Jake Roberts was super over with the crowd but the "what to do with him?" threads have been going crazy... Why not start preparing Jake for colour commentary and perhaps have him travel with the teetotal Jerry?
It'd be an interesting situation and could even make a reality show for the network based on it. We all know Jake can talk, and I think as a potential replacement for Jerry he might have it... if he can stay clean and learn the ropes... It'd be very interesting to have both Jake and JBL on commentary riffing off each other, perhaps leading into angles.
In Jerry's case - you have to know when the cane is coming to hook you off the stage, he's ducked it once, had a near miss this time... It's probably time to walk off before it grabs you...
