Jerry Lawler should retire.

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Don't get me wrong, I respect Jerry Lawler and what he has done through (most) of his career. This thread is not about his wrestling accomplishments, it's about his time at the table.

The start of his commentating career had him seated next to Vincent McMahon ( who was playing the straight man, face commentator ). Jerry was a super enthusiastic heel color commentator, his jokes were fresh and he was entertaining on most nights.

Jim Ross came along and Jim and Jerry were the one two punch at commentary for a very long time through the attitude era. Jerry's antics were alot more sexist as he came off as a pervert anytime an attractive woman came to the ring. But even as bad as he acted there, he gelled beautifully with Jim Ross ( greatest of all time ) at the table.

Fast forward to now....

Jerry has become disinterested, at times just plain bored behind the table. He tries to amp it up at PPVs when he's next to Cole and JBL ....but it ends up not well. His jokes have gone beyond dry and they are super forced.

His diminished role to SmackDown has made it worse for him. His jokes are extra, extra lame...his time as color just seems up. Unless he rejuvenates his career with a new , young Jim Ross type commentator...I can't see Jerry lasting more than two more years.

 

[Teddy Irving]

He is trying to play a face colour commentator which just doesn't work all that well, if he went back to heel colour I think you would see an improvement

 

[FromGlasgow]

I agree with previous I would love to see him as a heel again, The commentators seem to have so many constraints now and have to constantly talk about a new WWE mobile ap or the network etc compared to back in the day when they used to mainly talk about the match.

 

[WhiplashUnited]

I agree he needs to be heel. They should have lead announcer / face caller (Cole for Raw /whoever for SD) do the app stuff and only have Lawler put over the heels whenever talking about the app or not have him involved with app stuff at all

 

[World Class Mark]

He's in a precarious position. I don't see WWE investing any time in tweaking his character, since it's looked like they've just wanted to phase him out for years now. Since he's on the #3 show (there is no #2 show, it's just RAW and then nothing), he can slowly fade away on there, with few people watching in relation to Raw and the monthly network specials / PPVs.

He probably feels the same, so he's just collecting a paycheck. And in that regard, I don't blame him. If you felt like your employer didn't care about you and would rather see you gone, you'd collect all the paychecks you could as well. Good for him. Plus, he can wrestle indie shows whenever he likes, so he's got a lot of freedom in his bland role on WWE at the announcing table.








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[kadroan]

He is trying to play a face colour commentator which just doesn't work all that well, if he went back to heel colour I think you would see an improvement

I agree. I just wonder would Vince let him do that. Jerry is so stale.

 

[OYDK]

It's plain as day that Jerry Lawler doesn't have the same fire he used to behind the announcers table. I guess some of that could be attributed to age, but it just seems like once the product started going downhill everybody just stopped caring. Even JR was getting tough to listen to near the end of his career in my opinion because everything he said was so damn monotone. Plus, Lawler used to make his living off of being an Attitude Era character. Once WWE went PG they seriously cut his legs out from underneath him and he was reduced to being a kid friendly version of a gimmick that should never be kid-friendly. It stopped working.

At this point, yeah he's obviously just there for the paycheck. If you go back and watch Lawler from the late 90s-early 00s, you'll see just how good he used to be and it will shock you at how bad he's become. Thank goodness I don't watch Smackdown so I don't have to listen to him, but I can't imagine his commentary being any better than when he was on Raw.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Remember that garbage he pulled years ago with quitting the company because they fired his girlfriend (or wife) Stacy Carter? That was 2001 and I would guess he was allowed to return (after she dumped him) because he was a hot property back then.

If he tried that stuff today, he might find work on the independent scene but I seriously doubt we'd ever hear from him again in the big time.

The man is almost 66. Go already.

 

[Prince Vee]

I should corroborate with the OP halfheartedly. He isn't making any fresh jokes and at PPV he's just a forgettable member at the commentary table. But you see, The Commentary team hasn't grooved someone into his spot yet. Bryan Saxton might've looked good on the backstage interviews but he's pretty new to the Commentary team. So they might need some time. They should focus more on the blokes like Saxton, Renee and so on. If that could happen, then Jerry Lawler should pave way for them to take his seat.

Cheers!!

 

[closet_fan]

I hadn't watched Lawler since they moved him to SmackDown. He was pretty bad at HIAC. He couldn't keep up with this guys and constantly got on my nerves when he and JBL would go at it. He's done everything a wrestler could ever do in one's career. I'm so surprised he didn't call it quits when they moved him off RAW. He either needs the money or thinks he's still as good as he once was. He's not.

90s King was great. I'd rather keep my tv on mute when he's on now.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Yeah, he really needs to call it a day and WWE need to freshen it up behind the announcers desk.

From watching all the RAWs from 1997-99 on the Network, it emphasises just how good Lawler was, and how well he worked with JR and even Michael Cole, who was 10x better then than he is now. The commentating was fresh, funny and added to the storylines/matches on screen- it's the total opposite now.

Lawler and JBL both sound like they can't be bothered, and they don't have the spark with Cole that Lawler used to have back in the day. King is a legend, and will always be loved and respected by the WWE audience, but he needs to be put out to pasture as a commentator.

 

[ShinChan]

Yeah he must retire.... JBL is also not good at it.... They should bring back JR as a commentator or atleast help backstage guys like Byron Saxton; Richard Breenan etc

 

[sMark]

Jerry Lawler, Big Show, Kane, Mark Henry, all should retire, they all way past their good shape and boring to watch/hear, but WWE can't understand it. The moment they do, less pointless storylines will happen and the commentary overall will become better, because, you know, WWE can't put these guys in lowcard, or give them any titles, because they are high on the food chain, but not high enough, and they don't look like a threat any more. So basically any feud they in is a time waste for everyone else involved.

 

[EastCoastFan]

Jerry Lawler himself has said he doesn't love his job in WWE anymore - he only stays because of the money they're paying him.

Personally, I think the biggest reason WWE keeps him around is he's one of the last links to the Attitude Era, their biggest boom period.