All language subtitles for 05 Biography WWE Legends (2021) TV series M4uHD

♪

- What a great crowd today, huh?

50th anniversary of
Jerry "The King" Lawler.

We've got all kind of superstars
and legends here.

A lot of WWE Hall of Famers,
so it's a wonderful day.

- Man, I'm just so excited
to be here

for the 50th anniversary
of Jerry Lawler.

It blows my mind.

- Thank you for coming.

- I thought you were
older than 50.

- I am a little older than 50,

but I've been
wrestling for 50 years.

- It's a great honor for me
just to have known Jerry.

Never got a chance
to wrestle Jerry.

- Thank you.
Thank you for coming.

- Yes, sir.

- It's awesome.

- Thank you for allowing
me to be here.

- Oh, are you kidding?

- 50 damn years.

- Understand that he's
in the top three

in the whole time of wrestling.

- When I hear somebody say,
"Congratulations on being

in the ring for 50
straight years,"

I can't believe it myself.

I still enjoy going
into the ring,

I still enjoy competing,
I still enjoy being in front

of the fans as much today as
I did 50 years ago.

- Jerry "The King" Lawler.

- He was a big deal
and still is.

- I could just see myself
standing up there and all those

people saying,
"Look at that Lawler.

He's great isn't he?"

- Jerry Lawler was
a cornerstone of wrestling.

He was one of the foundations
that led us to where

we're going now.

- He beat everybody from
Andre the Giant to Ric Flair

to Hulk Hogan.

He beat everybody.

- Lawler, you don't touch me.

I am from Hollywood.

- The King of Memphis
who became

King of a lot more than that.

- The King himself.

- Get down on your hands
and knees and kiss my feet.

- Jerry was one of the greatest
villains in wrestling history.

- He was the voice
of the attitude era.

- Oh, baby, we are live
tonight on Raw.

I look back on all the things
that happened here and there.

All the coincidences,
all the things that shouldn't

have happened that did happen
to get me where I am today.

I've never thought
about quitting,

it's just a way of life to me.

[crowd chants "Jerry"]

[engine running]

♪

- Without a doubt,
my favorite piece of memorabilia

is my Batmobile.

I mean, that's my coolest piece
that I own anywhere.

I realized that I have
the Peter Pan syndrome.

I've never grown up,
and I really don't want to.

I was born in Memphis,
Tennessee, November 29th, 1949.

My childhood was like watching
Leave it to Beaver.

Had an older brother,
my dad went to work every day,

a stay-at-home mom.

It was just a great time.

We are in what I refer to
sometimes as my bat cave.

Most people call it a man cave.

- This is all stuff that
really meant something

to me from my childhood.

As a kid growing up,
moved to a little town right

outside of Cleveland with my
parents and became

a huge Cleveland sports fan.

I was right at the age,
I was in my teen years

when Beatlemania hit.

Still I wear a Superman ring
instead of my WWE Hall of Fame

ring because at five years old,
I became a unbelievable

superhero fan and that's when
I first realized I could draw.

When it comes to art,
I realized that it's a God-given

talent that in all my life have
really taken for granted.

I think in my first grade and
the teacher wrote to my parents

and talked about what great
artistic ability I had.

It was just something like I
said, that just always came

natural and I was
always just shocked

that everybody couldn't draw.

I think the first time that my
artwork got any real attention

was when my dad and I were going
to the live wrestling shows.

- This is Lance Russell from the
Memphis Mid-South Coliseum.

- Memphis Wrestling,
it was the biggest thing

that happened in the city.

- What a match this
has been so far.

- The first time I watched
wrestling was with my dad.

My dad actually worked as
an usher and

that way we got free tickets.

When I was
watching the wrestling,

I watched it really,
really closely.

I watched the moves that the
guys were doing and I would try

to think in my mind how you
would emulate those things.

I remember I started to draw
some pictures of the wrestlers.

Somebody said,
"Man, you ought to take some

of those pictures and send them
into the TV station

that airs wrestling every week."

- Jerry was 14 or 15
and he came to me by the mail.

He sent in some
drawings on wrestling.

- Sure enough, about halfway
through the show, he says

"Dave, well, we have a young
fan that sent in some pictures

to illustrate what took place."

- I would use it at tell people
about what happened last week

down at the auditorium.

- I thought, "Man, it couldn't
get any better than that,"

but it did, because a week
later, I got a call

from Lance Russell himself.

And he said, "Listen, everybody
loved your artwork,

maybe you could come over
to the studio next week.

Show your artwork and everybody
wants to see what you look like.

Plus, Jackie Fargo wants to
check with you about having you

do some artwork for his
nightclub in Memphis."

- Fabulous Jackie Fargo.

He was like The Rock
or John Cena.

He was the top guy
in the Memphis

territory at that time.

He and a guy named Eddie Bond
owned a nightclub in Memphis and

he wanted me to come to that
nightclub and literally paint

caricatures of he and Eddie Bond
all over the inside of his club.

For the next few years, he would
send me on errands and all of

this different kind of stuff,
but I didn't mind.

I guess I still got to be around
him, you know?

Being around Jackie Fargo,
the huge celebrity that he was,

it just really turned my head.

Girls were going crazy and I'm
looking around and look up

at him and I said, "Now that is
what I want to be.

Forget about being an artist."

- Oh.

- I'm thinking, "Oh my gosh,
I would love to get into this

business as a wrestler."

But, I was just too embarrassed
to say anything to Jackie.

I mean, I would just think he
was just looking at me

as just a punk kid that had
some artistic ability.

At that time, I had heard that
every Saturday night in

West Memphis, Arkansas,
right across the bridge,

they have live
wrestling matches.

Then I talked to the promoter
and next thing you know,

I'm in the wrestling business.

Now, I'd never even been
in a ring before,

I'm fixing to step into a ring,
an actual wrestling ring

without
having any training.

I get tagged in,
first time I'm in the ring now,

man, he grabs me,
runs across the ring

and he throws me out of
the ring.

The next thing I know,
I'm waking up.

I was like this,
I'm waking up,

we're already
back in the locker

room and I said,
"What happened?"

All I remember was hearing a
a loud pop when

I got thrown out of the ring.

"Yes, that was your head
hitting the concrete floor.

You've been knocked out
for about 5 minutes."

Stepping into that ring for the
first time with people,

they're cheering for you,
they're clapping their hands.

It was just something I had
never experienced before

and I knew I wanted
to do it again.

Jackie Fargo hears
about this and he gets upset.

He said,
"Kid, you don't want to

do this, you're too
good an artist.

Stick with art,
don't mess with the wrestling."

I said, "Jackie, please.

I just want to do
it in Memphis."

He said, "All right, kid.

If I stick my neck out to the
promoters and tell them to book

you on TV, will you do the one
match and then forget about it?

Go back to being an artist?"

I said, "I promise you,
Jackie, I will."

Of course, near 52 years later,
I'm still doing it.

- Lawler from very,
very early on was a star.

- All I cared about was being
on TV and I just I loved it

if somebody would ever ask
me for an autograph.

Even though I was only getting
to wrestle once a week,

it was a great learning process.

- He was terrific at bumps,
his basic wrestling knowledge

was advanced for the
experience that he had,

but what he did that really
set him apart was that he

connected with the fans.

- People related to him.

He was one of them.

Jerry Lawler was different
in the fact that he was real.

- It just came natural to me,
and Jerry Jarrett started

putting me higher up
on the card until I reached

main event status.

- Jackie Fargo was getting
older, and I was in need

as a booker, a promoter of a
single wrestling star.

- I'm suddenly pushed into the
limelight in a feud with

Jackie Fargo, my mentor.

- He's a very tough opponent,
and he's always competition

when you get in the ring.

- It was the program that passed
the torch from Fargo to Lawler.

- And Fargo taunting Lawler.

- I said, "Jackie Fargo,
you're a legend.

You're the best.

You've been the King of Memphis
wrestling for years,

but you're looking at the kid
that's going to knock

you off your throne."

And somehow I won the match.

As I was going back
to the dressing room,

there was a lot of young people.

They were patting me on the back
and some were saying,

"Hey, you're the king now.

You beat Jackie Fargo,
you're the king."

The next morning, Memphis TV,
I come walking out with

the crown on, the robe on,
and I was from that moment on,

the King of Memphis.

- Little surprise that
you didn't elaborate

on all of your talents.

I was positive that he would
tell you in addition to being

the greatest athlete and
wrestler in the world today.

In addition to that,
he is a brilliant artist.

He is an outstanding
businessman,

a connoisseur of all fine foods
and wine, and in addition

to that, just a general
all-around fellow.

- Did I do it like you wrote it?

- Well, I don't think I'm a
general all-around fellow,

but what's my opinion against
millions of others, you know?

- Man, Jerry came up
the ranks really quick.

It didn't take him that long.

Maybe a year or so and all of a
sudden, he was known

in all the different
territories.

- Lawler, a man with
enormous confidence.

- I was different from what they
had had in the Memphis

territory in the past.

I was a different
type of bad guy.

I was young, brash, outspoken.

He knows they want
to see the King.

Do you think anybody would pay
to come down and see a

sawed off runt?

A bug-eyed Bill Dundee?

No, they come to see me, baby.

- He had this phenomenal
ability to entertain.

Verbally, he could have you
laughing one minute

and ready to kill him the next.

- Bill Dundee was just like
a big steak dinner, baby.

It's good when you eat it,
but there comes a time to go to

the bathroom, and I just had to
get rid of you, Dundee, baby.

You're low down.

You're a back fighter.

You're a coward.

You're low, man.

That's all you are.

You're just lowbred.

- He was a natural.

He had one of the greatest
mouths that I'd ever run into.

- Merry Christmas, you rednecks.

He tried everything he could--

What are you looking
at your watch for?

Don't be looking at your watch
when I'm out here, you goof.

These people tune in to see me.

These people tune in to hear me
tell what I'm going to be doing

to people like Bockwinkel.

- Lawler comes back at it.
Look out.

- When I first started in
Memphis, I was a heel and then

I became so popular as being a
heel, I became a babyface.

- The screams of the many people
who have come out to support

the King of wrestling.

- Jerry Lawler was definitely
the King of Memphis.

He owned that town.

It was the same way.

Tupelo, Louisville,
Fayetteville,

he was over everywhere.

- As my career was really,
really just getting off

the ground, I had a girlfriend
at the time, Kay Williams.

Went to the same high school and
that sort of thing.

Before we knew it,
she became pregnant.

So we immediately went down to
Florence, Alabama, in front of

a justice of the peace,
and she and I got married.

Nine months later, my first son
is born, and then ten months

later had another son.

During that time, I'm having to
travel more, I'm away from home.

And it was just tough.

- He'd be gone, on the road
and doing everything.

When it happens at such an early
age, that's all you know.

- I justified it by saying,

"Hey, I'm going to
provide for them."

In a way by being
successful as a wrestler,

but it took a full-time
devotion to my career.

It cost me my marriage.

- They got divorced
when I was about four years old.

You know, just the schedule,
the lifestyle, it probably just

didn't work out as far as on
your time off wanting to have

the kids around and
be the family-type guy you know?

- I sometimes look back and
think, would it have been

a wise decision maybe at
that time to maybe

look for another career?

But I felt in my heart and in my
mind that something was there,

that something was going
to come out of this.

And just a couple of years
later, I'm red hot, I'm on fire.

I didn't think I could get any
higher in the wrestling

business, but my next rivalry,
my next feud took me

to the next level.

- Hello, Mr. Lawler.

Jerry Lawler,
Do you remember me?

I'm Andy Kaufman from Hollywood.

- Andy Kaufman was this
legendary absurdist comedian.

He was somebody that became
very famous for starring

on the sitcom Taxi, which was
huge, but also very famous

for getting just as much of a
buzz out of getting somebody

to laugh as he did getting
somebody to hate him.

[laughter]

- No, seriously,
why everyone is going "boo"

when I tell some of the jokes.

Then when I don't want you
to laugh, you're laughing.

Just trying to do my best
to have some fun.

And if you don't like it,
that's it, okay?

Thank you very much,
and goodnight.

- He loved to never let the
audience in on what was

a performance and
what was real life.

And there is no art form on
earth that does all of that

better than
professional wrestling.

- As we said, one of the
rising superstars

in the world of comedy.

Welcome to
Madison Square Garden, Andy.

- Hi, how are you?

Thank you.

- Wrestling here tonight and
especially most exciting,

you do wrestling on your own,
as matter of fact,

but generally, with the ladies.

- Andy, had been wrestling women
on TV and in different nightclub

performances,
but it wasn't really being

accepted the way
he wanted it to.

He wanted to wrestle in front
of wrestling fans,

in front of people that would
actually come to see wrestling.

- That's right.
That's right.

I just don't think that it's
possible for a woman

to beat a man in wrestling.

- He was backstage at
Madison Square Garden a lot.

He said,
"I'd love to wrestle here in

Madison Square Garden,"
and all that.

Later on in the evening,
I saw Vince McMahon

and I mentioned this,
Vince Senior, and he said,

"Nice boy and all this,
but we don't do comedy here."

- Andy, the best of luck to you
against Diana Nyad

or whomever it may be.

- I said,
"You know what?

I have a friend
in Memphis, Tennessee."

I said, "Do you know
who Jerry Lawler is?"

- The next day I get a call
from Andy Kaufman.

He introduces himself,
and he tells me that

whole story, that he wanted to
live out his fantasy of being

a bad guy wrestler.

So, I said, "Andy, come on down.

- Okay, now just be quiet.
We'd love to have
you in Memphis."

♪

- I will pay $1000 to any woman
that will beat me in this ring.

- Now, Andy Kaufman came down
to Memphis just to live out his

fantasy of being
a bad guy wrestler.

- Two, three, he got her.

- I'm going to send you back in
the kitchen where you belong

and have you scrubbing the
potatoes and washing the carrots

[whining noises]

because that's
where you belong, ladies.

- Had legit wrestling matches.

He had never seen them before.

We had never seen
these women before.

- And Kaufman on top going
for a pin.

One, two, three and that's it.

[bell rings]

- The people hated it.

They wanted to see Andy
get his comeuppance.

I mean, we sold out 11,500
people that night.

We talked Andy into coming back
to Memphis and

that's how it all got started.

He said, "I didn't like being
called a comedian.

I've never told
a joke in my life."

He said, "I was a performance
artist and in my performances,

I would rather make people not
like me or be uncomfortable

than for them to like me."

That was the wrestling
influence on him.

- I just thought he was
misguided, terribly.

- He's a real nerd, a real jerk.

- I said,
"Andy, you've gone just about as

far as you can go
wrestling women."

I said, "It's time for you to
have a match against a man."

- I will sue, Lawler,
I will sue you.

You don't touch me.
I am from Hollywood.

I'll get Hollywood
against you, baby.

I'll sue you, baby.

Lawler.

- The match was set
Mid-South Coliseum.

Once again, turnaway crowd,

couldn't get him
in the building.

- Opposite the ring,
but not for long.

Look at him.

He's outside, running away.

Andy, he doesn't
want any part of it.

- We really had I felt
short-changed the people

in so much as a match.

There was really
no match to speak of.

The only involvement was
he finally grabbed a headlock.

I immediately picked him up,
dropped him with a back suplex.

- And he slammed Kaufman.

- And then the piledriver.

- Bang, goes Kaufman.

[bell rings]

- It's going to be
a disqualification.

- People were going crazy.

They loved what they saw.

[ambulance siren]

- The amazing thing was,
I'm thinking in my mind,

"I don't think I hurt
Andy Kaufman."

I know he certainly
didn't need an ambulance.

He was staying in character.

He stayed in the hospital
in traction for three days.

- I've just been out under
this macho delusion

for the last few years.

It was building up to the point
where I could actually seriously

think that I could beat Jerry
Lawler in a wrestling match.

- It made headlines
all over the world.

So, the fallout was it became

bigger than just
professional wrestling.

- Then one week out of the blue,
Andy calls me up and he says,

"Hey, you want to be on the
David Letterman Show?"

- There are a lot of people
watching who probably view

wrestling as being a show,
a display, a demonstration,

and this maybe as the pinnacle
representation of that.

Was this thing fixed or rigged?

Are you guys really friends?

Was it a scam?

- No, not at all.

I couldn't warm up to this guy
if we were cremated together.

[laughter]

- He is a wimp.

That's exactly what he thought.

That's what he
thought about wrestling.

He thinks it's all a big joke,
a big fix or whatever.

And you're right.

There are a lot of people
that think that.

- And you're a redneck.

You're just trying to prove a
point because I was a Yankee.

I heard this from so
many people in Memphis.

I was going down there because
you believed all that stuff

that I was saying.

- There are a lot of people
that think that, David.

He was one of them.

On the morning of the taping of
the show, they said,

"They would like for you guys
to be a little bit antagonistic.

Not too much, just a little bit.

Then Andy will apologize to you
for making fun of wrestling, and

then you apologize to Andy for
hurting his neck, and then Andy

is going to get up and sing

What the World Needs Now
is Love, Sweet Love.

And I said, "Okay."

We get back to the hotel
and my hotel phone rings.

I pick it up.

It's Andy Kaufman.

He said, "Did they tell you what
they want us to do tonight?"

I said, "Yes, they did.

What do you think?"

I will never forget how he said
this, "Wonder what would happen

if you just hauled off and
slugged me?"

- My father said,
my manager said,

they all said
that I had a right.

I could have gotten a lawyer and
I could have sued you

for what you did.

I didn't.

All I want is an apology.

Even you asked me last time
I was on your show

if I was going to have
a lawsuit.

- That's right, yes.

- I could have sued you.

I could have sued you for
everything you're worth.

I didn't because I'm not
that kind of a guy.

- What kind of a guy are you?

[laughter]

- I'll just be over here.

We're going to pause here for
station identification, get the

hoses out here.

[crowd applauds]

- This was the most famous guys
in the world.

in the world, and Jerry Lawler
just bitch slaps him right

in the middle of the show.

- As soon as that aired,
my phone started ringing.

It was the New York Post.

It was The New York Times.

It was just like went all over
the world immediately.

- Everybody was
talking about it.

The whole nation
was talking about it.

It made Lawler a household name.

- This put me on
a worldwide stage.

- From Memphis, Tennessee.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Jerry "The King" Lawler.

- After the
David Letterman Show aired,

it was a bombardment
of attention.

Now it's the mid-'80s and along
came cable television.

This was the evolution
of the wrestling industry.

Most of the territories,
their top wrestlers

went to either work for

Vince McMahon in WWE
or they went to Atlanta

and they worked for
Ted Turner in WCW.

I didn't want to go to the
WWE because then I knew

our territory would fall by the
wayside because

I was the biggest star
at the time.

And the reason I didn't want to
go is because I was part owner.

I didn't want to lose my part
of the business that

I was a partner in, so I stayed.

- And if you think it's not
going to be a struggle to take

it away from me,
you got another thing coming.

We were able to last longer
than almost any other promotion.

Almost everybody had fallen by
the wayside except

our Memphis territory.

and Vince and WWE
kept contacting us.

I think they saw,
"Well, you know what?

We need a territory
like this that we can bring

in young guys and train them.

This could be a
developmental territory."

We were the very first
developmental territory

for the WWE.

They would send guys down
to us that turned

out to be huge superstars.

Guys like Kurt Angle
came down to Memphis.

The Rock.

Oh my gosh, The Rock came to
Memphis, had his first matches

right here in
Memphis, Tennessee.

Then later on,
WWE and Vince McMahon

said, "Look, King,
we want you to come

and work for us.

We'll help keep your territory
going down there in Memphis."

And so, that's where
the relationship

started with the
WWE.

- At this time, it is my
pleasure to introduce

The King himself,
Jerry "The King" Lawler.

- Well, well, well, my goodness.

Mr. Lawler, what brings
you to the WWE?

- First of all, let me thank my
good friend, Bobby Heenan,

for that introduction.

He's been a loyal subject
of mine for years.

Let me tell you, you don't have
to refer to me as Mr. Lawler.

King will suffice nicely.

- When I made my debut in WWE,
it was the same character that

I had the crown, I had the robe,
I went in as a heel.

That's always been my forte.

- You are, without a doubt, the
most repulsive bunch of peons.

- Jerry really fit in because
Jerry was quick on the

one-liners that made people
want to just kill him.

You people are so ugly.

I bet when you
look in the mirror,

your reflections throw up.

- Jerry Lawler's as corny as it
gets from that era, but he was

so funny that it made him cool
at the same time

in a way you know?

- Bret "The Hitman" Hart.

- There he is.

- Hi, boy.

How are you?

- Hey, look.

- Look, I'm up here
with your parents.

- It's Jerry Lawler.

- Oh, no.

- Why don't you put your false
teeth in back

or eat yourself to death?

[laughs]

- As a credit to Jerry,
Jerry was one of the greatest

villains in wrestling history.

He had a real genius for being
against the good guy.

- Oh my gosh, what a cheap shot.

Oh, God.

- Oh.

- When Jerry Lawler went out,
they were going to cheer for me.

For sure, they hated
Jerry Lawler.

- He's going to make
Jerry Lawler kiss

his own stinking foot.

Look, look, look, look, look.

Unbelievable.

- Whether it was with Bret Hart,
whether it was with "Rowdy"

Roddy Piper, no matter who he
had a match with, everything

that they did with him up there
was bigger than life.

- All right, we're back,
ladies and gentlemen.

We have more action for you
momentarily at this time.

Obviously, conspicuous
by his absence,

is the "Macho Man" Randy Savage.

- At this time, Randy "Macho
Man" Savage was doing the color

commentary with Vince on Monday
nights, but then he had jumped

ship without telling anybody.

He was on WCW.

- Randy Savage
is here tonight, live.

- and Vince, he just looked
around the room, looked at me,

and said,
"King, would you do

color commentary
with me tonight?"

- We're back,
ladies and gentlemen,

for more Monday Night Raw.

Are you really missing
a jewel there?

- Yes, I am.

I want to know who's going
to pay for it or

who's going to replace it.

- There's a green hair there.

- Give me that Burger King--
Take that Burger King crown off.

- I think he realized that
Jerry had a gift for gab.

He fit in that role so well
because he knew so much

about the wrestling business.

But then when you least
expected,

he was able to
hit you with a one-liner.

- You're a coward, aren't you?

- What?

You have the audacity to say
something like that to my face,

McMahon?

- Wait, I just made--

- You want
me to slap your toupee off?

I will you know.

- Then went from Vince
McMahon being my broadcast

partner, then good old JR.

- I got to tell you, fans,
it is great to be back

in the saddle.

- Well, Jim Ross, I must say,
it's good to see you back,

especially after
seeing you're front.

[laughs]

- Now we're at a point in time
when wrestling is on fire.

Well, we're about to see the
most electrifying move in

Sports Entertainment.

I'm the voice of
Monday night wrestling,

and it's the most-watched
thing on television.

- We are live tonight here on
pay-per-view here

at Madison Square Garden.

- The end of the road is
in sight, and there's

going to be a collision.

It's fixing to happen in
just a few short minutes.

So now, I'm at the commentary
desk like almost full-time.

I was there for, gosh, the
dawning of the Attitude Era.

I remember when, of course,
doing the commentary for

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin
showing up and

becoming the biggest star
in the company.

- It's a damn good thing
he ain't here tonight,

because I damn sure would
dump him flat on his head.

- Then The Rock coming in.

- Do you know what The Rock did?

The Rock kicked him between
his legs and it felt like

The Rock was kicking
a damn pillow.

- Well, I've said this before,
and I'll say it again.

I never really
liked the commentary.

I never really liked
it as much as I liked wrestling.

A lot of people
just don't realize

that the commentary is tough.

The commentators,
they got to sit up there

and try to be entertaining
for the entire 3 hours.

I would much rather go out there
and do a wrestling match for ten

minutes rather than being there
under that scrutiny, under that

pressure of trying to entertain
people for three straight hours.

One of the questions I get asked
a lot about my commentary is

like people will remember the
jokes or the insults and that

sort of stuff, and they'll ask
me,

"Is that just off the top
of your head?"

And that's when I tell them,
"Of course, it was, you know?"

but in reality, I did a lot
of preparation for that.

I have reference books,
joke books, insult books,

but this is actually "Stone
Cold" Steve Austin's blood.

If I'm not mistaken, I think it
was Triple H that came over and

slammed Stone Cold's head, it
was covered with blood into my

notes and I'd be going over my
jokes and see who's coming up

next and getting ready
to insult the next person.

This is just things that I would
say to JR.

JR, I read so much

about sex being bad for you,
so I finally gave up reading.

You heard of an idiot savant?

He's that without the savant.

You knwo,that was just like I
said, I didn't take it serious.

I was just having
a good time out there.

- The Attitude Era was a really
unique time for WWE because

of the sheer amount of eyeballs
that were on the product

every single week.

Every single week,
it would be Jerry Lawler's voice

that was painting the picture of
everything that you were seeing.

It really made him
the voice of the Attitude Era.

- I'd suggest we get out
of the way JR. Triple H.

Look out.

Good God, almighty.

I told you.

For gosh sakes, they're
70-something years old.

I saw them getting checked
by the doctors in the back

and Moolah's birth certificate
was in hieroglyphics.

Up in the air.

She got her.

- Lawler as a commentator,
was the perfect guy.

He was so entertaining.

Plus it was the Attitude Era.

There weren't restrictions on
language, there weren't

restrictions on what
he could say.

- It's very edgy,
it's very adult-oriented now,

and it's become very sexy.

And every time a beautiful diva
would come up walking down,

I'd say, "Hey, JR.
Look, puppies."

- He was the epitome
of not having a filter.

If he saw it and thought it,
he said it.

- Oh, look at Lita.

She's got the
puppies in the net.

Woohoo.

- If you want to try to put a
positive spin on it, at least

Jerry was always excited
when we came to the ring.

- One of the women heavily
involved in the Attitude Era and

all the sexy scenes was Stacy
Carter, better known as The Kat.

She and I had actually been
together in a relationship

for almost 10 years.

I could go a little bit further
because at that time,

now I was married to her.

Yeah.

Merry Christmas.

Woohoo.

- Oh my God.

- Actually, for the women's
segments, especially the ones

that I was obviously a part of,
him being involved in it made

it easier for me.

- There you go, King.

Thank you, Kat.

- He made it seem
so easy to be on camera,

so you'd have to relax about it.

- Then one day, out of the blue,
they called me in and said,

Vince wants to give
Stacy her release.

Well, if they're going
to release Stacy,

I'm going to have to go with
her.

I'll never forget, Vince stuck
his hand out and said,

"Well, King, nice
working with you.

Thank you for everything
you've done for us."

I was there for 10 years.

And so just like that, me and
Stacy were gone from the WWE.

- I'm joined by Paul Heyman.

- You're joined by Paul
Heyman because last Tuesday

night, The Kat was released by
the WWE and her husband

Jerry "The King" Lawler,
to his credit,

walked down right
alongside with her.

- It was really difficult.

Then it just ended up
being about him quitting

and not about me being fired.

It was just really hard for me.

- That lasted for-- it was about
a year that went by.

In the meantime,
Stacy and I got a divorce.

Then I got a call
from the WWE saying,

"Hey, we'd like
you to come back."

The next few years of my life,
my career, I'm still wrestling.

- Jerry "The King" Lawler
has won this matchup.

- I'm doing the commentary
every single week.

I'm in my 60s and
still going strong.

2010, I get my first ever WWE
title match and almost

became the WWE Champion.

- Going to head to the top.

No, Miz through the table.

- In 2011, I'm wrestling at
WrestleMania in front of

like 100,000 people.

It's crazy.

- Oh.

The first WrestleMania
for The King.

His first WrestleMania dropkick.

- Jerry always will be that kid
that's living his dream.

I don't think Jerry wants to
grow up, and why should he?

- I'm thinking, what could
possibly go wrong?

Then along comes 2012.

- Jerry, Jerry.

Talk to me, Jerry.

Jerry, talk to us.
Jerry, talk to us.

- Oh yes.

Welcome to Monday Night Raw
live tonight in Montreal.

- So, now it's
September 10th, 2012.

Big night.

It was one of those nights where
I'm going to have to come up out

of my commentary spot to
actually wrestle in a match.

- Lawler, going to Orton's aid

and King with a dropkick.

- We won the match.

So, I go right from the ring
down to the commentary desk,

put my jacket back on,
and Michael Cole and I

start doing commentary again.

- Hello, back at ringside,
I'm once again joined by

Jerry "The King" Lawler.

Congratulations are in order
after your victory moments ago.

- Well, thank you.

Let's hand it to Randy Orton.

He was the victor in that match.

- It's a two-man booth, and I
was watching my monitor to my

right and Jerry was on my left,
and there was

a match in the ring.

And all of a sudden
I heard snoring--

[snoring]

and I thought Jerry, being
Jerry,

was making fun
of the match.

I thought it was Jerry saying,
"This match is boring.

I'm falling asleep on the air."

I looked over at Jerry and
he faceplanted right on the

announce table,

[snoring]

and his mouth is
quivering and he turned blue

I hit my mute switch
and I screamed,

"Doc, get over here.
Something's wrong with Jerry."

- Jerry.

Jerry, talk to me buddy, Jerry.

Jerry, talk to me.

Jerry.

Jerry, at this point, I realized
he's having a heart attack.

They give him CPR.

They're dragging EMTs in there.

They drag him out
on the stretcher.

[crowd chants "Jerry"]

- I was in the arena, for
all this, I saw it happen.

It was really scary because I
think everybody knew,

"Oh, he's probably
having a heart attack."

And you just kind
of assume the worst

when stuff like that
happens you know?

- I don't think I was aware of
what was happening because

all of a sudden my phone is
blowing up you know?

and I'm looking at all
these messages of

these people asking,
"Hey, what happened?

What's going on?

Is this part of the show?"

I didn't know what people
were talking about.

- Apparently,
I had a cardiac arrest,

which means your
heart just stops.

When they put me in the
ambulance and taken me

to the hospital, everybody
thought I was dead.

- My broadcast colleague,
Jerry "The King" Lawler,

passed out while working
here at ringside.

He has been taken
to a local hospital.

Jerry, my friend, my prayers
are with you.

Beat this thing.

Get them, King.

Good night, everybody.

- It's a crazy situation.

Probably the scariest thing
I ever had to experience.

- I didn't have a long stay
in the hospital.

When I got back to Memphis,
there was this huge poster that

a radio station had put up a
huge sign, like a welcome home

sign that had been signed
by thousands of people.

And it was humbling to realize
that there are that

many people out
there that care for you.

- Only The King would
make a comeback like that.

That's a freaking egotistical
babyface, isn't it?

To die on air and make
a comeback?

[laughs]

- Ladies and gentlemen,
many of us thought

this night might never come.

But without any further ado,
please join me and the

WWE Universe in welcoming back
WWE Hall of Famer and my friend,

Jerry "The King"Lawler.

[crowd cheers]

♪

- From the bottom of my heart,
I appreciate it.

I love each and every
one of you.

Thank you all so much.

And it's great to be back.

I tried to, in my mind,
play it down.

I've tried to say, "Hey, there's
nothing wrong with me."

It was just that blunt trauma
that happens once in a lifetime

that stopped my heart.

It wasn't because
I'm out of shape or shouldn't be

doing this anymore.

So, I just looked at it from
that standpoint and

I just kept going.

- He was my last match on the
indies before I came to the WWE.

and it's funny because
it was after his heart attack.

and I don't remember in the
match, even thinking about it

to see how good he's doing and
that he kept wrestling after.

It's pretty incredible when you
think back in that moment

and how that felt.

- Belive it or not, when you do
something for so long,

it's really hard to put it
behind you.

It's all you know.

- Wrestling has been my life.

From the time I became an adult,
you know,

I've had several marriages,

several relationships that all
meant a lot to me

but they sort of came and went.

But the wrestling
was the constant.

When I asked myself,
"Why do you continue on?"

And I just think,
"What else would I do

if I'm not a wrestler?"

[crowd applauds]

The legend,
"The King" Jerry Lawler.

[crowd cheers]

- Wow.

How many people could
say they've had

a 50-year anniversary?

You know, not a lot.

Like I said, he's one of a kind.

- A 50-year career means
you're hooked,

you got it in your blood.

[bell ringing]

There's no way out for you.

This is your destiny.

- I think the secret to Jerry
Lawler's success is that he

loves being
Jerry "The King" Lawler.

He was a big deal and still is.

- I don't think Jerry
wants to grow up.

Why should he?

He's enjoying life.

He's getting through life the
same way he's made

a ton of freaking money.

He's this incredibly
legendary historical figure.

And he doesn't want to grow up.

I hope he doesn't.

- I've never met an individual
who is constantly happy,

who constantly has fun, who
loves this business as a

promoter, as a worker, as a
babyface, as a heel,

as an announcer,
as an entertainer.

He's going to go down as one
of the greatest of all time.

- I mean you know,
it's one of those things

that never gets old.

I still have as much fun
in there tonight as

I did back in 1970.

I think that as long as I still
have that train of thought,

I don't see any reason to stop.