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Jerry Lawler Says He Hated Going From a Wrestler to Commentator, How Vince McMahon Made Him Accept The Change

February 8, 2020 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas
Jerry Lawler Vince McMahon Jim Ross 1995 Image Credit: WWE

During his appearance on the Steve Austin Show, Jerry Lawler discussed how he hated his being moved from an in-ring talent to a color commentator when he went to WWE. Lawler is of course practically synonymous with the idea of WWE commentary in a modern sense, having served in that capacity for WWE (with a few breaks) since 1993. But before that of course he was the top name in Memphis for years and years and has continued to wrestle even now, albeit outside of WWE who won’t let him do physical work due in large part to the heart attack he suffered on air in 2012.

Lawler discussed how he never saw himself in that role and loved being in the ring, and how Vince McMahon got him to accept his new role at the time. Highlights are below:

On his difficulty transitioning from a in-ring talent to a commentator: “Oh, I hated it … Yeah, that’s why for so many years I would always wear my tights and outfit out to the ring. And people — finally after years of doing that, people said, ‘Why does King wear wrestling tights when he’s an announcer?’ But I just, because I didn’t — even back when, we were talking about like watching Lance [Russell] and Dave [Brown] every week, I knew they were there and I was a fan of them, but I never one time thought about being an announcer. I just thought about being a wrestler.”

On Vince McMahon helping him get comfortable as an announcer: “But Vince helped me out on that, and the fact that he said, ‘We’re still gonna use you.’ And they did, from time to time, use me in a wrestling role but not as full-time. But he convinced me that — I mean, if you remember, the guy’s place that I took was ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage, when he jumped the ship and went over. So he was already using some top guys as color men. And so that’s how he made me accept it a little more. He just said — I felt like, you know, ‘You’re taking the place of Randy Savage here when he jumped ship to WCW.’ So it made it a little more palatable. But everybody asked me, ‘How much do you love it?’ And I said, you know, I never loved it. It was always the wrestling that I loved … even to this day.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit The Steve Austin Show with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.