Adam West's 1970s Pro Wrestling Cameo (As Batman) Explained
Posted: Jul 20th 2021 By: Michael Kennedy
In one of pro wrestling's strangest cameos ever, Adam West once brought Batman to Memphis, and faced down 1970s Jerry "The King" Lawler. Many men have played Gotham City's resident Caped Crusader over the years, but West was one of the first, and to some is still the best. Some may scoff at the idea of West's Batman being better than Christian Bale's or Michael Keaton's, but there's something to be said for just how iconic a pop culture figure West's Batman became.
West of course starred for three seasons alongside Burt Ward's Robin on the classic 1960s Batman TV show, as well as fronted a movie spinoff of that program, which contains some absolutely hilarious gags. While West's Batman universe was obviously far from serious, his performance fit right in with the campy yet slyly clever world surrounding him, and it says something that the West/Ward Batman show (and movie) is still entertaining when viewed today, many decades later.
While West's last Batman episode aired way back in 1968, his version of the character still continues to be referenced, and he never seemed to stray too far from his signature role for too long. Case in point, Adam West appeared as Batman on a 1976 episode of the Memphis wrestling territory's weekly TV show, back before WWE's Vince McMahon took the business national. As usual, West's Batman was looking to take down bad guys, which naturally put him face to face with legendary wrestling villain Jerry "The King" Lawler.
There are so many strange factors that combine to make Adam West's pro wrestling cameo a very memorable one. The first is that, for reasons unknown, West is wearing only the Batman cowl, with a velour tracksuit replacing the rest of Batman's traditional costume. West plays this off as him being incognito, although considering the cowl, that doesn't make much sense.
West hilariously - and potentially through some level of inebriation - accuses Lawler of colluding with The Penguin and Mr. Freeze to make Tennessee's winter unusually frigid that year, a true crime against humanity if there ever was one. Lawler joining into the conversation only ratchets up the surreal nature of the event, with "The King" coming out in full Superman attire, followed by Batman referring to Superman as his friend "Sup," and even bizarrely invoking Marvel superhero Spider-Man, calling him "Spidey-Baby." To top things off, the whole segment was simply a way of promoting West's appearance as Batman at a nearby car show that weekend. Sadly, West never stepped into the ring for a match with Lawler, although considering what Lawler did to Andy Kaufman, that's probably for the best.
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