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King Of The WWE Jungle

King Of The WWE Jungle

Posted: Mar 30th 2012 By: mikeiles

No lions, tigers or bears, but there are cobras, silverbacks and pythons, making Jerry Lawler The King of WWE?s jungle.

Lawler, the longtime color commentator of WWE Raw, has worn many crowns during his pro wrestling/sports entertainment career that spans five decades. From referee to promoter to wrestler to Andy Kaufman, he?s just about done it all and done it all well.

?Honestly, I?m not trying to blow my own horn, because I feel lucky moreso than anything,? Lawler said, ?but [WWE CEO/Chairman] Vince McMahon once told me, ?I think you?re the most all-around talented guy I?d ever met in this industry.? Then he explained, ?You?ve done everything and done everything well. You?ve owned a wrestling company. You started out as a referee. You?ve wrestled. You?ve booked. You?ve done payrolls. You?ve done commentary. You still wrestle.?

?It?s just one of those things. It?s like that baseball movie ?The Natural.? Wrestling and anything involved with it has always come natural to me. I never took things too seriously, and I always had a great time and fun doing it.?

Dubbed The King, a well deserved title, Lawler, 62, is still having fun, whether he?s discussing the past times or the present with WWE and WrestleMania.

? Why did WrestleMania continue to make it where events like the AWA SuperClash and the NWA Great American Bash ended?

Lawler: ?Well, yea, the reason, and he would not like me to blow his horn, but the reason WrestleMania made it, and the others didn?t simply was because of Vince McMahon. There?s nobody that?s more dedicated, and nobody who loves the WWE more than Vince McMahon. WrestleMania is the ultimate thing to him, and every year it?s grown bigger and bigger. I swear. I?ve been probably involved in 17 or 18 WrestleManias, and every single year, when WrestleMania is over, I honestly say to myself, ?Well, no way they?ll ever top this,? and somehow every single year they do.

?Last year [WrestleMania 27 in Atlanta] was the first one I got to compete on, and they were saying it was the greatest one in history. You had Stone Cold Steve Austin involved. You had The Rock back, involved with John Cena. You had Triple H and The Undertaker. At the end of that one, I said, ?I don?t know how they?re going to top this,? but somehow it just keeps getting bigger and bigger and better and better.

?There?s no question ? when you look at the bottom line ? the driving force that makes WrestleMania what it is ? is Vince McMahon.?

? WrestleMania 28 in Miami means what to The King?

Lawler: ?Oh my gosh. When you?ve been with the company as long as I have, you know WrestleMania is going to be great. You know it?s going to be big no matter where it is. So then you?re looking for the extra icing on the cake is the location. Good grief. Miami, what more could you ask for. There aren?t many cities that you?re going to be able to do. WWE superstars, we?re there for the entire week. It?s WrestleMania Week for us. There are a lot of appearances, and there are a lot of promotions and fan access, but then we also have some free time connected in the evening.

?So when you look for a place to enjoy yourself, what better place is there than Miami? So everybody?s excited that it?s going to be there ? so much excitement, so many fun things to do there in the city, and the weather should be great. Like I said, the location is always the icing on the cake for WrestleMania, and being in Miami may be the best ever.?

? Favorite WrestleMania moments for The King?

Lawler: ?Without a doubt, walking out in front of 71,000 fans and hearing 71,000 people chant your name and knowing for that one brief moment, you?re the center of attention [last year at WrestleMania 27 in Atlanta]. When you?re coming down that aisle, your entrance going to the ring at WrestleMania, theirs is absolutely no way to describe that. It sent chills up and down my back, tears in my eyes, hair on the back of my neck standing up, everything you could think of. I?m still amazed that my legs just didn?t go weak, and I didn?t pass out or stumble down that aisle. That?s how awesome that moment is, and then to go in the ring and have Stone Cold Steve Austin the special guest referee for my match, you can?t ask for anything more.

?My favorite moments for actually calling the action, there have been so many. One match that I really enjoyed calling was The Rock against Hulk Hogan [WrestleMania 18 in 2002 in Toronto]. That was a match you thought you?d never see. I?d put that like a match between Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson. It was just something you thought would never happen, and it was a great match. As far as I?m concerned, of the matches I?ve seen, it was probably Hulk Hogan?s best match ever, and The Rock was fabulous in it. So I thought that match was great.

?Also, I enjoyed the confrontations between my buddy Pete Rose [Major League Baseball?s Hit King] and Kane. How do you top seeing Pete Rose getting pile driven on the top of his head? What in the world. It?s classic. That was great.

?My other favorite was sitting next to Donald Trump and having him as a broadcast partner for some of the shows, leading up to the [hair vs. hair] match, and watching Donald Trump [via Bobby Lashley] be victorious [over Umaga] and seeing Vince McMahon get his head shaved.

?The WrestleMania DVD, ?The History of WrestleMania,? when you get that and look back, there are so many things that have happened at WrestleMania. It boggles the mind that you couldn?t remember them all. Then when you?re looking at them one-by-one, you say, ?This is my favorite. No, no, this is my favorite. Oh no, this is better than that. So it?s hard to pick the best moment of WrestleMania.?

? WWE WrestleMania 28 is April 1 at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens.

? Like Facebook WWE WrestleMania 28 Miami at http://www.facebook.com/pages/WWE-WrestleMania-28-Miami/241160769255279.

 

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Spotlight in History

  • 1978 Jose Lothario def. Assassin 1 for the TSW Louisiana Title
  • 1985 The Von Erichs (Kerry Von Erich & Kevin Von Erich) def. The Dynamic Duo (Gino Hernandez & Chris Adams) for the WCCW American Tag Team Titles
  • 2008 Michael Barry def. Angel Williams for the IZW Heavyweight Title
  • 2008 New Canada (The Canadian Red Devil & The Canadian Luchadore) became the ComPro Tag Team Champions
  • 2008 The Gentlemen Thugs (Cast-Iron Cothern & Shane Morbid) def. New Canada (The Canadian Red Devil & The Canadian Luchadore) for the ComPro Tag Team Titles
  • 2009 Jermaine Johnson def. Ky-ote Joe for the MSWA Oklahoma Title
  • 2013 Mike Foxx def. Tim Storm for the NWA-TXO Heavyweight Title
  • 2013 Genesis (Carrion Arcane & Kristopher Haiden) def. The Rock Star Mafia (Dane Griffin & Armani) for the NWA-TXO Tag Team Titles
  • 2013 The Rock Star Mafia (Dane Griffin & Armani) def. Genesis (Carrion Arcane & Kristopher Haiden) for the NWA-TXO Tag Team Titles
  • 2014 Kevin Morgan & became the IZW Tag Team Champions
  • 2014 Jordan Jacobs def. Drake Gallows for the IZW Impact Division Title
  • 2014 Claudia def. Bree Ann for the NWA-TXO Rose Title
  • 2014 The Brotherhood (Kyng Benjamin & Akuma Jones) def. A. C. Slaughter (Aaron Anders & Clint Cassidy) for the UWE Tag Team Titles
  • 2014 Fuel def. Tim Rockwell for the UWE Heavyweight Title
  • 2025 Gideon Vane became the EPW International Champion
  • 2025 Miles Bane became the NAW Openweight Champion

Week of Sun 09-20 to Sat: 09-26

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  • 09-20 1985 The Von Erichs (Kerry Von Erich & Kevin Von Erich) def. The Dynamic Duo (Gino Hernandez & Chris Adams) for the WCCW American Tag Team Titles
  • 09-20 2008 Michael Barry def. Angel Williams for the IZW Heavyweight Title
  • 09-20 2008 New Canada (The Canadian Red Devil & The Canadian Luchadore) became the ComPro Tag Team Champions
  • 09-20 2008 The Gentlemen Thugs (Cast-Iron Cothern & Shane Morbid) def. New Canada (The Canadian Red Devil & The Canadian Luchadore) for the ComPro Tag Team Titles
  • 09-20 2009 Jermaine Johnson def. Ky-ote Joe for the MSWA Oklahoma Title
  • 09-20 2013 Mike Foxx def. Tim Storm for the NWA-TXO Heavyweight Title
  • 09-20 2013 Genesis (Carrion Arcane & Kristopher Haiden) def. The Rock Star Mafia (Dane Griffin & Armani) for the NWA-TXO Tag Team Titles
  • 09-20 2013 The Rock Star Mafia (Dane Griffin & Armani) def. Genesis (Carrion Arcane & Kristopher Haiden) for the NWA-TXO Tag Team Titles
  • 09-20 2014 Kevin Morgan & became the IZW Tag Team Champions
  • 09-20 2014 Jordan Jacobs def. Drake Gallows for the IZW Impact Division Title
  • 09-20 2014 Claudia def. Bree Ann for the NWA-TXO Rose Title
  • 09-20 2014 The Brotherhood (Kyng Benjamin & Akuma Jones) def. A. C. Slaughter (Aaron Anders & Clint Cassidy) for the UWE Tag Team Titles
  • 09-20 2014 Fuel def. Tim Rockwell for the UWE Heavyweight Title
  • 09-20 2025 Gideon Vane became the EPW International Champion
  • 09-20 2025 Miles Bane became the NAW Openweight Champion
  • 09-21 1954 Johnny Valentine def. Joe Christie for the WCCW Texas Brass Knuckles Title
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  • 09-22 1971 Bill Watts def. Dusty Rhodes for the TSW North American Title
  • 09-22 2001 Jenna Love became the OPW Oklahoma Womens Champion
  • 09-22 2001 Justin Lee def. Dexter Hardaway for the OPW Oklahoma Light Heavyweight Title
  • 09-22 2012 Crossfire Morrison def. Drake Gallows for the SWCW Hardcore Title
  • 09-22 2012 Kareem Sadat def. Crossfire Morrison for the SWCW Hardcore Title
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  • 09-22 2023 Skidz def. Nashoba for the MajCW 24/7 On Call Title
  • 09-22 2023 Oscar Amazing def. Skidz for the MajCW 24/7 On Call Title
  • 09-23 1974 Tex McKenzie & Johnny Valentine def. The Blackjacks (Blackjack Mulligan & Blackjack Lanza) for the WCCW American Tag Team Titles
  • 09-23 1975 Jose Lothario def. Billy Graham for the WCCW Texas Brass Knuckles Title
  • 09-23 2000 Grenade def. Ichiban [2nd] for the OPW Oklahoma Light Heavyweight Title
  • 09-23 2016 Xavior became the MSWA Mid-South Cruiserweight Champion
  • 09-23 2016 Nikki Knight def. Skylar Slice for the MSWA Ladies Title
  • 09-23 2016 Psycho Mike def. Brock Landers for the MSWA Oklahoma Title
  • 09-23 2017 Kikutaro def. Ryan Davidson for the ComPro Oklahoma X Division Title
  • 09-23 2017 Dusty Gold def. Randy Price for the IZW Impact Division Title
  • 09-23 2017 Erica def. Paige Turner for the IZW Womens Title
  • 09-23 2017 Double D def. Kevin Morgan for the IZW Heavyweight Title
  • 09-23 2017 Drake Gallows def. Sam Stackhouse for the BCW Buzzsaw Title
  • 09-23 2017 Xavior def. C. J. Ward for the MSWA Mid-South Heavyweight Title
  • 09-23 2017 The Omega (O’Brien & O’Malley) def. The Cursed (Blade [2nd] & Kuda) for the MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Titles
  • 09-23 2023 Skidz def. Oscar Amazing for the MajCW 24/7 On Call Title
  • 09-23 2023 Koko def. Dan Webber for the UWE Heavyweight Title
  • 09-23 2023 Sweetness (Cappuccino Jones & Romeo Reese) def. Southern Aristocracy (Eddie LeVaughn & Anthony Wild) for the UWE Tag Team Titles
  • 09-23 2023 Killbane def. Leo Fox for the UWE Apex Title
  • 09-24 2002 The Professionals (John Zorthos & Julian Wolfenbarger) became the ACW Tag Team Champions
  • 09-24 2016 Ricky Starks def. Ky-Ote for the IWR Revolutionary Title
  • 09-24 2022 London Calling (Dutch Hagen & Richie Adams) def. Toxic Masculinity (Johnny Lightning & Johnny Dynamite) for the WFC Tag Team Titles
  • 09-24 2022 Martin Justice def. Tyler Watts for the EPW International Title
  • 09-24 2022 Logan Knight def. Kareem Sadat for the EPW All-American Title
  • 09-24 2022 Olivier Vegos def. Danni Bee for the NCWO Women's Title
  • 09-25 1965 Don Kent def. Red McKim for the TSW Missouri Junior Heavyweight Title
  • 09-25 1981 The Great Kabuki def. Kerry Von Erich for the WCCW American Heavyweight Title
  • 09-25 1999 Big Daddy Moore def. Rocco Valentino for the OPW Oklahoma Heavyweight Title
  • 09-25 1999 The Casualties of War (Malice & Shrapnel) def. Red Eagle & Night Hawk for the OPW Oklahoma Tag Team Titles
  • 09-25 1999 Kid Flash def. Tarantula for the OPW Oklahoma Light Heavyweight Title
  • 09-25 2004 Michael Barry def. Brandon Groom for the NWA-OK Oklahoma Heavyweight Title
  • 09-25 2010 Wage def. Bernie D for the IZW Impact Division Title
  • 09-26 1978 Terry Latham & Ricky Fields def. Seigfried Stanke & Kurt Von Hess for the TSW Louisiana Tag Team Titles
  • 09-26 1984 Adrian Street def. Terry Taylor for the MSW Television Title
  • 09-26 2004 John O'Malley def. Mr. Brown for the ACW Hardcore Title
  • 09-26 2009 Jeremy Quinn III became the ACW Heavyweight Champion
  • 09-26 2014 Paul Puertorico def. Matt Majestic for the SRPW United States Title
  • 09-26 2020 Brian Dixon def. Ethan Cole for the BPW Lion Heart Title
  • 09-26 2020 The Ritual (Samedi & Shadow Gemini) became the BPW Oklahoma Tag Team Champions
  • 09-26 2025 Riley Grinn def. Tommy Dean for the BUW No Pressure Title
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