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Jerry Lawler talks Kamala’s paint when the gimmick started — Lawler says he does the makeup on him, and more

Posted: Aug 13th 2020 By: Jennifer Cutis - WrestlingNewsPlus.com

WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler was interviewed on Monday’s Busted Open Radio. Lawler is the person who gave James Harris the Kamala gimmick back when Harris was working in the Memphis territory.

Here are a couple of highlights from the interview:

Lawler talked about Kamala’s paint when the gimmick first started: “For the first 6 months every night, I would have to paint the makeup on him. I would paint his face and the teeth over the mouth. It took him about 6 months before he was comfortable before he started doing the makeup himself. I was glad when he finally learned how to do it himself. But he was perfect at it (performing the gimmick).

Lawler talked about the lost art of selling: “As far as selling, my philosophy has always been if you get two guys in a match that are trying to outsell each other, you’re going to have a great match. That is what I always enjoyed doing in my matches. I would sell.

If you look at some of the most important people or some of the biggest stars in the business, when you think of Hulk Hogan, you think of him showing the guns and Hulking up and all that kind of stuff. But, if you go back and really watch Hulk Hogan’s matches, he sold.

I mean he sold probably 80% of the match until he got to the point where he Hulked up, made the comeback and then the finish. I think that’s the thing that is lost today. Matches have become moves and highspots rather than selling and telling a story.”

Kamala reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 a few days before his death

ESPN’s Jason King reports that he spoke with Kamala’s wife and she noted that he tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday.

King says Kamala’s wife believes that he likely contracted the virus from one of his weekly visits to the dialysis center and he had been hospitalized since Wednesday night. She also noted that he seemed fine and in good spirits this morning but then he went into cardiac arrest and then passed away.

Kamala had been dealing with health issues over the last decade or so. Obviously, with his age and health issues, he would have been more likely to have had more serious issues than most people with the virus. The fact that he likely contracted the virus at a medical center makes this story more tragic.

Again, we send our deepest condolences to Kamala’s friends and family.

Chris Jericho donates $5,000 to help pay for Kamala’s funeral and family expenses

As it was noted earlier, a GoFundMe was set up to help James “Kamala” Harris’ family with expenses and to pay for his funeral.

The fundraiser has surpassed more than $22,000 in just 24 hours since it was started and the biggest donation so far has come from AEW’s Chris Jericho, who donated $5,000. Other big donations include $2,500 from Impact Wrestling executive Scott D’Amore and $2,500 from Pro Wrestling Tees owner Ryan Barkan.