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Jerry Lawler talks ECW, Michael Cole and why he's never watched TNA

Posted: Aug 25th 2010 By: CMBurnham

He's the most talked about ClubWWI.com guest ever. Now, for the first time as a WWE Hall of Famer, "The King" Jerry Lawler returns for another huge 50 minute interview with James Guttman that no wrestling fan can miss!

As a mainstay in Raw since its inception, the King has seen almost every moment from the 900 episodes first hand. Now listen as he speaks to JG about everything from the WWE's future stars to the rebirth of Memphis Wrestling to Linda McMahon's senate run. ClubWWI members are already aware of Jerry's candour and common sense. Jerry's second round of Clubbin' on the Insanity is no different. His first ClubWWI interview was 61 minutes. This one is 50. That's almost two full hours of the Legendary star the moment you sign up! It's a shoot interview fit for everyone, but delivered by the King, as only he can.

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James Guttman welcomes Jerry" The King" Lawler back to ClubWWI.com and mentions all the things that have happened since he was last on. For one thing, ECW rose from the ashes...and was dead again a few years later. Jerry is remembered for his work with Extreme Championship Wrestling's first incarnation. Jokingly James asks if Lawler's feelings for the company has changed since he showed up in Philly to cane Tommy Dreamer. Lawler responds and gives his true feelings for the company he once called "Extremely Crappy Wrestling":

"The appearance that I didn't like ECW and everything is hopefully attributed to my ability to sell what we're trying to do on the air. A lot of people think I really, absolutely hated ECW, which couldn't have been further from the truth. If you look back, you'll see that I was the only one who went and worked with ECW from the WWF. I went and worked their pay-per-views. You don't work on someone's pay-per-view and wrestle on their show if there's genuine bad feelings between the two. I was always... I won't say a big fan, because I was down in Memphis and I didn't really get to see firsthand all they were doing. I heard about it. I knew. Because we were trying to keep the Memphis Territory afloat, I knew the struggles and hardships these guys were going through."

JG and Lawler talk about his past with Paul Heyman, Paul's early days in Memphis, the night Paul E.'s man Austin Idol shaved Jerry's head, why ECW went out of business, and more. Guttman then reveals that he had a hidden reason for bringing up ECW. It's because TNA has recently embraced the brand as their own. Now the last time Jerry came to ClubWWI.com, he said he didn't get to watch Total Nonstop Action because he was "busy doing more important things" like renewing his subscription to People Magazine or checking his teeth for plaque. Has that outlook changed since 2007? Have Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff made an Impact on the King's viewership?

"I've never seen one TNA show in my life. And I'm still not even sure what day it's on. But I just, I...(sighs) Honestly...it's not that I don't watch much TV but I'm a huge sports watcher. I have the Major League Baseball extra innings package. It's hard on me. I've got to admit, it's tough being a Cleveland Indians fan. But I'm such a die-hard Cleveland Indians fan that I waste about three hours of my life every night that I'm not on the road watching a Cleveland Indians game. So that's just what I watch and usually by the time the game is over, I'm so depressed and in such a bad mood because of the outcome of the Indians game that I just turn the TV off."

Although tongue-in-cheek in his explanation, Lawler is quite serious about not watching TNA. He explains how it can become too much to watch more wrestling after participating in it and commentating on it for a living. James sees Jerry's point and repeats a quote from Terry Funk's Club interview that summed it all up. From there, they discuss the changing face of wrestling, WWE's youth movement, the wrestler Lawler enjoys watching most on Raw, getting to know Sheamus, the rise of John Cena and The Miz, seeing almost every one of the 900 Raws firsthand, memories of past Raws, wrestlers changing in the stairway of the Manhattan Center, and more.

A big topic that the King is asked about is Michael Cole. Cole had a tough hill to climb when he was brought to Raw as Jim Ross's main announcer replacement. As J. R.'s long time partner at the booth, how did Lawler feel about the decision? He tells ClubWWI.com members...

"I've enjoyed working with Michael Cole from day one and I think he gets a bad rap just because J.R. was so well loved. There will never be another J. R. and J. R. and I have great chemistry. We worked together for a long long time and did really well together. Then, for one reason or another, certainly no fault of J.R.'s or anything. They just decided to go in a different direction. There was the health issues J.R. had and still has. I think J.R. would be the first to tell you that he could not go back on the road and do the demanding schedule."

James and Jerry go on to discuss the massive amount of responsibilities Jim had outside of just commentary, the demands of travel, Michael Cole's heel/neutral character, Linda McMahon's Senate run, whether Jerry will run for office again, why he doesn't get criticism for wrestling at his age like Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair and so much more only on ClubWWI.com!

Tags: WWE, Jerry Lawler, ECW, WWF, TNA, Jim Ross, Ric Flair