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Jerry 'The King' Lawler named guest picker for ESPN 'College GameDay' in Memphis

Posted: Nov 3rd 2019 By: Jason Munz

And the guest picker coming to "College GameDay" is ... ?

The one and only Jerry “The King” Lawler — a Memphis native and resident — will take his place alongside Lee Corso and Co. Saturday morning on Beale Street. That’s where ESPN’s popular college football pregame show is set this week ahead of Memphis’ primetime matchup against SMU at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. and the game will air on ABC.

"Being in the television business and the host of 'Monday Night Raw,' everything is about ratings," Lawler told The Commercial Appeal Friday. "Let's face it, 'GameDay' is like the highest-rated show, regular show, they have on ESPN. To be picked to be part of that, yeah, it's a great honor."

Lawler said the excitement surrounding Saturday goes beyond simply being asked to take part in the broadcast.

"I was excited even before I got picked," he said. "It's the first time ever 'GameDay' is here in Memphis. Also, to be down on Beale Street, to have the Liberty Bowl sold out — forget about me being the guest picker, just the fact that it's this game with SMU, it's amazing. It's just going to be an awesome event."

Lawler, who rejoined the “Monday Night Raw” broadcast team for the show’s season premiere in September, was announced as guest picker by ESPN on Friday.

Among the most recognizable faces in Memphis, Lawler’s career as a professional wrestler began in the Bluff City in 1970. Lawler — a WWE Hall of Famer (inducted in 2007) — first made a name for himself wrestling across several regions and was affiliated with various promotions, such as
the National Wrestling Alliance, Continental Wrestling Association and United States Wrestling Association.

Lawler, an avid Tigers fan and owner of King Jerry Lawler's Hall of Fame Bar & Grille on Beale Street, said if it looks like Corso might pick SMU to win, he might take steps to change his mind.

"I'm gonna tell him, 'If you don't put on a Tiger head, somebody's gonna get piledrived,'" Lawler said with a laugh. "I may also have to remind Lee Corso, if he starts talking smack or something, I may have to remind of the time Memphis was beating his Louisville team so bad that he had to wave the white towel."

"GameDay" host Rece Davis took up for Corso Friday afternoon and issued a warning of his own to Lawler.

"He's a legend and an icon not only here in Memphis but across the South," said Davis, a native of Muscle Shoals, Alabama. "He is a wrestler that I enjoyed watching growing up. He is a great showman, for sure. But he's in Memphis. And if he dares call himself royalty in this city – the home of the "King of Rock and Roll" (Elvis Presley) – he'd better bring it Saturday morning. No half-stepping.

"If I catch Jerry Lawler half-stepping, I will come off the top rope. There will be an atomic elbow smash and he be on the business end of a piledriver, so he better watch out."

Lawler made his WWE debut in 1992, and later became part of the “Monday Night Raw” broadcast team alongside Vince McMahon, the company’s chairman. He later teamed with Jim Ross, Michael Cole and others before moving to “Smackdown” in 2015.

Lawler isn’t the first professional wrestler to appear on “GameDay.” The legendary Ric Flair, who was born in Memphis, served as guest picker in 2016, while Roman Reigns was on the show in 2018.