If you haven’t heard, Jerry “The King” Lawler is all set to head back to take the commentating role on WWE Raw.
We reported earlier that Lawler will be joining Vic Joseph and Dio Maddin on Monday night on the commentary booth of the show. Michael Cole, on the other hand, will be moved to SmackDown Live for the play by play duties of the show along with Corey Graves and Renee Young.
Lawler spoke about his return to commenting duties in an interview with the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
Lawler revealed that he got a call from WWE’s executive vice president of television production Kevin Dunn who offered him the role. “I got a call about it Tuesday morning from Kevin Dunn. He said, ‘I’ve got a proposition for you. It may be good news, and it may be bad news.’ He knows I don’t like to travel a whole lot anymore, so that was the bad part. I said, ‘What’s the good part?’ He said, ‘We want you back on Raw. He told me it’s for however long I want to do it, so that sealed the deal.”
Lawler was told that initially the plan was to have a two-man booth on Raw but Vince McMahon suggested they add Lawler in.
“It was (Raw’s executive director) Paul (Heyman’s) idea to put Vic and Dio on Raw,” Lawler said. “Apparently, what I was told, Vince (McMahon) said, ‘You can’t throw these two new, young guys on our flagship show. Call King.’ That’s how it happened.”
Lawler recalled what Vince told him when he started his job 25 years ago. He feels confident for his return.
“All I’ve been able to think about is what Vince told me when I first started over 25 years ago, ‘It’s live TV — nothing can go wrong,'” Lawler said. “I feel real confident it’ll be like riding a bike. I’ll treat it exactly the way I always have — like I’m watching the show in my living room with my neighbor. The name of the company is World Wrestling Entertainment. And I’ve always thought the commentators are an important part of the entertainment.”
Lawler began his WWF career in December 1992 as an announcer for the the company. He was also involved in a number of storylines with Bret Hart, Vince McMahon and Doink the Clown. By 1998, he rarely wrestled and was primarily focused on commentary. He quit the WWF in protest when his then-wife Stacy “The Kat” Carter was released by the company in February 2001.
He however returned to the company in November of the same year after a brief stint in the indies, and would continue to work as a commentator until 2016. Afterwards, he was kept for special events such as the Hall of Fame ceremony and would only do periodic appearances.
