WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin interviewed Jim Ross for a recent Steve Austin Show podcast. During the interview, JR acknowledged that his announcing style would not fit well with the way today’s WWE broadcasts are run.
Regarding today’s WWE shows, JR admitted that the current WWE announcers have a difficult, unenviable position.
“I think those guys have a tough job. It’s just a different style. I’m kind of glad that I’m not [in that position],” Ross admitted. “[WWE] have more to sell. They have a mall where these other wrestling companies have a storefront. They have a smaller inventory to sell, whereas the WWE has a ton of things to promote and sell and their own network, et cetera, et cetera. So the announcers are obligated to get so much of that content in and that’s built into the show.”
According to Ross, his commentary style wouldn’t work well in today’s WWE, as he feels he is more of a play-by-play commentator, while today’s commentators are asked to plug a lot of different products and are very over-produced.
“I do miss walking out there and sitting down and going to work, but I don’t know that my style in what I’m most comfortable in doing would be applicable in WWE these days based on how the guys are produced and the obligations they have to get the product over and all the stuff they [have] got to sell.”
JR also spoke about flying to Memphis every Wednesday to record with Jerry Lawler for the WWE 2K16 video game, noting that they picked right where they left off in terms of on-air chemistry.
“This sounds egocentric, I’m sure, [but] we hadn’t missed a beat. It was so natural. It would be like, I would suggest this. I always thought that [Austin] versus the Rock had great chemistry and I believe that [those] guys, in a different time, not 2015 [going] into 2016, but in a different time, [Austin and the Rock] could have been away from each other and [they] could be booked back into a match and I’d be very disappointed if [Austin and the Rock] missed too many beats. There was just a genuineness, an authenticity, and a feel, and that’s kind of what Jerry and I had.”
WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler recently spoke with AuburnPub.com to promote Northeast Wrestling’s “Prison City Slam” event on Friday night in Auburn, NY. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
His legacy:
“I honestly feel that the success that I’ve enjoyed was just something that happened to me. I never even think about how I’ll be remembered or if I’ll be remembered.”
Why he enjoys working independent shows:
“With WWE, it’s such a big operation. Most of our shows, it’s just impossible to have that kind of close interaction with thousands of fans at a show. I really enjoy doing the smaller shows. I do these at least once or twice a week still.”
The potential of WWE’s roster:
“The company is in good hands because there’s so many young, good superstars out there who are on the rise. I don’t have any doubt that there’s going to be some major stars developing over the next few years.”
To read the full interview, check out Auburnpub.com.
WWE.com ran an article with comments from Jerry Lawler regarding the head-on collision he suffered with his girlfriend Lauryn this past Saturday night.
Below are comments from Lawler regarding his physical condition and the condition of his girlfriend.
On his physical condition and the condition of his girlfriend Lauryn:
“I’m fine, but Lauryn is pretty banged up. We had taken care of the trick-or-treaters and went for pizza right near the house. We were coming home to catch the end of the University of Memphis game. I was sitting at a red light at a busy intersection not a minute from my house. I got the green arrow to make a left turn. I started making the turn and I saw the car coming, not slowing down at all. The driver ran a red light.”
On the specifics of his girlfriends injury:
“Lauryn was in the ER for four hours. Her face is really, really swollen on the left side. They also put her in a leg brace and knee immobilizer. I think she has a concussion because this morning when she got up, she fell down and saw stars and black spots.”
WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry Lawler and his girlfriend Lauryn were involved in a head-on collision on Saturday night. Lauryn posted the following on Facebook:
“Not exactly how we expected to spend our Halloween, but while on our way home from dinner (Peyton wasn’t with us thank God) a girl ran a red light and hit us totaling the car… the airbag deployed hitting me in the face (hence why I look like Sandy the Squirrel from SpongeBob) causing the swelling to my face…have to wear a silly brace and crutches for my knee for the time being…thank God we are ok other than that & I think Jerry is superman…not a scratch or anything….he tried to cover me to save me from the airbag before it deployed.”
Last night saw one of the more hyped southern independent shows f the year, as Bert Prentice’s USA Champioship Wrestling (formerly Music City and NWA Worldwide when he had syndicated TV) ran a show dubbed an All-Star Tribute to Lance Russell. To salute the 89 year old legendary announcer, he put together a show at he Oman Arena (formerly the Jackson Coliseum), which used to be a regular stop in the Jerry Lawler/Jerry Jarrett territory based out of Memphis.
Besides the tribute to Russell in the city where he started announcing wrestling, the big attraction was the main event: Terry Funk, at 71 years old and wrestling for the first time in over 10 months, returned to face his greatest rival in the area, Jerry lawler. It was the first match between the two in just over four years.
Here are the results for the card (thanks to ProWrestling.net), which also included Russell and long-time broadcast partner Dave Brown interviewing the legends in attendance between matches:
1. Alex Taylor defeated Kevin Zion.
2. Daniel Eads defeated Nathan Starr
3. L T Falk and his father Tony Falk defeated Johnny Dotson and Derrick King (w/ Lucky Pierre in their corner)
4. Danny Dollar defeated “The New Nature Boy” Kevin White
5. The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express defeated Rude and Poker Face with the double dropkick
6. The Natural Chase Stevens & Thorn defeated The Young Lions
7. Matt Starr defeated USA Heavyweight Champion Matt Boyce to win the ttle.
8. Jerry Lawler defeated Terry Funk by disqualification when Funk attacked the referee. Lawler threw a fireball at Funk after the match, which you can see in the video embedded at the top of the article.
As we reported recently, WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry Lawler teased at the New York Comic Con that WWE SmackDown may be going live when the show moves to the USA Network early next year.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there has been talk of starting SmackDown out on the USA Network with a live special, but there has also been discussions of moving SmackDown to Tuesday nights and going live every week.
If WWE decides to go live each week, Tuesday would work best due to increases in travel costs. SmackDown going live is not a done deal, but WWE has been looking at major changes for January with some of the details and deals still yet to be finalized.
During an interview earlier this year, WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler started the rumors of WWE SmackDown going live in 2016. In the video above, Lawler talks to The Sound Magazine’s Scott Yager while at the recent New York City Comic Con and teased a big change for SmackDown when the show moves to the USA Network next year.
“There’s going to be a lot of stuff going on on SmackDown, they’re getting ready to make that a really… because it’s coming back on USA,” said Lawler. “There’s a very good possibility in the near future that SmackDown may be live.”
Additionally, Lawler spoke about getting heat for saying “puppies” too much on commentary and discussed his infamous feud with Andy Kaufman.
NXT announcer Rich Brennan has been promoted to the lead announcer position for WWE SmackDown. Now that WWE Tough Enough is over, it looks like Booker T, who was on hiatus due to the show, will be headed to Thursday nights in two weeks while Byron Saxton will permanently replace him on RAW.
WWE RAW on Monday nights will be called by Michael Cole, JBL and Saxton while SmackDown will feature Brennan, Jerry Lawler and Booker T.
Booker T and Rich Brennan recently had the following exchange on social media.
Congrats to @RichBrennanWWE, enjoy the ride! #SmackDown
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently updated his official blog to comment on the end of this season of WWE Tough Enough, reuniting with Jerry Lawler for WWE 2K16 and more. Below are some of the highlights.
On WWE Tough Enough: “Can’t say as I’m sorry to see Tough Enough end. The show’s format never resonated with me even though the look of the show was slick. I was never enamored with the “cast” especially after Patrick was eliminated. Patrick Clark will be a ‘player’ in the biz at some point sooner than later and WWE would be well served to sign the 19 year old who is a natural heel with a terrific work ethic and product knowledge. His training at Maryland Championship Wrestling has served him well.
If Tough Enough returns to the USA Network, I’d see major changes being made in the format and the voting plus getting Steve Austin back to host the show would be a major step forward. My congrats to Josh and Sara Lee. Hope that they make it but both appear to be long shots.”
On The Dudley Boyz: “Happy to see those Damn Dudley’s back with WWE as they can be great mentors/teachers to many on the young roster. Every team in WWE will become a better duo after having worked with Bubba and Devon.”
On NXT call-ups: “Getting lots of questions on Twitter about when will WWE call up more NXT talents. I have no idea but I do know that it is more crucial on how the talents are brought in to the main roster. than who is brought in to the fold. Debuting with some degree of impact isn’t optional. It’s a must.”
On reuniting with Jerry Lawler for WWE 2K16: “We’re getting great feedback on Jerry Lawler and me reuniting for WWE games 2K16 video game due out in October. I’d guess that this will be the final time that the two of us will work together in any WWE projects at least to the best of my knowledge. I hope that the fans support our efforts on this new video game that is loaded with new innovations, whistles and bells.”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
“It’s a shame that some people can’t be happy for others. Relationships are hard to maintain so when you see someone committed to their partner, why must you try and destroy something that he worked so hard for? Respect is mutual. You need to give it in order to receive it. #Blockthehate #Spreadtheword #Passalong”
– After making a cameo in the Madden NFL trailer earlier this week, former WWE Diva AJ Lee mentioned on Twitter that she’s teaming up with the PAWS Chicago organization and designer Beautiful Disaster to help shelter animals.
– Jim Ross tweeted the following photo with his former broadcast partner, Jerry “The King” Lawler while the two of them were doing voice work for WWE 2K16’s 2K Showcase mode:
WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler recently appeared as a guest on The Kevin Gill Show to talk about, among other things, his feelings that Vince McMahon is jealous of him.
Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On Vince McMahon being jealous of him: “Years later I was on the plane with Vince, sitting in his private jet. He leaned over and he said “I’ve never told you or anybody this, but I was so freaking jealous when you were on the David Letterman show with Andy Kaufman in New York, knowing that we could have had Andy do all that stuff in our company.” He did give me credit. He said, “not that we have done it anywhere near as good as you guys did, because it was fantastic.. But just knowing Andy came to my dad first and we turned him down.”
On Andy Kaufman’s influence: “If you remember, right after that, they did this thing with Cyndi Lauper and Captain Lou Albano, Mr T… So Andy Kaufman was really the forerunner of all the Hollywood involvement in the WWE, that’s lead to… I mean look at what they are doing today!”
On becoming a wrestler: “It’s funny because, when I was going to the matches as fan, never once did I think about actually trying to do it. I just thought that’s out of the question. But once I was around Jackie Fargo, and that sort of thing I thought, if I just could try this one time. So I started hounding him. Come one, let me just try it once. He said No Kid, you are too good of an artist. He said stick with art you will make a fortune doing that. I said, If i could just have one match, and try it one time I promise I will go back to being an artist, and I will ever ask you again. Of course, that was like 43 years ago and I am still doing the wrestling.”
On his art: “I’ve been doing art a lot longer than I’ve been wrestling. I started drawing Superman and Batman as far back as I can remember, like 5 years old, and did it all through school…drawing when I should have probably been doing schoolwork, instead I was always drawing!”
The general perception within the industry right now is that SmackDown is seen as a lame-duck show until it switches over to the USA Network in January of 2016.
WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry Lawler previously hinted that the show may move back to Friday nights and become a live show, however we have yet to hear an update on that being the case. There has been talk of debuting SmackDown on the USA Network with a live Tuesday night special.
After SmackDown is moved to the USA Network next year, the show will likely be booked as an “all hands on-deck” show, similar to RAW.
Larry Lawler, who is the older brother of WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry Lawler by four years, passed away on July 21st at the age of 69.
Larry had worked in management for Kimberly-Clark in Memphis, Tennessee for most of his life before opening up Lawler’s Grocery in Water Valley, Mississippi.
SEScoops.com would like to offer its’ condolences to the family and friends of the late Larry Lawler.
WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry Lawler recently spoke with Crave Online to promote his new WWE DVD and Blu-ray set. Below are some highlights from the interview.
On what he misses most about the territory days: “Probably the fun of the camaraderie you had with the other wrestlers. You spent a lot more time with those guys than superstars get to these days. The spontaneity of territory wrestling [was] to me a little more fun than it is now. The travel now is brutal even though you’re flying. But back in the territory days, you drove to the town you were wrestling in and then drove home after the matches. There was a lot of fun on the road, a lot of ribs, and a lot of practical jokes.”
On his memories of the Poffo outlaw promotion and if he had any favorite memories from when he worked with Randy Savage: “That was another situation, as you know if you’re from Lexington (KY). Lexington was kind of the headquarters for the Poffos, which of course Randy Savage and his brother, “Leaping” Lanny Poffo, their real last name was Poffo, and their dad Angelo Poffo. They started up their own company. That was just one of the things that happened back in the day.
The established company would call it outlaw wrestling … They would have matches in Lexington and then the following week my company would come and have matches in Lexington. You were kind of in a promotional war and it was kind of like the Monday Night Wars except on a smaller scale. The Poffos, they were kind of underfunded so they were hanging on by a thread there towards the end before they finally just called it quits because they were losing money on a weekly basis and they came to us and said “hey, let’s try to work together a little bit.”
… One of my favorite memories of that is when Randy Savage knew that we were wrestling in Memphis and I would leave my home in Nashville like at noon and drive down to Memphis for the matches that night. One Monday, Randy Savage brought a camera crew down to my house in Nashville and he gets out of his car and they’re filming him and he says, “This is Jerry Lawler’s house. Lawler come out here” and he’s banging on my door and he says, “Look at this. This coward Lawler is afraid to come out and face me.” He’s cutting this big promo knowing that I’m not home, of course. Then they went back and showed it on their television show and made it look like he came down to my house and I was afraid to come out. Then he and Bill Dundee actually crossed paths at a truck stop and they came to blows and got in a fight.
They had to be pulled apart or something there so it was a pretty heated rivalry but finally, because of financial reasons, Randy’s dad came to us and said “Look we can’t continue on so is there a possibility of us working together and having some matches together in co-promotions?” and that wound to me and Randy Savage having a match at Rupp Arena. We sold out Rupp Arena, 23,000 people which, at the time was unheard of, in a Loser Leaves Town match. Right after that was when Randy started in the WWE.”
On the best advice he could give to newcomers in the business: “That’s one of the things I’ve had over the years. A lot of people come to me and ask for advice and I always tell them man, it’s so hard for me to try and tell you what will work for you or what you should do because everybody is not only different. Everybody got into the business in a different way and all of their circumstances are so different so it’s hard to give that umbrella type advice.
I always just say, and this is the main thing and I think it’s really worked for me, I don’t know if it works for everyone else but I always just say “Don’t take yourself too serious.” Don’t take anything you do in this business too serious. It’s not life or death. It’s entertainment. Have fun with it. If you do like I’ve done to do something for a living that you have fun at, you’ll feel like in the end you never had to work a day in your life.”
The following is a report from the USA Championship Wrestling event that was held in Metropolis, Illinois, an event which WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry Lawler worked.
“Jerry “The King” Lawler wrestled in the main event of a USA Championship Wrestling free card at the 37th annual Superman Celebration in Metropolis. Lawler has come to the festival several times which is a weekend event that brings in super hero celebrities each year including Caity Lotz (Canary from Arrow) and Candice Patton (Iris West from the Flash) this year.
Lawler did meet and greets most of the day and brought his own Batmobile (Adam west era). I met him and he was extremely nice. He autographed a picture and I got my picture with him. I told him I remembered driving to Evansville to see him wrestle Bret Hart back years ago. He remembered the event, asked me if it was a title match (it was) and he remembered it was right before Bret left (a month before). I asked if he liked being on Smackdown to which he said “he loved it.” He told me they were moving to USA network and possibly going live, possibly on Friday nights. He was extremely nice and thanked me for being a fan all these years.
Now, onto the main event. The ring was set up in an alley, which was actually a very cool visual. There were 2 matches before the main event. I’d estimate there being 100-150 people for the wrestling. In keeping with the Superman theme, Lawler’s opponent was The Joker (dressed as Heath Ledger’s Joker with long green hair and his makeup design), who was a big guy, maybe 6’4, 250.
Lawler wore tights with a picture of Adam West as Batman on one leg and Burt Ward’s Robin on the other. Very cool. There was a lot of old school stalling as The Joker kept showing the crowd a small chain which made the kids tell Lawler “he has a chain” which made the ref check while The Joker hid it in his pocket, around the top turnbuckle, and in his mouth away from the ref.
Joker finally used the chain to choke Lawler out several times. Lawler was backdropped, clotheslined,and hip-tossed. The most impressive thing was Lawler was thrown outside the ring and Joker hit a Randy Savage double ax-handle on Lawler on the concrete (no mat). Joker missed a move at which point Lawler fired up with comeback. Finally, he lowered the strap and hit the second rope fist drop for the pin. Joker tried to hit Lawler with the chain afterwards but it was blocked. Lawler wrapped the chain around his fist and punched The Joker to send the Superman celebration crowd home happy.
Lawler was a lot of fun and we had a great time. They have another free card tonight and I assume The Joker gets a second chance at Lawler tonight.”
– Following a TMZ article that seemed to strongly indicate her interest, Tammy “Sunny” Sytch is changing her tune yet again regarding rumors of signing a six-figure deal with adult film company Vivid Entertainment. Sytch posted the following update on her official Facebook page:
“FYI: There is no definitive decision of me doing any kind of “video”. I was approached, but no decision or negotiations have been made. Don’t believe everything you read on the internet. If you do, you’re more stupid than you already were.”
– After airing a “First Look” preview of the new Jerry Lawler DVD last week, WWE will be airing the “First Look” of the new Daniel Bryan DVD after tonight’s Elimination Chamber “go-home” edition of RAW. The WWE Network schedule has the Bryan special listed tonight as beginning at 11:11pm EST.
– Speaking of the Daniel Bryan preview airing tonight, below is a trailer for the special:
– WWE Superstar Curtis Axel inducted his father — “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig — into the Pro Wrestling Hall Of Fame at their 14th annual induction ceremony in New York this weekend. Others included at the ceremony were Rick Martel, Michael Hayes and more. Slam! Wrestling has a recap of the ceremony, which you can check out at Canoe.ca.
– In response to a fan on Twitter who commented about WWE taking NXT on the road for live tours outside of their home base in Florida, Triple H noted that they are “just getting started,” alluding to the fact that NXT will be doing more tours outside of Florida in the future.
– Following Monday’s post-Payback edition of WWE RAW, a quick five-minute “RAW Fallout” show is scheduled for the WWE Network. Additionally, fans will get to see a “First Look” special at the new WWE DVD on Jerry Lawler on the WWE Network this Monday night.
– WWE broadcast member Renee Young noted on social media that one of her upcoming guests on her “Unfiltered” show on the WWE Network will be “King” Bad News Barrett. As noted, Young’s guest on Monday’s edition of the WWE Network show will be Wiz Khalifa.
– Saturday was officially “Jerry Lawler Day” in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. This year’s Saturday, which fell on May 9th, is the same date that Lawler won the AWA World Heavyweight Championship with Curt Hennig, who would later go on to fame in WWE under the “Mr. Perfect” gimmick.
– WWE Hall Of Famers Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart are featured in a new Baltimore Sun video at an airport. In the video, it is revealed that Hogan can’t sign autographs because the cameras that follow him stress him out. Check out the clip above or at Newsinc.com.
– WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler returned to the ring this past Saturday night at a Maryland Championship Wrestling event in Waldorf, MD. Lawler and MCW Champion The Bruiser defeated Ryann McBride, Ken Dixon and Justin Schlegal in a handicap match.
– Former NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte continues to tease that she’ll be making an appearance at tonight’s WWE RAW from Montreal.
WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry Lawler recently appeared on the Chad Dukes Wrestling Show to promote his new WWE DVD. Below are some highlights from the interview.
On WrestleMania 31: “I’m gonna be perfectly honest with you, every year that we do WrestleManias I ask myself when it’s over, ‘Gosh how are they gonna top that’ and somehow every year they do. Going into this year’s WrestleMania, on paper I was just thinking ‘This may not be the greatest WrestleMania I’ve ever seen. It’s gonna be good but just maybe not great.’ I’m gonna tell you it turned out to surpass expectations in my mind. To me it was the best WrestleMania that I can remember.”
On his announcing style: “What I like to try to do is put myself in of position of I’ve got the best seat in the house watching a wrestling show with my next door neighbor or a good friend of mine, and just saying whatever comes into my mind as I’m watching the show. That’s the way I’ve always approached my color commentary, as a wrestling fan not as a wrestler.”
On his upcoming DVD: “One of the cool things I’m really happy about this, the 6 hours of matches consists of a lot of our old Memphis footage. Some of the matches that were big down here in Memphis, that people down here at the time, when there was no nationwide TV or satellite TV or cable TV, only the people in the Mid-South got exposed to our matches here. So now this is going to be the first opportunity for a lot of people to see some great Memphis wrestling that they may have heard about over the years but we were real proud of down here.”
– WWE will be holding a Pat Patterson Appreciation Night at the May 4th edition of RAW in Montreal. WWE had a Patterson night planned a few years ago for the same venue on the same night, but it was the same night that Jerry Lawler suffered a heart attack so it was cancelled. The ceremony on 5/4 will take place after RAW ends.
– Sheamus tweeted out the following today after the King of the Ring brackets were announced:
– As noted, Jim Ross did a 30-minute opening act for Mick Foley’s “Cheap Pops” special, which was taped on Friday. The former WWE announcer confirmed on social media that his portion of the show will not air on the WWE Network this Wednesday night.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry Lawler posted the following photo on Twitter of a sketch he did of “Macho Man” Randy Savage.
– Saturday marked the one-year anniversary of the passing of Connor “The Crusher” Michalek. The official Connor’s Cure Twitter feed posted the following:
– It was reported during WrestleMania 31 weekend that Eva Marie was going to be hosting the WWE Hall Of Fame ceremony this year, however as seen during the event, Jerry Lawler hosted it as usual. Apparently, WWE originally intended to have Eva host the ceremony, but at the last minute, they changed their minds and went with Lawler.
– The Undertaker and Michelle McCool attended a University of Texas vs. Oklahoma softball game earlier this week in Austin, Texas. Below is a photo of the couple at the game:
– WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry Lawler, age 65, will be returning to the ring for a match in Memphis, Tennessee on May 23rd. Lawler will take on one of the biggest rivals of his career, Bill Dundee, age 71, at an event designed to raise money for the legendary Mid-South Coliseum.
– Former WWE and TNA executive Bruce Prichard is now selling cars at a Volvo dealership in his hometown of Houston, Texas. Prichard was released by TNA back in July of 2013.
– The final episode of the first season of Lucha Underground will be taped on Sunday, April 19th and will air on Wednesday, August 5th. The show will be a two-hour “major show” that is set to wrap up all of the top storylines and will be the final episode of Lucha Underground for a while.
