In early 2023, WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler suffered a severe medical emergency that sent him straight to the hospital. It was later revealed that Lawler had a stroke, but he had underwent surgery and was expected to make a full recovery. Lawler previously had a stroke in 2018 as well as a heart attack back in 2012 during a match on Monday Night Raw. He reappeared in August when he was backstage at a Raw taping in Memphis. He was brought out to the entrance ramp by Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, which was a delight to fans in attendance.
Lawler recently spoke out about his condition post-stroke during a signing for East Coast Autograph Auctions. He explained that his health is great, though there are still some minor difficulties that he’s dealing with from it. “My health is great,” Lawler said. “I’m just getting over for the doctors to get back on the road for my knee replacement and then, of course, there are still some minor difficulties from the stroke, but all that stuff is coming around fast.”
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Lawler has over five decades of experience in the wrestling business. His in-ring career began back in the 1970s. He joined Continental Wrestling Association where he became the biggest star in the promotion. He’d go on to have stints in the American Wrestling Association and WCCW, owned by the Von Erich family. He eventually made his way to WWE (then WWF) as an announcer but he did appear in the 1993 Royal Rumble match.
He remained a regular member of the WWE team until about 2016. He’d be saved for special occasions thereafter. He’s taken a backseat from wrestling in recent years but was brought back in to the commentary for WWE back in 2019. He was later replaced by Samoa Joe just over a year later. Since then, he’s had sporadic appearances in the company but has been much more active on the independent circuit. Up until his stroke last year, he had still been wrestling on a semi-regular basis. His last match was against former Ring of Honor wrestler Beer City Bruiser at America’s Most Liked Wrestling Acts of War Games 2 in North Carolina.
Stay tuned to Comicbook for updates on Jerry Lawler and WWE.
H/T: Fightful
