Jerry Lawler Claims WWE is Moving Away From Scripted Promos

WWE's usage of scripted promos has been a contentious talking point among wrestlers and fans for several years. But based on a recent interview Jerry Lawler did with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin on the Steve Austin show, it sounds like the company is moving away from them — at least on Raw. While Lawler didn't say they were gone for good, he did say that wrestlers were being given more freedom with their characters under the leadership of executive director Paul Heyman.

"Now that Paul Heyman is sort of in charge of RAW, it's so much not the characters that are being predetermined by the writers or creative," Lawler said [h/t Wrestling Inc.] "They're giving the guys a chance to be themselves just like ypu back when you became 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin. Nobody was telling you, 'oh, this is how it's got to be.' [Austin was himself] and you was given that opportunity and you took it."

He then recalled a time when he was working part time (and not in his latest stint as Raw color commentator) and saw Austin and Ric Flair being walked through scripts backstage.

"I remember when I was not doing [Raw] on a regular basis, but I would come back and do WrestleMania, or Royal Rumble, or something like that. And I'll never forget. I was in the back. And you had come back and been in the back. And all-of-a-sudden, you'll get something from the writers, an interview they want you to cut, right? And I'm standing there in the back, and I looked over, and I see Ric Flair reading a promo that some 20 year old kid has written for him. And I thought, 'oh my God, what on Earth has happened to the business?' That's the part that I don't get."

"But do you know what? I really do think a little bit of that is changing now with Heyman in charge of Raw," he added. "Yeah, he's letting guys — like you said — giving them some bullet points and letting them go on their own."

WWE's next pay-per-view, Super ShowDown, will take place on Feb. 27 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Check out the full card for the show below:

• WWE Universal Championship: Bray Wyatt vs. Goldberg
• WWE Championship: Brock Lesnar vs. Ricochet
• SmackDown Women's Championship: Bayley vs. Carmella/Naomi
• Raw Tag Team Championships: Seth Rollins and Murphy vs. The Street Profits
• SmackDown Tag Team Championships: The New Day vs. The Miz and John Morrison
• Roman Reigns vs. King Corbin (Steel Cage)
• AJ Styles vs. Andrade vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Erick Rowan vs. R-Truth vs. Rusev (Gauntlet Match)